Personalized footwear with integrated caging system

A footwear assembly, comprising

• a plantar shell that at least partially defines an interior area of the footwear assembly, wherein the interior area is sized to receive a wearer's foot, and wherein the plantar shell includes a plantar shell contour shaped to conform with a bottom surface contour of the wearer's foot and the plantar shell has an upper perimeter portion forming an opening to the interior area configured to receive at least a portion of the wearer's foot therethrough;
• and
• a dorsal shell including a dorsal shell contour shaped to conform with an upper surface contour of the wearer's foot, wherein the dorsal shell is movable between (i) an open position in which the dorsal shell is positioned relative to the plantar shell to allow the wearer's foot to be inserted or removed from the interior area, and (ii) a closed position in which the dorsal shell is coupled to the plantar shell to at least partially enclose the wearer's foot in the interior area, wherein the dorsal shell has an outer perimeter portion configured to engage the upper perimeter portion of the plantar shell to form a caging system that transfer loads between the dorsal and plantar shells when the dorsal shell is in the closed position and during use of the footwear by the wearer, and wherein a vertical position of the dorsal shell relative to the plantar shell is adjustable substantially without deformation of the dorsal shell and to provide adjustable compressive force to an instep portion of the wearer's foot when the dorsal shell is in the closed position.

A caging system for a footwear assembly to facilitate a wearer's performance in highly dynamic activities, the caging system comprising:

• a customized plantar shell that at least partially defines an interior area of the footwear assembly sized to receive an identified wearer's foot, wherein the plantar shell includes an upper perimeter portion forming an opening to the interior area configured to receive at least a portion of the wearer's foot therethrough, and the plantar shell comprising (i) a forefoot shell portion shaped to conform to a corresponding forefoot portion of the wearer's foot, and (ii) a heel shell portion opposite the forefoot shell portion and shaped to conform to a corresponding heel portion of the wearer's foot;
• and
• a dorsal shell shaped to conform to an instep portion of the wearer's foot and releasably couplable to the plantar shell, wherein the dorsal shell is movable between (i) an open position in which the dorsal shell is movable relative to the plantar shell to allow the wearer's foot to be inserted or removed from the interior area, and (ii) a closed position in which the dorsal shell is coupled to the plantar shell and applies a compressive force to the instep portion of the wearer's foot to reduce flexural motion of the wearer's foot, wherein the dorsal shell has an outer perimeter portion configured to engage the upper perimeter portion of the plantar shell to form a caging system that transfer loads between the dorsal and plantar shells when the dorsal shell is in the closed position and during use of the footwear by the wearer, and
• wherein a vertical position of the dorsal shell relative to the plantar shell is adjustable substantially without deformation of the dorsal shell and to provide adjustable compressive force to an instep portion of the wearer's foot when the dorsal shell is in the closed position.