ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 9 -- United States Patent no. 12,349,760, issued on July 8, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).
"Article of footwear with extended plate for toe-off" was invented by Nick S. Frank (Portland, Ore.), Robert Mervar (Portland, Ore.), Kort W. Neumann IV (Portland, Ore.), Rachel M. Savage (Beaverton, Ore.), Matthew Tegenkamp (Portland, Ore.), Jenni Westphal (Beaverton, Ore.) and Bryan K. Youngs (Beaverton, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An article of footwear includes an upper and a sole structure. The sole structure includes a plate that has a heel portion, a midfoot portion, a forefoot portion, and an extension portion. The extension portion extends forward of ...