Patent Application
20140012406
The basic structure surrounding the manufacture and retail of apparel (e.g., clothing, articles of footwear, accessories, and the like) has changed little over the past several decades. Under this structure, a piece of apparel is produced in one location and sold in another. These two locations are removed from each other and rarely interact beyond shipping products therebetween. For instance, shoes are typically designed and built to completion prior to being shipped to a retail facility (e.g., shoe store). As such, potential customers are offered a limited selection of shoe designs at the retail facility, even when the tastes of the potential customers may vary dramatically. As such, employing emerging technologies, such as rapid manufacturing would allow buyer-selected three-dimensional (3D) designs to customize apparel within a retail facility (e.g., shoe store) and would enhance the potential customer's experience when shopping for and selecting the apparel.
Aspects of the present invention relate to rapid manufacturing (RM) customization of footwear components to improve a customer's retail experience by allowing the customer to select and customize an article of footwear within a retail facility (e.g., shoe store). Customizing the article of footwear might include, for instance, selecting a three-dimensional (3D) design or functional pattern (collectively, “embellishments”) to be rapidly manufactured and applied to the article of footwear in the retail facility. The embellishment is selected from a catalog of predefined images (e.g., logos, symbols, team emblems, and the like) and/or words (e.g., names of people, brand names, expressions, dates, and the like), submitted by the customer in a digital format, or drawn on a computing device/tablet device within the context of the retail facility. If the embellishment is selected from a catalog, a barcode or item code corresponding to the embellishment is scanned or input by an operator, typically behind a sales counter, and an order for the customized article of footwear is established. After the order is received by a computing device, RM instructions are provided to an RM device. The RM device, in turn, manufactures the embellishment. The embellishment is then applied to the article of footwear. Upon completion of the order within the retail facility, the customized article of footwear is presented to the customer at the sales counter. As such, aspects of the present invention allow a customer to enter the retail facility, place an order to customize an article of footwear, or any other piece of apparel, and obtain the customized article of footwear in a matter of minutes from the initial entry, where the customized article of footwear is in a ready-to-wear condition.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Illustrative aspects of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, which are incorporated by reference herein and wherein:
The subject matter of aspects of the present invention is described with specificity herein to meet statutory requirements. However, the description itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent. Rather, the inventors have contemplated that the claimed subject matter might also be embodied in other ways, to include different elements or combinations of elements similar to the ones described in this document, in conjunction with other present or future technologies. Moreover, although the terms “step” and/or “block” may be used herein to connote different elements of methods employed, the terms should not be interpreted as implying any particular order among or between various steps herein disclosed unless and except when the order of individual steps is explicitly described.
Aspects of the present invention generally relate to enhancing a potential customer's retail experience when selecting and purchasing a piece of apparel. More particularly, aspects of the present invention relate to on-site customization of an article of footwear based on the potential customer's preferences.
In one aspect, the present invention relates to a system for manufacturing a custom footwear component in a retail facility. Initially, the system includes an input device configured to receive an order for the custom footwear component. The custom footwear component comprises one or more embellishments selected by a customer. A computing device is configured to receive the order from the input device and convert the order into rapid manufacturing (RM) instructions. An RM device receives the RM instructions from the computing device and manufactures the one or more embellishments.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method of incorporating a custom footwear component comprising one or more embellishments into an article of footwear.
An order is received at an order interface rendered by a computing device. The order includes specifications that pertain to the one or more embellishments. The specifications of the order are converted into RM instructions. The RM instructions are communicated to an RM device. The RM instructions are executed by the RM device to manufacture the one or more embellishments. The one or more embellishments are applied to the article of footwear.
In yet another aspect, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing custom footwear components. An order for one or more embellishments is received in a retail facility. The one or more embellishments comprise a three-dimensional description of one or more customizations, predetermined designs, functional patterns, or any combination thereof. The one or more embellishments further include embellishment options. The options comprise at least one of size, color, and relief height. The specifications of the order are converted into RM instructions. The RM instructions are communicated to and executed by an RM device, at the retail facility. The RM device manufactures powder sintered custom footwear components that resemble the received order.
Having briefly described an overview of aspects of the present invention, an exemplary operating environment suitable for implementing aspects of the present invention is described below.
As used herein, the phrase “retail facility” is not meant to be limiting, but may encompass a wide range of accommodations for housing the equipment necessary for RM customization of footwear components. The retail facility may be a store, a stand-alone structure, a room that shares at least one wall with another room, a private residence, a public area, a moveable unit, etc. By way of example, the retail facility may be a vehicle that travels to sporting events or concerts, which is capable of customizing footwear components with designs that are relevant to the venue where the vehicle is presently located.
