ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 30 -- United States Patent no. 12,371,829, issued on July 29, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).
"Thermoplastic non-woven textile elements" was invented by Bhupesh Dua (Portland, Ore.) and Karen A. Hawkinson (Portland, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A non-woven textile may be formed from a plurality of thermoplastic polymer filaments. The non-woven textile may have a first region and a second region, with the filaments of the first region being fused to a greater degree than the filaments of the second region. A variety of products, including apparel (e.g., shirts, pants, footwear), may incorporate the non-woven textile. In some of these products, the non-...