Cable-Fastened Footwear Assembly for Clean Disassembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional footwear construction methods make it challenging to deconstruct footwear articles without parts becoming contaminated or affixed to one another, limiting recycling and reuse of components.
Innovation Solution
The use of cables to affix footwear components, such as the upper and sole, without chemical adhesives or thermal bonding, allowing for easy disassembly and separation of parts, thereby minimizing contamination and facilitating recycling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional construction methods (adhesives, mechanical fasteners, stitching, fusion, ultrasonic welding) are used to attach footwear components, then the footwear article achieves strong bonding and structural integrity, but it becomes challenging to deconstruct the footwear article without parts becoming contaminated or remaining affixed to one another
Solution Approach 1:
The footwear article is divided into distinct modular components (upper, midsole, outsole, heel counter, toe cap) that can be independently separated. Each component is designed with specific attachment mechanisms that allow for clean separation without contamination, enabling the upper to be detached from the sole assembly and sole components to be separated from each other.
Solution Approach 2:
Adhesive barriers are introduced as intermediary layers between different footwear components. These barriers prevent adhesive transfer and contamination when components are separated, allowing the upper and sole components to be detached without remaining affixed to one another, thus facilitating clean deconstruction for recycling or replacement.
2Stability of the object's composition
If conventional construction methods with adhesives are used, then structural integrity is maintained, but parts become contaminated when attempting to separate components for recycling
Solution Approach 1:
Adhesive barriers serve as intermediary layers that maintain structural integrity during use while preventing adhesive contamination during separation. These barriers ensure that when components are detached for recycling, the materials remain pure and free from contaminating residues from other components.
Solution Approach 2:
The footwear article is designed for easy disassembly and recovery of individual components. By using reversible attachment mechanisms and adhesive barriers, components can be separated cleanly without contamination, enabling effective recycling and recovery of materials such as upper fabrics, midsole foams, and outsole rubbers.
3Reliability
If multiple attachment mechanisms are used to secure components, then reliability of assembly is improved, but complexity of deconstruction increases
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment system is segmented into distinct modular components with standardized interfaces. Each component (upper, midsole, outsole, heel counter, toe cap) has specific attachment points and mechanisms that can be independently addressed during deconstruction, reducing overall complexity compared to monolithic construction methods.
Solution Approach 2:
Cable ties are used as a universal attachment mechanism across multiple component interfaces (upper to sole, heel counter to sole, toe cap to sole). This multi-functional approach simplifies deconstruction compared to using different specialized mechanisms for each attachment, as the same cable tie removal process applies to all components.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure relates to recyclable footwear. Components of an article of footwear—e.g., an upper and a sole—may be secured to one another using one or more cables. The article of footwear may also comprise a heel counter and/or toe cap, which may serve as anchor points for the one or more cables, improving stability. Thus, the article of footwear may be constructed without the use of an adhesive and may be easily disassembled, improving recyclability. Methods of recycling articles of footwear are also disclosed.