ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,357,056, issued on July 15, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).
"Sole structure having differing hardness regions" was invented by Aaron A C Cooper (Portland, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A sole structure of an article of footwear includes a first outer region, a second outer region, and a third outer region. The first outer region is at least partially disposed a first distance from a longitudinal axis and includes a first hardness. The second outer region is at least partially disposed a second distance from the longitudinal axis and includes a second hardness that is greater than the first hardness. The third outer reg...