Deflectable Dome Insole Structure for Cushioning and Tactile Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing footwear insoles primarily focus on cushioning and support, lacking features that provide tactile feedback and enhanced sensation to the wearer, which can enhance positional awareness and engagement during activities.
Innovation Solution
Insoles with deflectable domes that change shape in response to force, providing haptic sensations and enhanced tactile feedback to the wearer, including multiple layers with aligned apertures and connectors to facilitate dome deflection and rebound.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional cushioning materials are used in insoles, then comfort and support are improved, but tactile feedback and positional awareness are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The insole is segmented into multiple functional layers: a base layer for cushioning and support, and a separate tactile feedback layer with dome structures. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specialized function - the base layer provides comfort while the dome layer provides tactile feedback, resolving the contradiction between comfort and sensory information retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The dome structures are nested within recesses in the insole layer, with each dome positioned within a specific cavity. This nesting arrangement allows the domes to deflect independently within their designated spaces while maintaining the overall structural integrity of the insole, enabling tactile feedback without compromising comfort.
2Ease of manufacture
If domes are made highly deflectable to provide strong tactile feedback, then haptic sensations are improved, but structural stability and support are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The insole exhibits local quality variation through its multi-layer construction. The base layer maintains high structural stability for support, while the dome structures in the tactile feedback layer are designed with specific deflectability for haptic sensations. Each region of the insole has optimized properties appropriate to its function, resolving the contradiction between stability and tactile responsiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The insole uses composite construction with different materials optimized for specific functions. The base layer uses materials providing cushioning and stability, while the dome structures use materials tuned for controlled deflection and rebound. This composite approach allows simultaneous achievement of structural stability and effective tactile feedback.
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 insoles deliver engaging tactile experiences, improving positional awareness and fun sensations, allowing wearers to stay engaged during activities by providing targeted feedback on weight distribution.
Implementation Method 1
Each dome is deflectable from a first state where at least a peak of the dome protrudes toward an inside of the article of footwear to a second state where at least the peak protrudes toward a remainder of the sole structure
Data Source
AI summary
An insole for an article of footwear can include a sheet comprising a plurality of domes that are spaced apart from one another and interconnected by a connecting portion of the sheet. The connecting portion extends between adjacent domes and around each dome. Each dome is deflectable from a first state where at least a peak of the dome protrudes in a first direction, away from the connecting portion and a first side of the sheet, to a second state where at least the peak protrudes in a second direction, away from the connecting portion and a second side of the sheet, where the second direction is opposite the first direction and the second side is opposite the first side.