ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 26 -- United States Patent no. 12,635,761, issued on May 26, was assigned to FAST IP LLC (Lindon, Utah).
"Rapid-entry footwear having a compressible lattice structure" was invented by Craig Cheney (Lindon, Utah) and Steven Hermann (Eagle Mountain, Utah).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Disclosed is a shoe having a compressible lattice structure in a heel portion to facilitate rapid, easy donning and doffing of shoes. In example embodiments, the lattice structure includes a plurality of interconnected, overlapping, intersecting and/or woven ribs defining a plurality of apertures. The lattice structure has an open position in which the shoe opening is expanded to facilitate re...