Snow Sock Thickness Sections for Traction and Fabric Reuse
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing snow socks waste excess fabric due to incomplete rolls and lack sufficient traction on ice and snow, necessitating improvements in design and performance.
Innovation Solution
The snow sock incorporates multiple thickness sections around its circumference to enhance traction, utilizing various materials and configurations to attach or enhance the covering, reducing fabric waste by reusing leftover material.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If fabric is supplied on rolls and cut to produce the covering portion, then the snow sock can be manufactured efficiently, but left over fabric is wasted because the needed length is greater than the last remaining amount on the roll
Solution Approach 1:
The covering is divided into multiple covering segments that can be attached to one another. This segmentation allows the use of multiple shorter fabric pieces (including leftover material from rolls) to collectively form the required circumferential length, eliminating the waste problem while maintaining manufacturing efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple covering segments are merged together through thickness sections to form the complete covering. This combining approach enables the utilization of fabric leftovers by integrating them into the overall structure, achieving both productivity and material efficiency
2Reliability
If traditional snow sock design is used, then the structure is simple, but traction performance on ice and snow is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
Thickness sections are added at specific locations around the circumference of the covering to provide enhanced traction where needed. This local enhancement approach improves overall traction performance while maintaining relative structural simplicity by only modifying specific areas rather than the entire structure
Solution Approach 2:
The snow sock combines different materials including fabric for the covering and additional materials for the thickness sections. This composite structure provides improved traction performance through the combined properties of different materials while managing structural complexity through functional integration
Data Source
AI summary
A snow sock is provided that includes a covering that extends in a circumferential direction. The covering has a thickness and an outer surface. A first thickness section is present and extends along a first arc length, and has a first thickness section inner surface that engages the outer surface of the covering. At least 50% of the first thickness section inner surface engages the outer surface of the covering and/or a first fill element. A second thickness section is also provided and is spaced from the first thickness section. The second thickness section extends in the circumferential direction along a second arc length, and has a second thickness section inner surface that engages the outer surface of the covering. At least 50% of the second thickness section inner surface engages the outer surface of the covering and/or a second fill element.