Patent Application
20240358121
The present disclosure generally relates to shoes configured to receive custom fit orthotics and techniques and methods for preparing the same.
A major problem in modern shoe design is the fact that most shoes are created to fit a hypothetical standard in order to maximize the potential market for the shoe. Unfortunately, no individual perfectly matches such a hypothetical standard, and accordingly, many existing shoes have a mediocre fit for most, a poor fit for some, and a perfect fit for very few. For example, many modern shoes exhibit fit issues that can be associated with nearly any part of the foot, including the sole and instep. Poorly fitting shoes can be uncomfortable to wear and can even cause health problems down the road. This problem holds true even for non-custom orthotic shoes that claim to address common comfort and fit issues.
Some shoe designs are more forgiving and can sometimes allow for minor misfitting without the user experiencing significantly more discomfort than other shoe designs. For example, sneakers and tennis shoes tend to have a large amount of material across the entire foot and contain significant padding. They also tend to have laces that span from the toe to the ankle of the shoe, allowing the user to account for minor misfitting in the shoe by adjusting the lace tightness at incremental points along the wide span of the laces, imparting a wide range of adjustability to the shoe.
Other shoe designs can often magnify fit issues. For example, women's flats and ballet shoes have a reputation for being uncomfortable and difficult to fit. These shoes have little if any padding, and typically have much less material overlaid across the sides and top of the wearer's foot. Furthermore, these shoe styles often lack laces or other fitting adjustment mechanisms to account for fit problems.
Past attempts to address these challenges have failed to account for the root cause of the issues giving rise to this problem or are too expensive to implement at scale. For instance, some shoes are made custom for each wearer. Creating individualized shoes customized for each wearer has typically proven too expensive to implement at scale since unique, custom shoes are often prepared from a unique, custom last for each customer. Unfortunately, it is not economically feasible to create a unique, custom last for each customer when designing a shoe that can be marketed to a wide audience.
Others have attempted to alter the fit of a non-custom shoe using an orthotic insole. However, existing orthotic insoles are not typically created in conjunction with the shoe they will be used within. As such, it can be difficult or impossible to fit some orthotic insoles into various styles of shoes. As an example, women's flats and ballet shoes are particularly prone to orthotic misfitting, because these styles of shoe do not contain as much material overlaid over the sides and top of the foot and have less additional internal space than a comparable sneaker or tennis shoe. As such, inserting an orthotic can cause the wearer's foot to become dislodged from the shoe when worn in conjunction with an orthotic. Furthermore, adjustments are typically only made to the width of the shoe to accommodate the orthotic. This not only degrades the fit of the flat, especially for women whose feet are narrower than the adjustment made, but also creates stylistic challenges by changing the more streamlined aesthetic of a ballet flat and limiting mass-market appeal. Common complaints from customers reference that these orthotic flats do not actually reflect the stylistic desires one seeks from a ballet flat.
In some embodiments the present disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing a women's shoe having a customer-specific fit from a non-customer specific last, the shoe being configured to receive a customer-specific orthotic. In some embodiments, the method comprises the steps of: receiving customer foot impression data; producing a custom orthotic from the customer foot impression data modified from the customer foot impression data based on known properties of the non-customer specific last; and lasting the shoe based on the known properties of the non-customer specific last and the customer-specific orthotic to yield a women's shoe having a customer-specific fit through a customer-specific orthotic.
In some configurations of the presently disclosed methods, the known properties of the non-customer specific last include one or more of the length of the non-customer specific last, the width of the non-customer specific last, and the depth of the non-customer specific last. In some configurations the width of the non-customer specific last is one or more of the forefoot width, the midfoot width, and the heelcup width. In still further configurations the known properties of the non-customer specific last include the depth of the last. In the same or different embodiment the depth of the last includes one or more of the heel cup depth and the forefoot depth.
In still further configurations of the present disclosure the modifications include at least one of: preparing the length of the orthotic to be about 65% of the customer impression length; preparing the forefoot width of the orthotic to be about 80% of the customer impression forefoot width; and preparing the heel cup width to be about 93% of the customer impression heel cup width.
In some embodiments the proprietary last has: a length of about 107% of the customer impression length; a forefoot width of about 103% of the customer impression forefoot width; and a heel cup width of about 95% of the customer impression heel cup width. In the same or different configuration the midfoot width of the orthotic is reduced by about 14.5% compared to the customer impression data, and wherein reducing the heel cup height of the orthotic is reduced by about 53% compared to the customer impression data.
