ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,297,593, issued on May 13, was assigned to Regents of the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis).
"Multifunctional active yarns and textiles" was invented by Rachael Granberry (Saint Paul, Minn.), Santo Padula II (Minneapolis), Bradley Holschuh (North Oaks, Minn.), Julianna Abel (Minneapolis), Charles Weinberg (Minneapolis) and Justin Barry (Minneapolis).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Yarns incorporating filaments of shape memory materials are described herein that enable the creation of fabrics, garments, and other materials with tunable force absorption or exertion capabilities, as well as creating complex shapes and structures upon actu...