A footwear manufactured by, and a method of manufacturing footwear by, a direct injection production. The method includes providing a direct injection mold, which is attachable to injection molding equipment and is configured for at least partly channeling injection material to a mold cavity. At least one premanufactured sole part of a sole structure is provided. The premanufactured sole part is positioned in relation to the direct injection mold. A footwear upper is positioned in relation to the direct injection mold. An injection material is injected into the mold cavity, and the mold cavity is at least partly formed by the direct injection mold. The injection material is configured for attaching the footwear upper to the at least one premanufactured sole part. The injection material, upon curing, provides an attaching sole part of the sole structure of the footwear. The at least one premanufactured sole part is a sole part that has been manufactured by a supercritical foaming process.

A METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A HANDS-FREE MOLDED SHOE may include placing a substrate insert into a first shoe mold where the substrate insert includes a heel insert, providing a first plastic to the first shoe mold to yield a substrate, placing the substrate and an overmold insert into a second shoe mold, and providing a second plastic to the second shoe mold to yield a shoe. The first plastic has a greater hardness than the second plastic.

A METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A HANDS-FREE MOLDED SHOE may include placing a substrate insert into a first shoe mold where the substrate insert includes a heel insert, providing a first plastic to the first shoe mold to yield a substrate, placing the substrate and an overmold insert into a second shoe mold, and providing a second plastic to the second shoe mold to yield a shoe. The first plastic has a greater hardness than the second plastic.

A HANDS-FREE MOLDED SHOE may include a uniformly molded slip-on shoe having features to facilitate hands-free wearing. Such features may include use of a greater hardness plastic in a heel counter portion of the shoe and lesser hardness plastic in an upper and/or sole portion of the shoe. The heel counter portion may be configured to deform into a new configuration under the load of a user's foot as it enters a shoe opening, and return to its original configuration once the foot is inside the show. The heel counter portion may further have an S-wave shaped vertical cross section at a rearmost position. Methods of manufacture of a HFMS may include the use of an upper insert and a sole insert as well as a heel insert having a securing mechanism to secure the heel insert to a core portion of a shoe mold.

A HANDS-FREE MOLDED SHOE may include a uniformly molded slip-on shoe having features to facilitate hands-free wearing. Such features may include use of a greater hardness plastic in a heel counter portion of the shoe and lesser hardness plastic in an upper and/or sole portion of the shoe. The heel counter portion may be configured to deform into a new configuration under the load of a user's foot as it enters a shoe opening, and return to its original configuration once the foot is inside the show. The heel counter portion may further have an S-wave shaped vertical cross section at a rearmost position. Methods of manufacture of a HFMS may include the use of an upper insert and a sole insert as well as a heel insert having a securing mechanism to secure the heel insert to a core portion of a shoe mold.

A method for manufacturing a footwear apparatus includes placing footwear upper material onto a bottom portion of a midsole mold. The upper material includes a first portion residing within a cavity in the bottom portion of the midsole mold and a second portion extending beyond boundaries of the cavity in the bottom portion of the midsole mold. The method further includes closing a second portion of the midsole mold onto the bottom portion of the midsole mold, injecting midsole mold material into the closed first and second portions of the midsole mold, where the midsole material is fused with the first portion of the upper material, and forming the second portion of the upper material into at least a portion of an upper of the footwear apparatus. The midsole material is attached to the first portion of the upper material without stitching or gluing.

A footwear injection mold includes a secondary injection mold defining at least part of an injection chamber. The injection chamber includes a proximal surface defining a part of a distal surface of a footwear part. The secondary injection mold includes a protrusion having an upper contacting surface, a proximal end, a primary surface faced away from the injection chamber, and a secondary surface facing the injection chamber. A normal of the upper contacting surface intersects a center point of the upper contacting surface. A protrusion plane is defined by the normal of the upper contacting surface along a width of the protrusion, and defines a boundary between a primary half and a secondary half of the protrusion, the primary half arranged between the protrusion plane and the primary surface, and the secondary half arranged between the protrusion plane and the secondary surface. A height of the proximal end of the protrusion is larger than the height of the upper contacting surface of the protrusion, relative to the normal of the upper contacting surface.

A HANDS-FREE MOLDED SHOE may include a uniformly molded slip-on shoe having features to facilitate hands-free wearing. Such features may include use of a greater hardness plastic in a heel counter portion of the shoe and lesser hardness plastic in an upper and/or sole portion of the shoe. The heel counter portion may be configured to deform into a new configuration under the load of a user's foot as it enters a shoe opening, and return to its original configuration once the foot is inside the show. The heel counter portion may further have an S-wave shaped vertical cross section at a rearmost position. Methods of manufacture of a HFMS may include the use of an upper insert and a sole insert as well as a heel insert having a securing mechanism to secure the heel insert to a core portion of a shoe mold.

A HANDS-FREE MOLDED SHOE may include a uniformly molded slip-on shoe having features to facilitate hands-free wearing. Such features may include use of a greater hardness plastic in a heel counter portion of the shoe and lesser hardness plastic in an upper and/or sole portion of the shoe. The heel counter portion may be configured to deform into a new configuration under the load of a user's foot as it enters a shoe opening, and return to its original configuration once the foot is inside the show. The heel counter portion may further have an S-wave shaped vertical cross section at a rearmost position. Methods of manufacture of a HFMS may include the use of an upper insert and a sole insert as well as a heel insert having a securing mechanism to secure the heel insert to a core portion of a shoe mold.