Footwear Sole Member with Apertures for Customized Cushioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional footwear soles lack personalized cushioning and flexibility, leading to inadequate comfort and support for varying foot shapes and activities.
Innovation Solution
A customized sole member with a pattern of blind-hole apertures of varying lengths and sizes is designed, where the aperture pattern is tailored to individual foot data, providing adjustable cushioning and flexibility based on specific foot pressure points and activities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional footwear soles are used with uniform structure, then manufacturing is simple, but cushioning and flexibility are inadequate for varying foot shapes and activities
Solution Approach 1:
The sole member incorporates apertures with varying lengths and sizes distributed in specific patterns across different regions of the sole. This creates localized variations in cushioning properties, allowing different areas of the sole to provide customized support and flexibility corresponding to specific foot pressure points and anatomical features, thereby resolving the contradiction between adaptability and structural complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If apertures of varying lengths are incorporated into the sole member, then personalized cushioning is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The aperture system is segmented into multiple categories based on length (first, second, third apertures) and size (first, second, third sizes), with each category serving specific functional zones in the sole. This segmentation allows for systematic control of cushioning properties while simplifying the manufacturing process through standardized aperture types, thereby balancing personalized cushioning with manufacturing precision requirements.
3Strength
If blind-hole apertures are used instead of through-holes, then structural integrity is improved, but cushioning effectiveness may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes blind-hole apertures with carefully controlled length parameters rather than complete through-holes. By optimizing the length, size, and distribution patterns of these blind holes, the design achieves a balance between maintaining structural integrity (preventing complete material removal) and providing sufficient cushioning effectiveness through strategic aperture placement in high-pressure zones, thus resolving the contradiction between strength and adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
An article of footwear includes an upper and a sole structure with a sole member. The sole member can be manufactured using a cushioning sole system that provides different cushioning characteristics to a sole member using varying patterns of apertures. A user's foot morphology and/or preferences may be used to design the sole member. The sole member can include a set of apertures that are formed along various surfaces of the sole member.