Patent Application
20210289850
The present invention relates to the field of socks and related items for babies, children, women, and men and more particularly to an improved device for retaining baby socks on a baby's feet, and to socks for children, women, and men.
At the present time there remains an unsolved problem of preventing the socks worn by a baby from coming off of the baby's feet. This problem persists even where the woven material used for baby socks are elasticized (as nearly all baby socks are). Various devices have been proposed in the marketplace, including additional articles of footwear (an outer sock with velcro closure) with the purpose of encasing the baby's socks to hold them in place.
Unfortunately, the use of an additional encasing article of footwear is not fully convenient, and simple elasticized sock material has proven insufficient to solve the problem as any Internet search for “Why do baby socks always come off?” will quickly reveal.
There exists then, a need for an improved baby sock that will reduce the instance of the sock coming off the foot while in use. Such a solution must take into account the sensitive nature of a baby's circulatory blood flow at the limb extremities as well as the sensitivity of a baby's skin to vulcanized latex, rubber, or rubber compounds that come into extended contact with a baby's sensitive skin.
Such an invention, as described herein, would also find application to children's, women's and men's socks in general, but particularly with regard to socks worn for sports, which have a tendency to fall down.
Similar and related problems of in-place retention exist with baby and children's hats, mittens, the legs of foot-less onesies, bedding, and shoes. Related problems in men's and women's apparel tend to occur in athletic or specialized applications and would also find value from such a solution.
A second problem, not yet solved in the marketplace, occurs with regard to “low-rise” or “no-show” socks, socks intended not to rise above, or to rise only slightly above the rim of the top of the shoe where the foot enters. With this type of sock, there is a pronounced problem of the socks not tending to stay up and instead sliding down repeatedly. While attempts have been made to address this issue, these attempts have not been notably successful.
This problem may be described more fully as follows: many people prefer to wear socks that are “low rise” and/or “no show”. These socks tend to cover the foot but do not come up very high on the ankle or leg. The motivation for this style of sock may be comfort and/or style. Socks that come up higher may be itchy to some people and in warmer weather will also not be as cool as a sock that covers less skin. Also, bare leg is considered more attractive in many situations than the appearance of a fabric sock.
Such “low rise” and “no show” socks tend to not stay up and as they are worn they work their way down below the back of the heel. Sometimes they slide completely off the heel and get down under the bottom of the foot. This is a significant irritation for the user as they have to repeatedly reach down and pull their sock back up. Often times this even means removing their shoe to do so. One of the primary reasons this occurs is because the heel of the shoe will move up and down relative to a person's heel as they walk or run. This translation (up and down movement) between the heel of the shoe and the person's foot plus sock results in the shoe material “working down” the sock. The movement of the shoe relative to the heel tends to work the sock down over time.
Current technology does exist that attempts to address this problem: In many of today's current “low rise” and “no show” socks there is application of silicone inside the sock. This silicone sits between the sock and user's skin with the intent to help keep the sock from sliding down. But this technology has not to date been successful. While this solution may help slow the problem from occurring, it often occurs nevertheless. For many people that have socks with this solution they still complain of the irritation of their socks sliding down frequently.
There exists the need for low-rise or no-show sock, with improved in-place retention, such that the heel portion of the sock does not slide down. Such an invention, as described herein, would also find application on improving the in-place retention of other forms of socks, particularly socks intended for sport or specialized applications.
There exists a third problem of in-place retention for socks in relation to an ankle covering such as a shoe, boot, ankle-foot-orthosis, ankle brace, ankle covering, or ankle portion of a pant leg. In each of these cases, there remains an unsolved problem of how to have the sock remain in place relative to the shoe, boot, ankle-foot-orthosis, ankle brace, ankle covering, or ankle portion of a pant leg.
It is our perception of the needs unsolved in the marketplace that there are several aspects of the invention described herein that can be used singly or in combination in order meet the unmet need for improved in-place retention for various type of socks and shoes.
In one aspect of the present invention, a sock comprising an upper portion that has an elastic property, with said upper portion having areas of silicone attached to the interior of said sock arranged at various intervals and protruding by a predetermined amount such that concentrated points of pressure are produced at the points of contact between the areas of silicone and the foot or leg surface of the wearer.
In another aspect of the present invention, a sock comprising an upper portion that has an elastic property, with said upper portion having areas of silicone attached to the interior of said sock arranged at various intervals and protruding by a predetermined amount such that concentrated points of pressure are produced at the points of contact between the areas of silicone and the foot or leg surface of the wearer where said areas of silicone or similar material are in the shape of dots distributed at intervals around the interior circumference of the sock.
In a another aspect of the present invention, a sock comprising an upper portion that has an elastic property, with said upper portion having areas of silicone attached to the interior of said sock arranged at horizontal intervals in the range of 1 millimeters to 25 millimeters measured from edge-to-edge, and a vertical interval of 1 millimeters to 25 millimeters measured edge-to-edge, where each area of silicone has a surface area in the range of 0.7 to 100 millimeters squared and a thickness of 1.1 millimeters to 3 millimeters, such that concentrated points of pressure are produced at the points of contact between the areas of silicone and the foot or leg surface of the wearer.
In a another aspect of the present invention, a sock comprising an upper portion that has an elastic property, with said upper portion having areas of silicone attached to the interior of said sock arranged at horizontal intervals in the range of 1 millimeters to 25 millimeters measured from edge-to-edge, and a vertical interval of 1 millimeters to 25 millimeters measured edge-to-edge, where said areas of silicone are in the shape of dots, with each dot having a diameter in the range of 1 millimeters to 10 millimeters.
