Asymmetric Flexion Plate Insert for Trail Running Shoe Adaptability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current trail running shoes lack adaptability and customization to individual user preferences and varying trail conditions, requiring a shoe that is durable, adjustable, and provides reliable fit and structural rigidity while offering protection and traction.
Innovation Solution
A trail running shoe design featuring a removable and replaceable flexion plate insert with asymmetric flexion characteristics, made from carbon fiber, and a tensioning system with reel-based lacing for customizable fit, along with cuttable traction blocks and drainage plugs for adaptable performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If trail running shoes are made with rigid structure and protective layers, then protection against puncture wounds and stability on uneven terrain is improved, but adaptability to individual user preferences and varying trail conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The shoe is divided into modular components including interchangeable flexion plates, removable insoles, and replaceable outsoles. This segmentation allows users to customize the shoe's protective and performance characteristics by swapping components based on specific trail conditions and personal preferences, resolving the contradiction between rigid protection and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The shoe incorporates dynamic elements such as adjustable lacing systems, removable flexion plates with varying rigidity levels, and adaptable tongue configurations. These dynamic features enable the shoe to transition between different states of rigidity and protection, allowing users to optimize the shoe's protective characteristics for specific trail conditions while maintaining adaptability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If trail running shoes are made with rigid structure, then stability on uneven terrain is improved, but customization to particular trail running conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The shoe's structural components are segmented into interchangeable elements including flexion plates, insoles, and outsoles with different rigidity levels. Users can select and swap components based on specific trail conditions, enabling customization of stability characteristics while maintaining the ability to adapt to varying terrain requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The shoe allows users to change physical parameters such as flexion plate rigidity, outsole tread pattern, and tongue configuration to match specific trail conditions. By providing multiple components with varying rigidity and traction characteristics, users can optimize the shoe's stability and adaptability for different trail running scenarios.
3Strength
If trail running shoes provide substantial cushioning, then impact protection is improved, but profile height increases reducing stability and increasing injury risk
Solution Approach 1:
The shoe implements localized cushioning through strategically placed gel inserts and foam padding in high-impact areas such as the heel and toe, rather than uniform cushioning throughout. This local quality approach provides impact protection where needed while maintaining a low overall profile that preserves stability and ground feel on uneven terrain.
Solution Approach 2:
The shoe incorporates thin, flexible protective layers and films that provide impact absorption without adding substantial height. These thin film solutions deliver cushioning protection while maintaining the low-profile design that ensures stability and reduces injury risk on trail terrain.
4Adaptability or versatility
If trail running shoes are made with removable and replaceable components, then adaptability and customization are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shoe is segmented into distinct modular components including flexion plates, insoles, and outsoles that can be independently removed and replaced. This segmentation enables high customizability through component interchangeability while using standardized connection interfaces that simplify the overall system and reduce the complexity of assembly and disassembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The shoe employs universal connection mechanisms and standardized interfaces that allow multiple components to be interchanged through a single, consistent attachment system. This universality enables high adaptability and customization across different component types while reducing device complexity by eliminating the need for multiple specialized fastening systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The shoe provides enhanced ground feel, impact protection, stability, and energy return due to the flexion plate's asymmetric properties, while the tensioning system and adaptable components ensure a secure, customizable fit and performance tailored to user preferences and trail conditions.
Implementation Method 1
The flexion plate exhibits a given resistance to plantar flexion and a given resistance to dorsiflexion
Data Source
AI summary
A running shoe and a flexion plate insert. An upper and an outsole together define an inner volume. A tensioning system selectively constricts the shoe. Trimmable traction formations project from the shoe outsole, and cuttable drainage plugs permit draining of water. A flexion plate exhibiting asymmetric flexion characteristics is selectively retained atop the outsole by engagement of an aperture in the flexion plate with a mounting plug retained within the shoe or by a removable first midsole. The mounting plug and the aperture have eccentric portions that are out of alignment when the flexion plate and the first midsole are aligned and that align when the first midsole and the flexion plate are disposed at a given, non-zero angle. The first midsole can be an upper midsole, and a second, lower midsole can be disposed in a facing relationship with the upper midsole with the flexion plate therebetween.