SO, Kainin (9C Yiko Industrial Building, 10 Ka Yip StreetChaiwan, Hongkong, CN)
CLAIMS :
1. Apparatus for making a cast of a foot, comprising: a pair of housing parts mutually interconnectable to define a moulding cavity and providing an opening through which a person's lower leg can extend when their foot is located in the moulding cavity; a sole support member located in a lower portion of the moulding cavity and having an upper surface contoured to engage the sole of a human foot; a locking mechanism to retain the housing parts in their mutually interconnected relationship; a flowable moulding material for pouring into and solidifying in the moulding cavity about the person ' s foot to form together with the sole support member a mould of the foot; means for separating the mould into parts to enable retrieval of the person ' s foot therefrom whereupon the parts are reconstituted to define a casting cavity; a flowable casting material for pouring into and solidifying in the casting cavity to form a cast of the foot.
2. The apparatus of Claim 1 , wherein the means for separating the solidified mould comprises a blade for slicing through the mould.
3. A method for making a cast: of a foot, comprising: mutually interconnecting a pair of housing parts to define a moulding cavity about a person ' s foot and providing an opening through which the person's lower leg can extend when the foot is located in the moulding cavity; providing a sole support member in a lower portion of the moulding cavity having an upper surface contoured to engage the sole of a human foot; locking the housing parts in their mutually interconnected relationship; inserting a human foot into the moulding cavity and with the sole of the foot supported by the sole support member; pouring a flowable moulding material into the moulding cavity about the person ' s foot and allowing it to solidify to form together with the sole support member a mould of the foot; after solidification of the moulding material unlocking the housing parts and separating the mould into parts to enable retrieval of the person's foot therefrom; reconstituting the parts to define a casting cavity; relocking the housing parts in their mutually interconnected relationship; pouring a flowable casting material into the casting cavity and allowing it to solidify to form a cast of the foot; and removing the solidified cast.
4. The method of Claim 3 , wherein the person retains their foot in the moulding cavity in such manner that their lower leg extends therefrom at a skating lean angle.
5. The method of Claim 3 , further comprising the step of applying tape across the person ' s toes prior to the step of pouring a flowable moulding material into the moulding cavity, to thereby present an obstacle to ingress of the moulding material to spaces between the toes .
6. A method of analysing the shape of a foot, comprising making a cast of a foot by the method of Claim 3, and thereafter 3-D laser scanning the solidified cast. |
Foot Casting System
Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for making an accurate cast of a human foot. More particularly, although not exclusively, the invention relates to a system for replicating the feet of a skier, sportsperson, athlete, in-line skater or general footwear user for use in the manufacture of custom-fitting footwear or boot inserts for example.
It is important that the boots of in-line skates (also known as "speed skates") and ski boots for example be well-fitting to provide proper support for the sports person's ankles for example. Certain "off-the-shelf" boots are available which provide adjustable support at various positions about the foot and ankle, but there is a market for custom-made boot inserts or boots - whether integral with in-line skates for example or otherwise, which will provide a more ideal fitting.
In order provide well-fitting boot or inserts with high accuracy, many three-dimensional data points must be taken of each foot and this can be performed by a laser scanner. Laser scanning equipment is very expensive and it would therefore be impractical to keep a laser scanner
at every likely fitting station (retail outlet for example) .
Objects of the Invention
It is an object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate at least one of the above disadvantages and/or more generally to provide a system and method of making a cast of a foot for subsequent laser scanning and/or footwear manufacture.
Disclosure of the Invention
There is disclosed herein apparatus for making a cast of a foot, comprising: a pair of housing parts mutually interconnectable to define a moulding cavity and providing an opening through which a person's lower leg can extend when their foot is located in the moulding cavity; a sole support member located in a lower portion of the moulding cavity and having an upper surface contoured to engage the sole of a human foot; a locking mechanism to retain the housing parts in their mutually interconnected relationship; a flowable moulding material for pouring into and solidifying in the moulding cavity about the person ' s foot to form together with the sole support member a mould of
the foot; means for separating the mould into parts to enable retrieval of the person ' s foot therefrom whereupon the parts are reconstituted to define a casting cavity; a flowable casting material for pouring into and solidifying in the casting cavity to form a cast of the foot.
Preferably, the means for separating the solidified mould comprises a blade for slicing through the mould.
