Adjustable Strap Assembly for Footwear Closure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing footwear closure systems, such as laces and hook and loop straps, require fine motor skills and can be difficult to maneuver when entering or exiting the footwear.
Innovation Solution
An article of footwear featuring an adjustable strap assembly with a fixed portion and a variable portion, where the variable portion is looped through an adjustable double ring, allowing for easy adjustment and movement out of the way of the foot.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If laces are used as footwear closure, then adjustability is provided, but fine motor skills are demanded which proves difficult for some users
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional lace tying mechanism with a zipper closure system. The zipper uses interlocking teeth and a slider mechanism that can be operated with gross motor movements rather than fine motor skills, eliminating the need for complex knot-tying while maintaining adjustability through the zipper's sliding action.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a zipper as an intermediary closure mechanism between the footwear upper and the user's foot. This intermediary system provides adjustability through its sliding mechanism while being operable by users with limited fine motor skills, effectively mediating between the need for secure fit and ease of operation.
2Reliability
If laces are used to secure footwear, then foot security is achieved, but laces must be fully unlaced and replaced after foot insertion which increases time consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dynamic zipper closure system that can be quickly opened and closed along its entire length simultaneously, unlike laces that must be manually untied and re-tied section by section. The zipper slider can rapidly transition between open and closed states, significantly reducing the time required for foot insertion and removal while maintaining secure foot retention when closed.
3Ease of operation
If hook and loop strap is used instead of laces, then fine motor skills demand is decreased, but the strap arrangement is difficult to move out of the way of foot entering the footwear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the multi-component hook and loop strap system with a simpler zipper closure. The zipper eliminates the need for separate straps, rings, and overlapping configurations, providing a streamlined single-piece closure mechanism that can be easily moved or opened to facilitate foot entry without the complexity of multiple strap arrangements.
4Ease of operation
If elastic cord is used as alternative to laces, then fine motor skills demand is decreased, but elastic cord is difficult to move out of the way of user's foot when entering footwear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the elastic cord system with a zipper closure that provides similar ease of operation without the complexity of cord routing. The zipper's linear closure path and slider mechanism eliminate the need for cords to be routed around the foot or through multiple attachment points, allowing the closure to be easily opened or moved aside for foot entry.
Data Source
AI summary
An article of footwear is provided. The article of footwear includes an upper and an adjustable strap assembly circumferentially surrounding the upper. The adjustable strap assembly includes a fixed portion fixedly coupled at a first longitudinal end to a first loop of an adjustable double ring, and a variable portion looped through a second loop of the adjustable double ring. A first longitudinal end of the variable portion is reversibly coupled to a second longitudinal end of the fixed portion.