HK1180277B - Improved method and apparatus for manufacturing waterproof footwear with attached compressible lining - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and apparatus for making a lined waterproof footwear product, and footwear product formed there from, are provided. A last, having an exterior surface configured to correspond to the size and shape of the interior surface of the footwear product, is covered with a microcellular lining material. An injection mold comprises shells having a pre-determined configuration to cooperate with the exterior surface of the lining covered last to form: (i) a pre-injection cavity between the shells and the lining covered last when in position in the mold for injection molding; and, (ii) an injection cavity, defining the configuration of the footwear product, between the shells and the lining covered last when injection material is being injected into the injection cavity whereby the injection pressure causes the microcellular lining material to reconfigure to the injection cavity.; The mold is closed with the lining covered last between the shells and injected under pressure with an injection material until the injection cavity is filled with the injection material. The injection material is hardened and attaches to the microcellular lining material, to form the footwear product over the last. The mold is opened and the footwear product is removed from the last.

Description

Improved method and apparatus for manufacturing waterproof footwear with attached compressive liner

Technical Field

The present invention is in the field of footwear and, in particular, relates to an improved method and apparatus for manufacturing waterproof footwear with a lining, such as a warm-type lining of winter footwear, and waterproof footwear formed thereby.

Background

Different manufacturing methods are known for producing waterproof shoes (e.g. winter boots) with linings (e.g. insulation). These methods include the conventional lasting process, a process for injection molding the boot body and then inserting a loose insulating lining in the boot body and applying a vulcanization process to the lining layer of the rubber boot. Each of these known methods involves a number of separate steps, which increases cost and hinders efficiency.

The lasting process is a well-known and old method that uses a last (last) in the shape of the intended boot, which is a three-dimensional model of the intended boot. By this method, the boot material is formed and fitted on the last. Hiking boots are typically manufactured in this manner. Using a last as a model, a selected material, which may be a leather and/or textile material, including a material for a lining layer, is cut into a shoe upper leather (piece), assembled with a waterproof film layer, such as a Gore-Tex film, sewn together, and then attached to a rubber sole.

The vulcanization process is also a well-known method for manufacturing rubber boots, and uses a last. By this method, the lining material is formed to fit over and position over a last. The unvulcanized (e.g., raw) rubber is cut into a shoe upper skin according to the pattern, and the shoe upper skin is laid flat and attached to the lining material covering the shoe last. After the shoe upper skin is positioned, the assembly is placed in a furnace and subjected to high pressure to vulcanize and adhere the raw rubber to the insulating cellular lining.

These known methods involve many separate steps or require multiple sub-processes, which increases the production costs. Thus, a simple method would constitute a desirable improvement.

Disclosure of Invention

According to the present invention, a method for manufacturing a lined waterproof footwear product is provided. The last has an exterior surface configured to correspond to the size and shape of the interior surface of the article of footwear. At least a portion of an exterior surface of the last is covered with a microporous lining material. A first mould is provided for injection moulding a footwear product, whereby the first mould comprises first and second plates and first and second shells, wherein each shell has a predetermined configuration to cooperate with an exterior surface of the lining covered last to form: (i) a pre-injection cavity between the shell and the lining covered last when the lining covered last is between the first shell and the second shell and between the first plate and the second plate on opposite sides of the shell, and the plates are closed in position for injection molding; and (ii) an injection cavity defining a configuration of an article of footwear, between the shell and the liner-covered last when the panels are tightly closed, the liner-covered last being between the closed panels, and an injection material being injected into the injection cavity, whereby injection pressure causes the microporous liner material to compress, thereby reconfiguring from the pre-injection cavity to the injection cavity. The lining covered last is located between the first shell and the second shell and between the first plate and the second plate on opposite sides of the shell. The plate is closed in position for injection molding, thus forming the pre-injection cavity between the shell and the lining-covered last. An injection material is injected under pressure into the pre-injection cavity, whereby the pre-injection cavity reconfigures to the injection cavity, and the injection material is injected until the injection cavity is filled with the injection material. The injection material hardens in the injection cavity, whereby the hardened injection material attaches to the microporous lining material and forms a lasted footwear product. Opening the first mold to separate the plate and shell and expose the finished footwear product, and removing the footwear product from the last.

The injection material may be a thermoplastic material that is heated prior to the injection step, melted upon injection, and hardened by cooling. Preferably, the last is constructed of a hard and durable material selected from the group consisting of hardened aluminum, steel, and stainless steel. Covering the last may include positioning a sock liner over the last.

