Custom Shoe Former Modeling for Foot and Shoe-Specific Fit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional shoe formers are limited in size and shape, failing to adapt to individual foot variations and shoe contours, and custom ones are costly and time-consuming to produce, often providing suboptimal fit and performance.
Innovation Solution
Custom shoe formers are manufactured using a 3D model of an individual's foot, incorporating parameters of specific shoes, such as midsole drop and toe spring angle, through 3D scanning and transformation, followed by 3D printing or machining to create a personalized shoe former that fits specific footwear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional shoe formers are used, then shoe structure is maintained, but they fail to adapt to individual foot variations and shoe contours
Solution Approach 1:
The shoe former is customized to match the specific local characteristics of an individual's foot and shoe contour. By scanning the foot and shoe to capture unique geometries and applying transforms based on shoe parameters (midsole drop, toe spring angle), the system creates a shoe former with locally adapted properties that conform precisely to the user's specific foot shape and shoe model, rather than using a universal design.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary scanning of the foot and shoe, followed by digital transformation and modeling before manufacturing. This preliminary digital preparation allows the shoe former to be pre-customized to the exact specifications of the user's foot and shoe combination, ensuring adaptability is built into the design before production begins.
2Manufacturing precision
If custom shoe formers are hand crafted, then individual fit is improved, but production time and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of hand-crafting shoe formers with an automated system. A foot and shoe scanning system captures geometric data, software applies transforms based on shoe parameters to generate a digital model, and automated manufacturing equipment produces the shoe former. This substitution of manual craftsmanship with automated scanning, modeling, and manufacturing dramatically reduces production time and cost while maintaining or improving customization precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses parameter-based transformation of the foot model according to specific shoe parameters (midsole drop, toe spring angle, etc.). By changing and adjusting digital parameters rather than manually reshaping physical material, the system efficiently generates customized shoe former designs that can be rapidly manufactured, improving productivity while maintaining manufacturing precision.
3Stability of the object's composition
If shoe formers are made to maintain shoe shape, then deformation is prevented, but they do not account for how feet fit within different shoes
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges two previously separate considerations into a unified shoe former design: (1) the foot's unique geometry and (2) the shoe's specific contours and parameters. By scanning both the foot and shoe and combining this data with transformations based on shoe parameters (midsole drop, toe spring angle), the resulting shoe former simultaneously maintains shoe shape stability and adapts to the specific shoe contour, resolving the contradiction between these two requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary analysis and transformation of both foot and shoe geometries before manufacturing. By pre-processing the data to account for shoe-specific parameters and transforming the foot model accordingly, the shoe former is designed in advance to simultaneously achieve shape stability and shoe contour adaptability, rather than addressing these concerns separately during or after manufacturing.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and devices for manufacturing a custom shoe former. The described techniques may include obtaining a foot model for a subject's foot. The foot model may be obtained by scanning the foot of the subject. One or more transforms may be applied to the foot model to obtain a shoe former model, where the one or more transforms may be based on one or more parameters of a particular shoe for which a shoe former is intended to be used. The described techniques may include manufacturing a shoe former out of a material according to the shoe former model.