US Patent 7343652 Lace adjuster

An adjustable lace assembly includes a lace, a tubular member, two stop members, and two spaced apart inserting pins. The lace is composed of two separate lace segments each having a tagged end and an opposite bent end portion. The tubular member has a passage for receiving the bent end portions. The stop members are mounted pivotally inside the tubular member at two axially spaced apart positions and span the passage. Each of the stop members has an engaging part engageable with one of the bent end portions. The inserting pins are insertable removably into the tubular member, are capable of disengaging the bent end portions, respectively, from the engaging parts of the stop members, and permit movement of the bent end portions so that a length between the tagged end of each of the lace segments and a corresponding one of the stop members can be adjusted.