ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,628,886, issued on May 19, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).
"Stowable upper-torso support garment" was invented by Greta R. Brucker (Portland, Ore.), Elizabeth H. Koopman (Hillsboro, Ore.) and Lisa L. Mechanic (Portland, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A self-stowing support garment for an upper-torso of a wearer. The garment features an integrally formed pocket on its back, which can be inverted or folded inside-out. The remaining portion of the garment is then pushed into the inverted pocket space. Some examples include a tunnel at the pocket opening with a drawcord for tightening. When stowed, the garment assumes the fo...