ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 4 -- United States Patent no. 12,317,957, issued on June 3, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).
"Bladders and footwear incorporating bladders in the foot supports and uppers" was invented by Patrick R. Case (Portland, Ore.), Yoon Jeong Choi (Portland, Ore.) and Dervin A. James (Hillsboro, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Bladders for footwear uppers, footwear components and articles of footwear including the bladders, and/or methods of making and using such bladders are described. The bladders may include first and second thermoplastic elastomer sheets joined together by an outer perimeter bond. An interior chamber is defined between the thermoplastic elastom...