ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 25 -- United States Patent no. 12,336,590, issued on June 24, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).
"Article of footwear with device for ease of entry" was invented by Stefan B. Cristobal (Portland, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A device for easing foot entry into an article of footwear includes a control bar that has a center segment, a medial side arm extending downwardly and forwardly from the center segment, and a lateral side arm spaced from the medial side arm and extending downwardly and forwardly from the center segment. The device includes a base underlying the control bar and connected to the medial side arm at a first joint and to the lateral side...