The footwear product may be an upper portion of another footwear product having a sole manufactured by injection molding with a second mold including first and second sole plates and first and second sole shells. The sole is formed in a sole cavity between a first sole shell and a second sole shell by injecting an injection material into the sole cavity, and is attached to the upper to form another article of footwear. The sole is attachable to the upper during said injection molding by injection material during injection molding and cooling of the upper. The injection molding of the second sole may be performed simultaneously with the injection molding of the upper. Preferably, the injection hole is located outside the first mold.

The present invention further provides an apparatus for manufacturing a lined waterproof footwear product, wherein the last has an exterior surface configured to correspond to the size and shape of the interior surface of the footwear product. A first mould is provided for injection moulding a footwear product, whereby the first mould comprises first and second plates and first and second shells, wherein each shell has a predetermined configuration to cooperate with an exterior surface of a lining covered last to form: (i) a pre-injection cavity between the shell and the lining covered last when the lining covered last is between the first shell and the second shell and between the first plate and the second plate on opposite sides of the shell, and the plates are closed in position for injection molding; and (ii) an injection cavity between the shell and the lining covered last when the panels are tightly closed, the lining covered last being between the closed panels, and injection material being injected into the injection cavity, whereby injection pressure causes the microporous liner material to compress, thereby reconfiguring from the pre-injection cavity to the injection cavity; whereby the lining-covered last comprises the last with at least a portion of its exterior surface covered with a microporous lining material, and the configuration of the injection cavity defines the configuration of the footwear product.

With this apparatus, the footwear product is formed as follows: the pre-injection cavity is thus reconfigured as an injection cavity by injecting an injection material under pressure into the pre-injection cavity until the injection cavity is filled with the injection material and hardening the injection material in the injection cavity. The footwear further provides that a second mold comprising a first sole plate and a second sole plate and a first sole shell and a second sole shell for injection molding a sole attached to the upper may be an upper portion of another footwear. Preferably, the injection hole is located outside the first mold. Preferably, the compressible cellular liner material may have a relatively thick thickness relative to the cooled injected material formed by the first mold.

The invention further provides an article of footwear or upper and other articles of footwear manufactured by the foregoing steps.

Drawings

The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the following drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a layer of lining material located over and covering a last in accordance with the present invention;

fig. 2 is a partial plan view of an injection molding machine for manufacturing lined waterproof boots according to the present invention having an upper mold and two sole molds for cycle injection, in each cycle, a boot upper and a sole are attached and a previously molded sole is attached to the boot upper molded during the cycle. The lined shoe last is shown in position between the two upper mould plates and the shell, ready to close the plates around the shoe last and cover the ends of the plates with a sole plate comprising the previous injection moulded sole. Also shown is a second sole plate engaged with the above sole plate covering the upper mold by rotating the plate, whereby the second sole plate closes on the cover plate when the upper mold is closed during the same injection cycle of injection molding the upper and injecting the injected material to form the sole.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a waterproof boot with an internally attached liner made in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed Description

The present invention provides an improved method and apparatus for manufacturing lined waterproof footwear, and waterproof footwear formed thereby. The method uses an injection molding process and a last. The predetermined thermoplastic material is selected for the appropriate application and is used as the injection material. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the last 10 is advantageously used within an injection mold 55 for an upper of an article of footwear to position and attach the liner 20 to the upper 130. The upper mold 55 includes two shells 70 and two plates 60. The shell 70 is designed to simultaneously supplement the configuration of the layers of the liner 20 and the dynamic changes that the configuration of the liner undergoes due to the pressure applied to it during the injection process to create a cavity 80 having a predetermined configuration of the upper 130 of the article of footwear to be manufactured by the mold (see fig. 3).

While the last 10 is in the upper mold 55, a thermoplastic material in a fluid state is injected over the last 10 covered with a lining material (also referred to herein as a sock lining) 20 and allowed to set (i.e., harden) within the mold to form a lined waterproof footwear product 120 as shown in fig. 3. While injected in a fluid state into the upper mold 55, the thermoplastic material covers the sock lining 20 and attaches to the sock lining 20 as it solidifies. For the exemplary illustrated embodiment, a winter boot is provided; however, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to any particular type of boot, and other types of lined waterproof footwear are also provided, including rain boots and rain boots.

