ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 2 -- United States Patent no. 12,262,781, issued on April 1, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ohio).
"Direct bottomed article of footwear with a film mold" was invented by Steven Edmund Jan Cornelis Ploem (Portland, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An article of footwear has an upper that is directly attached with the sole in an article of footwear mold. The sole has a film extending up sidewalls of the sole to a film edge that is prior to the sidewall and the upper joining. Method of manufacture of the article of footwear includes steps of positioning a film over a mold cavity and then securing the film to the mold. The film is heated and then drawn into the mo...