ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 30 -- United States Patent no. 12,369,687, issued on July 29, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).
"Article of footwear incorporating particulate matter" was invented by John Hurd (Lake Oswego, Ore.), Cassidy R. Levy (West Linn, Ore.) and Tetsuya T. Minami (Portland, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A sole structure for an article of footwear is provided and includes a midsole having a first surface, a second surface formed on an opposite side of the midsole than the first surface, a first cavity formed in the first surface and tapering in a direction from the first surface toward the second surface, and a second cavity formed in the second surface and taperin...