As used herein, the term “embellishments” generally refers to a three-dimensional visual or functional impression, such as designs, patches, inserts, decorative components, name tags, dates, pouches, lace holders, snap fittings, mounts for accessories, functional patterns, logos, multi-color images (e.g., high school mascots), monotone images, symbols (e.g., representing a holiday, season, or special day of the year), indicia of an organization (e.g., private company, charity, or social group), text, phrases in one or more languages, expressions, names, team emblems, strings of alpha-numeric characters, ornamentation, decoration, diagrams, pictures, photos, markings, or any combination thereof. By way of example, a single embellishment may be a number donned by a famous athlete in conjunction with the name of the athlete above or below the number. The embellishment may also serve a functional purpose such as providing stability or support in a particular area of the footwear that is customized for a particular person.
One particular process for forming the embellishments in accordance with aspects described herein is laser sintering. This process involves receiving a three-dimensional design or description of the embellishment in a data file (i.e., a Computer Aided Design (CAD) file). The rapid manufacturing (RM) device, such as a laser sintering fabrication equipment, reads the data file and forms the three-dimensional object of the design, such as a name tag, logo, or functional structure for application to an article of footwear, using a high powered laser to fuse powders or small particles of plastic, metal, or ceramic. The laser selectively fuses powdered material by scanning cross-sections generated from the data file or a scan of the part on the surface of a powder bed. After each cross-section is scanned, the powder bed is lowered by one layer thickness, a new layer of material is applied on top, and the process is repeated until the part is completed. As can be appreciated, any rapid manufacturing process can be utilized to achieve RM customization of footwear components in accordance with aspects of the present invention.
The use of RM customization of footwear components is significantly less expensive than whole shoe or whole footbed RM products. Accordingly, the price point is realistic for casual consumers. For example, whole shoe RM products may include large parts that take up a lot of volume in the RM build chamber and make each batch inefficient in packing the build density of the build chamber. Benefits of RM customization of footwear components include reasonable prices for smaller parts. Further, batch to batch variability is much less important for components compared to whole shoe or whole footbed RM products. Still further, components are flatter and smaller parts, which make them much stronger than whole shoe or whole footbed RM products because the components are generally flat parts that can be built horizontally, rather than the x, y, and z axis build utilized for whole shoe or whole footbed RM products. In addition, building the components in a horizontal plan makes the build in the chamber more efficient. Since the build chamber is filled more efficiently, components are cheaper to produce. RM customization of footwear components does not require molds needed to create parts or an inventory of parts, allowing custom shapes and colors to be created on demand. Application of components into predetermined areas eliminates the potentially problematic issues associated with fatigue and break in whole shoe or whole footbed RM products. The components can be applied in low stress zones and locations that increase comfort. Components also do not require the need for scanning time, allowing a consumer to select from an estimated fit menu. Retail stores could have try-on samples, allowing a consumer to try prebuilt examples with options already assembled in the consumer's size to select the component that meets that consumer's preferences.
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Further, the components of the exemplary system architecture 100 may be interconnected by any method known in the relevant field. For instance, the computing device 110, the touchscreen monitor 112, the scanning device 120, the tablet device 130, the data store 140, the input port 150, the RM device 160, and the server 170 may be operably coupled via a distributed computing environment that includes multiple computing devices coupled with one another via one or more networks. In aspects, a touchless gesture device is used in place of, or in addition to, the touchscreen monitor 112. In aspects, the network (not shown) may include, without limitation, one or more local area networks (LANs) and/or wide area networks (WANs). Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, businesses, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets, and the Internet. Accordingly, the network is not further described herein.
The computing device 110, the scanning device 120, the tablet device 130, the server 170, and the remote client devices 180 shown in
The touchscreen monitor 112 is communicatively coupled to the computing device 110 and is capable of presenting an order interface 114 rendered by the computing device 110. In other aspects, the touchscreen monitor 112 is configured to render and/or present a user-interface (UI) display thereon for displaying other information, such as a purchasing screen. Generally, the touchscreen monitor 112 may be configured as any presentation component that is capable of presenting information to a user, such as a digital monitor, electronic display panel, touch-screen, analog set top box, plasma screen, and the like. In one exemplary aspect, the touchscreen monitor 112 is configured to present graphical content, such as a UI display that includes a display area populated with representations of an embellishment and an article of footwear.
