Reel based lacing system

A method of gathering and releasing cable from a cable reel for use with a wearable article, comprising the steps of:

• accessing a reel comprising:
• a housing;
• a spool rotatable relative to the housing, the spool configured to gather cable around a portion of the spool when the spool is rotated in a first direction relative to the housing and configured to incrementally release an incremental portion of the cable when the spool is rotated in a second direction that is opposite the first direction relative to the housing;
• a plurality of pawls configured to engage a plurality of depressions;
• and
• a knob rotatable relative to the housing;
• rotating the spool relative to the housing in the first direction so as to gather a portion of the cable into the reel by wrapping the cable around the portion of the spool;
• and
• rotating the spool relative to the housing in the second direction that is opposite the first direction so as to incrementally release an incremental portion of the cable from the reel;
• wherein the plurality of pawls engage the plurality of depressions to substantially impede rotation of the spool in the second direction when the plurality of pawls are engaged with the plurality of depressions, and wherein the plurality of pawls are configured to not substantially impede rotation of the spool in the first direction.

A mechanism for tightening and loosening a lace for a wearable article, the mechanism comprising:

• a spool rotatable about an axis in a first direction and a second direction;
• a plurality of pawls;
• a plurality of teeth configured to engage the plurality of pawls so that as the spool is rotated in a first direction, the engagement of the plurality of pawls and the teeth substantially impede the spool from rotating in the second direction but does not substantially impede rotation of the spool in the first direction so that the lace can be tightened and wound around the spool;
• and
• a rotatable knob, the knob comprising a plurality of displacing surfaces configured to disengage the plurality of pawls from the teeth when the knob is rotated in the second direction to allow the spool to rotate in the second direction so as to loosen the lace.