Patents Examined by Katharine G Kane
  • Patent number: 11969031
    Abstract: A hybrid article of apparel is provided. The article comprises a form-fitting inner layer and a looser, more freely-fitting outer layer joined together at various locations to provide an aerodynamic article with improved modesty, among other benefits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
    Inventor: John Luong
  • Patent number: 11950654
    Abstract: A fluid-filled chamber may have a barrier, a stacked tensile member, and a fluid. The barrier may be formed from a polymer material that is sealed to define an interior void. The stacked tensile member may be located within the interior void and includes a first tensile element and a second tensile element that are joined to each other. Additionally, opposite sides of the stacked tensile member are joined to the barrier. The fluid is located within the interior void and may be pressurized to place an outward force upon the barrier and induce tension in the stacked tensile member. In some configurations, each of the tensile elements may be a spacer textile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
    Inventors: John F. Swigart, Amy E. Gishifu
  • Patent number: 11944159
    Abstract: An upper for an article of footwear includes a three-dimensional engineered textile having an inner section, an outer section, and an intermediate section disposed between the inner section and the outer section. The intermediate section is attached to the inner section on one side and the outer section on an opposite side. The intermediate section extends through at least a forefoot region of the upper. In the forefoot region, the intermediate section includes a plurality of curving portions arranged adjacent to each other such that each curving portion of the plurality of curving portions is spaced apart from neighboring curving portions by one or more gaps. Air is configured to flow from an interior of the upper to an exterior of the upper through the one or more gaps between neighboring curving portions of the plurality of curving portions in the forefoot region of the upper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: LULULEMON ATHLETICA CANADA INC.
    Inventors: Samuel Scott Rathburn, Kathryn Carey Fleming
  • Patent number: 11944160
    Abstract: A shoe insert is configured as a single component with a specifically-configured shape that provides internal shoe structural support while enhancing airflow within the shoe. The shoe insert is comprised of a rigid structure, such as plastic, that engages with the inner and outer sides of the shoe to provide sufficient support. The shoe insert's inner and outer sides, which engage with the shoe's inner and outer sides, have a grip portion with an upper opening substantially positioned at the shoe's ankle opening. This upper opening enables air to flow therethrough and provide breath to the shoe's interior cavity. Airflow holes spread sporadically throughout the shoe insert's body enables air to flow through the shoe insert and engage the shoe to provide breathability, thereby preventing moisture, mold, and stench.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Kingsland Shoe Project, LLC
    Inventors: Garrett Jamison, Ryan Jamison
  • Patent number: 11930890
    Abstract: This disclosure is directed to lace-receiving structures that may be included in articles of footwear. The lace-receiving structure can include a first longitudinal portion, a second longitudinal portion spaced apart from the first longitudinal portion to define a gap therebetween, and an intermediate portion that includes a first folded region adjacent the first longitudinal portion and a second folded region adjacent the second longitudinal portion. The lace guide can be a continuous piece of material that includes the first portion, the intermediate portion, and the second portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
    Inventor: Brenton Wehrmeyer
  • Patent number: 11910877
    Abstract: The pressure relieving device is intended to provide users with a stress relieving support surface that is customizable. To that end, the device includes a sleeve with one or more compartments that may be individually filled and refilled with a deformable media. The deformable media further includes a mixture of both non-rigid deformable and rigid non-deformable particles that enable the device to conform to any shape when acted upon by a pressure and recover back when pressure is removed. The device may act as a footwear component for use as a shoe insole insert which may be customized by the user to relieve pain in the areas of foot where most required. Accordingly, the footwear component adapts to the user's foot pattern while standing or moving. Furthermore, the device is durable, washable and reusable, and may be used with open shoes, closed shoes or even without any shoes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Inventor: Amitkumar Dharia
  • Patent number: 11910881
