ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,295,449, issued on May 13, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).
"Article of footwear incorporating an upper assembly" was invented by Chaokun Huangfu (Portland, Ore.) and Kevin Reyes (Beaverton, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Aspects herein are directed toward an upper assembly for an article of footwear that includes a knit element that extends from a throat area to a lower area of the upper assembly along at least a medial side and a lateral side of the upper assembly. The knit element includes a first plurality of aperture groupings. The upper assembly further includes a tongue that extends across the throat area and exte...