In some embodiments the known properties of the non-customer specific last include the width of the last. In other embodiments the depth of the last includes an additional last depth of about 5-12 mm. In some of the configurations disclosed herein the additional depth of the last is substantially equal to the depth of the orthotic. In some embodiments the additional depth of the last is about 5-7 mm. In some configurations the customer specific women's shoe is a ballet style flat.
In still further embodiments, the present disclosure may relate to a customer specific ballet flat style lasted from a non-customer specific last; wherein: the customer specific ballet flat style shoe comprises a customer specific orthotic; and wherein the customer specific orthotic was prepared from modified customer impression data. For instance, in some configurations the non-customer specific last has a length about 107% the customer impression length and the resultant shoe has a length of about 107% the customer impression length. In some embodiments the non-customer specific last has a forefoot width about 103% the customer impression forefoot width and the resultant shoe has a forefoot width of about 103% the customer impression forefoot width. In some configurations the non-customer specific last has a heel cup width about 95% the customer impression heel cup width and the resultant shoe has a heel cup width of about 95% the customer impression heel cup width. In the same or different configuration the non-customer specific last has an additional depth of about 5-7 mm, the orthotic insole has a depth of about 5-7 mm and the shoe has an additional depth of about 5-7 mm.
Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a configuration where the customer specific ballet flat style shoe is prepared from customer impression data; such as wherein the customer impression data is modified before producing the orthotic or lasting the resultant shoe. In other configurations, the customer impression data is modified after producing the orthotic and the orthotic is then modified to correspond to the modified customer impression data.
In some particularly notable embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a specialized orthotic insole configured for use with a women's flat style shoe, the specialized orthotic insole comprising four layers, including: a leather liner layer; wherein the leather liner layer covers substantially the entire footbed of the flat style shoe; a first foam layer having a thickness ranging from about 1 mm to about 3 mm; wherein the first foam layer covers substantially the entire footbed of the flat style shoe; a second foam layer having a thickness ranging from about 1 mm to about 3 mm; wherein the second foam layer covers substantially the entire footbed of the flat style shoe; and an orthotic prepared from customer impression data, the orthotic modified from the customer impression data to accommodate the proprietary last.
By way of example, in some particularly useful embodiments the orthotic within the orthotic insole may have a length of about 65% the length of the customer impression data; a forefoot width of about 80% the forefoot width of the customer impression data; and a heel cup width of about 94% of the customer impression data for use with a shoe having a length about 107% the customer impression data; a forefoot width about 102-107% greater than the customer impression data; and a heel cup width of about 100-105% of the customer impression data.
In this manner, the present disclosure provides improvements over certain techniques and relates to orthotic insoles, shoes, and non-customer specific lasts that are useful for preparing systems including a customer specific orthotic that can be used to produce a customer specific shoe through the use of a non-customer specific last. By ensuring the orthotic is prepared from customer specific measurements and by modifying the measurements of the customer specific orthotic based on known properties of the last, a suitable orthotic and shoe having a customer specific fit can be prepared in a ballet flat style where previous techniques and methods have fallen short.
Various embodiments are depicted in the accompanying drawings for illustrative purposes and should in no way be interpreted as limiting the scope of the disclosure. Various features of different disclosed embodiments can be combined to form additional embodiments, which are part of this disclosure.
Various systems and methods relating to shoes configured to receive custom fit orthotics and techniques and methods for preparing the same are described below to illustrate various examples that may achieve one or more desired improvements. These examples are only illustrative and not intended in any way to restrict the general disclosure presented or the various aspects and features described herein. Furthermore, the general principles described herein may be applied to embodiments and applications other than those specifically discussed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. As such, this disclosure is not limited to any particular embodiment shown but is instead to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features that are disclosed or suggested.
Although certain aspects, advantages, and features are described herein, it is not necessary that any particular embodiment include or achieve any or all of those aspects, advantages, or features. Some embodiments may not achieve the advantages described herein but may achieve other advantages instead. Any structure, material, feature, or step in any embodiment can be used in place of, or in addition to, any structure, feature, or step in any other embodiment, or omitted. This disclosure contemplates all combinations of features from the various disclosed embodiments. No feature, structure, or step is essential or indispensable.
