Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Title: Method And Apparatus For Sizing Feet
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to shoe-sizing equipment, and
more particularly, the invention relates to shoe forms which may be used to
select a shoe size corresponding to a person's foot.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The sizing of feet for the purpose of fitting shoes, hereinafter
referred to as shoe-sizing is most commonly performed with the well-known
Brannock device. Generally, the Brannock device is a metal foot measuring
device that has sliders with scales printed on either the sliders or the
platform
on which a consumer places his/her foot for sizing. This device, however, has
many serious drawbacks. The Brannock device can be difficult to use
correctly and is used incorrectly by many within the shoe sales industry.
Also,
a person will generally have to visit a shoe store in order to be shoe-sized
with
the Brannock device.
There has for a long time been a substantial mail order business
in many countries for various articles of clothing. An important issue in
ordering clothing by mail order is that of sizing. For many articles of
clothing,
this is not too great a problem, as manufacturers have standard sizes and
moreover, an exact fit is not critical. Shoes and other items of footwear
present a different problem as it is much more important to get a good fit for
shoes, and indeed, incorrectly sized shoes can permanently deform one's
feet. This is an even bigger problem with children, as their feet are growing
and it is much more important to ensure that young, growing feet are provided
the right sized shoes. Accordingly mail order suppliers have searched for
ways to enable consumers to properly select the correct shoe size.
As disclosed in U.S. Patent 4,635,366, a consumer may request
from a supplier that a plastic-construction Brannock device be mailed to
him/her, so that the consumer can determine their shoe size themselves.
Problems exist using this system however. Since it is easy for people within
the shoe sales industry to use the device incorrectly, it is therefore even
easier for a person outside the shoe sales industry, such as a consumer, to
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use it incorrectly. As well, a long wait is required for the Brannock device
to
arrive in the mail. As well, it is relatively expensive to mail a Brannock
device
to a consumer, a cost that will have to be borne by either the consumer or the
supplier or a combination of the two.
With the growth of the Internet, the concept of mail order
purchasing has been significantly revised and improved. There are many
companies offering Internet-based services for ordering clothing. A major
advantage of the Internet is that a consumer can have almost instantaneous
contact with a supplier or web site offering clothing, etc. for sale. The
consumer can additionally see items for sale on a screen and print out pages
from a supplier's web site. Many companies have attempted to use these
characteristics to provide improved service to consumers and in particular to
address the issue of selecting a correct shoe size.
Several companies, including Weebok (TM) and Payless Shoe
Source (TM), provide shoe sizing systems on their Internet web sites which
are respectively www.weebok.com and www.payless.com/
corporate/customer service/custsvc faq_knowourshoes shoesizer.html. A
consumer with Internet access and a printer, may print a shoe size chart from
the web site, and use the chart to size the consumer's feet. This system
provides the shoe size chart very quickly, relative to the system described
above. However, the shoe sizing is even less accurate. Because the shoe
size chart does not utilize sliders to help provide accurate measurement of
the
edges of the consumer's feet, the chart is more prone to provide inaccurate
results than the Brannock device. It also inherently relies on a consumer's
computer and printer printing the chart to the correct scale.
There exists a need, therefore, for a method wherein a
consumer can quickly be provided with a shoe sizing system that is easy to
use, and is accurate. Preferably, this should enable any chart or the like to
be
acquired remotely and quickly as well.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a first aspect, the present invention relates to a shoe-sizing
apparatus comprising a generally planar template that is adapted to be
formed into a three-dimensional shoe-sizing form.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to a shoe-sizing
system comprising a set of generally planar templates, each of which is
adapted to be formed into a three-dimensional shoe-sizing form.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method of
assessing the fit of a specified shoe, comprising the steps of:
(a) obtaining a generally planar template corresponding to the
specified shoe;
(b) fabricating a three-dimensional shoe-sizing form from the
template; and
(c) assessing the fit of the shoe form.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to a shoe-sizing
method, comprising the steps of:
(a) obtaining a set of generally planar templates, each of which
corresponds to a different shoe size;
(b) fabricating a three-dimensional shoe-sizing form from each of
the templates;
(c) assessing the fit of each of the shoe-sizing forms; and
(d) selecting a best-fitting shoe sizing form.
