Granted Patent B2

US 12,239,190 · App. 17/766,169 · Granted Mar 4, 2025

Inventor: Oliver Pape (Rastede, DE)

A43D1/025A43D8/02

Abstract

Claims (46)

1. An orthopedic foot sole scanning system, comprising:

an optical foot sole scanning apparatus comprising:

a) an element that is substantially in the shape of a plate or a wedge in the unloaded state and is made of a resilient material, having a foot placement side facing a foot sole of a human foot to be scanned when in use and having a scanner side, wherein said resilient material is at least partially light-transmissive;

b) an optical scanner that is arranged on said scanner side of said element and is configured to emit electromagnetic radiation through said element at least in part onto said foot placement side of said element when in use and to record data when in use; and

c) an evaluation unit that is connected to said optical scanner and is set up to perform a reconstruction of the three-dimensional shape of the foot sole from said data recorded by said optical scanner; and

at least one silicone pillow that is suitable for changing a position of at least one foot placed on said element by being introduced under at least one arch.

2. A method for ascertaining a three-dimensional shape of an insole, comprising the steps of:

providing an optical foot sole scanning apparatus comprising:

a) an element that is substantially in the shape of a plate or a wedge in the unloaded state and is made of a resilient material, having a foot placement side facing a foot sole of a human foot to be scanned when in use and having a scanner side, wherein the resilient material is at least partially light-transmissive;

b) an optical scanner that is arranged on the scanner side of the element and is configured to emit electromagnetic radiation through the element at least in part onto the foot placement side of the element when in use and to record data when in use; and

c) an evaluation unit that is connected to the optical scanner and is set up to perform a reconstruction of the three-dimensional shape of the foot sole from the data recorded by the optical scanner;

placing at least one foot with the foot sole on the element;

changing a position of the at least one foot by introducing at least one silicone pillow under an arch of the at least one foot for correcting a misalignment before scanning takes place;

scanning the foot sole(s) with the optical scanner;

transferring the data ascertained by the scanning from the optical scanner to the evaluation unit;

reconstructing the three-dimensional shape of the foot sole; and

calculating a three-dimensional shape of at least one insole for improving the weight distribution on the foot in the loaded state from the reconstructed shape of the foot sole by means of the evaluation unit.

3. The method for ascertaining a three-dimensional shape of an insole of claim 2 , wherein calculating a three-dimensional shape of the insole by means of the evaluation unit comprises automatically performing the steps of:

cutting out the foot shape;

selecting an insole size on the basis of the scanned foot sole or the reconstructed shape of the foot sole; and

selecting the material thickness of the insole on the basis of the reconstructed shape of the foot sole.

4. A method for automatically producing an insole, comprising the steps of:

providing an insole production apparatus comprising:

an optical foot sole scanning apparatus that further comprises:

a) an element that is substantially in the shape of a plate or a wedge in the unloaded state and is made of a resilient material, having a foot placement side facing a foot sole of a human foot to be scanned when in use and having a scanner side, wherein the resilient material is at least partially light-transmissive;

b) an optical scanner that is arranged on the scanner side of the element and is configured to emit electromagnetic radiation through the element at least in part onto the foot placement side of the element when in use and to record data when in use; and

c) an evaluation unit that is connected to the optical scanner and is set up to perform a reconstruction of the three-dimensional shape of the foot sole from the data recorded by the optical scanner; and

an insole fabrication device that is in data connection with the optical foot sole scanning apparatus;

placing at least one foot with the foot sole on the element;

scanning the foot sole(s) with the optical scanner;

transferring the data ascertained by the scanning from the optical scanner to the evaluation unit;

reconstructing the three-dimensional shape of the foot sole; and

calculating a three-dimensional shape of at least one insole for improving the weight distribution on the foot in the loaded state from the reconstructed shape of the foot sole by means of the evaluation unit wherein calculating a three-dimensional shape of the insole from the ascertained data by means of the evaluation unit comprises automatically performing the steps of:

cutting out the foot shape;

selecting an insole size on the basis of the scanned foot sole or the reconstructed shape of the foot sole; and

selecting the material thickness of the insole on the basis of the reconstructed shape of the foot sole; and

fabricating the insole by means of the insole fabrication device.

5. The orthopedic foot sole scanning system of claim 1 , wherein said resilient material comprises silicone gel.

6. The orthopedic foot sole scanning system of claim 1 , wherein the Shore OO hardness of said resilient material is under 50.

7. The orthopedic foot sole scanning system of claim 1 , wherein said element has a polyurethane protective coating on said foot placement side.

8. The orthopedic foot sole scanning system of claim 1 , wherein said polyurethane protective coating has a layer thickness of between 2 μm and 100 μm.

9. The orthopedic foot sole scanning system of claim 1 , wherein said polyurethane protective coating is disinfectable.

10. The orthopedic foot sole scanning system of claim 1 , wherein said optical scanner comprises a 2D or 3D laser scanner.

11. The orthopedic foot sole scanning system of claim 1 , wherein said optical scanner additionally captures the intensity of the reflected signal.

12. The orthopedic foot sole scanning system of claim 1 , wherein said element has a layer thickness of between 1 cm and 10 cm in the unloaded state.

13. The orthopedic foot sole scanning system of claim 1 , wherein said optical scanner has a capturing accuracy of 1 mm or better.

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (10)