Impact absorbing matting and padding system with elastomeric sub-surface structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional matting systems fail to provide optimal cushioning and stability, leading to increased fatigue and the risk of injury due to surface deformation and bottoming out, especially in thinner applications such as athletic footwear and anti-fatigue mats, which require balance between cushioning and stability.
Innovation Solution
A continuous array of elastomeric subsurface structures with geometric shapes, such as cylindrical columns with varying cross-sectional thickness and draft angles, providing a stable surface layer that absorbs impact and prevents bottoming out by utilizing two zones of different compressibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional foam or rubber matting is used to provide cushioning, then impact absorption is improved, but the mat gets harder as force increases and bottoms out, reducing stability and support
Solution Approach 1:
The mat is divided into a stable upper layer and a segmented array of deformable cells below. The upper layer maintains surface stability while the lower cells segment the impact absorption function into discrete compressible units that prevent bottoming out
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the mat have different properties: the upper surface layer is stable and non-deformable to prevent foot entrapment, while the subsurface cells are locally deformable to absorb impact. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between overall stability and localized cushioning
2Strength
If thicker matting is used to prevent bottoming out and improve cushioning, then impact protection is improved, but the mat height increases, which is problematic for standardized work surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses thin-walled elastomeric cells that provide high impact absorption in a compact form. The flexible cell walls collapse under impact to absorb energy without requiring thick material, enabling effective cushioning in thin mat profiles
Solution Approach 2:
The mat combines a stable upper layer material with elastomeric cell structures below, creating a composite system that achieves both surface stability and impact absorption in a thin profile, resolving the contradiction between protection and thickness
3Ease of operation
If the mat surface is made softer to encourage postural changes and blood flow, then anti-fatigue performance is improved, but excessive softness creates instability requiring muscular activity
Solution Approach 1:
The mat is segmented into a stable upper layer and deformable lower cells, providing just enough compliance through cell compression to encourage postural changes without creating surface instability that would require muscular correction
Solution Approach 2:
The mat changes its effective stiffness parameter dynamically: the stable upper layer provides consistent support, while the subsurface cells compress under load to provide localized compliance, achieving optimal anti-fatigue performance without excessive softness
4Strength
If conventional foam mats are compressed repeatedly, then cushioning is provided, but the foam becomes permanently compressed and hardens over time, losing effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The elastomeric cells are designed to compress and recover repeatedly without permanent deformation. After each impact or compression event, the cells return to their original shape, discarding the deformation temporarily and recovering their cushioning capability for the next use, thereby extending service life
Solution Approach 2:
The combination of stable upper layer material with resilient elastomeric cell structures creates a composite system where the cells handle repetitive compression recovery, preventing the hardening that occurs in conventional foam while maintaining long-term cushioning effectiveness
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 solution offers improved stability and impact attenuation while minimizing surface deformation, reducing fatigue and injury risk, and maintaining performance in thinner applications without compromising comfort or support.
Implementation Method 1
The column wall is more likely to deform at the first zone than at the second zone upon application of a load to the pad system
Implementation Method 2
A continuous array of elastomeric subsurface structures with geometric shapes
Data Source
AI summary
A cushioning and impact absorbing pad system with a surface layer of thickness t, and an elastomeric sub-surface structure of height h. The sub-surface structure comprises an array of elastomeric columns wherein each column has a frustoconical column wall surrounding a central void. The frustoconical column walls have a zone that is a more compressible, relatively collapsible zone in a region at an end of the column opposite the surface layer and a zone that is a relatively less compressible zone in a region at the end of the column abutting the surface layer. Column walls are tapered with draft angles in the range of greater than 6 degrees and less than 10 degrees.