Obtaining the template may comprise downloading a template
image from an Internet web site, printing the template image, and cutting out
the template from the template image.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will now be described by way of example
only, with reference to the drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a plan view of a generally planar template in
accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is an isometric view of a three-dimensional shoe-sizing
form made from the template of Figure 1;
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Figure 3a is an isometric view of a shoe;
Figure 3b is a plan view of a shoe;
Figure 3c is a side elevation view of a shoe;
Figure 4 is a plan view of a generally planar template in
accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 5a is an isometric view of a three-dimensional shoe-
sizing form made from the template of Figure 4;
Figure 5b is a side elevation view of the three-dimensional
shoe-sizing form of Figure 5a;
Figure 5c is a plan view of the three-dimensional shoe-sizing
form of Figure 5a;
Figure 6 is an isometric view of the partially fabricated three-
dimensional shoe-sizing form of Figure 5a;
Figure 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method of determining shoe
size, in accordance with the present invention; and
Figure 8 is a flow chart illustrating a template obtaining step of
the method of Figure 7.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
For the purposes of this disclosure, the term 'shoe size' refers to
both the length and the width of a shoe. For example, shoe size 12EE refers
to both the length '12', and the width 'EE' of a shoe. It will also be
understood
that while standard sizes are used, the industries they are applicable to
include all items of flat footwear, e.g. boots, sandals, etc. in addition to
shoes.
Reference is first made to Figure 1, which illustrates a generally
planar template 10 made in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of
the present invention and which will be used for the purposes of describing
the operational aspects of the invention. The term 'generally planar' used in
this description refers to a template 10 that is initially a generally flat
sheet.
Such a template may be made from a sheet of paper or from another
generally planar material.
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Template 10 is used to produce a three-dimensional shoe-sizing
form 12, shown in Figure 3. Three-dimensional shoe-sizing form 12 can be
used to determine the shoe size corresponding to a customer's foot, or, as
will
be discussed later, it can be used to determine the fit of a selected shoe on
a
customer's foot with respect to several dimensional variables including shoe
size.
If template 10 is printed from an image on a computer, as is
contemplated to be the case frequently, a scaling box 13 is provided so that
the printed image can be verified to be to the correct scale. Scaling box 13
is
preferably a box but may be any other shape with known target values for the
lengths of at least two preferably perpendicular sides. The user is then able
to measure the actual lengths of the sides of the box on the printed image. In
the event of a discrepancy between the target lengths and the actual
measured lengths, and makes any necessary adjustments to the printer
settings on the computer and reprints the image.
Template 10 comprises a base region 14, a toe wall region 16,
two side wall regions 18, and a heel wall region 20. Base region 14 is
delimited by a toe wall dotted line 22, side wall dotted lines 32, and by a
heel
wall dotted line 42. In this embodiment, each of these dotted lines is
straight
and perpendicular, so that base region 14 is rectangular. In another
embodiment of a template according to the present invention, some or all of
these dotted lines may be curved.
Toe wall 16 is attached to base region 14 along a base edge 24
of toe wall region 16. Toe wall region 16 also has side edges 26, and a top
edge 28. Each side wall region 18 is attached to base region 14 along a base
edge 34. Each side wall region 18 has front side edges 36 and rear side
edges 38, and top edges 40. Heel wall region 20 is attached to base region
14 along a base edge 44, and heel wall region 20 has two side edges 46 and
a top edge 48.
Preferably, template 10 may be used to fabricate several
different sizes of shoe-sizing form. In order to fabricate a shoe-sizing form
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corresponding to a particular shoe size, reference is next made to Figure 2.
To fabricate shoe-sizing form 12, the template 10 is first cut out or
otherwise
separated from the sheet of paper on which it is printed, if required. If the
user wishes to test the largest shoe size accommodated by template 10, the
cutting out is carried out along the solid lined outline of template 10, shown
in
Figure 1. Lines 33 and 35, however, are used to provide cutting guide-lines,
shown as dot-dash lines in Figure 1 on base region 14, if the user wishes to
test a smaller shoe size. Each guide-line pair 33 and 35 preferably represents
a 1/2 size decrement in shoe size. In order to cut out template 10 to the
desired smaller shoe size, the user cuts along lines that are parallel to 26
and
36, to reach the intersection of the selected pair of guide-lines 33 and 35
that
corresponds to the selected smaller shoe size.