The data store 140 is generally configured to store information associated with user-submitted orders and/or specifications included therein. In various aspects, such information may include, predefined embellishments selectable by a customer, customer-provided embellishments submitted by a customer, RM instructions 162 associated with embellishments, and the like. In addition, the data store 140 may be configured to be searchable for suitable access of the stored information. For instance, the data store 140 may be searchable by the computing device 110 when rendering the order interface 114 or when converting the order into the RM instructions 162. The content and volume of such information are not intended to limit the scope of aspects of the present invention in any way. Further, though illustrated as a single, independent component, the data store 140 may, in fact, be a plurality of databases.
In operation, an input device initially receives an order for a custom footwear component comprising one or more embellishments selected by a customer from one or more mechanisms. After the order is received by the input device, a computing device 110 is configured to receive the order from the input device. In one aspect, the scanning device 120 is configured to scan and communicate a barcode or item code 122 to the computing device 110, where the barcode is associated with an embellishment that is predefined and published in a catalog (e.g., digital catalog, print catalog, three-dimensional sample book, or display products for trial fitting). The barcode may additionally contain a code to identify a location, an orientation, and an application type for application of the embellishment. For example the location could specify that the embellishment should be applied to the quarters, the tongue top, or heel. In another aspect, the input port 150, which is operably connected to the computing device 110, receives and reads the computer-readable media 154 provided by the customer, where one or more customer-provided embellishments 152 reside on the computer-readable media 154. By way of example, and not limitation, the computer-readable media 154 may comprise flash memory, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), CDROM, digital versatile disks (DVDs) or other optical or holographic media, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to encode desired information and be accessed by computing device 110.
In another aspect, the computing device 110 receives the embellishment to be incorporated in the order from a tablet device 130. Typically, the tablet device 130 is operably connected to the computing device 110 and is configured allow an operator to draw one or more original embellishments 132 thereon. Once the original embellishments 132 are drawn, they can then be transmitted to the computing device 110 for incorporation into the order. Or, the tablet device 130 may be configured to trace a tangible image provided by the customer, wherein the traced image is communicated to the computing device 110 as the embellishment to be incorporated into the order. In an exemplary aspect, a tangible physical object (e.g., a face) is scanned by a scanning device (not shown in
In yet another aspect, the server 170 receives orders entered by customers at a web site hosted by the server 170. The customers may reach the web site via the remote client devices 180 and select embellishments within an order interface supported by the web site. In particular instances, the order interface supported by the web site is configured to render options related to shoe sizes and models, to present a display area for locating one or more selected embellishments relative to an article of footwear, and to identify selections of the options made by the customer. Upon the customer entering the order at the order interface within the web site hosted by the server 170, the server 170 may distribute the order to the computing device 110 at the retail facility that is selected by the customer, or most proximate to a residence/workplace of the customer.
In one aspect, the order interface supported by the web site accepts customer-provided embellishments 142. When the server 170 identifies that the customer-provided embellishments 142 are entered at the order interface, a content filter 172 may be invoked to ensure that the customer-provided embellishments 142 do not contain offensive material, indicia of competitors, or obscene subject matter. If the customer-provided embellishments 142 satisfy the content filter 172, the server 170 is further configured send the customer-provided embellishments 142 to the data store 140 that persists the customer-provided embellishments 142 for pre-defined timeframe before allowing the computing device 110 to access and process the customer-provided embellishments 142. Securing the customer-provided embellishments 142 in the data store 140 for the pre-defined timeframe allows for additional automated or manual review of the customer-provided embellishments 142 to ensure no issues may arise if the customer-provided embellishments 142 are affixed on a piece of apparel that also bears a logo or name of the customization company.
After the order is received by any of the input devices, scanning device 120, tablet device 130, server 170, or input port 150, described herein, computing device 110 is configured to receive the order from the input device. In one aspect, the order is customized to fit a particular shoe size. In another aspect, the order includes patterns, graphics, and coloration selected by a customer for the one or more embellishments. The order is then converted into RM instructions. An RM device in communication with the computing device is configured to receive the RM instructions from the computing device and manufacture the one or more embellishments.
