Luminous Footwear Connection Unit Asymmetry
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional luminous footwear connection units are uncomfortable due to their bulkiness, which increases the tongue thickness and causes discomfort, and they often require additional material and complex assembly processes, leading to aesthetic limitations and potential damage to connecting cables.
Innovation Solution
A connection unit with a flexible cannula to house and protect the cables, a wing for stable fixation without increasing thickness, and a misaligned control button to prevent accidental crushing, all designed to reduce bulk and simplify assembly while maintaining accessibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the connection unit is combined with the tongue of the luminous footwear, then the connection port is accessible to the user, but the tongue thickness increases causing discomfort and aesthetic limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The connection unit is reoriented from a longitudinal arrangement (increasing tongue thickness) to a transverse arrangement across the tongue. The connection port is positioned at the lateral edge of the tongue, allowing horizontal insertion of the connecting cable from the side rather than from the front, thus distributing the connection unit's volume across the tongue's width rather than increasing its thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection unit is designed as a separate, detachable module that can be independently positioned and removed. This modular approach allows the connection functionality to be replicated without permanently increasing the tongue's structural thickness, as the connection unit sits superficially on the tongue's lateral surface rather than being embedded within it.
2Device complexity
If the connection unit is arranged with aligned connection port and cables, then the structure is simple, but the cables are vulnerable to damage during insertion and removal
Solution Approach 1:
The connection unit employs an asymmetric layout where the connection port is offset from the cable junction point, creating a staggered arrangement. The connection port is positioned at one lateral edge of the tongue while the cable junction is positioned more centrally, creating an angled cable path that naturally guides cables away from high-stress insertion zones and reduces bending fatigue.
Solution Approach 2:
A cable management channel or guide structure is introduced as an intermediary element between the connection port and the cable junction. This intermediate structure provides a protected pathway for the cables, preventing direct exposure to mechanical stress during cable insertion and removal operations, thereby reducing cable damage risk.
3Stability of the object's composition
If additional material and complex assembly processes are used for the connection unit, then stable fixation is achieved, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The connection unit is integrated directly into the tongue's existing structural elements, such as incorporating the connection port housing into the tongue's lateral reinforcement rib. This merging eliminates the need for separate fixation components and reduces assembly steps, as the connection unit becomes part of the tongue's monolithic structure rather than an add-on component requiring additional attachment operations.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention concerns a footwear structure (1) for luminous footwear, comprising an upper (2) and a connection unit (4) combined with the upper (2), wherein the connection unit comprises a main body (5) and connecting cables (6) that extend from the main body (5) to connect the connection unit to a control unit and/or a battery of an electronic light system, wherein the main body (5) is provided with a connection port (7) for connecting with an outer electronic device and junction points (8) for the contact of the connecting cables, wherein the connection port (7) has an accessing direction (A) and the connecting cables (6) at the junction points (8) have an extending direction (E), wherein the accessing direction (A) and the extending direction (E) are neither aligned nor parallel to each other, the accessing direction (A) and the extending direction (E) forming an angle different from 180°.