Breathable Footwear Sole Structures with Ribbed Slat Openings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional footwear soles struggle to balance providing adequate support and impact force attenuation while maintaining breathability and air exchange, leading to discomfort and potential moisture issues during prolonged athletic use.
Innovation Solution
The incorporation of sole plates with rib elements and slat openings that extend between adjacent rib elements, allowing for gas flow communication between the interior and exterior of the shoe, combined with a midsole member featuring openings covered by breathable membranes, and a ground-contacting outsole member, enhances breathability and structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional polymer foam materials with open or closed cells are used for the midsole, then impact force attenuation and support are improved, but breathability and air exchange are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The midsole uses a polymer foam material with a cellular structure that provides both mechanical support and breathability. The cellular structure allows air exchange while maintaining impact attenuation properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The sole structure is divided into multiple layers including an insole, midsole, and outsole, with the midsole containing multiple openings that segment the structure to enhance air exchange pathways while maintaining support functionality.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the sole structure is made solid and continuous for adequate support, then structural integrity is improved, but air exchange and ventilation are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The midsole is segmented with multiple openings distributed throughout its structure, creating pathways for air exchange while the surrounding material maintains structural integrity. The openings are strategically placed to balance ventilation needs with support requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the midsole have different properties - areas requiring support maintain solid foam structure, while areas requiring ventilation contain openings. This local differentiation allows simultaneous optimization of both structural integrity and air exchange.
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
This configuration provides excellent air exchange, ventilation, and breathability, ensuring a comfortable and supportive footwear experience by allowing gas flow while maintaining structural integrity and reducing moisture ingress.
Implementation Method 1
These slat openings, at least in part, allow gas flow communication between the interior of a footwear structure and the exterior environment
Implementation Method 2
a midsole member featuring openings covered by breathable membranes
Data Source
AI summary
Sole structures for footwear are constructed to provide excellent air exchange, ventilation, and breathability. Sole plates used in these sole structures may include plural rib elements extending across the sole to define plural slat openings in the sole plate. By providing these slat openings adjacent openings in the midsole member, excellent gas flow communication to/from the footwear interior may be provided. Slat vented sole plates and sole structures containing such sole plates may be included in articles of footwear or other foot-receiving devices, and advantageously in athletic footwear and other articles of footwear in which venting and breathability are important.