As shown in fig. 1, the last 10 serves as a three-dimensional model or style for sizing and fitting the sock lining 20. The last 10 is made of a hard metal, typically hardened aluminum or steel for high durability. The exterior surface of last 10 is configured to reflect (i.e., correspond to) the size and shape of the interior surface of the article of footwear being manufactured by upper mold 55. The predetermined thicker microporous lining material is sized, cut and stitched to match the size, shape and configuration of the exterior surface of the last 10, and is tightly secured to the last 10 to form sock lining 20. For example, the sock liner 20 may be selected to provide insulation for the winter boot shown in FIG. 3. When the lining upper skins 30 are sewn together, the resulting sock lining 20 is positioned over the last 10 to cover the last 10, as shown in fig. 1 and 2.

The term "microcellular" means that the material comprises a large number of pores and has compression-expansion properties such that the compression of the lining material is caused under pressure during the process of injecting the injection material into the mold cavity and then expands after removing the molded boot from the mold and removing the last.

In the illustrated embodiment, a WS-2H grade neoprene microcellular material made by tam bearing corporation, taiwan, comprising 30% polychloroprene and 70% styrene-butadiene rubber, is selected for use as the backing material. This is a foamed synthetic rubber product (i.e., containing air voids) and is selected for the illustrated application of winter boots due to its relatively good insulating properties. Examples of other suitable microporous materials are foamed blends, such as polyurethane or EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) type blends. For the illustrated embodiment, the liner material is selected to have a relatively thick 3mm thickness, but it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the thickness to be selected will vary for each application depending on the design choices for the particular footwear product to be formed and the particular molding material to be used.

To mold bootie 130, last 10 with sock liner 120 is attached to upper mold 55 using last fixture 40, thereby positioning last 10 with sock liner 120 within cavity 80 between the two sets of plates 60 and shell 70 of upper mold 55, as shown in fig. 2. The plate 60 and the housing 70 are made of a hard metal, such as hardened aluminum or steel, which is highly resistant. The shell 70 is accurately measured to account for the thickness of the jacket liner 20 as it is compressed during the injection molding process. A key principle in the design of the upper mold 55 is to provide a cavity 80, also referred to as a pre-injection cavity, between the interior surface of the mold 55 and the sock liner 20 having a configuration that takes up the uneven compression of the sock liner 20 as it is subsequently subjected to the pressure at which the thermoplastic material is injected into the cavity 80. This is because, after injection of the thermoplastic material with its attendant pressure applied to the sock liner 20, the final configuration of the cavity (also called the injection cavity) is gradually occupied by the thermoplastic material and defines the configuration of the footwear product made by this process. Therefore, the upper mold 55, the sock liner 20, and the cavity 80 must be designed to together account for the uneven compression factor of the sock liner 20 over the area of the sock liner 20. Thus, the combination of last 10 and sock liner 20 operate together in a new manner in the closed position of mold shell 70 and plate 60 to form the cavity needed to manufacture the desired article of footwear in a manner similar to a conventional mold core without liner material.

For the injection process, the plates 60, 105 of the upper and the sole molds 55, 115 are tightly closed and sealed, whereby the last 10 with the sock liner 20 is positioned between the upper plate 60 and the shell 70 to form an upper cavity 80, which upper cavity 80 is injected with molten thermoplastic material by the injection molding machine 50 in a conventional manner. In the case of a conventional injection molding process, the upper mold 55 includes two shells 70 and two plates 60, which when closed, provide an upper cavity 80, which upper cavity 80 is injected under pressure with a heated molten injection material. The mold 55 also includes a channel (not shown) extending from the opening to the cavity 80 for pressure injection of the injection material into the cavity 80 to completely fill the passageway of the cavity 80, whereby the thermoplastic material bonds to the jacket liner 20.

For the illustrated embodiment, the sole 140 of the footwear product is also injection molded by the injection molding machine 50 during the same injection cycle. The sole mold 115 includes a shell 100 and two plates 105, 110, as shown in fig. 2. To provide processing efficiency, the illustrated exemplary injection molding machine 50 includes two sole mold shells 100 that are simultaneously connected to a rotatable plate 105. After each injection cycle of the injection molding machine 50, the plate 105 is rotated 180 degrees, whereby the empty shell 100 is positioned opposite the cover plate 100 and connected to the table 90 of the injection molding machine, and the other shell 100, which has just completed the injection of the sole, is moved away from the cover plate 110 and aligned with the upper mold 70. This enables the injection molding machine 50 to mold both the bootie 130 and the bootie sole 140 simultaneously during one injection cycle, and to join the bootie 130 molded during the same injection cycle with the bootie sole 140 molded during the previous cycle. If the sole and the upper are to be molded and connected at the same time, the previously molded sole is attached to the upper during molding of the upper, and the other sole is molded at the same time, ready for attachment to the next molded upper, since the liquid injection material will flow between the sole and the upper.

