Before getting to the design of the titular Shoe, let's talk
about "lower legs". Keep in mind that, long long ago,
when
fish first started crawling onto land, they featured a
particular physical "leg" structure that has been pretty-
much retained (in terms of key bones) ever since. But
different
evolutionary paths did different things.
As a simple example, look at the hind leg of a dog.
There
is a "thigh" section, a "calf" section, and a LONG "foot
section"; the dog actually walks on the equivalent of "tip-
toe". The hind legs of most 4-legged mammals are
similar. Humans are unusual in this regard almost
certainly because we are bipeds; we need to have that
whole "foot section" on the ground almost all the time,
for
stability (and also less effort expended while standing).
Now look at a different biped, a bird's leg. The thigh
section is practically invisible under the feathers (see
link). The calf section and foot section are similar to
that
of the dog, but the tip-toe portion has become
practically a
foot-section all by itself, with widely splayed toes for
stability and less effort expended while standing.
As it happens, birds are directly descended from the
"therapod" family of dinosaurs; they survived the
Extinction of their larger cousins such as T.Rex and
velociraptor. It should be noted that various fictional
works have tended to exaggerate the size of
velociraptors;
they were typically not much bigger than a human 5-year
old (not counting the tail) (see link). However, one of
the other ancient bird-cousins, "deinonychus", was
perhaps as big as a 12-year-old (not counting the tail)
(see link) --and rather more dangerous. It is not
impossible that the two species have simply been
confused in those fictional works.
Now let's look at a particular type of existing stilts,
known as
"drywall stilts" (linked). These have adjustable height
(but
no more than a meter total). The key thing to note here
is
that, unlike a more-common stilt design, these strap to
the calf-section of the leg, which frees the user's hands
for
various other things.
Let us therefore start with the calf-strap for this Idea's
stilts. The frame of the stilt descends to where the
FOOT
can be strapped in place, also. This place needs to be as
comfortable as a shoe, of course. There is either a very
solid
and strong angle-piece here, or a limited-range hinge,
between the metal that goes up to the calf-strap, and
the
metal that goes under the foot.
The metal that goes under the foot keeps on going.
What
we are doing here is simulating that long "foot section"
described above for a dog. So, if you stand straight
from
foot-straps, your foot must be at an angle so that that
metal foot-section can have only its end touch the
ground.
Likely anyone who was ever comfortable wearing high-
heel
shoes will know about the angle I'm describing here.
Alternately, if you bend your knee, then your foot need
not
be at a high-heel-shoe angle, because the calf-section of
your leg will no longer be vertical. This will also make it
easier to get your center-of-mass over the parts of the
stilts that actually touch the ground (the tip-toe section).
Meanwhile, because we recognize it could be tiring to try
to walk around with the knees bent all the time, we could
consider a solid extension of the stilt from the calf-strap
up-at-an angle (angling away from the calf and behind
you,
not along the calf's length). This solid section of the stilt
could end in
a
cushioned support for one buttock. And since you are
wearing two stilts, you can sit both your buttocks
somewhat comfortably even while your knees are bent
and,
technically, you are still standing on the tip-toe sections
of
the stilts.
Now for the final touch. Like a bird or velociraptor, we
want anyone wearing these stilts to have stability. So
we
add the equivalent of splayed toes at the bottom of the
stilt. One of those toes, of course, can end in a huge
"terrible claw" capable of disemboweling anyone who
doesn't "look up to
you" properly.... That's why these are called
"Deinonychus
Stilt-Shoes", of course!