Once template 10 is cut out, toe wall region 16, side wall regions
18, and heel wall region 20 are folded along dotted lines 22, 32 and 42
respectively (or alternately 35, 33 and 42 if the user has cut out a smaller
shoe size from template 10), such that they form toe wall 50, side walls 52,
and heel wall 54, juxtaposed with each other to form a continuous wall around
base region 14. If a smaller shoe size has been cut out, then toe wall 50 and
a side wall 52 may need to be further folded or cut so as not to exceed the
ankle height of the user. This will be explained further below. For strength,
side edges 26 of toe wall 50 are then attached to front side edges 36 of side
walls 52, and side edges 46 of heel wall 54, are then attached to rear side
edges 38 of side wall 52. Attachment means may be by any means known for
attaching pieces of paper, such as adhesive tape, glue, paper clips, or
staples.
The distance between toe wall 50 and heel wall 54 of shoe-
sizing form 12 defines the length component of the corresponding shoe size.
The distance between the two side walls 18 of shoe-sizing form 12 defines the
width component of the corresponding shoe size.
In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, toe wall 50 and
heel wall 54 are shown to be generally parallel. Side walls 52 are generally
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parallel to one another, and are generally perpendicular to toe wall 50 and
heel wall 54, thus defining a three-dimensional rectangular box. While this is
preferable for simplicity of construction, and for determination of fit, it is
not
necessary. Side walls 52 may be angled or curved, such that they only
provide an accurate measure of the width component in a portion that
corresponds to the position of the ball of the foot, which is where the width
of
the foot is generally at a maximum. Alternately, toe wall 50, side walls 52
and
heel wall 54 may all be configured to form the general shape of a human foot.
In template 10, toe wall 50, side walls 52 and heel wall 54 are rectangular.
In
another embodiment of the present invention, walls 50, 52 and 54 may be of
any shape that allows the various side edges to be attached to one another as
described above. For example, walls 50, 52 and 54 may all include tabs
along side edges 26, 36, 38 and 46 to help attach walls 50, 52, and 54 to
each other. The addition of tabs may be particularly advantageous when
walls 26, 36, 38 and 46 are to be attached by glue, paper clips and staples.
Three-dimensional shoe-sizing form 12 can now be used to
determine the shoe size corresponding to a person's foot. In order to assess
the fit of a specific shoe-sizing form 12, a person places their foot into
shoe-
sizing form 12 with the back of the heel lightly contacting heel wall 54. The
person then assesses whether there is an acceptable clearance between their
toes and toe wall 50, and between the sides of their foot and side walls 52.
Top edges 28, 40 and 48 may be straight, as shown, or they
may be discontinuous, or curved or in any other form. Preferably however,
top edges 40 of side walls 18 are below a user's ankle height, so that the
user's ankles don't distort the shape of side walls 18 when the feet are
positioned inside shoe-sizing form 12.
Reference is now made to Figures 3a, 3b, and 3c, which show a
shoe 60. Shoe 60 comprises a base 62, and an upper 64. The upper 64
comprises a toe box 66, an arch section 68, and a heel section 70, with an
opening 72. While shoe size is important for making a preliminary selection of
a shoe, there are several other dimensional variables of a shoe that will
affect
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the fit of a shoe on the person's foot. As shown in Figures 3a, 3b, and 3c,
shoe 60 possesses a toe box horizontal contour 74, and a toe box vertical
contour 76, a vertical contour 78 of arch section 68, a horizontal contour 80
of
heel section 70, an opening height 82 and an opening forward tangent line 84
all of which affect the fit of shoe 60 on a person's foot. Opening height 82
is
defined as the height of the lowest point of opening 72, with respect to the
top
surface of base 62. Opening forward tangent line 84 is defined as an
imaginary line denoting the forward most point of opening 72. Shoes of
different brands differ with respect to shoe size as well as these dimensional
variables, with little or no indication to the consumer. In other words a size
8B
shoe from a given manufacturer may differ dimensionally from a size 8B shoe
from another manufacturer.
Reference is next made to figures 4, 5a, 5b and 5c, which
illustrate a second embodiment of a generally planar template 110 according
to the present invention. Components of template 110 which correspond to
components of template 10 are indicated by similar reference numbers
increased by 100.