    Abstract: A closure mechanism for an article of footwear is provided. The article of footwear having an upper comprising a lateral sidewall and a medial sidewall, a vamp, an ankle opening, a first tension member, a second tension member, and a slider. The first tension member being coupled to the lateral sidewall portion and the second tension member being coupled to the medial sidewall at each of a first end near the vamp, an intermediate point at the ankle opening, and a second end. The slider may be coupled to and movable along the tension members from a first position at the vamp to a second position at the ankle opening, such that moving the slider from the first position to the second position operatively reduces a maximum size of the ankle opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
    Inventors: Althea R. Fyfe, Doug D. Wilken
  • Patent number: 11891732
    Abstract: The invention disclosed a textile with elasticity. The textile with elasticity includes a plurality of elastic weft units and a plurality of elastic warp yarns of a warp yarn layer. These weft units include a plurality of weft yarns. The warp yarn layer penetrates through gaps formed by the weft units. The warp yarns and the weft yarns all have elasticity. The warp yarn has a twines, wherein each of the twines ties the warp yarn for binding these warp yarns located at the gap. Therefore, the textile with elasticity has good stretching ability and air permeability, and provides comfortable wearing feel by means of yarns wrapped on the weft yarns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: TAIWAN PAIHO LIMITED
    Inventor: Sen-Mei Cheng
  • Patent number: 11882896
    Abstract: Provided is a shoe that includes a sole that: (i) has a bottom surface that is adjacent to the ground in normal use, and (ii) is comprised of both a base material forming a main structure and individual leather particles attached to the base material on the bottom surface of the sole. The individual leather particles may have a median size within a range of 0.3 to 4.0 millimeters (mm). In addition, or instead, individual second particles made of a material other than leather also are attached to the base material on the bottom surface of the sole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: DYNASTY FOOTWEAR, LTD.
    Inventor: John C. S. Koo
  • Patent number: 11877627
    Abstract: A spike is operable to be removably coupled to an article of footwear. The spike includes a first portion that is substantially rigid. The spike also includes a second portion that is resilient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey L. Johnson
  • Patent number: 11864628
    Abstract: An apparatus is provided to secure a primary body to a shoe. Exemplary implementations may include an apparatus with one or more connectors to be engaged with one or more other connectors. The connectors of the apparatus may be engaged with the primary body eyelets and the shoelace eyelets in order to secure the primary body to the exterior side of the shoe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: uninvited Inc.
    Inventor: Airason John Heard, Sr.
  • Patent number: 11864607
    Abstract: Aspects herein are directed to a stowable garment system that allows for quick deployment and donning of an upper-body garment that is stowed within a pouch located on the front of a belt structure configured to encircle the waist of a wearer. The garment comprises at least a front section and a back section, where a portion of the front section is attached to the pouch. The garment further comprises a first tab extending from a bottom margin at a first side of the back section and a second tab extending from the bottom margin at a second opposite side of the back section. When stowed within the pouch, the tabs extend through one or more openings in the pouch. The wearer may exert tension on the tabs to actuate a quick-release mechanism and enable the garment to be deployed and donned.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
    Inventor: Jarrett L. Reynolds
  • Patent number: 11864618
    Abstract: Foot support systems include a fluid flow control system that facilitates movement of fluid into, out of, and/or within a sole structure and/or article of footwear, e.g., to change and/or control pressure in fluid filled bladder(s). Aspects of this technology may relate to one or more of: (a) footwear structures in which such systems are incorporated; (b) valve stem based fluid flow transfer systems; (c) solenoid based fluid flow transfer systems; (d) user input button features; (e) air filter features; (f) fluid tube to fluid distributor connection features; (g) fluid distributor to footwear connection features; (h) valve position sensor features; (i) valve transmission features; (j) pressure control algorithm features; (k) electronic communication features; (l) system sealing features; and/or (m) pressure sensor mounting features.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
    Inventors: Devin Bailly, Matthew Browne, Narissa Y. Chang, Remy Pieron, Stepan Ryabinin, Adam Vollmer, Michael Fairchild, Ethan Vella, Daniel Weeks
  • Patent number: 11857022
