ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 9 -- United States Patent no. 12,490,801, issued on Dec. 9, was assigned to adidas AG (Herzogenaurach, Germany).
"Energy storage and release sole structure" was invented by Sam Conklin (Portland, Ore.), Iain Hannah (Portland, Ore.), Matteo E. Padovani (Portland, Ore.) and Reuben Bligh (Portland, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A sole structure for a shoe is provided with a regenerative midsole having an energy storage and release device is provided with a leaf spring assembly movable between a first unloaded position and a second loaded position. A locking linkage cooperates with the leaf spring assembly to lock the leaf spring assembly in the second loaded position....