US Patent Issued to NIKE on March 18 for "Selective attachment of a yarn structure" (Oregon, Washington Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,251,872, issued on March 18, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).

"Selective attachment of a yarn structure" was invented by Todd A. Waatti (Battleground, Wash.) and Yoav Sterman (Portland, Ore.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A method and system are disclosed. A method of printing onto a base having an upper surface spaced from a lower surface by a base thickness includes dispensing a yarn from a nozzle of a printing system and selectively attaching the yarn to a first attachment region. The step of dispensing the yarn includes dispensing a heat-moldable material and a melt-resistant material. The step of selectively attaching t...