Objective With the growing awareness of people’s health, running has become increasingly favored by the public. As an important part of the sports market, technological innovation in running shoes has become the focus of industry research. Continuously promoting the innovation of running shoe products is the key factor to establish the competitive advantage of enterprises. In this process, patents serve as effective technical information carriers, and their embedded technical characteristics contribute to promoting technological innovation. Based on the systematic analysis of running shoes patents, this paper explores their technological development trends and core conflicts, which provides a reference for technological innovation and product optimization of the running shoes industry.

Analysis Firstly, the Derwent Innovations Index database is used as the data source to retrieve the patents of running shoes, revealing their quantity and technical distribution characteristics. Secondly, by taking the number of running shoes patents as the main index, and combining it with the S-curve of TRIZ (Teoriya Resheniya Izobretatelskikh Zadatch, TRIZ) theory, the technical maturity of running shoes products is predicted, and the trend orientation of running shoes products in the process of function realization and improvement development is analyzed by evolutionary law. Finally, the key problems in the sample patents are analyzed by using the theory of technology conflict resolution, and the essential conflicts are explored. The practical problems are standardized based on the general engineering parameters, and the corresponding invention principles are determined by referring to the conflict resolution matrix. A comprehensive analysis is then conducted on the application of general engineering parameters and invention principles.

Conclusion The number of patents on running shoes shows a significant growth trend, indicating a good development outlook. Elastic soles and structural shapes are hot areas of research, which also involve technical fields such as uppers and shafts, sole materials, and anti-skid and wear resistance. The key technology of running shoes is likely to be in the growth stage of technology life cycle, with the potential to transition into maturity. Based on the analysis of evolutionary rules, the development trend of running shoes technology presents a multi-dimensional orientation of energy optimization, dynamic adaptation, synergy, differential evolution, intelligent system, microstructure and coordinated development. Due to the core functional requirements of supporting and protecting the foot, the general engineering parameters with high application frequency of running shoes include the structural stability, adaptability, versatility and reliability. The invention principle of local quality is an important way to achieve the usability goal of running shoes. The high-frequency invention principles include dynamics, composite materials, feedback and intermediaries. Prioritizing the application of high-frequency principles is also an effective way to improve R&D efficiency and accelerate technological progress. Patent analysis shows that the technological innovation of running shoes can be carried out around the aspects of basic performance optimization, ecological intelligence integration and green sustainable development. The direction of technological innovation in line with the evolutionary trend of industrial technology will help enterprises to enhance their core competitiveness and meet the diversified needs of consumers.