Concealing Layer for Obscuring Footwear Substrate Color
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Solution Overview
Problem
The footwear manufacturing process generates substantial excess materials due to changes in manufacturing circumstances, consumer demands, and supply chain disruptions, leading to disposal issues, as conventional methods fail to effectively obscure or repurpose materials with unwanted properties like color, resulting in environmental impact and resource inefficiency.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the application of a concealing layer to obscure the color and other characteristics of substrates, allowing repurposed materials to be integrated into footwear articles, with the concealing layer being abradable to reveal the underlying material's properties, thereby reducing waste and enhancing sustainability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional techniques are used to obscure observable properties of materials, then the material can be used to construct footwear articles, but the color of the material affects the color of the concealing layer and affixing is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
A primer layer is introduced as an intermediary between the substrate and the concealing layer. The primer layer facilitates bonding by creating a suitable surface for the concealing layer to adhere to, while the substrate provides structural support. This mediator resolves the adhesion problem between incompatible material surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The concealing layer system is divided into separate functional layers: a primer layer for adhesion and a concealing layer for obscuring properties. This segmentation allows each layer to be optimized for its specific function - the primer for bonding and the concealing layer for color masking and abrasion characteristics.
2Loss of substance
If excess materials are stored for potential future use, then material waste is reduced, but storage costs become prohibitive and materials occupy excessive space
Solution Approach 1:
The observable properties of excess materials are changed by applying concealing layers that mask unwanted characteristics such as color. This transforms materials with undesirable properties into usable components, enabling their incorporation into footwear articles without requiring extensive storage for future specialized use.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of permanently discarding excess materials with unwanted properties, the invention recovers them by applying concealing layers that enable their use in footwear construction. The materials are thus recovered from waste status and put to productive use.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If the concealing layer is made durable and resistant to wear, then it provides long-lasting obscuration, but it cannot reveal the underlying material properties through abrasion
Solution Approach 1:
The concealing layer is designed with dynamic properties where its durability and abrasion resistance are optimized for the specific application requirements. The layer provides long-lasting obscuration during normal wear while maintaining controlled abrasion characteristics that allow the underlying material to be revealed through natural wear patterns, creating a time-dependent visual effect.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
In example aspects, materials with different colors and/or one or more different characteristics are used for footwear manufacturing. In some aspects, the colors and/or the one or more characteristics of the materials may be obscured with a concealing layer.