Scanner-Assisted Selection of Fitting Footwear with Individualized Footbed

Abstract

A method is described for selecting, in a cost-effective and largely automated manner, best fit footwear with an optimally selected or individualized footbed. With the aid of a preferably multisensory foot scanner, the geometric three-dimensional shape of the foot and the plantar pressure image registered with it are determined at the same time. A database of digitized shoe interiors is used for determining, by means of a best fit selection, the series-produced shoe that best matches the 3D foot model. Using a conventional system for producing individualized insoles and/or footbeds, an insole that matches the sole of the foot is selected or prepared and, in a further, novel method step according to the invention, by means of numerical determination of the three-dimensional surfaces of the footbed, the foot sole and the peripheral zone of the sole in the inner shoe, the so-called insole space, the required insole constituting the footbed is selected, or further processed numerically, such that it fits in an optimum manner into the selected best fit item of footwear in the put-on condition.

1 . A method of equipping footwear with a footbed customized to a foot of a person, comprising the following steps:
 a) acquiring a numerical model of the three-dimensional shape of the foot by means of a foot scanner;   b) preparing a plantar pressure image of the foot by means of a pressure sensor plate on which the person stands;   c) registering the plantar pressure image with the numerical model of the three-dimensional shape of the foot;   d) obtaining, or acquiring by means of an interior scanner, a numerical model of the interior shape of the footwear;   e) calculating, from the plantar pressure image, a surface model of an insole for the surface contacting the foot sole;   f) establishing, from the intersection of the three-dimensional surfaces of the interior shape of the footwear and the surface model of the insole, the space coordinates for the peripheral zone and the lower side of the insole, taking into consideration the three-dimensional shape of the foot, and determining therefrom the three-dimensional shape of an insole fitting into the footwear;   g) obtaining or customizing the insole defined by the three-dimensional shape determined, and inserting it into the footwear.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein a fitting footwear is selected on the basis of the numerical model of the three-dimensional shape of the foot and numerical models of the interior shapes of available items of footwear. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein a selected or existing item of footwear is used. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the insole is selected by comparing its three-dimensional shape with data records of a database of available prefabricated insoles. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to any of the preceding claims, which is carried out separately for each foot of the person. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the numerical model acquired of the three-dimensional shape of the foot and/or the plantar pressure image prepared of the foot are documented. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claims 2  and  6 , wherein the selection of the fitting footwear is effected online over the Internet based on the documented numerical model of the three-dimensional shape of the foot. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claims 4  and  6 , wherein the selection of the prefabricated insole is effected online over the Internet based on the documented numerical model of the three-dimensional shape of the foot and based on the documented plantar pressure image. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the numerical model acquired of the three-dimensional shape of the foot is superimposed on models of the interior shape of potentially fitting items of footwear and is visually displayed. 
     
     
         10 . An arrangement for carrying out the method according to any of the preceding claims, comprising
 an optically operating 3D foot scanner;   a pressure sensor plate which includes a surface for a person to stand on during operation of the 3D foot scanner;   a computing unit for processing the data supplied by the two scanners with a program that calculates a surface model of an insole from the data and calculates the three-dimensional shape of a customized insole from the surface model of the insole, from the numerical model supplied by the foot scanner of the three-dimensional shape of a scanned foot, and from numerical models of the interior shape of potentially fitting items of footwear.