Decoupled Fluid Tubes in Footwear Sole for Flexibility and Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current footwear soles with fluid-filled bladders lack optimal flexibility and stability, particularly in the forefoot area, due to the limitations of existing designs that often require extensive material usage and webbing, which can restrict movement and cushioning performance.
Innovation Solution
The design features a sole structure with fluid-filled tubes that are substantially decoupled along their lengths, allowing for increased flexibility and stability by using channels for fluid communication while minimizing material usage, with foam filling gaps between the tubes to enhance fore-aft flexibility and lateral support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If traditional fluid-filled bladder designs with extensive webbing and material are used, then stability and support are improved, but flexibility and movement freedom deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The bladder element is divided into multiple separate tubes instead of using a single continuous bladder with webbing. Each tube is substantially decoupled from the others along its length, allowing independent movement and flexing. This segmentation enables the sole to flex more easily in the forefoot area while maintaining stability through the distributed tube configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent removes the webbing material that traditionally connects different sections of the bladder. By extracting this connecting material, the design eliminates the restriction on movement that webbing imposed, while the tubes remain connected through fluid communication channels that allow pressure transmission without mechanical constraint.
2Strength
If extensive webbing and material are used to connect bladder sections, then structural integrity is improved, but material waste increases and flexibility decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the webbing material that would otherwise be needed to connect bladder sections. The tubes are joined through fluid communication channels rather than mechanical connections, significantly reducing material usage while maintaining structural integrity through the fluid pressure distribution system.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using mechanical webbing to connect bladder sections, the patent uses fluid pressure transmission through channels. The fluid in the tubes transmits pressure and maintains structural integrity without requiring additional connecting materials, eliminating material waste while preserving strength.
3Stability of the object's composition
If tubes are closely connected to provide lateral support, then stability is improved, but fore-aft flexibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The tubes are segmented and decoupled from one another along their lengths, with gaps between adjacent tubes. This segmentation allows the sole to flex independently in the fore-aft direction at each tube location, while the fluid communication channels maintain pressure distribution for lateral support.
Solution Approach 2:
The bladder element has different local characteristics: tubes provide lateral support where needed, while gaps between tubes provide fore-aft flexibility. The foam material fills these gaps to enhance flexibility without compromising the structural support provided by the tubes themselves.
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
This configuration provides improved flexibility and stability by allowing the sole to flex more easily in the forefoot area while maintaining lateral support, reducing material waste and enabling different inflation pressures in various sections for customized cushioning.
Implementation Method 1
Fluid-filled bladders are sometimes included in the sole to provide desired impact force absorption, motion control, and resiliency
Implementation Method 2
Athletic footwear in particular sometimes utilizes polyurethane foam or other resilient materials in the sole to provide cushioning
Data Source
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AI summary
An article of footwear is disclosed that includes a sole structure having a bladder element. The bladder element includes multiple fluid-filled tubes that are substantially decoupled from one another along their respective lengths. The tubes extend lengthwise at least partially from a lateral extremity of the sole structure to a medial extremity of the sole structure. A method of manufacturing a sole structure of an article of footwear includes forming a bladder element with multiple tubes substantially decoupled from one another along their respective lengths. The method includes positioning the bladder element so that the tubes extend lengthwise at least partially from a lateral extremity of the sole structure to a medial extremity of the sole structure.