Reinforced Shoe Heel with Segmented Support Plate
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional high-heel shoes often lack adequate cushioning and arch support, leading to foot pain and postural issues due to uneven weight distribution, causing stress on the ball of the foot and forefoot, and are generally unstable.
Innovation Solution
A reinforced shoe heel design featuring an angled platform with a support plate and integrated reinforcement rods, providing enhanced structural rigidity and stability, and manufactured using methods like 3D printing to create a customizable shape such as alphanumeric characters or symbols for improved support and comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single straight tapered post is used for the heel, then the construction is simple, but the stability and support are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The heel is divided into multiple components: a support plate, multiple supports (instead of a single post), and reinforcement rods. This segmentation allows each component to perform specific functions - the support plate distributes weight, multiple supports provide stability in different directions, and reinforcement rods add structural rigidity, collectively resolving the stability issue while maintaining reasonable construction complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a one-dimensional single post structure to a multi-dimensional framework comprising a support plate with multiple supports extending in various directions and reinforcement rods providing cross-bracing. This dimensional expansion creates a three-dimensional load-bearing structure that significantly improves stability compared to the simple vertical post.
2Device complexity
If traditional high-heel construction is used, then the design is simple, but foot pain and postural issues occur due to uneven weight distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The support plate is designed with non-uniform geometry and the supports are positioned at specific locations rather than uniformly distributed. This local quality optimization ensures that weight distribution matches the anatomical requirements of the foot, providing enhanced support at critical areas (heel, arch, forefoot) to prevent foot pain and postural issues while avoiding unnecessary complexity in non-critical areas.
3Ease of operation
If adequate cushioning and arch support are provided, then foot comfort is improved, but the structural complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges multiple functions into integrated components: the support plate simultaneously provides weight distribution, arch support, and structural framework; the supports combine cushioning and structural support functions; and the reinforcement rods integrate both structural rigidity and alignment functions. This merging reduces the number of separate parts and simplifies manufacturing while achieving comprehensive foot comfort.
Data Source
AI summary
The reinforced shoe heel includes an angled platform having a surface area for supporting a heel section of a shoe, a core including a plate and at least one reinforcement rod extending therefrom, the plate having a size and shape for select imbedded seated reception on a top surface of the angled platform, and a support coupled with and extending below the angled platform, the support being positioned in relation relative to the core to selectively receive the at least one reinforcement rod projecting from the plate. The reinforcement rod cooperates with the top-mounted plate to increase the relative structural rigidity of the reinforced shoe heel to generally relatively resist torsion, compressive, and shear stresses during use when attached to the shoe.