Curved Footstrap Insert for Aquatic Sports
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current foot strap inserts for aquatic sports equipment provide limited adjustability in physical and angular placement of a user's feet, leading to reduced comfort, stability, and performance, and often result in inconsistent screw hole distances, which restrict a user's ability to adjust foot strap positioning without altering the strap width.
Innovation Solution
A foot strap insert and assembly featuring a curved body with strategically positioned apertures that allow for adjustable foot strap positioning without changing the strap width, maintaining consistent screw hole distances, and providing stability and comfort through injection-molded or adhesive embedding into aquatic sports equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If foot strap inserts are designed in a linear fashion with fixed aperture positions, then manufacturing is simple, but adjustability of foot placement is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by transitioning from a linear arrangement of apertures to an arc-shaped configuration. The apertures are positioned along a curved path rather than a straight line, allowing foot straps to be placed at multiple angular positions while maintaining consistent spacing. This curved geometry enables adjustable foot placement angles without requiring complex mechanical adjustment mechanisms, thus improving adaptability while controlling device complexity.
2Ease of operation
If foot strap inserts allow angular adjustment of foot placement, then user comfort and stability improve, but screw hole distances become inconsistent
Solution Approach 1:
The arc-shaped aperture arrangement maintains equidistant spacing between adjacent apertures along the curved path. This ensures that when foot straps are positioned at different angular locations, the distance between corresponding screw holes remains consistent, preserving manufacturing precision while enabling angular adjustment for improved user comfort and stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameter from linear distance to arc length distance. By measuring and maintaining equal distances along the curved path rather than using straight-line measurements, the design accommodates angular variations while preserving consistent spacing between apertures, thereby maintaining manufacturing precision across different adjustment positions.
3Reliability
If foot strap inserts are embedded into watersports boards, then foot strap positioning is secure, but adjustability of angular placement is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The arc-shaped aperture configuration allows multiple aperture positions to be integrated into a single embedded insert. Each aperture along the curved path can accommodate a foot strap at a different angular position, providing adjustability while the entire insert remains securely embedded in the watersports board, thus maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The embedded insert serves multiple functions by incorporating several apertures in an arc arrangement. A single insert component enables users to adjust foot strap positions at various angles while maintaining secure attachment to the board, combining the functions of multiple separate inserts into one multi-functional element.
Data Source
AI summary
A foot strap insert and assembly for aquatic sports equipment. The foot strap insert may include: a curved body comprising at least one aperture configured to receive and removably retain at least one fastener therein. The foot strap insert assembly may include: at least one pair of curved bodies comprising two curved bodies, the two curved bodies each comprising at least one aperture. The foot strap insert assembly may also include: aquatic sports equipment and at least one foot strap insert, the at least one foot strap insert comprising a curved body, the curved body comprising at least one aperture. Additionally, the present invention relates to a foot strap insert and assembly that is practical—thereby permitting a user to easily and removably position and insert one or more foot straps—and inexpensive—thus allowing for widespread use in the field of aquatic sports equipment.