Existing women's shoes are manufactured with design considerations in mind that often undermine a shoe's comfort. For example, many of the most comfortable shoes tend to have significant amounts of material overlaid over the top and sides of the wearer's feet and include various types of padding or fastening mechanisms to tighten or otherwise alter the fit of the shoe for a particular wearer such as laces spanning from the toe to ankle as found in running shoes.
Conversely, many of the most fashionable women's shoe styles tend to utilize less material along the sides and top of the wearers foot, such as women's flats, women's dress shoes and ballet style shoes. Often, these shoes omit fastening or fit-altering mechanisms such as laces due to design considerations. On the occasions that these mechanisms are included, they are typically found in the form of straps or drawstrings which serve more to secure the shoe to the wearer than truly customize the shoe's fit. As such, these shoe designs can be uncomfortable and even painful to wear. Furthermore, these styles of shoes frequently lack any form of significant padding or orthotic support. Accordingly, comfort and style are frequently seen as mutually exclusive considerations. Unfortunately, these uncomfortable and ill-fitting designs can also damage the wearer's foot.
For instance, these design considerations commonly found in women's shoes also make it difficult to insert an orthotic insole in an attempt to improve the comfort of the shoe. For example, women's shoe styles such as ballet shoes, flats, heels, and the like have less material along the sides of the foot, and even less or a complete omission of material over the top of the foot. In this manner, inserting an insole into the shoe often alters the fit of the shoe, reducing the available space within the shoe and causing the wearer's foot to be pressed out of the top of the shoe or lift up inadvertently from the heel given the reduced depth, or can cause the sides of the shoe to bow outwards resulting in a poor fit due to at least one of the added thickness and width of the orthotic.
There exists on the market a large variety of products intended to help improve the comfort of shoes. Example products include women's insoles, comfort soles, foot cushions, moleskins, and the like. However, many of these purported solutions do not solve the root cause of the problem, and many can in fact worsen fit issues.
For these reasons, insoles, including custom orthotic insoles, typically do not solve the problem of ill-fitting shoes, especially ill-fitting fashion shoes, such as those prepared in a ballet flat style. As mentioned, shoes often do not fit as well as they could because they were designed to a hypothetical standard, rather than being custom tailored to a particular individual's foot. Although these shoes come in various sizes, the general shape and configuration of the shoe remains relatively constant throughout the size range since they were designed to a hypothetical standard and the lasts to produce the size range were graded to this standard. Insoles present a similar problem—most insoles come in various sizes, but the general shape and configuration of the insole remains relatively constant throughout the size range.
As such, the insole is not custom tailored to a particular individual's foot and can present problems such as uncomfortable pinch points or outcroppings. Frequently, these insoles are utilized in conjunction with a shoe that was designed separately and is not configured to receive an aftermarket insole. As such, these insoles can often worsen the fit of the shoe or are required to be modified in ways they were not designed to be modified in order to even fit in the shoe, reducing their benefits.
Accordingly, non-custom insoles often exacerbate the issue. It is unlikely that any individual will perfectly fit the insole since both the insole and shoe are made to a hypothetical standard, and as such, the insole cannot be expected to cure the shoe's fit problems arising from the same issue. Furthermore, many shoes are not designed for use with insoles. As such, the shoe will have a poor fit since neither the shoe nor the insole were designed for the customer's foot, and moreover, the shoe was not designed to receive the insole. As such, the customer cannot expect significant improvement in an attempt to cure the poor fit of the shoe in this manner.
Some customers have turned to inserting custom-fit orthotic insoles into their shoes in an attempt to increase comfort, to address biomechanical or other medical issues, and to prevent health issues down the road. However, custom insoles often fail to solve the problem. Even where the insole is custom tailored to a customer's foot, inserting the insole into a shoe that was not designed to receive the insole will not improve a shoe that already has a poor fit. Often times inserting a custom insole into a non-custom shoe alters the manufacturer's intended fit of the shoe, which only continues to exacerbate fit issues. It also can require altering the custom insole to even enable the custom insole to fit in the shoe, negating many of the beneficial properties of the custom insole. For instance, often even these custom insoles will reduce the available space within the shoe, causing customers to order a size larger than they would typically wear in an attempt to provide room for the orthotic and resulting in an awkward fit.