There is further disclosed herein a method for making a cast of a foot, comprising: mutually interconnecting a pair of housing parts to define a moulding cavity about a person's foot and providing an opening through which the person ' s lower leg can extend when the foot is located in the moulding cavity; providing a sole support member in a lower portion of the moulding cavity having an upper surface contoured to engage the sole of a human foot; locking the housing parts in their mutually interconnected relationship; inserting a human foot into the moulding cavity and with the sole of the foot supported by the sole support member; pouring a flowable moulding material into the moulding cavity about the person ' s foot and allowing it to
solidify to form together with the sole support member a mould of the foot; after solidification of the moulding material unlocking the housing parts and separating the mould into parts to enable retrieval of the person's foot therefrom; reconstituting the parts to define a casting cavity; relocking the housing parts in their mutually interconnected relationship ; pouring a flowable casting material into the casting cavity and allowing it to solidify to form a cast of the foot; and removing the solidified cast.
Preferably, the person retains their foot in the moulding cavity in such manner that their lower leg extends therefrom at a skating lean angle (or walking or running angle as the case may be) .
The method can further comprise the step of applying tape across the person's toes prior to the step of pouring a flowable moulding material into the moulding cavity, to thereby present an obstacle to ingress of the moulding material to spaces between the toes .
There is further disclosed herein a method of analysing the shape of a foot, comprising making a cast of a foot by the above-disclosed method, and thereafter 3-D laser
scanning the solidified cast:.
Brief Description of the Drawings
A preferred form of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective illustration of a housing (shown in a closed configuration) for making a cast of a foot;
Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective illustration of the housing of Fig. 1 in an open configuration;
Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective illustration of the housing with a person's foot therein and showing moulding material being poured into the space about the foot;
Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective illustration of the housing opened after solidification of the moulding material to form a mould of the foot - with the moulding shown separated into two parts to enable retrieval of the foot;
Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective illustration of the housing and moulding parts reclosed to define a casting cavity into which casting material is being poured;
Fig. 6 is a schematic perspective illustration showing the housing and moulding parts being opened to reveal a foot casting; and
Fig. 7 is a schematic perspective illustration of the foot casting.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
In the accompanying drawings there is depicted schematically a housing comprising a pair of housing parts 10 which would typically be formed of plastics material. Three locking mechanisms 11 are provided to enable the housing parts 10 to be mutually interconnected about the foot and lower leg 12 of a person. The person would typically be requested to configure their foot and leg in a skating lean position.
A hard sole support member 18 is formed as a pair of pieces divided longitudinally and abutting together when the housing is closed to form a piece somewhat like an orthotic. Each piece of the support member 18 is secured inside the respective housing part prior to insertion of
the foot thereon and obviates the need for allowing the moulding material to flow under the sole of the foot. The sole support member 18 is anatomically contoured in accordance with data taken from numerous feet and made as a best-fit average . There may be several standard kinds of sole support - one a Caucasian average and one an Asian average. This is a cost-effective and simple way of making custom-made shoes . A more costly option might however be to contour each sole support member directly from each customer's feet.
A container of flowable moulding material 13 is shown in Fig. 3 being poured into the housing of parts 10 about the foot/lower leg 12. Prior to this step there is an optional step of covering the toes with adhesive tape to prevent the moulding material 13 from entering the spaces between the toes . The flowable moulding material 13 covers/surrounds the top portion of the foot and adheres to the sole support member 18.
Fig. 4 illustrates the housing 10 being opened after solidification of the moulding material 13 about the foot/lower leg 12. A safe blade (a blade having a blunt tip) is sliced through the solidified moulding material to provide a pair of mould halves 14 (each comprising one half of the sole support member and one half of the solidified moulding material) without injuring the
person's foot/lower leg 12 to enable retrieval thereof.
The housing parts 10 are again locked together as shown in Fig. 5 to thereby present the mould parts 14 (and sole support parts) to one another in their original configuration defining a casting cavity 16 into which a container of casting material 15 (typically a slurry of plaster) is poured.
The plaster solidifies to form a cast 17 as shown in Pig. 6. After solidification, the locks 11 are unlocked to enable opening of the housing parts 10 to reveal the solidified cast 17 for removal .
The above process is performed for each foot and the foot casts 17 are subsequently 3-D laser scanned for computer modelling of the feet for the production of custom- fitting boots or inserts or other footwear.
It should be appreciated that modifications and alterations obvious to those skilled in the art are not to be considered as beyond the scope of the present invention. For example, the two housing parts 10 could be hinged together. Furthermore, rather than slicing the solidified moulding apart along a vertical cutting plane, means could be provided to remove the need for a blade. For example, a thin film might be placed across the foot
after a first portion of moulding material is poured about the lower part of the foot. A second portion of moulding material could then be poured above the film, so that after solidification of the material, an upper portion of the mould could be lifted away from the plasties film and lower portion to enable upward retrieval of the foot from the lower portion .
It should further be appreciated that the invention is not limited in its application to in-line skaters and other sports users . It might equally be applicable for general footwear users and of particular benefit to people having special general footwear requirements, such as people having irregular or abnormal feet, including flat-footed people for example requiring tailor-made shoes .