Patent ID: 8381362

Claim:
A footwear lacing system, comprising: a footwear member including first and second opposing sides configured to fit around a foot; a first pair of opposing guide members including first and second opposing cable guide members positioned on the opposing first and second sides; a first cable guided by the first pair of guide members and rotationally linked to a first spool; a first tightening mechanism attached to the footwear member and coupled to the first spool, the first tightening mechanism including a spring for winding a first length of said first cable around the spool and a manual control for manually winding a second length of cable around the spool to tighten the footwear, the first tightening mechanism being configured to apply tension to the first cable; a second pair of opposing guide members including first and second opposing cable guide members positioned on the opposing first and second sides; a second cable guided by the second pair of guide members and rotationally linked to a second spool; a second tightening mechanism attached to the footwear member and coupled to the second spool and being configured to apply tension to the second cable; a third pair of opposing guide members including first and second opposing cable guide members positioned on the opposing first and second sides, wherein both first and second cables are coupled to the third pair of opposing guide members and the third pair of opposing guide members are configured to be drawn toward each other under a tension subject to the greater of the tension applied to the two cables.