ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,495,866, issued on Dec. 16, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).
"Footwear article with collar elevator" was invented by Timothy P. Hopkins (Tustin, Calif.), Austin J. Orand (Portland, Ore.), Aaron B. Weast (Portland, Ore.) and Peter P. Williams II (Portland, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A footwear article includes a collar elevator that returns an ankle collar from a lowered state that is conducive to donning up to a raised state that secures the wearer's foot during wear. The collar elevator may be arranged at various positions among the footwear article, such as above or below a strobel. The collar elevator may be coupl...