In order to enable a person to assess the fit of shoe 60 with
respect to the aforementioned dimensional variables, generally planar
template 110 and three-dimensional shoe-sizing form 112 may further
incorporate a shape corresponding to those dimensional variables. In the
second embodiment dotted line 122 of base region 114 is curved to match
horizontal contour 74 of toe box 66. Dotted line 142 is likewise curved to
match the horizontal contour 80 of heel section 70. In this second
embodiment base edges 124 and 144 are distinct from dotted lines 122 and
142.
Toe wall 150 is also curved to match horizontal contour 74 of toe
box 66, such that base edge 124 meets dotted line 122. This enables a
person to assess the fit of toe box 66 with respect to toe box horizontal
contour 74. Similarly, heel wall 154 may be curved to match horizontal
contour 80 of heel section 70, such that base edge 144 meets dotted line 142,
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so as to enable a person to assess the fit of heel section 70, with respect to
heel section horizontal contour 80.
Each top edge 140 of side walls 152 may further include a side
wall toe line 200, a side wall arch line 202, and a side wall ankle line 204.
As
shown in Figure 5, side wall toe line 200 may be made to match vertical
contour 76 of toe box 66. Side wall arch line 202 may be made to match
vertical contour 78 of arch section 68. The height 'H' of side wall ankle
section 204 is defined as the height of the lowest point of side wall ankle
line
relative to base region 14, and is shown in Figure 5b. Height 'H' may be
made to match height 82. Each top edge 140 may further include a junction
point 205, which is defined as the point between side wall ankle line 204 and
side wall arch line 202. Junction points 205 may be located such that an
imaginary line 206, when drawn between junction points 205 may be made to
match opening forward tangent line 84. With three-dimensional shoe-sizing
form 112 as shown in Figure 5, a person can assess the fit of shoe 60 with
respect to all the contours and dimensions described above, rather than
simply length and width.
In template 110 three-dimensional shoe-sizing form 112 may
also include contour adherence means 208, which serve to ensure that toe
wall base edge 124 and heel wall base edge 144 mate substantially with
dotted lines 122 and 142 respectively. Contour adherence means 208 may
be in the form of corner tabs which project from base region 114 along dotted
lines 122 and 142, as shown in Figure 5b.
In order to assess the fit of a specific shoe-sizing form 112, a
person places their foot into shoe-sizing form 112 with the back of the heel
lightly contacting heel wall 154. The person then assesses whether there is
an acceptable clearance between their toes and toe wall 150, and between
the sides of their foot and side walls 152, thus assessing the fit with
respect to
toe box horizontal contour 74, and heel section horizontal contour 80. As
well, the person can assess the fit of opening height 82 ensuring that the
opening will not interfere with the person's ankle. As well, the person can
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verify that vertical contours 76 and 78 of the toe box 66 and arch section 68
will not interfere with the person's toes and upper arch area.
In order to select the best fitting shoe size from a range of shoe
sizes, a person can select a shoe size, and obtain generally planar template
110 representing the selected shoe size. The person then fabricates three-
dimensional shoe-sizing form 112, and assesses the fit of shoe-sizing form
112. If shoe-sizing form 112 does not fit, then the person selects a larger or
smaller shoe size depending on the fit of shoe-sizing form 112, and then
obtains a new template 110 representing the newly selected shoe size. The
person continues assessing the fit of shoe-sizing forms 112 in this manner,
until the person finds an acceptable fit using one of the shoe-sizing forms.
Referring now to Figure 6, three-dimensional shoe-sizing form
112 may be fabricated from generally planar template 110, by the following
method. Toe wall region 116, side wall regions 118, and heel wall region 120
are folded along dotted lines 122, 132 and 142 respectively, such that they
form toe wall 150, side walls 152, and heel wall 154, juxtaposed with each
other to form a continuous wall around base region 114. All of these walls,
when positioned properly is generally perpendicular to base region 114. Side
edges 126 of toe wall 150 are then attached to front side edges 136 of side
walls 152, and side edges 146 of heel wall 154, are then attached to rear side
edges 138 of side walls 152. Attachment means may be by any means
known for attaching pieces of paper, such as adhesive tape, or glue. Corner
tabs 208 are then folded upwards and attached to toe wall 150 and heel wall
154, so as to ensure that the horizontal contours of toe wall 150 and heel
wall
154 match horizontal contours 74 and 80 respectively, forming shoe form 112
as shown in Figure 5a.