In operation, the computing device receives one or more embellishments from the input device. In one aspect, the one or more embellishments are scaled on demand, requiring no molds or parts inventory. In one aspect the one or more embellishments comprise patches, inserts, decorative components, name tags, logos, dates, pouches, lace holders, snap fittings, mounts for accessories, or any combination thereof. In another aspect the one or more embellishments comprise customizations, predetermined designs, functional patterns, or any combination thereof. In one aspect, the functional patterns comprise fit enhancing, breathable, strengthening, protective, flexible, adaptive, and/or wear-resistant designs. In another aspect, the printing of electrically conductive elements within an RM embellishment is chosen for the purposes of creating conductivity to enable digital components including but not limited to light emitting or message displaying components to be secured to the footwear or garment. A three-dimensional design or description of the one or more embellishments in converted into a data file is communicated to the RM device.
The RM device, such as a laser sintering fabrication equipment, reads the data file and forms the three-dimensional object of the design. Once the design has been formed, the RM device uses a high powered laser to fuse powders or small particles of plastic, metal, or ceramic. The laser selectively fuses powdered material by scanning cross-sections generated from the data file or a scan of the embellishment on the surface of a powder bed. After each cross-section is scanned, the powder bed is lowered by one layer thickness, a new layer of material is applied on top, and the process is repeated until the one or more embellishments are completed.
Additionally, it is contemplated that one or more identifiers may be applied to one or more embellishments. For example, when two or more embellishments are manufactured in a common RM build chamber, an identifier (e.g., order number, part number, name) associated with each of the concurrently manufactured embellishments may aid in providing the proper article to the ordering entity. Additionally, it is contemplated that one or more registration-type indicators may be incorporated into an embellishment. For example, an orientation indicator that indicates a proper orientation of an embellishment relative to a target location may be manufactured into the embellishment by the RM device. Registration markings may include vertical and horizontal line indicators place on the embellishment in locations that will not be visible once coupled with a target region, such as a back surface. The insertion of an identifier, a registration mark, and other functional indicators may be done by a user, a computing device, a software program/module, a RM device, and/or the like.
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In one aspect, applying the one or more embellishments comprises pressing and/or inserting the one or more embellishments to the location. In another aspect, applying the one or more embellishments comprises heat welding the one or more embellishments to the location. In another aspect, applying the one or more embellishments comprises radio frequency welding the one or more embellishments to the location. In another aspect, applying the one or more embellishments comprises sonic welding the one or more embellishments to the location. In yet another aspect, applying the one or more embellishments comprises computer stitching the one or more embellishments to the location. In one aspect, applying the one or more embellishments comprises inserting the one or more embellishments to the location. In another aspect, applying the one or more embellishments comprises gluing the one or more embellishments to the location. Additional mechanisms for applying the one or more embellishments are contemplated in exemplary aspects.
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In one aspect, receiving the order further comprises retrieving the specifications form a data store that comprise at least one of shoe model options, shoe size options, or embellishment options. The retrieved specifications are rendered within an order interface. Selections indicated by the customer that are directed toward one or more of the specifications are received within the order interface.
In one aspect, receiving the order further comprises presenting a representation of the article of footwear in a display area. A representation of the one or more embellishments in also presented the display area. The representation of the one or more embellishments is translated to overlay a targeted portion of the representation of the article of footwear. A rotational orientation of the representation of the one or more embellishments is adjusted. A relief height of the one or more embellishments is adjusted. The representation of one or more embellishments is resized according to an area associated with the targeted portion.
In one aspect, the embellishment options comprise at least one of design, shape, size, color, and relief height. In one aspect, the one or more embellishments comprise customizations, predetermined designs, functional patterns, or any combination thereof. In one aspect, the functional patterns comprise fit enhancing, breathable, strengthening, and wear-resistant designs. Once received, the computing device converts the specifications of the order into RM instructions, as depicted at step 1620.
In one aspect, converting the specifications of the order into RM instructions comprises deriving the RM instructions, in part, from the translated, adjusted, and resized representation of the one or more embellishments such that, upon the RM device executing the RM instructions, the RM device manufactures the digitally driven creation of solid form footwear components that resemble the translated, adjusted, and resized representation of the one or more embellishments. In one aspect the solid forms are created from powders (e.g., powder sintered). In another aspect, the solid forms are created from liquid resin baths.
The RM instructions are communicated to an RM device at step 1630. The RM instructions are executed, at step 1640, by the RM device to manufacture the one or more embellishments. At step 1650, the one or more embellishments are applied to the article of footwear.
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The present invention has been described in relation to particular aspects, which are intended in all respects to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative aspects will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from its scope. For instance, it should be understood and appreciated that aspects of the present invention are not limited to articles of footwear, and that any piece of apparel or equipment may be utilized in the customization processes described above.
From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all the ends and objects set forth above, together with other advantages which are obvious and inherent to the system and method. It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.
