ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 6 -- United States Patent no. 12,376,643, issued on Aug. 5, was assigned to NIKE Inc..
"Footwear heel retention device" was invented by Lindsey K. Andreasen (Beaverton, Ore.), Evan Perkins (Portland, Ore.) and Juliana Sagat (Beaverton, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An article of footwear including a sole structure, an upper attached to the sole structure and including an opening providing access to an interior void of the upper, a support attached to the upper at a posterior end of the upper and including a first rail disposed adjacent to the opening of the upper and a second rail extending between the first rail and the sole structure and continuously along the po...