Reference is now made to Figure 7 which illustrates a method
300 of determining a person's shoe size, in accordance with the present
invention. Method 300 may be used to determine a person's shoe size using
template 10 or 110. It should be noted that a person's right foot and left
foot
may correspond to different shoe sizes, and so method 300 is preferably
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repeated for each foot. A person may then choose to buy different sizes of
shoes for each foot, if purchasing mixed sizes is available. At step 302, a
person obtains a series of generally planar templates 10 or 110, each
template 10 or 110 corresponding to a different, known shoe size. At step
304, the person fabricates three-dimensional shoe-sizing forms 12 or 112
from templates 10 or 110. At step 306, the person assesses the fit of three-
dimensional shoe-sizing forms 12 or 112 with respect to the toe and side
clearances. At step 308, the person selects the best fitting shoe-sizing form
12 or 112.
Step 302, wherein a person obtains a series of templates may
be performed in a number of ways. Reference is now made to Figure 8,
which shows a preferred way of performing step 302. At step 320, a person,
with access to the Internet, connects to an Internet web site, which stores
template images. At step 322, the person selects a series of templates 10 or
110 to download. If the person knows their approximate shoe size, step 322
may be accomplished by the person selecting a range of templates that are a
specified number of sizes smaller than the person's approximate shoe size,
up to a specified number of sizes above the person's approximate shoe size.
For example, a person who knows that their shoe size is roughly 10C, would
select a range of shoe sizes from 9B up to 11 D. At step 324, the person
downloads the series of template images. At step 326, the person prints the
template images, thereby producing printed template images. At step 328,
the person cuts out templates 10 or 110 from the printed template images.
Alternately, step 302 may be performed by a person purchasing
or otherwise obtaining a disk or other data storage medium containing a
series of template images, printing out the template images, producing printed
template images, and cutting out templates 10 or 110 from the printed
template images. Alternately, a person may purchase a series of templates
10 or 110 directly, from a vendor. The series of templates may correspond to
a range of sizes of a specific model of shoe from a specific manufacturer
Alternately, the series may correspond to shoes that are all roughly of a
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certain size across different shoe model lines. A person may alternately be
mailed or otherwise provided with a series of templates at no cost, by a
specific manufacturer in order to entice the consumer to purchase shoes from
that manufacturer.
Steps 302, 304, and 306 have been described as occurring in
sequence, wherein a person obtains a series of templates, and after this is
accomplished, the person then fabricates the series of shoe forms, and then
after this is accomplished the person assesses the fit of each shoe form.
However, the person may, alternately obtain a single template 10 or 110,
fabricate a single shoe-sizing form, and assess the fit of that shoe-sizing
form,
performing the task as steps 302, 304, 306, 302, 304, 306, 302, 304, 306, and
so on, until a step 308 is performed wherein a best fit is selected.
A person who has obtained a series of templates can now size
themselves for shoes remotely from a shoe store, if desired. For example,
they can size themselves at home, at their leisure. In this way, the person is
now better able to purchase shoes from sources such as Internet vendors,
with a high degree of confidence that the purchased shoes will fit.
In the above described embodiments, the wall regions have
been shown to each be immediately adjacent base regions 14 and 114, and
integrally attached to base regions 14 and 114, however, some or all of the
wall regions may be separate pieces that are not integral with base regions 14
and 114. The wall regions may alternately be immediately adjacent each
other, with only a single wall region being immediately adjacent base regions
14 and 114.
Using a three-dimensional shoe-sizing form, made in
accordance with the present invention is a fast and convenient way of
assessing the fit of a shoe, and to help determine shoe size. It also provides
a way for a person to assess the fit of a shoe remotely, say, from home,
without having to wait days or weeks for a device to arrive by courier. This
enables a person to purchase shoes remotely, say, over the Internet, with a
increased degree of confidence that the purchased shoes will fit.
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As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various
modifications and adaptations of the systems and methods described above
are possible without departure from the present invention, the scope of which
is defined in the appended claims.
