US RE50307

US Patent RE50307: Summary and Independent Claims Overview

US Patent RE50307 is titled "METHOD OF MAKING A FOOTWEAR UPPER WITH LASTING ALLOWANCE".

• Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
• Inventors: Kevin W. Hoffer, Bruce J. Leppek, David L. Mason, Thomas L. Meschter
• Filing Date: October 26, 2020 (reissue application for U.S. Patent No. 10,743,622)
• Issue Date: July 26, 2022
• Abstract: The patent describes methods for manufacturing footwear uppers, particularly focusing on those made from knit material. The core idea is to knit a footwear upper with a specific "lasting allowance" which is an extra section of material. This lasting allowance is designed to have a stretch modulus (how much it resists stretching) that is less than or equal to the stretch modulus of an adjacent knit section of the upper. This allows the lasting allowance to be easily stretched and secured to a lasting board during the shoe manufacturing process. The lasting allowance is specifically engineered to resist unraveling and may have a different knit structure than the rest of the upper.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

Independent Claim 1:
This claim describes a method for creating a footwear upper. It involves knitting a main part of the upper and also knitting a "lasting allowance" directly attached to the bottom edge of the upper. This lasting allowance is made from knit material and is designed to have a stretchiness that is the same as or greater than the part of the upper it's next to. This design makes it easier to stretch the lasting allowance over a shoe last (a foot-shaped mold) and attach it to a lasting board during shoe assembly. The claim specifies that this lasting allowance should also resist unraveling.

Independent Claim 11:
This claim details a method of manufacturing an article of footwear using a knitted upper. It starts by knitting a footwear upper that includes a lasting allowance, similar to Claim 1, where the lasting allowance is more or equally stretchy than the adjacent upper material. After knitting, the upper is placed on a shoe last. The lasting allowance is then stretched over the bottom of the last and secured to a lasting board. Finally, an outsole is attached to the lasting board and the lasted upper.

Independent Claim 20:
This claim focuses on the footwear upper itself, rather than the method of making it. It describes a footwear upper made from knit material with a main upper portion and a lasting allowance integrally knitted to the lower edge. The key features are that the lasting allowance has a stretch modulus less than or equal to an adjacent knit section of the upper, and it's engineered to resist unraveling.

CAFC 2026 Dockets:

As of April 26, 2026, I found no specific dockets related to US patent RE50307 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) 2026 scheduled cases or general case information. While the CAFC website provides access to scheduled cases, case information, and case records, a targeted search for RE50307 did not yield any relevant results for the current year.