Heel Protective Adjustable Shoelace for Swimming Fins
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional full-foot swimming fins have a fixed size, making them difficult to put on and remove, while strap-type swimming fins fail to protect the heel, leaving it exposed to external hazards during scuba diving activities.
Innovation Solution
A heel protective adjustable shoelace for adjustable strap-type swimming fins, featuring a heel pad, heel protecting portion, and connecting adjustable straps that integrate with a webbed member, providing protection and adjustable fit to match foot length, made from rubber or synthetic resin.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a fixed-size shoe portion is used in full-foot swimming fins, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the wearer cannot easily put on and remove the fins and must purchase multiple sizes to accommodate different foot sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The swimming fin is divided into two main segments: a webbed member and a separate heel protective adjustable shoelace. The shoelace can be detached and adjusted independently, allowing the wearer to easily put on and remove the fin while maintaining a simple overall structure that is easy to manufacture.
Solution Approach 2:
The shoelace incorporates an adjustable mechanism with multiple hole positions and a lace system that allows dynamic adjustment of the fit. This enables the single fin design to accommodate various foot sizes without requiring multiple fixed-size molds, simplifying manufacturing while improving ease of operation.
2Device complexity
If a fixed-size shoe portion is used in full-foot swimming fins, then the structure is simple, but multiple sizes must be produced and inventoried to accommodate different wearers
Solution Approach 1:
The webbed member is designed as a universal component that can accommodate multiple foot sizes through the adjustable shoelace system. Instead of producing multiple fixed-size shoe portions, a single webbed member design serves all size requirements, reducing inventory complexity and production variety.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable shoelace allows the effective size of the swimming fin to be changed by adjusting the lace position through different holes. This parameter adjustment mechanism eliminates the need to produce and inventory multiple fixed-size versions, reducing device complexity while accommodating various foot sizes.
3Adaptability or versatility
If an adjustable strap-type swimming fin is used, then the size can be adjusted to fit different wearers, but the heel remains exposed and unprotected during scuba diving activities
Solution Approach 1:
The heel protective adjustable shoelace merges the size adjustment function with the heel protection function into a single integrated component. The lace extends to cover the heel area while maintaining adjustability, simultaneously addressing both adaptability and protection needs without requiring separate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The heel protective shoelace is nested within or integrated with the existing adjustable strap system. The protective lace works in conjunction with the webbed member and existing strap, combining multiple functions (protection, adjustment, and structural support) into a unified system that maintains size adaptability while adding heel coverage.
Data Source
AI summary
A heel protective adjustable shoelace, applied to an adjustable strap-type swimming fin, includes a heel pad, a heel protecting portion and two connecting adjusting straps. The heel protecting portion integrally extends along the longitudinal direction of the heel pad, and together with the heel pad define an accommodating space for accommodating and enveloping a heel and a wearing opening in communication with the accommodating space. The two connecting adjusting straps integrally extend from two opposite sides of the heel protecting portion corresponding to the wearing opening, respectively, to connect to a webbed member. A connection between the heel protective adjustable shoelace and the webbed member may be adjusted through the two connecting adjusting straps to match a foot length of a wearer. Further, a heel of a wearer is prevented from being cut by an external object such as corals and reefs during a scuba diving activity.