360° Tilt Cleat Assembly Reducing Joint Stress
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Solution Overview
Problem
Athletic shoes currently fail to adequately minimize stress and impact on muscles, joints, and ligaments during various athletic movements, leading to frequent injuries such as knee cartilage and ligament damage, and fractures, due to inadequate interaction with playing surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A cleat assembly with 360° tiltability and flexibility, featuring a post assembly with a biasing member, such as a spring, that allows the cleat body to absorb and distribute forces during sudden changes in direction, thereby reducing stress on joints and muscles, and is customizable based on user weight and terrain.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the cleat assembly is made rigid to provide stable traction on the playing surface, then adhesion and traction are improved, but stress and impact on muscles, joints, and ligaments increase during sudden movements
Solution Approach 1:
The cleat assembly incorporates a post assembly with a biasing member (spring) that enables dynamic movement. The post assembly can tilt and rotate relative to the sole, allowing the cleat body to adapt its position during athletic movements. This dynamic structure absorbs impact forces and reduces stress transmission to the wearer's joints and muscles while maintaining traction through the biasing member's elastic properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The biasing member changes the mechanical parameters of the cleat assembly by providing elastic deformation under load. The spring constant and tilt angle parameters allow the cleat to adjust its stiffness and orientation dynamically, optimizing both traction and shock absorption characteristics during different phases of athletic movement.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the cleat assembly allows flexibility to reduce impact on joints and muscles, then injury risk is minimized, but adhesion to the playing surface deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The dynamic post assembly maintains adhesion through controlled movement rather than rigid fixation. The biasing member ensures the cleat body remains engaged with the playing surface while allowing necessary tilting and rotating movements, thus preserving traction while reducing impact transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleat assembly is segmented into distinct components (sole, post assembly, cleat body) that can move independently. This segmentation allows the cleat body to flex and tilt relative to the sole, absorbing impact while the base maintains connection to the playing surface for continued adhesion.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the cleat assembly is designed with 360° tiltability and biasing members to absorb forces, then injury prevention is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The 360° tiltability is achieved through the biasing member's elastic properties rather than complex mechanical joints. The spring-based post assembly naturally allows multi-directional movement within its elastic limits, providing injury protection through simple elastic deformation rather than complex articulated mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The post assembly functions as a flexible structural element that bends and tilts in multiple directions. This flexible design replaces rigid, complex joint mechanisms with a simpler elastic structure that achieves the same protective function through material flexibility and geometric configuration.
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 cleat assembly effectively reduces the risk of injury by absorbing and distributing forces, allowing for better traction and flexibility, thereby enhancing athletic performance and reducing the severity of injuries, particularly in the knees and lower back, while allowing for quicker recovery from sudden movements.
Implementation Method 1
a post assembly with 360° tiltability, relative to the sole; and wherein the cleat body also has 360° tiltability, relative to the sole based on the cleat body being disposed on the post assembly
Implementation Method 2
a post assembly comprising a biasing member
Implementation Method 3
adhesion to the playing surface (e.g. natural grass or turf) is important and should be considered both in translation and rotational
Data Source
AI summary
An athletic shoe comprising an upper portion; a sole; and a cleat assembly comprising a base for coupling to the sole, wherein the cleat assembly includes a post assembly having a biasing member; and a cleat body, wherein the cleat body is disposed on the post assembly; wherein the post assembly has 360° tiltability, relative to the sole; wherein the cleat body also has 360° tiltability, relative to the sole. A cleat assembly for an athletic shoe is also provided.