Custom shoe former

Abstract

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.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 scanning a foot of a subject to obtain a foot model comprising a representation of a portion of the foot;   identifying one or more parameters of a shoe;   applying one or more transforms to the foot model to obtain a shoe former model, wherein the one or more transforms are based at least in part on the one or more parameters of the shoe; and   manufacturing a shoe former out of a material according to the shoe former model.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more parameters include a midsole drop of the shoe. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more transforms are applied to a region of the foot model between locations of metatarsophalangeal joints in the foot model and a heel region of the foot model based at least in part on the midsole drop of the shoe. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more parameters include a toe spring angle of the shoe. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the one or more transforms are applied about a line that is based at least in part on locations of metatarsophalangeal joints in the foot model based at least in part on the toe spring angle of the shoe. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the toe spring angle is represented by a polynomial curve. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 splitting the shoe former model to obtain a shoe former forefoot model, wherein manufacturing the shoe former comprises manufacturing a forefoot portion of the shoe former from the shoe former forefoot model and a rear portion of the shoe former based at least in part on a length of the shoe.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein manufacturing the shoe former comprises forming the forefoot portion of the shoe former using a first material and the rear portion of the shoe former using a second material. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the first material is wood. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein manufacturing the shoe former comprises milling the forefoot portion of the shoe former out of the wood. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 determining a plane for splitting the shoe former model based at least in part on a location of at least one metatarsophalangeal joint of the foot model.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein manufacturing the shoe former comprises 3-dimensional printing of the forefoot portion of the shoe former. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein manufacturing the shoe former comprises 3-dimensional printing the forefoot portion and the rear portion of the shoe former. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more transforms comprise a deformation transform of the foot model. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 identifying a problem area of the foot; and   adjusting a region of the shoe former model around the problem area of the foot prior to manufacturing the shoe former.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the problem area is identified based at least in part on a dynamic movement metric of the foot.