ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,329,236, issued on June 17, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).
"Article of footwear and method of manufacturing an article of footwear" was invented by Tory M. Cross (Portland, Ore.) and Cassidy R. Levy (West Linn, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An article of footwear includes a sole structure and a guide secured to the inner surface of the sole structure. An outer surface of the bottom of an upper is secured to the inner surface of the sole structure, the upper and the guide forming a passage. A tensioning component extends along the guide in the passage, and extends out of the passage at a medial side and/or a lateral si...