US Patent Issued to NIKE on June 3 for "Rear access article of footwear with movable heel portion" (Oregon, Washington Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 4 -- United States Patent no. 12,317,960, issued on June 3, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).

"Rear access article of footwear with movable heel portion" was invented by Tinker L. Hatfield (Portland, Ore.), Tiffany A. Beers (Portland, Ore.), John T. Dimoff (Portland, Ore.), Jared M. Kilmer (Vancouver, Wash.) and Kevin J. Rucier (Portland, Ore.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An article of footwear comprises a sole structure, and an upper including a front section and a rear section. The front section is fixed to a forefoot region of the sole structure and partially defines a foot-receiving cavity. The rear section is operatively secured to the sole structure at...