Patent ID: 8353088

Claim:
A shoelace tightening device comprising: a housing having a disc-shaped base plate, and a cylindrical side wall which is formed upright on a center portion of the base plate and is defined with a plurality of first shoelace passage holes; a rotation member having a cylindrical rotator which is seated on a peripheral portion of its lower surface onto an upper surface of the side wall of the housing and is formed with a ratchet gear on its inner surface, and a bobbin which is formed on a lower surface of the rotator to extend downward in a vertical direction and is defined with a plurality of second shoelace passage holes; a cover placed on an upper surface of the ratchet gear, defined with a groove which extends from an edge to a center of the cover, and having a pair of protrusions which are formed on a lower surface of the cover on both sides of the groove; a stopper having a head which can slide on an upper surface of the cover, a bridge which extends downward from the head through the groove of the cover, and a pawl member which is formed on a lower end of the bridge to be meshed with the ratchet gear at one end thereof; a coupling shaft having a coupling rod which is coupled at a lower end thereof to the center portion of the base plate of the housing and extends through a center portion of the rotation member to allow its upper end to be positioned in the rotator, and an upwardly open stopper housing which is formed on the upper end of the coupling rod, the pawl member of the stopper being received in a widthwise center portion of the stopper housing to slide in a horizontal direction, and the protrusions formed on the lower surface of the cover being inserted into the stopper housing at both sides of the widthwise center portion of the stopper housing; and a spring interposed between an inner surface of the stopper housing and the other end of the pawl member.