ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 2 -- United States Patent no. 12,263,012, issued on April 1, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).
"Athletic or other performance sensing systems" was invented by William E. Berner Jr. (Portland, Ore.), Albert Shum (Portland, Ore.), Charles W. Case (Lake Oswego, Ore.), Allan M. Schrock (Portland, Ore.), James A. Niegowski (Portland, Ore.) and William F. Rauchholz (Portland, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Articles of footwear and other devices include modules, e.g., for sensing physical and/or physiological characteristics associated with use of the footwear or other devices. Such devices may include an authentication or activation system for providing power ...