Methods for producing customer specific orthotic footwear from non customer specific lasts

Abstract

The present disclosure generally relates to shoes configured to receive custom fit orthotics and techniques and methods for preparing the same. In some embodiments, the disclosed methods relate to the production of a custom orthotic insole in conjunction with the use of a proprietary last to produce a custom fit shoe from a non-unique last.

The following is claimed: 
     
         1 . A method of manufacturing a women's shoe having a customer-specific fit from a non-customer specific last, the shoe being configured to receive a customer-specific orthotic, the method comprising the steps of:
 receiving customer foot impression data;   producing a custom orthotic from the customer foot impression data having modifications from the customer foot impression data based on known properties of the non-customer specific last; and   lasting the shoe based on the known properties of the non-customer specific last and the customer-specific orthotic to yield a women's shoe having a customer-specific fit configured to receive a customer-specific orthotic.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the known properties of the non-customer specific last include one or more of the length of the non-customer specific last, the width of the non-customer specific last, and the depth of the non-customer specific last. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the width of the non-customer specific last is one or more of the forefoot width, the midfoot width, and the heelcup width. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the known properties of the non-customer specific last include the depth of the last. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the depth of the last includes one or more of the heel cup depth and the forefoot depth. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the modifications include at least one of:
 preparing the length of the orthotic to be about 65% of the customer impression length;   preparing the forefoot width of the orthotic to be about 80% of the customer impression forefoot width; and   preparing the heel cup width to be about 93% of the customer impression heel cup width.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the proprietary last has:
 a length of about 107% of the customer impression length;   a forefoot width of about 103% of the customer impression forefoot width; and   a heel cup width of about 95% of the customer impression heel cup width.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the midfoot width of the orthotic is reduced by about 14.5% compared to the customer impression data, and wherein reducing the heel cup height of the orthotic is reduced by about 53% compared to the customer impression data. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the known properties of the non-customer specific last include the width of the last. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the depth of the orthotic is about 5-7 mm. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the last is prepared having a depth portion across the footbed at least equal to the depth of the orthotic. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the depth portion corresponding to the depth of the orthotic is about 5-12 mm. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the customer specific women's shoe is a ballet style flat. 
     
     
         14 . A customer specific ballet flat style lasted from a non-customer specific last; wherein:
 the customer specific ballet flat style shoe comprises a customer specific orthotic;   wherein the customer specific orthotic includes modifications to correspond to modified customer impression data.   
     
     
         15 . The customer specific ballet flat style shoe of  claim 14 , wherein the non-customer specific last has a length about 107% the customer impression length and the resultant shoe has a length of about 107% the customer impression length. 
     
     
         16 . The customer specific ballet flat style shoe of  claim 15 , wherein the non-customer specific last has a forefoot width about 103% the customer impression forefoot width and the resultant shoe has a forefoot width of about 103% the customer impression forefoot width. 
     
     
         17 . The customer specific ballet flat style shoe of  claim 16 , wherein the non-customer specific last has a heel cup width about 95% the customer impression heel cup width and the resultant shoe has a heel cup width of about 95% the customer impression heel cup width. 
     
     
         18 . The customer specific ballet flat style shoe of  claim 17 , wherein the non-customer specific last has an additional depth of about 5-7 mm, the orthotic insole has a depth of about 5-7 mm and the shoe has an additional depth of about 5-7 mm. 
     
     
         19 . A specialized orthotic insole configured for use with a women's flat style shoe, the specialized orthotic insole comprising four layers, including:
 a leather liner layer;
 wherein the leather liner layer covers substantially the entire footbed of the flat style shoe; 
   a first foam layer having a thickness ranging from about 1 mm to about 3 mm;
 wherein the first foam layer covers substantially the entire footbed of the flat style shoe; 
   a second foam layer having a thickness ranging from about 1 mm to about 3 mm;
 wherein the second foam layer covers substantially the entire footbed of the flat style shoe; and 
   an orthotic prepared from customer impression data, the orthotic modified from the customer impression data to accommodate the proprietary last.   
     
     
         20 . The specialized orthotic insole of  claim 19  wherein the orthotic within the orthotic insole has a length of about 65% the length of the customer impression data; a forefoot width of about 80% the forefoot width of the customer impression data; and a heel cup width of about 94% of the customer impression data for use with a shoe having a length about 107% the customer impression data; a forefoot width about 102-107% greater than the customer impression data; and a heel cup width of about 100-105% of the customer impression data.