Custom shoes designed around a particular customer's foot partially solve the issue. For instance, some manufacturers will create an entire custom shoe from scratch for each customer. This is a reasonable solution to the problem of ill-fitting shoes because then the insole and the shoe are both created to fit the individual's foot. However, these production methods require the use of a unique, custom last that was prepared to take into consideration the customer's foot data for each pair. Even still, some custom shoes do not offer orthotic properties but instead create a last which has customization around the foot's general dimensions vs. the underside's arches and contours, so that a ‘custom’ shoe only addresses length and width fit issues without providing orthotic support. Regardless, this solution is not economically feasible at scale since implementing a unique, custom last for each shoe that will be created is a prohibitively expensive endeavor. It is also difficult to have the designs match customer expectations given most specialists in custom shoe production are orthotic, rather than fashion, focused and those who focus on fashion-forward custom shoes do not have expertise in orthotic support production methods.
The present disclosure generally relates to techniques and methods that, in some embodiments, may overcome the deficiencies discussed above. Described herein is a process for creating a custom fit orthotic insole and a corresponding shoe configured to receive the same. For example, in some embodiments the present disclosure relates to techniques and methods for preparing a shoe configured to receive a custom insole prepared from customer foot data. In some configurations the disclosed methods involve preparing a molded impression of the customer's foot. The molded impression is then used to prepare a tailor made orthotic specifically designed to fit the customer. The orthotic is also modified beyond the customer impression data in order to accommodate known properties of the last, such as its shape and depth. In some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to techniques and methods that can be used to prepare one or more of: a customer-specific shoe, insole, or shoe and insole system, from a non-custom last.
For instance, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, a shoe is prepared from a modified last that can be reused for other customers with the same size shoe. To allow the use of a non-customer specific last to create a customer-specific shoe configured to receive a customer-specific orthotic insole, a last may be created for a desired shoe style. The last may then be adjusted for orthotic depth or angling of the arch given the style of the shoe. In some configurations, the last may be specially configured to allow for the additional depth of the orthotic within the shoe to improve the comfort of the shoe without sacrificing aesthetic qualities. In some configurations the shoe may also be modified to increase cushioning in the heel counter to improve fit.
Notably, it has been found that various dimensions of the orthotic can be reduced or even eliminated without compromising the orthotic properties of the orthotic insole. Furthermore, certain modifications have been identified that improve the orthotic properties of orthotic insoles used within particular styles of women's shoes, such as women's flats. For instance, it has been found that a modified heelcup, width, depth, and length can result in a significantly improved fit for women's flats combined with an orthotic insole. In various implementations, the reductions or modifications may be generally consistent for each customer based on their size. In many of these embodiments, the orthotic properties are retained or improved by modifying the location and depth of the arch in a particular way for each individual customer.
In particular,
Step 101 includes obtaining or otherwise collecting customer impression data. Customer impression data can be obtained in a variety of manners. In some embodiments customer impression data can be obtained through the use of a foam stomp-box in which one or more portions of foam are supplied to a customer and where the customer inserts their foot into the one or more portions of foam to yield customer impression data. However, it will be appreciated that other techniques can also be used. For example, in some embodiments customer impression data may be obtained by photo-scanning the customer's foot, or by implementing any of a variety of other techniques known to those skilled in the art. In other embodiments impression data may be received from another source, such as a doctor's office or other suitable source.
In some configurations a foam stomp box is used to obtain customer impression data. A variety of foam stomp boxes may be utilized. For instance, an exemplary foam stomp box that can be used in conjunction with the present methods may include two foam rectangular boxes, each foam stomp box having an opening exposing foam. In various implementations, a user may press their foot through the opening in the box and into the foam contained therein to leave an impression of the customer's foot from which customer impression data can be obtained by scanning, molding, or otherwise using the customer impression left therein to obtain measurements of the customer's foot. In various configurations of the presently disclosed techniques and methods, the customer impression data is modified before a final orthotic is prepared from the customer impression data.
At element 233 the customer leans forward to press their toes down toward the bottom of the box. This step helps to ensure the front portion of the customer's foot forms an adequate impression by the foam material that is at least a few centimeters deep so that the contours of the customer's foot can be inspected. At element 234 the customer leans back to press their heel down toward the bottom of the box in a similar manner leaving an impression of the underside of the customer foot. The customer then lifts each foot from the stomp box, leaving their impression data embedded within the foam substrate. The stomp box can be used by a technician to obtain impression data or can be used by the customer following instructions and provided via mail or other shipping service. Once received, the impression data can later be leveraged to obtain morphological data concerning the customer's foot and can be utilized to create a customized shoe and orthotic insole.
