Heel Tip Cushion Anchoring Mechanism Inside Heel Stem
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional high heel footwear heel tips wear out quickly due to abrasive pressure, often dislodging and causing harmful shock waves, friction damage, and noise, with no commercially available solution lasting more than a few weeks.
Innovation Solution
A heel tip assembly featuring a micro honeycomb structure made from resilient materials with anti-rotation and securing features, such as threaded inserts and wedge-lock mechanisms, to absorb shock and securely attach to the heel, reducing wear and tear and preventing rotation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional heel tips with metal nail heads are used, then the heel tip can be securely attached to the heel, but the heel tip wears out quickly and causes harmful shock waves
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from hard metal nail head to soft rubber material, and changes the attachment mechanism parameter from simple nail insertion to threaded screw fixation with wedge-lock features. This allows the heel tip to remain securely attached while preventing rapid wear and shock wave transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite construction combining rubber material for the heel tip with metal threaded shaft and wedge-lock features. This composite approach provides both the shock-absorbing properties of rubber and the secure attachment capabilities of metal fastening mechanisms.
2Strength
If hard polyurethane or plastic/rubber mix is used for heel tip, then the heel tip can resist abrasive pressure, but it does not absorb shock waves and causes body damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from hard polyurethane/plastic mix to soft rubber material with specific durometer properties. This parameter change enables the heel tip to maintain abrasion resistance while adding shock-absorbing capabilities that prevent harmful shock wave transmission to the body.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the previously harmful hard material property into a benefit by using soft rubber material that actively absorbs and dissipates shock energy. The material that would have transmitted harmful shocks is replaced with material that converts shock energy into beneficial heat dissipation.
3Reliability
If metal nail head is driven into heel bore, then the heel tip can be fastened securely, but the nail head becomes smooth and causes slipping or falling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the metal nail head from the heel tip assembly and replaces it with a threaded shaft that screws into the heel. This extraction eliminates the smooth metal surface that caused slipping while maintaining secure attachment through the threaded fastening mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a threaded shaft as an intermediary component between the heel tip and the heel. This intermediary provides both secure fastening through threading and maintains the rubber material surface that prevents slipping, unlike the direct metal-to-rubber contact in conventional designs.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional heel tip design is used, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the heel tip gets pulled out or dislodged from the heel
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic attachment features including threaded shafts that screw into the heel and wedge-lock features that engage with the heel bore. These dynamic mechanisms provide progressive securing that prevents the heel tip from being pulled out or dislodged during use.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the attachment mechanism into distinct components: the threaded shaft, the wedge-lock features, and the heel tip body. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function while maintaining ease of assembly and manufacturing.
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 heel tip assembly significantly extends the lifespan of the heel tip, reduces chronic pain and injuries by minimizing shock wave transmission, and provides a secure, noise-reducing, and durable solution for high heel footwear.
Implementation Method 1
the rubber material of this invention stops the harmful shock waves that accumulate over time as damage to the body from our feet to the base of our skull from the repeated exposure the shock waves caused by daily activity
Implementation Method 2
The micro honeycomb significantly decreases both the amplitude of the high frequency forces and their ability to propagate up into the body
Implementation Method 3
The micro honeycomb significantly decreases both the amplitude of the high frequency forces and their ability to propagate up into the body thus eliminating chronic pain and injuries
Implementation Method 4
a threaded insert or expansion anchor can be set in the heel and the heel tip, which can include a square or propeller head screw, with the micro honeycomb structure, is then rotated until the threaded insert locks the screw into place
Implementation Method 5
a threaded insert or expansion anchor can be set in the heel and the heel tip... is then rotated until the threaded insert locks the screw into place or the expansion anchor opens, locking the screw and heel tip securely into the heel
Implementation Method 6
The first wedge-lock feature can prevent the top lift from rotating relative to the heel when the top lift is fully secured to the heel by the threaded portion
Data Source
AI summary
A high heel footwear including a heel tip assembly and a heel assembly. The heel tip assembly includes a top lift abutting against the heel, a rigid shaft member having a threaded portion, and a first wedge-lock feature configured to prevent the top lift from rotating. The heel assembly includes a threaded insert, a spring, a hollow insert, and a second wedge-lock feature. The threaded insert is received inside an opening formed in the heel to receive the threaded portion of the rigid shaft member. The spring is also received inside the opening and abuts against the threaded insert. The hollow insert abuts against the spring. The rigid shaft member passes through the threaded insert, the spring, and the hollow insert. The second wedge-lock feature locks with the first wedge-lock feature to retain the top lift on the end of the heel.