ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,357,057, issued on July 15, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).
"Article of footwear including a sole structure" was invented by Fidencio Campos II (Dallas, Ore.), Roger Paul Murphy (Portland, Ore.), Thomas J. Rushbrook (Portland, Ore.), Jessica Small (Portland, Ore.) and Matthew W. Thornton (Beaverton, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An article of footwear comprising an upper and a sole structure coupled to the upper. The sole structure includes a cushioning element, comprising a plurality of tubes, wherein adjacent tubes are connected to one another by a respective web area, disposed between a first support element and a s...