Patent ID: 7076843

Claim:
A shoestring tying apparatus comprising: a fastening member for tightening a shoestring, said fastening member including a disk to be connected to one end of the shoestring, and including an operating member for rotating said disk so as to wind the shoestring; a rotational member operable to: engage said fastening member and rotate said operating member of said fastening member in a winding direction so as to wind the shoestring around said disk when said rotational member is rotated in a predetermined direction, thereby tightening the shoestring; engage said fastening member and prevent rotation of said operating member of said fastening member in a direction opposite the winding direction when rotation of said rotational member is stopped, thereby maintaining tension of the shoestring; and disengage said fastening member to allow rotation of said operating member of said fastening member in the direction opposite the winding direction, thereby releasing the tension of the shoestring; a fitting portion for connecting said rotational member to said operating member of said fastening member; and a driving mechanism for rotating said rotational member in the predetermined direction, said driving mechanism being operable to manually or automatically rotate said operating member via said rotational member so as to rotate said disk of said fastening member, thereby tightening the shoestring, and said driving mechanism including (i) a spring member such that as said rotational member is rotated in the predetermined direction said spring member is wound, (ii) a cylindrical storage member having a rotational shaft, with said spring member fixed to said rotational shaft, (iii) an operating cord to be wound on an outer circumference of said storage member, and (iv) a restricting device including an engaging member, wherein said storage member, said spring member, said operating cord, and said restricting device are arranged and operable to rotate said rotational member in the predetermined direction, and operable to prevent said rotational member from rotating in a direction opposite the predetermined direction.