With renewed reference to
In various embodiments, the orthotic is modified from the customer impression data in order to accommodate the last shape, the customer's foot data, and the shoe style. These adjustments to the orthotic, beyond what the customer impression data would suggest, allow the orthotic plus adhered comfort layers (such as layers of foam or other padding and/or wrapping) to fit comfortably into the fully lasted shoe along with the customer's foot without leading to awkward fit issues, such as the user's foot being pressed out of the top of the shoe due to the added thickness of the orthotic. These modifications and the production methodology form an inventive aspect of this disclosure.
The present disclosure makes reference to modifying customer impression data and to preparing an orthotic insole or the orthotic portion of an orthotic insole based on the modified customer impression data. Based on the foregoing it will be understood that as used herein, for a subject to be prepared from “modified customer data” it is not necessary that the customer impression data itself be modified before any article is manufactured, but instead, that the resultant article includes the disclosed modifications at the end of the production process. For instance, the article may be manufactured by modifying customer data then manufacturing the article based on the modified data, or that the article may be manufactured according to standard data and then modified to have dimensions corresponding to modified customer data. As such, it is not necessary that the customer data itself specifically be modified, but that the resultant article is manufactured having dimensions that correspond to what is referred to herein as modified customer data. For instance, it is within the scope of the present disclosure to modify customer data then 3D print a modified customer orthotic, as it is also within the scope of this disclosure to reduce portions of a previously manufactured orthotic to correspond to dimensions substantially identical to said modified customer data.
For instance,
These reductions are typically performed prior to printing the orthotic. However, it will be appreciated that the modifications may be made after the orthotic has been printed or otherwise produced without deviating from the scope of this disclosure. It has been found that removing these portions of the orthotic does not adversely affect the comfort or orthotic properties of the insert but does allow for the orthotic insole as a part of the finished insole to fit more securely into the shoe and provides a more comfortable fit when the customer's foot is inserted.
It is further worth noting that these modifications are made in conjunction with selection of the non-unique last and in accordance with the dimensions of the shoe being lasted. For example, the figures discussed herein are particularly suitable for women's' ballet flats prepared from a non-unique last having additional spacing configured to impart additional depth into the lasted shoe. In various configurations, the additional depth may be about 5 mm to about 25 mm.
In various exemplary configurations, the reduction process is completed before the orthotic insole is manufactured. For example, in some embodiments the reduction process is completed by adjusting the orthotic insole from the customer impression data before the orthotic insole is fabricated, 3D printed, or otherwise manufactured. In some specific configurations, the reduction process is completed in 3D modeling software before a reduced-size orthotic insole is 3D printed by adjusting the orthotic to be narrower than what the customer data might suggest.
For example, in various configurations the orthotic is prepared to have reduced dimensions compared to what the customer impression data may suggest. In various configurations, the reduced dimensions may be implemented at nearly any stage of the manufacturing process. In some exemplary configurations, the orthotic is prepared to have: a length of about 5% less than the customer impression data may suggest; a forefoot width of about 19% less than the customer impression data may suggest; a midfoot width of about 14.5% less than the customer impression data may suggest; a heel cup width about 8.3% less than the customer impression data may suggest; and a heel cup height about 53.3% less than the customer impression data may suggest. In some configurations, the orthotic may be prepared to have a heel pitch or drop of about 7 mm where typical orthotics are prepared with 0-2 mm of drop. In various configurations the orthotic insole is prepared to have a thickness of about 1.5 mm at the forward, central tip of the orthotic and a thickness of about 4.5 mm at the heel cup. As used herein, the terms “what customer data may suggest” means a standard orthotic having the dimensions substantially equal to the customer impression data. For instance, where the customer impression data has a forefoot width of about 83 mm, customer data may suggest an orthotic width within a range of about 74 mm to about 84 mm. It will be appreciated that length may differ on a wider scale. For example, in some embodiments discussed herein a customer impression data set may include an impression length of about 233 mm. In such an embodiment, a standard orthotic may have a length ranging from about 160 mm to about 235 mm. As discussed herein, a reduced orthotic may have a length of about 152 mm based on this customer impression data. It will be appreciated that the inventive orthotic of the present disclosure has substantially reduced dimensions compared to a typical orthotic.
