Mushroom-Shaped Protuberances for Anti-Shock Ventilation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional moulded shoe bottoms with anti-shock structures develop wrinkles on the intermediate sole due to punctiform support, causing aesthetic issues and discomfort, especially for sensitive skin, and are exacerbated by foot perspiration, leading to non-uniform support and self-modelling of the material.
Innovation Solution
A one-piece moulded shoe bottom with mushroom-shaped protuberances that provide a continuous support surface and incorporate a three-way air valve system with independent pumping chambers to facilitate forced air circulation, using the protuberances as elastic deformation means to enhance ventilation and support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional moulded shoe bottoms with anti-shock structures use punctiform support protuberances, then anti-shock properties are improved, but wrinkle formation on the intermediate sole increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom is segmented into multiple independent hollow protuberances distributed across the plantar surface. Each protuberance acts as an independent shock-absorbing unit, allowing localized deformation without affecting the entire sole surface, thus preventing wrinkle formation while maintaining anti-shock properties.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using solid protuberances that create punctiform support points, the invention inverts the approach by using hollow protuberances with internal cavities. This inversion allows the protuberances to compress vertically for shock absorption while their hollow structure prevents lateral spreading that would cause wrinkles on the intermediate sole.
2Strength
If dense series of protuberances are used for anti-shock support, then shock absorption is improved, but air circulation inside the shoe is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom incorporates a porous structure with multiple hollow protuberances containing internal cavities. This porous design allows air to circulate through the bottom structure while the protuberances maintain their shock-absorbing function, thus simultaneously improving ventilation and maintaining anti-shock properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow protuberances are nested within the bottom structure, with each protuberance containing an internal cavity. This nested configuration allows air circulation channels to be integrated within the shock-absorbing structure itself, enabling both functions to coexist without compromising either performance.
3Strength
If protuberances are made deformable for shock absorption, then anti-shock properties are improved, but support surface continuity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom features protuberances with non-uniform wall thickness, where the walls are thicker at the base for structural support and thinner at the top for enhanced deformability. This local quality variation allows the protuberances to provide both continuous support surface and effective shock absorption through controlled deformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The bottom is constructed as a composite structure combining rigid external walls for structural integrity and continuous support surface with hollow internal cavities for deformability and shock absorption. This composite configuration enables the bottom to maintain support surface continuity while achieving effective anti-shock properties.
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 solution offers a continuous, uniform support surface reducing wrinkles and enhances air circulation within the shoe, improving comfort and aesthetics while maintaining anti-shock properties.
Implementation Method 1
The tubular configuration of the stems has allowed to make them thinner and deformable under the peak load, thus favouring deformation due to axial relaxation rather than flexural bending. In other words, the said stems tend to be contracted as a bellows under compression, with bulging of the lateral wall rather than lateral flexion.
Implementation Method 2
The capability of the said stems to be elastically contracted as a bellows under compression makes them suitable to provide the pumping action that in the current models of ventilated shoes is entrusted to special flexible inserts composed of soft pads with alveolar structure that are elastically deformed under compression.
Implementation Method 3
from where the sucked air is ejected outside the bottom through a dedicated unidirectional valve
Data Source
Figure 1~5
AI summary
The present invention relates to a shoe bottom moulded from one piece, which is provided with a first and second chamber (3, 30), which do not communicate, which respectively house elastically flexible protuberances (2, 40), which are able to generate both an "anti-shock" action for the foot and a pumping action to create forced air ventilation inside the shoe.