Method of making footwear having a two-color rubber sole

In a method for the manufacture of two-color rubber-soled footwear, the steps of:

• introducing a measured quantity of a first uncured rubber into a mold cavity defined by closed side ring means, a lasted upper, and a sole plate having a peripheral lip in sliding contact with the inside surface of said side ring means and provided adjacent said lip to the side thereof facing away from said lasted upper with a groove extending around the entire periphery of said sole plate and opening toward said side ring means;
• advancing said sole plate within said closed side ring means toward said lasted upper until said first rubber is spread throughout the entire mold cavity and any of said first rubber escaping between said lip of said sole plate and said side ring means at least partially fills said groove;
• permitting said first rubber to at least partially set so as to have the portion thereof in contact with said lasted upper become a midsole component vulcanized to said lasted upper while the portion of said first rubber in said groove becomes a continuous bead having a cross-sectional thickness substantially larger than the peripheral region of least cross-sectional thickness formed by the escaping rubber between said lip and said side ring means;
• retracting said sole plate in a direction away from said lasted upper while maintaining said side ring means in the closed condition thereof, said side ring means coacting with said sole plate during such retraction movement of the latter to positively confine said bead located in said groove against escape from the latter, thereby entraining said bead into movement with said sole plate so as to cleanly tear said bead away from said portion of said first rubber forming said midsole component along said peripheral region of least cross-sectional thickness;
• introducing into the mold cavity, after said sole plate has been retracted from said midsole component, a measured quantity of a second rubber having a color different from that of said first rubber;
• and
• once more advancing said sole plate, together with the now severed bead of said first-named rubber in said groove and while said side ring means are still in the closed condition thereof, toward said lasted upper until said second rubber is spread against said midsole component to form an outsole component thereon;
• said bead serving as a flash-inhibiting sealing member during the entire second molding operation.