Open-Cell Foam Outsole with Mesh for Soil Shedding
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Footwear outsoles accumulate soil, such as mud and debris, on unpaved surfaces, which can reduce traction and increase weight, leading to fatigue and performance issues during use.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating an open-cell foam material with a mesh component on the outsole, where the mesh component covers a portion of the foam to disrupt soil adhesion and cohesion, allowing for easier soil shedding and maintaining traction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If conventional outsole designs with tread patterns, lugs, or cleats are used to improve traction on unpaved surfaces, then traction is improved, but soil accumulation occurs in the tread pattern, around lugs, and between cleats
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies porous materials by incorporating an open-cell foam material on the outsole surface. This foam structure allows soil particles to pass through rather than accumulate on the surface, while the material composition (including polyethylene and ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer) provides both traction and soil-shedding properties. The porosity enables the material to resist soil adhesion while maintaining ground contact effectiveness.
2Quantity of substance
If soil accumulates on the outsole, then the footwear weight increases, but this leads to wearer fatigue and reduced performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of soil contact into a beneficial outcome by designing the outsole material to actively shed soil rather than accumulate it. The open-cell foam structure and specific polymer composition cause soil particles to be naturally repelled and shed during movement, transforming what would be a weight-increasing problem into a performance-enhancing feature that maintains lightweight conditions.
3Force
If the outsole is designed with aggressive tread patterns and lugs for better traction, then traction improves, but soil gets trapped in the interstitial regions and spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials by combining multiple polymer components (polyethylene and ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer) in a foam structure. This composite approach creates a material that simultaneously provides the mechanical properties needed for traction and the surface characteristics that prevent soil adhesion. The composite nature allows the outsole to maintain aggressive tread geometry while the material itself resists soil accumulation.
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 combination of open-cell foam and mesh on the outsole effectively reduces soil accumulation, preserving traction and reducing weight, thereby enhancing performance and comfort during use on unpaved surfaces.
Implementation Method 1
the material can take up water and, when compressed, can release the water
Implementation Method 2
the mesh component covers a portion of the foam to disrupt soil adhesion and cohesion, allowing for easier soil shedding
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are articles of manufacture, methods of manufacturing articles, and methods of using articles of manufacture, having an open-cell foam material and a mesh component present on at least parts of an external surface of the article. The open-cell foam material and the mesh component can cooperate to effectively reduce soil accumulation on the external surface of the article when the external surface of the article comes into direct contact with wet soil.