US Patent Issued to NIKE on Oct. 14 for "Sole structures with midfoot gaps and forefoot bladders in reinforcing cages for articles of footwear" (Oregon Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 21 -- United States Patent no. 12,439,999, issued on Oct. 14, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).

"Sole structures with midfoot gaps and forefoot bladders in reinforcing cages for articles of footwear" was invented by Kort W. Neumann IV (Portland, Ore.) and Bryan K. Youngs (Beaverton, Ore.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Presented are sole structures with midfoot gaps and cage-reinforced bladders, methods for making/using such sole structures, and footwear fabricated with such sole structures. A sole structure includes an outsole with a ground-engaging surface, and a midsole with first and second midsole segments. The first midsole segment includes a cushion that...