US Patent Issued to NIKE on Oct. 7 for "Footwear upper incorporating a knitted component with sock and tongue portions" (Oregon Inventor)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 8 -- United States Patent no. 12,433,371, issued on Oct. 7, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).

"Footwear upper incorporating a knitted component with sock and tongue portions" was invented by Kenneth T. Craig (Beaverton, Ore.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A method for forming an article of footwear includes forming a knitted component. The knitted component may include a first knitted portion and a second knitted portion, where the first knitted portion at least partially forms at least one of a medial side, a lateral side, and a toe area of the upper, and where the second knitted portion forms a tongue area of the upper. The second knitted portion may include...