Custom Shoe Insole Manufacturing Using Test Pad Templates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for manufacturing shoe insoles struggle to accurately adjust the hardness, thickness, and size of two-pack liquid silicon rubber to fit individual users' feet, making it difficult to create effective arch support and correction for foot sole distortions.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of test pads applied to a user's foot to determine appropriate regions for insole pads, which are then applied to a custom-made insole frame conforming to the foot's three-dimensional shape, ensuring correct placement and adjustment for optimal arch support and foot correction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If two-pack liquid silicon rubber is used to manufacture arch support, then the hardness, thickness and size can be adjusted by changing the kind and/or amount of curing agent, but it is difficult to adjust these parameters to be appropriate for the user
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies test pads to the user's foot before manufacturing the final insole. This preliminary action allows the practitioner to determine the optimal positions, shapes, and sizes of pads that will provide effective arch support. The foot sole form is taken with the test pads already positioned, so the actual manufacturing process simply replicates this pre-determined configuration, ensuring precise fit without requiring complex adjustments of rubber properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a foot sole form that copies the three-dimensional shape of the user's foot, including the positions where test pads were applied. This copy is then used as a template to manufacture the final insole frame and pad configuration. By copying the proven effective arrangement from the test phase, the system achieves precise customization without needing to adjust material properties during manufacturing.
2Adaptability or versatility
If expert observation is required to judge whether the shoe insole is appropriate for the user, then the insole can be customized, but it is difficult to manufacture the effective insole without expert involvement
Solution Approach 1:
The test pad application serves as a preliminary action that simplifies the manufacturing process. By determining pad positions and configurations during the test phase on the actual foot, the system captures all the expertise needed in advance. The subsequent manufacturing process becomes a straightforward replication of this pre-determined configuration, reducing the need for expert involvement during actual production while maintaining high customization quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows the practitioner to perform the assessment and configuration themselves using the test pad method, rather than requiring specialized expert observation during manufacturing. The test pad approach provides self-contained guidance for determining the correct insole configuration, making the process more accessible and reducing dependency on expert judgment during the manufacturing phase.
3Manufacturing precision
If test pads are applied to determine appropriate regions, then correct pad placement can be achieved, but additional steps are required in the manufacturing process
Solution Approach 1:
The test pad application performs the complex task of determining optimal pad positions in advance. This preliminary action creates a physical template (the foot sole form with marked pad positions) that guides the subsequent manufacturing process. While it adds an initial step, it eliminates the need for complex measurement and calculation during manufacturing, actually simplifying and speeding up the production phase by providing clear, pre-determined guidance.
Solution Approach 2:
The foot sole form with test pad positions serves as a template that is copied to create the final insole. This copying process is straightforward and systematic, allowing for efficient reproduction of the optimized configuration. The template approach standardizes the transfer of design information from the test phase to manufacturing, improving efficiency by eliminating repeated complex decision-making processes.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of manufacturing a shoe insole includes an upper cover layer and a lower cover layer conforming in shape to the inner bottom of the shoe, and an insole body retained between the upper cover layer and the lower cover layer, taking a foot sole form to which pads are applied to selected regions of a sole taking a foot sole form; manufacturing an insole frame having a shape conforming to a three-dimensional shape of the foot sole form and applying insole pads to an upper surface of the insole frame, based on positions of marks of the test pads of the foot sole form to which the pads are applied, wherein the insole body includes the insole frame to which the insole pads are applied.