ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 4 -- United States Patent no. 12,317,963, issued on June 3, was assigned to PUMA SE (Herzogenaurach, Germany).
"Article of footwear having an automatic lacing system" was invented by Markus Bock (Herzogenaurach, Germany) and Randolph Maussner (Spalt, Germany).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A footwear assembly includes at least one article of footwear with an upper, a sole structure coupled with the upper, a housing that houses a motor, a gear train that is configured to be driven by the motor, and a spool that is configured to loosen or tighten a first lace, a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) that are disposed under a cover of the housing, and a control printed c...