Sport Shoe Midsole With Replaceable, Custom-Tuned Cushioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sport shoes often fail to perfectly match the user's requirements, leading to increased injury risk and premature wear due to inadequate adaptation of mechanical properties and dimensions, despite the availability of various shoe models.
Innovation Solution
A midsole design featuring a polymer body with variable cross-section through holes and removable cushioning parts that can be adjusted to fit individual user needs, allowing for customizable mechanical performance through interchangeable cushioning parts made from materials like EVA, expanded thermoplastic polyurethane, or deformable meshes, which can be 3D printed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the shoe is not well suited to user requirements, then the risks of injury and premature wear increase, but finding the perfect shoe match is difficult despite extensive offerings
Solution Approach 1:
The midsole is divided into a body and a removable cushioning part, allowing the cushioning properties to be segmented and replaced independently. This enables users to adapt the shoe to different requirements by changing only the cushioning part, resolving the contradiction between finding a perfect match and the limited variety of complete shoe models.
Solution Approach 2:
The cushioning part is made removable and replaceable, transforming the static shoe design into a dynamic system that can be adapted over time. Users can replace cushioning parts as their requirements change, maintaining optimal performance without needing to discard the entire shoe.
2Adaptability or versatility
If manufacturers supply shoes with different configurations to cover various needs, then the variety of shoe models increases, but it becomes harder to find the specific model needed when not in stock
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the shoe into a permanent body and replaceable cushioning part, the invention allows users to maintain a smaller inventory of shoe bodies while accessing multiple configurations through interchangeable cushioning parts, simplifying the selection process.
Solution Approach 2:
A single shoe body can serve multiple functions by accepting different cushioning parts, eliminating the need for users to purchase multiple complete shoe models for different requirements, thus expanding adaptability without increasing the number of shoe bodies to manage.
3Ease of repair
If the cushioning part is made removable for easy replacement, then the ease of repair and adaptation improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The midsole is segmented into a body and a removable cushioning part connected by a retention structure. This segmentation enables easy replacement of the cushioning part without affecting the body, achieving ease of repair with minimal added complexity through a straightforward retention mechanism.
4Manufacturing precision
If the through hole cross-section is reduced to improve mechanical performance adaptation, then the precision of mechanical property modification improves, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The through hole cross-section is reduced only in specific regions where cushioning is needed, rather than uniformly throughout. This localized modification allows precise control of mechanical properties in critical areas while maintaining simpler manufacturing in other regions, balancing precision requirements with ease of manufacture.
Data Source
AI summary
A sports shoe midsole includes a body and a cushioning element. The body, made of polymeric material, has an upper face and a lower face. The body defines at least one through-hole with a side wall connecting the upper face and the lower face. The cross section of the through-hole in the lower face is larger than the cross section of the through-hole in the upper face. The cushioning element is detachably mounted with respect to the body. The cushioning element fills the through-hole and bears continuously on the side wall. The cushioning element is arranged in a heel region or a metatarsal region.