US Patent Issued to Specialized Bicycle Components on June 23 for "Cycling shoe lacing system" (American, German Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 15 -- United States Patent no. 12,660,888, issued on June 23, was assigned to Specialized Bicycle Components Inc. (Morgan Hill, Calif.).

"Cycling shoe lacing system" was invented by Robert Arthur Laurence Cook (Bayern, Germany) and Ashley Gill Sult (Santa Clara, Calif.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A shoe includes an outsole, a first upper portion, a second upper portion, a rotary dial mounted to the first upper portion, and first and second lace portions coupled between the rotary dial and the second upper portion. The first lace portion aligns with a heel region of the shoe, the second lace portion aligns with a pedal region of the outsole, and a closure center line a...