Thermal-Resistant Shoe Insert for Hot Artificial Turf
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Solution Overview
Problem
Artificial turfs are significantly hotter than natural grass, posing a safety risk to athletes due to potential skin burns, and existing solutions like watering or material changes are ineffective or impractical.
Innovation Solution
A shoe component comprising a toebox, insole, adhesive membrane, thermal-resistant insert, and outsole, featuring a footbed with upper and bottom laminates made of materials like CarbonX and Outlast®, which regulate temperature differentials between the foot and the turf.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If artificial turf is used to create a durable playing surface, then the turf can withstand heavy use, but the surface temperature becomes excessively high causing skin burns
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary cooling system between the artificial turf and the athlete's feet. This system includes a cooling shoe insert with a thermal management layer that mediates the heat transfer, allowing the durable artificial turf to maintain its high-temperature surface while protecting the athlete from thermal harm through the intermediary cooling mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the thermal parameters of the shoe components by incorporating materials with specific thermal conductivity properties. The cooling insert uses materials that alter the heat transfer parameters, creating a temperature gradient that allows the turf surface to remain hot for durability while the interface with the foot maintains a safe temperature through controlled thermal parameter modification.
2Device complexity
If traditional shoe materials are used, then the shoes are simple and inexpensive, but they provide insufficient thermal protection against hot artificial turf
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the shoe into distinct functional layers, with the cooling shoe insert being a separate removable component. This segmentation allows the thermal protection function to be added as a modular element without redesigning the entire shoe structure, maintaining relative simplicity while providing enhanced thermal protection through the specialized cooling layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials in the cooling shoe insert, combining layers with different thermal properties. The composite structure includes thermal management materials that provide thermal protection while maintaining a manageable complexity level. This allows effective thermal barrier properties without requiring an overly complex multi-component system.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If cooling methods like watering are applied to reduce turf temperature, then the surface temperature decreases temporarily, but the method is expensive and ineffective long-term
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the cooling function from the turf itself and relocates it to the shoe insert. Instead of attempting to cool the entire turf surface (which is expensive and logistically complex), the cooling mechanism is extracted and placed in the shoe, providing localized thermal management at the point of contact with the athlete's feet. This makes the cooling system feasible and cost-effective.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling shoe insert acts as an intermediary cooling device between the hot turf and the athlete's feet. Rather than attempting to cool the turf surface directly (which requires expensive infrastructure), the intermediary insert provides passive or active cooling at the interface, making thermal management feasible and practical without modifying the turf infrastructure.
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 shoe component achieves a dramatic temperature difference of 30-50°F between the athlete's feet and the artificial turf, providing effective thermal protection and comfort during high-temperature conditions.
Implementation Method 1
The shoe component achieves a dramatic temperature difference of 30-50°F between the athlete's feet and the artificial turf, providing effective thermal protection and comfort during high-temperature conditions
Data Source
AI summary
Provided herein are embodiments of a shoe component. The shoe component may include a toebox, an insole, an adhesive membrane, a thermal-resistant insert, a midsole, and an outsole. The insert may further include a footbed. The footbed may include an upper surface and a bottom surface. The insert may further include an upper laminate on the upper surface of the footbed and a lower laminate on the bottom surface of the footbed.