ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 6 -- United States Patent no. 12,376,628, issued on Aug. 5, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).
"Apparel fastener" was invented by Andrew Owenson (Beaverton, Ore.), Andrew A. Owings (Portland, Ore.) and Kyle Schepke (Portland, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "This disclosure relates to a fastener that can be used with various apparel and that can be easier to operate and can be less likely to create discomfort to a wearer. In at least some examples, the fastener includes a hook, which can be connected to a first portion of the article, and a receiver, which can be connected to a second portion of the article. The hook can be releasably connected to the receiv...