Furthermore, the orthotic of the present disclosure is produced in conjunction with a proprietary but non-unique last that can be used for a variety of customers to last a specific style of women's ballet flat.
It has been found that the presently disclosed measurements and manufacturing schemes produce a higher quality orthotic capable of being used within a women's flat without compromising the orthotic properties of the insert or the aesthetic appearance of the resultant shoe. For instance, the shoe can be lasted to accommodate the additional depth of the orthotic. Furthermore, it has been found that allowing for additional width in the specified areas (such as the midfoot arch and optionally the heel) allows for increased orthotic properties while not substantially altering portions of the shoe that are commonly visible when the shoe is worn. For instance, the heel padding and midfoot width are typically not visible when the shoe is worn. Furthermore, by utilizing a shorter orthotic, the orthotic does not need to rest under the forefoot of the user, which can result in pressing the toes up and out of the top of the flat. In this manner, the inventor of the present disclosure has found a mechanism to produce a customer-specific orthotic and a custom fit shoe in an appealing style that is typically not suitable for use with orthotics.
Step 103 includes creating the shoe utilizing a proprietary last. As used herein, a proprietary last differs from a custom last at least in that a custom last is prepared for one customer and used to prepare a single shoe or a single pair of shoes. Conversely, a proprietary last is a last that may include some custom elements to the shoe design in order to accommodate the orthotic insole's insertion but can be used for one or more customers to prepare more than one specific size of shoe suitable for only one individual.
Referring back to
As one example,
In some embodiments, each foam layer 904, 903 may have a thickness ranging from about 0.5 mm to about 8 mm, such as about 1 mm, about 2 mm, about 4 mm, or about 8 mm. The thickness of various portions of the foam layer can be altered to improve the fit and comfort of the resultant shoe. For instance, in some configurations, one or more of the arch and shank areas can be reduced down to about 0.2 mm to fit between adjacent comfort layers more comfortably. Likewise, the toe portion of the high-density foam layer may be reduced from about 4 mm to about 2 mm. By reducing these portions of the high-density foam in this manner, it has been found that the resultant shoe fits more comfortably on a customer's foot, and the shoe is less prone to pressing the customer's foot out of the shoe due to misfitting of the inserted orthotic. In some configurations the foam layers can be sculpted or contoured to further improve the fit of the shoe. The sculpting or contouring may be performed based on customer impression data.
As shown in
Furthermore, by laying the orthotic insole 902 beneath the leather liner 905, a first foam layer 904, a second foam layer 903, and the orthotic insole 902 the orthotic properties of the shoe are improved, and moreover, the structural integrity of the shoe is improved because the edges of the adhered layers are not subject to surface abrasion through everyday use of the shoe.
The full leather sock liner 905 can be configured to cover the entire footbed and leave the finished orthotic with a pleasant outward appearance and texture. Although the present disclosure refers to this element as a full leather sock liner, it will be appreciated that a variety of materials may be substituted for leather without deviating from the scope of this disclosure including various leatherette materials, as well as organic or synthetic fiber based materials such as cotton, canvas textile, polyester, nylon and the like.
As can be seen from the foregoing figures, the orthotic of the present disclosure is smaller than traditional orthotic insoles—having a smaller length, width, and height than a traditional orthotic insole while maintaining a thickness in the arch region of the foot where orthotic support is particularly important.
As another example, Table 1 below provides some example measurements of one particular orthotic prepared in accordance with the present disclosure, such as the orthotic depicted in
One or more of the orthotic and the orthotic insole may be modified as discussed above to better fit into the shoe based on known properties of the orthotic, the shoe, and the last used to produce the shoe.
Specifically, in some configurations the shoe is prepared from a relatively narrow last with a relatively narrow toe section. It is also known that typical orthotics tend to cup the foot and increase the necessary width of the shoe that the orthotic will be used within. As such, the orthotic utilized in the present methods can be narrowed along the medial edges and heel to improve the fit of the orthotic within the narrowly lasted shoe.
The inventors of the present disclosure have found that orthotic properties tend to scale with foot size, such as the heel cup size. Further, because a large portion of the orthotic properties come from altering the arch height and contours, these changes can be imparted into the orthotic, beyond what the customer impression data may suggest, without adversely affecting the orthotic properties of the insert. In fact, by reducing the use of excess material the fit of the orthotic is improved as well as the orthotic properties of the overall shoe by reducing material bunching and by improving the overall fit of the shoe.
