The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 15, 2006
Filed:
May. 29, 2002
Applicant:
Ruzica Krstic, Portland, OR (US);
Inventor:
Ruzica Krstic, Portland, OR (US);
Assignee:
NIKE, Inc., Beaverton, OR (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
A43B 13/20 (2006.01); A43B 7/08 (2006.01); A43B 7/14 (2006.01); A61F 5/14 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
Abstract
The present invention relates to a material with a substrate and a plurality of compressible projections connected to the substrate. The projections may be formed in a thermoplastic substrate to have a variety of shapes, including a shape that defines a base portion and a spring portion. The spring portion may have a structure of a belleville spring that exhibits a non-linear and bi-stable response to compressive forces. The material may be incorporated into an upper for an article of footwear, thereby providing the footwear with enhanced fit and comfort characteristics.