Referring to fig. 2, when the upper plate 60 is closed, the sole shell 100 opposite the cover plate 110 is tightly closed over the cover plate 110 to form a cavity (not shown) therebetween into which an injection material is injected during the same injection cycle that the upper cavity 80 injects the injection material for the upper. At the same time, another sole shell 100 filled with a molded sole made during the previous injection cycle is tightly closed over the end of the upper mold 55 in line with the bottom of the sock liner 20. The previously manufactured molded sole is attached to the upper at the same time as the upper is molded.

After the thermoplastic material is injected into the upper cavity 80 and the sole cavity formed between the sole shell 100 and the cover plate 110, it is cooled and hardened, thus forming a molded boot. When sufficiently cooled, the plates 60, 105, 110 of the mold are opened (separated) and the operator of the injection molding machine 50 removes the finished waterproof footwear with the attached lining 120 from the last 10 while the last clamp 40 remains connected to the upper mold 55.

The upper mold 55 is designed to provide full coverage of the injected material injected into the cavity 80. As such, the design is contemplated in view of the non-uniform reaction of the microcellular material of the jacket liner 20 when exposed to high pressure, high temperature, and high stress during injection molding thereof. For example, an exemplary 3mm thick jacket liner 20 would compress 0.075mm more at the edges of the mold closure than in the middle of the mold. The surface of the shell 70 is designed to take up the dynamic compression changes that the jacket liner 20 will experience during injection molding by creating a larger (smaller) space for the cavity 80 that is related to the compression factor of the jacket liner 20 on the adjacent surface of the shell 70.

An injection hole (not shown) of the mold is provided as a passage for the molten injection material from an injector (not shown) of the injection molding machine 50. For the illustrated embodiment, the injection holes are not conventionally placed on the exterior of the upper shell 70, rather than being hidden on the sole mold 115 during conventional injection molding processes to provide better flow of the injected material and filling of the upper mold cavity 80. If instead injected into the upper mold 55 in a conventional manner, the top of the toe region of the boot has a commissural line, and depending on the application, this may not be satisfactory for aesthetic reasons. This may also reduce durability as the seam line may be more prone to cracking during use of the boot.

For conventional molds, the particular location and configuration (e.g., size and shape) to be selected for the injection holes also affects the timing of the injection material contacting the jacket lining. If there is insufficient space for the injected material to flow and reach the end of the cavity, within seconds of the very high pressure and high temperature applied by the injection molding process, the injected material will become clogged and the delay in flow will cause it to harden prematurely without filling the cavity and clogging the injector of the injection molding machine. In addition, the upper mold 55 is designed to facilitate the production of a spill free of injected material that occurs when the edges of the mold plates are not sufficiently sealed together after the mold is closed.

Details of the illustrated embodiments may vary as a matter of deliberate expedient by a person skilled in the art, merely as an inclusion in a preferred embodiment not being deemed essential to the invention. Rather, the invention is defined by the appended claims.

Claims (18)

1. A method for manufacturing an injection molded waterproof footwear product comprising a compressible cellular lining material attached to the waterproof footwear product such that the compressible cellular lining material is attached to the footwear product during injection molding of the footwear product, the method comprising:

(a) providing a last having an exterior surface corresponding to an interior surface of the article of footwear;

(b) covering at least a portion of the exterior surface of the last with a compressive microporous lining material that compresses under pressure;

