ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 26 -- United States Patent no. 12,396,512, issued on Aug. 26, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).
"Articles of footwear with knitted components and methods of manufacturing the same" was invented by Travis J. Berrian (Portland, Ore.), John S. MacGilbert (Tigard, Ore.), Stuart D. Reinhardt (Portland, Ore.) and Colin Runkle (Portland, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Footwear with integrally knit uppers having features for increasing containment around a wearer's foot, improving strength and durability, and incorporating touch feedback through increased coefficient of friction while removing weight due to traditional additional components. The knitted component...