Heel Guiding Shoe Structure for Easy Entry and Stable Heel Hold
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional shoes with heel counters often have a hard structure that makes it difficult to smoothly insert the foot when putting them on, compromising the stability of the wearer's calcaneus.
Innovation Solution
A shoe design featuring a heel member with a guiding portion that guides the heel towards the wearing opening and a holding portion that stabilizes the calcaneus, integrated with a sole and upper, ensuring smooth insertion and improved stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a hard heel counter structure is used to improve calcaneus stability, then the stability of the wearer's heel is improved, but the ease of inserting the foot into the shoe deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The heel counter is divided into two distinct parts: a hard heel holding portion for stability and a soft heel guiding portion for easy insertion. This segmentation allows each part to perform its specific function without compromising the other, resolving the contradiction between stability and ease of insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the heel counter have different material properties: the heel guiding portion uses soft material to facilitate easy foot insertion, while the heel holding portion uses hard material to provide calcaneus stability. This local differentiation of material quality resolves the contradiction by applying the appropriate property in the appropriate location.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the wearing opening is tightened to improve fit, then the retention of heel shape is improved, but the ease of inserting the foot deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The heel counter structure is segmented into a soft guiding portion that allows easy foot insertion and a hard holding portion that maintains heel shape retention, resolving the contradiction between fit tightness and insertion ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The soft heel guiding portion performs the preliminary action of guiding the heel into the wearing opening during insertion, before the hard heel holding portion engages to secure the heel shape. This preliminary soft guidance action facilitates easy insertion while the subsequent hard holding action ensures proper retention.
Data Source
AI summary
A shoe includes a sole, an upper and a heel member. The upper is fixed to the sole and configured to cover a foot of a wearer, the upper including a wearing opening. The heel member is disposed on a heel side of the wearing opening of the upper. The heel member includes a guiding portion configured to guide a heel of the wearer toward the wearing opening and a holding portion configured to hold the guiding portion with respect to the upper at least in a vertical direction.