(c) providing a first mold configured for injecting molten injection material into an injection cavity to form the footwear product, wherein the first mold comprises first and second flat plates and first and second shells, each of the shells having a predetermined configuration designed to undertake dynamic differential compression of the compressible cellular liner material during the injection molding, the predetermined configuration of the shells designed to form: (i) a pre-injection cavity between the shell and the compressible cellular lining material covered last and between the first plate and the second plate on opposite sides of the shell with the compressible cellular lining material covered last located between the first shell and the second shell and the plates in an injection molded closed position prior to the injection molding; and (ii) a dynamically formed injection cavity between the shell and the compressible microporous liner material covered last while the compressible microporous liner material covered last is in the mold with the flat plate in a closed position and the molten injection material is injected, wherein a configuration of the injection cavity is dynamically formed by pressure applied during injection of the molten injection material that compresses the compressible microporous liner material, thereby reconfiguring the pre-injection cavity to form the injection cavity;

(d) positioning the compressive microporous liner material covered last between the first and second shells and between the first and second plates on opposite sides of the shells and closing the plates in a position for injection molding, forming the pre-injection cavity between the shells and the compressive microporous liner material covered last;

(e) injecting the molten injection material under pressure into the pre-injection cavity to form the injection cavity and to fill the injection cavity with molten injection material;

(f) hardening the injected injection material such that the hardened injection material is attached to the compressive microporous liner material, the hardened injection material and attached compressive microporous liner material together forming the article of footwear;

(g) opening the first mold to expose the article of footwear; and

(h) removing the footwear product from the last, wherein the formed footwear product includes a molded foot portion adapted to extend completely around a wearer's foot and to cover a foot portion of the compressive microporous liner material, and an upwardly extending molded portion extending upwardly from the molded foot portion and covering a portion of a leg portion of the compressive microporous liner material, while not covering another portion of the leg portion of the compressive microporous liner material.

2. The method of claim 1, the molten injected material comprising a thermoplastic material that is heated to melt prior to the injecting step; and the molten injection material is hardened by cooling the molten injection material.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, the last being constructed of a hard and durable material selected from the group consisting of hardened aluminum, steel, and stainless steel.

4. The method of claim 1 or 2, the compressive microporous lining material forming a compressive sheath on the last.

5. The method of claim 1 or 2, the article of footwear being an upper portion of another article of footwear comprising an upper and a sole, the method further comprising:

(a) providing a second mold configured for injection molding a sole and attaching the sole to the upper formed by the first mold, the second mold comprising a first sole plate and a second sole plate and a first sole shell and a second sole shell between the first sole plate and the second sole plate;

(b) injection molding a sole in a sole cavity formed between the first and second sole shells; and

(c) attaching the sole to the upper.

6. The method of claim 5, the sole being attached to the upper based on the cooling of the molten injected material of the upper.

7. The method of claim 6, the second mold configured to form a second sole by injection molding simultaneously with the injection molding of the upper.

8. The method of claim 5, an injection hole for injecting the injection material is located outside the first mold.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the compressive microporous backing material comprises a foamed synthetic rubber.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the compressive microporous liner material has a relatively thicker thickness relative to a cooled injected material formed by the first mold.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the compressive microporous liner material has a thickness of 3 mm.

12. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the compressive microporous material comprises neoprene, the neoprene comprising polychloroprene.

13. An apparatus for manufacturing a waterproof footwear product by injection molding using a last comprising an attached compressive microporous lining material, wherein the compressive microporous lining material is attached during the injection molding step, the last having an exterior surface corresponding to an interior surface of the footwear product, the apparatus comprising a first mold configured for injecting a molten injection material into an injection cavity to form the footwear product, wherein the first mold comprises a first flat plate and a second flat plate and a first shell and a second shell, each of the shells having a predetermined configuration designed to undertake dynamic uneven compression of the compressive microporous lining material during the injection molding, the predetermined configuration of the shells designed to form: (i) a pre-injection cavity between the shell and the compressible cellular lining material covered last and between the first plate and the second plate on opposite sides of the shell with the compressible cellular lining material covered last located between the first shell and the second shell and the plates in an injection molded closed position prior to the injection molding; and (ii) a dynamically formed injection cavity between the shell and the compressible microporous lining material covered last while the compressible microporous lining material covered last is in the mold with the flat plate in a closed position and the molten injection material is injected, wherein a configuration of the injection cavity is dynamically formed by pressure applied during injection of the molten injection material that compresses the compressible microporous lining material, thereby reconfiguring the pre-injection cavity to form the injection cavity, wherein the apparatus is configured to produce a footwear product that: the footwear product includes a molded foot portion adapted to extend completely around a wearer's foot and to cover a foot portion of the compressive microporous liner material, and an upwardly extending molded portion extending upwardly from the molded foot portion and covering a portion of a leg portion of the compressive microporous liner material, while not covering another portion of the leg portion of the compressive microporous liner material.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the first mold is configured to form a footwear product as an upper portion of another footwear product, and the apparatus further comprises a second mold for injection molding a sole attached to the upper formed by the first mold, the second mold comprising first and second sole plates and first and second sole shells.

