Patent attributes
An article of textile-soled footwear and method of making employ a simple fabrication process and apparatus that allows fabrication of the footwear outer shell via a single injection-molding step. The article of footwear has a textile layer at the ground-contacting surface of the outsole, the textile layer being moldably and integrally attached, in a common mold, to the molded outsole as it is being created during the injection process. Fasteners are set along the side of the sole plate of the injection mold to secure the textile layer across the sole plate and prevent it from being moved during injection of the moldable compound to form the outsole. The sole plate and the sidewalls of the injection mold are assembled in place for the injection process. The shoe upper is fitted onto the shoe last and set in place in the mold, the mold is closed, and the moldable compound is injected into the mold. Once injection is complete, the mold side walls are opened, the injected shoe is removed, and the excess textile layer is trimmed. In the preferred embodiment, the molded outsole layer is made of a thermoplastic resin and the ground-contacting textile layer is a combination of cotton, polyester, and Lycra®.
