Fluid-Filled Cushioning Article With Seamless Side Walls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fluid-filled cushioning bladders in footwear often have aesthetically unpleasing weld seams at the periphery, making it difficult to manufacture articles with seamless side walls for improved appearance.
Innovation Solution
A method of manufacturing cushioning articles by wrapping a polymeric sheet around a support, welding it to form an open-ended sheath with welds only at the top or bottom walls, and then sealing the interior cavity to create a weld-free side wall, using a multi-layer polymeric sheet with gas barrier layers for fluid retention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the polymeric sheet is welded to form a tubular body with overlapping portions, then the manufacturing process is simplified and structural integrity is achieved, but weld seams appear at the periphery reducing aesthetic appeal
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the weld seam from the visible peripheral region by repositioning it to the interior of the tubular body. The overlapping portions are welded inside the tubular structure, so the weld seam is no longer visible from the exterior surface, thereby maintaining both manufacturing simplicity and aesthetic appearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The weld seam is moved from a two-dimensional exterior surface to a three-dimensional interior space. By positioning the overlapping portions and their resulting weld seam within the interior volume of the tubular body, the defect is relocated to an invisible dimension from the viewer's perspective.
2Shape
If weld seams are positioned to avoid visibility, then aesthetic appearance is improved, but locating and positioning weld seams becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of trying to hide the weld seam on the exterior surface by careful positioning, the invention inverts the approach by placing the weld seam on the interior surface where visibility is impossible. This reverses the problem from 'how to hide the weld' to 'where to place the weld for automatic invisibility'.
3Reliability
If the polymeric sheet is wrapped around a forming mandrel and heat-sealed, then a tubular body is formed with reliable sealing, but the weld seams are visible at the periphery
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing function is extracted from the peripheral exterior region and relocated to the interior region of the tubular body. The heat-sealing process remains unchanged in terms of reliability, but the location of the seal is moved to where it cannot be seen from the exterior.
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 method produces cushioning articles with side walls free from weld seams, enhancing their aesthetic appeal and manufacturing simplicity while maintaining fluid retention and structural integrity.
Implementation Method 1
A first portion of the polymeric sheet adjacent a first side edge of the polymeric sheet overlaps and is stacked on a second portion of the polymeric sheet adjacent a second side edge of the polymeric sheet. The method includes welding the first portion to the second portion
Data Source
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AI summary
A method of manufacturing a cushioning article comprises wrapping a polymeric sheet around a support so that the polymeric sheet surrounds a perimeter of the support. A first portion of the polymeric sheet adjacent a first side edge of the polymeric sheet overlaps and is stacked on a second portion of the polymeric sheet adjacent a second side edge of the polymeric sheet. The first portion is welded to the second portion at a first weld disposed between the first side edge and the second side edge while the polymeric sheet is wrapped around the support so that the polymeric sheet forms an open-ended sheath with a top wall, a bottom wall, a first side wall and a second side wall with the first weld disposed at only one of the top wall and the bottom wall. A cushioning article manufactured according to the method is disclosed.