Systems and methods of uniform remote sizing and selling of articles such as footwear and other apparel

Abstract

A computer-based system and method of universal sizing and selling of apparel is provided. A central computer has a database of universal size indicators for articles of apparel, each corresponding to a range of physical measurements. The central computer receives from at least one remote computer at least one physical measurement corresponding to a consumer and provides to the consumer at least one of the universal size indicators corresponding to the received physical measurement. At least one consumer profile includes the universal size indicators corresponding to the physical measurements of the consumer. The consumer profile is shareable with others. Software is loadable onto the remote computer and is adapted to measure a person's foot placed upon a touch screen of the remote computer. The universal size indicators do not vary amongst different brands of the articles of apparel and include at least one of a character or a shape.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-based system of universal sizing and selling of apparel, comprising:
 at least one central computer having a database of a plurality of universal size indicators for a plurality of articles of apparel that do not vary amongst different brands of apparel, each of said universal size indicators representing a range of first physical measurements of at least one of i) said articles of apparel or ii) at least one form around which said articles of apparel are molded; and   at least one communication link, in communication with said at least one central computer and at least one remote consumer computing device, adapted to receive from said at least one remote consumer computing device at least one second physical measurement of a consumer and adapted to remotely provide to said at least one remote consumer computing device at least one of said universal size indicators corresponding to said received second physical measurement.   
     
     
         2 . A computer-based system of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 1 , said articles of apparel comprising footwear, said form comprising a shoe last, and said range of first physical measurements being approximately 4-10 mm for each of said universal size indicators. 
     
     
         3 . A computer-based system of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of consumer profiles, each corresponding respectively to one of a plurality of consumers, stored on said at least one central computer, each said consumer profile including said universal size indicators provided to each consumer via each consumer's respective remote consumer computing device. 
     
     
         4 . A computer-based system of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 3 , further comprising a consumer profile database that correlates at least consumer identity with said universal size indicators provided to the consumers' respective remote consumer computing devices. 
     
     
         5 . A computer-based system of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 4 , wherein access to each said consumer profile is at least partially selectively shareable with other individuals. 
     
     
         6 . A computer-based system of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 1 , wherein said articles of apparel comprise footwear, said form comprises a shoe last, and said system further comprises software loadable onto the remote consumer computing device, said software adapted to measure a person's foot placed upon a touch-sensitive screen of the remote consumer computing device. 
     
     
         7 . A computer-based system of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 6 , said software further adapted to enable a user to position the foot on a non-touch-sensitive corner of the remote consumer computing device and not a corner of the touch-sensitive screen of the remote consumer computing device. 
     
     
         8 . A computer-based system of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 7 , said software further adapted to provide border dimension data corresponding to the size of the non-touch-sensitive border around the touch-sensitive screen to said at least one central computer, and
 said software further adapted to:
 measure the linear distance the foot occupies on the screen; and 
 factor in the size of the non-touch-sensitive border of the remote consumer computing device to achieve a size of the foot being measured. 
   
     
     
         9 . A computer-based system of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 1 , wherein each said universal size indicator includes at least one of a character or a shape. 
     
     
         10 . A computer-based system of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 6 , further comprising a software module adapted to:
 determine a corresponding universal size indicator for the measured foot;   offer footwear in the corresponding universal size indicator; and   offer footwear in a larger universal size indicator than the corresponding universal size indicator.   
     
     
         11 . A computer-based system of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 10 , said software module residing on said at least one central computer. 
     
     
         12 . A computer-based system of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 3 , wherein said consumer profile also includes at least one of the following information: second physical measurement history; universal size indicator history; or apparel purchase history. 
     
     
         13 . A computer-based system of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 1 , wherein said system encourages each consumer to take and submit the second physical measurement periodically. 
     
     
         14 . A computer-based system of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 13 , wherein said system accumulates a plurality of the second physical measurements for each consumer over time and generates a second physical measurement history for each consumer. 
     
     
         15 . A computer-based method of universal sizing and selling of apparel, comprising the steps of:
 receiving at least one central computer from at least one remote computer at least one first physical measurement of at least one of i) a plurality of articles of apparel or ii) at least one form around which the articles of apparel are molded;   assigning from the central computer a universal size indicator from a plurality of universal size indicators to each of the articles of apparel corresponding to the first physical measurement;   remotely providing the universal size indicators from the central computer to consumers seeking at least one of the articles of apparel to the consumers' respective remote consumer computing devices,   wherein the universal size indicators do not vary amongst different brands of the articles of apparel, and wherein each universal size indicator includes at least one of a character or a shape.   
     
     
         16 . A computer-based method of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 15 , further comprising the step of maintaining a database on the at least one central computer of the first physical measurements with respect to corresponding of the articles. 
     
     
         17 . A computer-based method of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 15 , further comprising the steps of:
 receiving a second physical measurement of a consumer from a remote consumer computing device; and   providing one of the universal size indicators to the remote consumer computing device corresponding to the received second physical measurement.   
     
     
         18 . A computer-based method of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 17 , further comprising the step of storing on the at least one central computer the universal size indicators-provided respectively to the consumers as respective consumer profiles. 
     
     
         19 . A computer-based method of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 18 , further comprising the step of maintaining a consumer profile database that correlates at least consumer identity with the universal size indicators provided to the consumers. 
     
     
         20 . A computer-based method of universal sizing and selling of apparel according to  claim 19 , further comprising the step of enabling the consumer to selectively share access to at least a portion of the consumer profile with other individuals.