    Abstract: An upper for an article of footwear is configured to be connected to a sole structure and is configured to receive a foot. The upper includes a knitted component having a strobel portion that is configured to be disposed underneath the foot. The strobel portion defines an interior surface and an exterior surface of the knitted component. The strobel portion defines a strobel passage between the interior surface and the exterior surface. Also, the upper includes a tensile strand that extends through the strobel passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel A. Podhajny, Chung-Ming Chang, Ya-Fang Chen, Pei-Ju Su
  • Patent number: 11849812
    Abstract: A footwear article includes (a) an upper having a tongue opening at a front thereof; (b) a gusseted tongue including a tongue panel positioned over the tongue opening and a pair of gussets attaching laterally opposite sides of the tongue panel to the upper; (c) a pair of tongue fasteners configured to selectively fasten and unfasten corresponding sides of the tongue panel to and from the upper; (d) a first lacing system on the upper and arranged for guiding lacing over the gusseted tongue and tongue fasteners when the sides of the tongue are fastened to the upper; and (e) a second lacing system on the tongue panel and arranged for guiding the lacing across the tongue panel clear of the tongue fasteners when the sides of the tongue panel are unfastened from the upper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: Canada Goose Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Anderson, Adam Meek, Oliver Saunders, Michael Edward Blackford
  • Patent number: 11834764
    Abstract: An apparatus for drawing-off a web-shaped product from a weaving machine in a drawing-off direction includes: at least one clamp carrier having clamps for the web-shaped product; a carrier frame apparatus on which the clamp carrier is guided; a drive arrangement by which the clamp carrier is drivable back and forth in a motion range; and a support system for the web-shaped product. The support system is arranged in an area between the apparatus side facing toward the weaving machine and the clamp carrier, within the carrier frame apparatus, in such a manner so that a sagging of the web-shaped product in this area is avoided or limited by the support system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: Lindauer DORNIER Gesellschaft mit beschraenkter Haftung
    Inventors: Andreas Rutz, Markus Reich
  • Patent number: 11819087
    Abstract: An article of footwear, motorized lacing system, and method includes a motor, a transmission, operatively coupled to the motor, a power source, operatively coupled to the motor, a lace spool, operatively coupled to the motor via the transmission, configured to spool and unspool the lace based on operation of the motor, a printed circuit board, and a housing. The housing contains the motor, the transmission, the power source, the lace spool and the printed circuit board, the printed circuit board positioned between an interior surface of the housing and at least one of the power source and the motor, wherein the interior surface includes a post that extends through a hole formed in the printed circuit board. A flexing of the interior surface causes force on the housing to be at least partially imparted on the at least one of the power source, the transmission, and the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
    Inventor: Brendan Donohoe
  • Patent number: 11812813
    Abstract: A demi-helmet and a detachable face mask combination protects the full face of the person wearing the demi-helmet, with the face mask comprising multiple-spaced impact-resistant bars forming a cage in front of the face of the wearer and with vertical struts between adjacent bars constructed and arranged to leave the view of the wearer entirely unobstructed in both the forward and peripheral directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Inventor: Michael L. Fogg
  • Patent number: 11812801
    Abstract: A protective leg device and method designed to keep a user's legs clean while kneeling or standing on the ground or floor when engaging in activities such as gardening, grouting, landscaping, construction, and the like and which provides comfort while salvaging a user's pair of pants.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Inventors: Marvin R. Berryman, Ernest L. Nickerson
  • Patent number: 11805858
    Abstract: An adjustable clog with a unique strap system is described. The sole assembly for the clog has an interior sole wing situated near a heel of the sole assembly, and an exterior sole wing on an opposite side of the sole assembly from the interior sole wing, near the heel of the sole assembly, wherein the interior sole wing and the exterior sole wing consist of webbing strap and rubber that extend above the sole assembly. The clog also includes an upper, where the upper is affixed to the sole assembly. A wing hook strap is affixed to the interior sole wing on the first end of the wing hook strap and to the paracord loop on a second end of the wing hook strap, wherein the wing hook strap includes a first G-hook that hooks into one of the first plurality of hook pockets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Inventors: Nicholas Pence, Daniel Opalacz