ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 21 -- United States Patent no. 12,765,641, issued on Oct. 20, was assigned to NIKE INC. (Beaverton, Ore.).
"Protective upper for article of footwear" was invented by Rachael M. Noon (Portland, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An article of footwear includes an upper formed of a first material, and an armor system including a shroud covering a forefoot region of the upper. The shroud includes an articulable shroud vamp having a plurality of overlapping lames arranged in series along a ball portion of the shroud, each of the lames being formed of a second material having a greater hardness than the first material. The shroud may include a toe cap covering a toe portion ...