15. An apparatus according to claim 13 or 14, wherein an injection hole is located outside the first mould.

16. A method for manufacturing an injection molded waterproof footwear product comprising a compressible cellular lining material attached to the waterproof footwear product such that the compressible cellular lining material is attached to the footwear product during injection molding of the footwear product, the method comprising:

(a) providing a last having an exterior surface corresponding to an interior surface of the article of footwear;

(b) covering at least a portion of the exterior surface of the last with a compressive microporous lining material that compresses under pressure;

(c) providing a first mold configured for injecting flowable injection material into an injection cavity to form the footwear product, wherein the first mold comprises first and second flat plates and first and second shells, each of the shells having a predetermined configuration designed to take up dynamic differential compression of the compressible cellular liner material during the injection molding, the predetermined configuration of the shells designed to form: (i) a pre-injection cavity between the shell and the compressible cellular lining material covered last and between the first plate and the second plate on opposite sides of the shell with the compressible cellular lining material covered last located between the first shell and the second shell and the plates in an injection molded closed position prior to the injection molding; and (ii) a dynamically formed injection cavity between the shell and the compressible microporous liner material covered last while the compressible microporous liner material covered last is in the mold with the flat plate in a closed position and the compressible microporous liner material is injected, wherein a configuration of the injection cavity is dynamically formed by pressure applied during injection of the compressible microporous liner material that compresses the compressible microporous liner material, thereby reconfiguring the pre-injection cavity to form the injection cavity;

(d) positioning the compressive microporous liner material covered last between the first and second shells and between the first and second plates on opposite sides of the shells and closing the plates in a position for injection molding, forming the pre-injection cavity between the shells and the compressive microporous liner material covered last;

(e) injecting the flowable injection material under pressure into the pre-injection cavity to form the injection cavity and to fill the injection cavity with flowable injection material;

(f) hardening the injected injection material such that the hardened injection material is attached to the compressive microporous liner material, the hardened injection material and attached compressive microporous liner material together forming the article of footwear;

(g) opening the first mold to expose the article of footwear; and

(h) removing the footwear product from the last, wherein the formed footwear product includes a molded foot portion adapted to extend completely around a wearer's foot and to cover a foot portion of the compressive microporous liner material, and an upwardly extending molded portion extending upwardly from the molded foot portion and covering a portion of a leg portion of the compressive microporous liner material, while not covering another portion of the leg portion of the compressive microporous liner material.

17. An apparatus for manufacturing a waterproof footwear product by injection molding using a last comprising an attached compressive microporous lining material, wherein the compressive microporous lining material is attached during the injection molding step, the last having an exterior surface corresponding to an interior surface of the footwear product, the apparatus comprising a first mold configured for injecting a flowable injection material into an injection cavity to form the footwear product, wherein the first mold comprises a first flat plate and a second flat plate and a first shell and a second shell, each of the shells having a predetermined configuration designed to take up a dynamic uneven compression of the compressive microporous lining material during the injection molding, the predetermined configuration of the shells designed to form: (i) a pre-injection cavity between the shell and the compressible cellular lining material covered last and between the first plate and the second plate on opposite sides of the shell with the compressible cellular lining material covered last located between the first shell and the second shell and the plates in an injection molded closed position prior to the injection molding; and (ii) a dynamically formed injection cavity between the shell and the compressible microporous lining material covered last while the compressible microporous lining material covered last is in the mold with the flat plate in a closed position and the flowable injection material is injected, wherein a configuration of the injection cavity is dynamically formed by pressure applied during injection of the flowable injection material that compresses the compressible microporous lining material, thereby reconfiguring the pre-injection cavity to form the injection cavity, wherein the apparatus is configured to produce a footwear product that: the footwear product includes a molded foot portion adapted to extend completely around a wearer's foot and to cover a foot portion of the compressive microporous liner material, and an upwardly extending molded portion extending upwardly from the molded foot portion and covering a portion of a leg portion of the compressive microporous liner material, while not covering another portion of the leg portion of the compressive microporous liner material.

18. An article of footwear made according to the method of any of claims 1-12 and 16.