It has been found that the foregoing methods are particularly applicable to certain styles of shoe. For instance, women's flats and ballet style shoes are particularly prone to misfitting and can be particularly problematic to fit orthotic insoles within. This can be due to the style in which these shoes are manufactured. For instance, women's flats and ballet style shoes have less material along the sides, and especially along the top of the wearer's foot. As such, these styles of shoes are particularly prone to misfitting when an orthotic is inserted within the shoe and raises the internal floor of the shoe, causing the wearer's foot to become dislodged.
In some embodiments, the foregoing production methods and orthotic fitting techniques can be implemented with respect to the manufacture of a ballet style flat as shown in
These features are further depicted in
As used herein the term “orthotic” is generally understood to mean the principally orthotic agent providing the orthotic effect of an overall insert, such as an orthotic or reduced orthotic, except where context would indicate otherwise. Likewise, as used herein, the terms “orthotic insert” and “orthotic insole” are intended to mean an orthotic combined with layers or wrapping that is intended to be inserted into a shoe.
The present disclosure makes reference to modified customer data. It will be appreciated that the customer data itself need not be modified, but rather, the resultant article is manufactured having dimensions that are consistent with the measurements referred to herein as modified customer data. For instance, in some configurations, an article may be manufactured according to standard or different dimensions or measurements and modified to have dimensions corresponding to what is referred to herein as modified customer data. Such an approach is within the scope of the present disclosure, as would be modifying the customer data and then manufacturing an article according to those modified dimensions.
Conditional language, such as “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements, and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.
Conjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, and Z,” unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with the context as used in general to convey that an item, term, etc. may be either X, Y, or Z. Thus, such conjunctive language is not generally intended to imply that certain embodiments require the presence of at least one of X, at least one of Y, and at least one of Z.
Unless otherwise explicitly stated, articles such as “a” or “an” should generally be interpreted to include one or more described items. Accordingly, phrases such as “a device configured to” are intended to include one or more recited devices. Such one or more recited devices can also be collectively configured to carry out the stated recitations. For example, “a processor configured to carry out recitations A, B, and C” can include a first processor configured to carry out recitation A working in conjunction with a second processor configured to carry out recitations B and C.
The terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and the like are synonymous and are used inclusively, in an open-ended fashion, and do not exclude additional elements, features, acts, operations, and so forth. Likewise, the terms “some,” “certain,” and the like are synonymous and are used in an open-ended fashion. Also, the term “or” is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so that when used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the term “or” means one, some, or all of the elements in the list. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the terms affix or secure are used herein to describe coupling various elements of the apparatus to one another. In various configurations those elements may be connected directly, coupled via intervening structure, or the various elements can be formed from a contiguous piece of material.
The terms “approximately,” “about,” and “substantially” as used herein represent an amount close to the stated amount that still performs a desired function or achieves a desired result. For example, in some embodiments, as the context may dictate, the terms “approximately”, “about”, and “substantially” may refer to an amount that is within less than or equal to 10% of the stated amount. The term “generally” as used herein represents a value, amount, or characteristic that predominantly includes, or tends toward, a particular value, amount, or characteristic. As an example, in certain embodiments, as the context may dictate, the term “generally parallel” can refer to something that departs from exactly parallel by less than or equal to 20 degrees and/or the term “generally perpendicular” can refer to something that departs from exactly perpendicular by less than or equal to 20 degrees. Anatomical terms of location as used herein may be understood to reference the device refer to the orientation of the device when mounted on a user. Elastic and elasticity may be understood to refer to a material's ability to resist a deforming influence and return to its original shape and size upon removal of the deforming influence. Unless indicated otherwise, measurements are typically provided in inches. For instance, 7.5″ as used herein may be understood to refer to seven and a half inches. As used herein, exemplary may be understood to refer to serving as an example of a particular embodiment.
Overall, the language of the claims is to be interpreted broadly based on the language employed in the claims. The claims are not to be limited to the non-exclusive embodiments and examples that are illustrated and described in this disclosure, or that are discussed during the prosecution of the application.
This application claims the benefit of, and priority to, U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/498,969 filed on Apr. 28, 2023 which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63498969 | Apr 2023 | US |
