Method For Efficient And Localized Production Of Shoes

Abstract

Methods and systems relating to efficient shoe manufacturing that reduce the specialized human labor required to manufacture a pair of shoes while avoiding the high costs and special maintenance requirements often associated with highly automated manufacturing equipment are provided. Systems and methods in accordance with the present invention may be used to produce multiple models of custom shoes at a single shoe manufacturing facility using overlapping workflows, thereby reducing the physical footprint of the manufacturing facility. Additionally, embodiments of the invention may provide methods and systems for efficiently producing shoes to meet the demands of a particular geographic location, thereby eliminating the need to import shoes produced in other locations.

1 . A system for producing and assembling shoe components, the system comprising: a receiving module for receiving a customer input; a market that provides at least one temporary storage bin of a first shoe component; a first shoe component-manufacturing module that produces at least the first shoe component upon receiving an indication from the marketplace, wherein the marketplace temporarily stores the contents of the first shoe component and provides the indication to the first component-manufacturing module upon one of the at least one temporary storage bins of the marketplace dropping below a predefined threshold amount of the first shoe component; a second shoe component-manufacturing module that produces one or more second shoe components upon receiving the customer input; and a third component-manufacturing module that assembles the one or more of the first shoe components and the one or more of the second shoe components to produce a shoe article. 
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the one or more first shoe components are processed after the first shoe component is removed from said inventory. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the first shoe component manufacturing module produces outsoles. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the first shoe component manufacturing module produces midsoles. 
     
     
         5 . The system  claim 1  wherein the second shoe component manufacturing module produces custom upper shoe components. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the custom shoe component is processed before being coupled to the first shoe component. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the custom shoe component is comprised of two or more coupled custom shoe components. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the second shoe manufacturing module comprises a plurality of customization sub-modules. 
     
     
         9 . A processing facility for the modularized production of composite custom shoe components, said processing facility comprising: a cutting and kitting module that cuts shoe upper components from an inventory of raw upper materials, at least one of the raw upper materials comprising a customizable gray good, that then assembles the cut shoe upper materials into kits that comprise all of the upper elements necessary to form an entire shoe upper, and that then temporarily stores the kits; a customization module that retrieves temporarily stored kits from the cutting and kitting module, that layers the shoe upper components of the kit into a flat framed assembly with multiple layers, and that customizes at least a portion of the shoe upper components by applying decoration to the shoe upper components; a forming and stitching module that receives the customized shoe upper components, that forms the customized shoe upper components into a three-dimensional shoe upper, that affixes a strobel to the formed shoe upper, and that lasts the formed shoe upper and strobel; a midsole and outsole fabrication module that fabricates shoe midsoles and shoe outsoles; and a stockfit and assembly module that receives the lasted and formed shoe upper and strobel from the forming and stitching module, that receives the shoe midsoles and shoe outsoles from the midsole and outsole module, and that assembles the shoe midsole, the shoe outsole, and the lasted and formed shoe upper and strobel into a shoe. 
     
     
         10 . The processing facility of  claim 9 , wherein the cutting and knitting module comprises a material storage component that holds the raw upper materials, a component cutting machine, and a market that holds the kits after assembly. 
     
     
         11 . The processing facility of  claim 9 , wherein the customization module comprises a hot melt lamination press, an eco-solvent printer, a digital printing dye sublimation station, a trim clicker, and an embroidery station. 
     
     
         12 . The processing facility of  claim 9 , wherein the forming and stitching module comprises a radio frequency press that joins the layers of the shoe upper, a cutting press that removes the joined shoe upper from excess upper material, a toe-forming component that forms the toe of the shoe upper, a heel-forming component that forms the heel of the shoe upper, and a strobel-stitch component that stitches a strobel to the formed shoe upper. 
     
     
         13 . The processing facility of  claim 9 , wherein the forming and stitching module comprises a heat press that joins the layers of the shoe upper, a cutting press that removes the joined shoe upper from excess upper material, a toe-forming component that forms the toe of the shoe upper, a heel-forming component that forms the heel of the shoe upper, and a strobel-stitch component that stitches a strobel to the formed shoe upper. 
     
     
         14 . The processing facility of  claim 9 , wherein the stockfit and assembly module comprises applies at least one adhesive to assemble the shoe outsole, the shoe midsole and the lasted and formed shoe upper and strobel into a shoe. 
     
     
         15 . The processing facility of  claim 14 , wherein the stockfit and assembly module further comprises a press that applies pressure to the shoe outsole, the shoe midsole, and the lasted and formed shoe upper and strobel after at least one adhesive has been applied between the lasted and formed shoe upper and strobel and the shoe midsole and at least one adhesive has been applied between the shoe midsole and the shoe outsole. 
     
     
         16 . A shoe manufactured through a process, the steps of the process comprising: in a cutting and kitting module, providing a plurality of raw materials required for a multilayered shoe upper, cutting the raw materials into the components of the multilayered shoe upper and placing the components necessary to make a single multilayered shoe upper into kits; in a customization module, receiving a kit and assembling the shoe upper components into multiple layers aligned on a flat frame, and customizing the multilayer upper components by applying decoration to at least one layer of the multilayer shoe upper components while the multilayer shoe upper components are on the flat frame; in a forming module, joining the multilayer upper components to form one integral shoe upper while the multilayer shoe upper components are on the frame, removing the joined shoe upper from the frame by cutting the shoe upper from excess upper material, forming joined shoe upper into a three-dimensional shoe upper, and stitching a strobel to the formed shoe upper; in an outsole and midsole module, forming a shoe midsole and forming a shoe outsole; and in a stockfit and assembly module, attaching the shoe midsole to the shoe upper and attaching the shoe outsole to the shoe upper to form a completed shoe. 
     
     
         17 . The shoe of  claim 16 , wherein the joined upper is cut from the excess upper material using a press. 
     
     
         18 . The shoe of  claim 16 , wherein the kits of shoe upper components each includes the components necessary to make a shoe upper for a shoe having a predetermined size. 
     
     
         19 . The shoe of  claim 16 , wherein the multilayer upper components are joined by a heat press. 
     
     
         20 . The shoe of  claim 16 , wherein the multi-layer upper components are joined by a radio frequency welder.