Footwear Element With Segmented Upper and Spikes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing footwear elements with spikes fail to adequately protect against water, snow, and ice penetration, and provide insufficient thermal insulation, leading to discomfort and reduced grip and stability in extreme conditions.
Innovation Solution
A footwear element with an outer sole assembly and flexible upper, featuring spikes on the outer face, where the flexible upper extends to cover the ankle and lower leg, providing enhanced water tightness and thermal insulation, and includes adjustable straps for better retention and proprioceptive feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the upper is extended to cover the ankle and lower leg, then protection against water, snow, and ice penetration is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The upper is divided into a lower portion covering the foot and an upper portion extending to cover the ankle and lower leg. This segmentation allows the footwear to provide enhanced protection in extreme conditions while maintaining a manageable structure that can be manufactured and assembled using standard processes
Solution Approach 2:
The upper portion extends vertically beyond the traditional shoe upper to cover the ankle and lower leg areas. This dimensional extension provides additional protection against water, snow, and ice penetration without requiring a completely new footwear architecture, thus improving reliability while controlling complexity
2Temperature
If the upper is extended to cover the ankle and lower leg, then thermal insulation is enhanced, but the weight of the footwear increases
Solution Approach 1:
The upper portion is constructed with materials and structure optimized for thermal insulation in the ankle and lower leg regions. By applying enhanced insulating properties specifically where needed (local quality) rather than throughout the entire footwear, thermal protection is improved while minimizing additional weight
Solution Approach 2:
The upper portion utilizes flexible, thin-walled construction that provides thermal insulation through material selection and layering rather than through increased thickness. This approach enhances temperature protection while controlling the weight penalty of extending coverage to the ankle and lower leg
3Reliability
If spikes are added to the external sole, then grip on the ground is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spikes are pre-formed as separate components and then attached to the external sole during assembly. This preliminary preparation of spike components allows for standardized manufacturing of both the sole and spikes separately, reducing overall manufacturing complexity while still achieving improved grip through the spike configuration
Data Source
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AI summary
The element (1) has an outer sole assembly (3) comprising an outer surface (10), and a flexible upper (4) extending upwardly from the assembly. Spikes (9) are outwardly projected from the outer surface. The flexible upper has a lower portion (11) arranged to cover a foot of a wearer and an upper portion (12) extending from the lower portion in a direction away from the assembly. The upper portion is structured and arranged to cover an ankle of the wearer or a portion of a lower leg of the wearer. The upper has a shoe insertion opening (25) to receive a shoe of the wearer. An independent claim is also included for a footwear element and low-upper shoe assembly.