In a another aspect of the present invention, a sock where said sock is a no-show or low-rise sock wherein the upper portion of said sock is coincident with the wearer's foot and does not extend or only extends slightly onto the ankle, comprising an upper portion that has an elastic property, with said upper portion having areas of silicone attached to the interior of said sock arranged at horizontal intervals in the range of 1 millimeters to 25 millimeters measured from edge-to-edge, and a vertical interval of 1 millimeters to 25 millimeters measured edge-to-edge, where each area of silicone has a surface area in the range of 0.7 to 100 millimeters squared and a thickness of 1.1 millimeters to 3 millimeters, such that concentrated points of pressure are produced at the points of contact between the areas of silicone and the foot or leg surface of the wearer.
In a another aspect of the present invention, a sock where said sock is a no-show or low-rise sock wherein the upper portion of said sock is coincident with the wearer's foot and does not extend or only extends slightly onto the ankle, comprising an upper portion that has an elastic property, with said upper portion having areas of silicone attached to the interior of said sock arranged at horizontal intervals in the range of 1 millimeters to 25 millimeters measured from edge-to-edge, and a vertical interval of 1 millimeters to 25 millimeters measured edge-to-edge, where said areas of silicone are in the shape of dots, with each dot having a diameter in the range of 1 millimeters to 10 millimeters
In a another aspect of the present invention, a sock such as described in paragraphs 17 through 20, further comprises areas of silicone on the exterior of the sock, located such that one or more regions of interior and exterior areas of silicone occur at the same point on the sock.
In a another aspect of the present invention, a sock such as described in paragraphs 17 through 20, further comprises areas of silicone on the exterior of the sock, located above the base of the sock on either the heel or upper portion of the sock, arranged such that the exterior areas of silicone would come into contact with the inside wall of a shoe, boot, ankle-foot-orthosis, ankle brace, ankle covering, or pant leg, when worn.
In a another aspect of the present invention, a sock such as described in paragraphs 17 through 20, further comprises a combination with an ankle covering, wherein said sock further comprises areas of silicone on the exterior of the sock, located such that one or more regions of the interior and exterior areas occur at the same point on the sock and such that the exterior area makes contact with the inside wall of a shoe, boot, ankle-foot-orthosis, ankle brace, ankle covering, or pant leg, when worn.
In a another aspect of the present invention, a sock and ankle covering combination, wherein said sock further comprises areas of silicone on the exterior of the sock, and said ankle covering comprises a shoe, boot, ankle-foot-orthosis, ankle brace, ankle covering, or ankle portion of a pant leg, said ankle covering further comprising a region containing areas of silicone attached to its interior wall located in a reciprocal fashion to the exterior areas of silicone of the sock, such that one or more of the areas of silicone of the sock and one or more of the areas of silicone on the ankle covering are in contact when worn.
In a another aspect of the present invention, a sock and ankle covering combination such as described in paragraph 24, where said areas of silicone on the exterior of the sock comprise one or more bands of silicone attached to the exterior of the sock, and said ankle covering comprises one or more bands of silicone attached to the interior wall of the ankle covering in a reciprocal fashion, wherein the bands of silicone of said ankle covering are located adjacently above or adjacently below the bands of silicone of said sock.
In another aspect of the present invention, a sock and ankle covering combination as described in paragraph 24, where the bands of silicone comprises areas of silicone arranged in a pattern to form a band, rather than a continuous band of silicone.
In a another aspect of the present invention, a sock and ankle covering combination as described in paragraph 25, wherein the reciprocal areas of silicone on the sock and ankle covering have a tapered height on the meeting edges of the reciprocal areas of silicon, beginning at the edges with a decreased height and increasing in height from the edges toward the opposite end, and where the reciprocal tapered areas of silicone overlap.
In another aspect of the current invention, a shoe comprising a main part and upper portion that has an opening, with said opening having areas of silicone attached to the interior of said shoe arranged at horizontal intervals in the range of 1 millimeters to 25 millimeters measured from edge-to-edge, and a vertical interval of 1 millimeter to 25 millimeters measured edge-to-edge, where each area of silicone has a surface area in the range of 0.7 to 100 millimeters squared and a thickness of 1.1 millimeters to 3 millimeters, such that concentrated points of pressure are produced at the points of contact between the areas of silicone and the skin surface or sock of the wearer.
In another aspect of the current invention, a shoe comprising a main part and upper portion that has an opening, with said opening having areas of silicone attached to the interior of said shoe arranged at horizontal intervals in the range of 1 millimeters to 25 millimeters measured from edge-to-edge, and a vertical interval of 1 millimeter to 25 millimeters measured edge-to-edge, where said areas of silicone are in the shape of dots, with each dot having a diameter in the range of 1 millimeters to 10 millimeters and a thickness of 1.1 millimeters to 3 millimeters, such that concentrated points of pressure are produced at the points of contact between the areas of silicone and the skin surface or sock of the wearer.
In another aspect of the current invention, a foot or ankle covering comprising a shoe, boot, ankle-foot-orthosis, ankle brace, ankle covering, or ankle portion of a pant leg having areas of silicone attached to the interior of said ankle covering, arranged at horizontal intervals in the range of 1 millimeters to 25 millimeters measured from edge-to-edge, and a vertical interval of 1 millimeter to 25 millimeters measured edge-to-edge, where each area of silicone has a surface area in the range of 0.7 to 100 millimeters squared and a thickness of 1.1 millimeters to 3 millimeters, such that concentrated points of pressure are produced at the points of contact between the areas of silicone and the skin surface or sock of the wearer.
In another aspect of the current invention, a foot or ankle covering comprising a shoe, boot, ankle-foot-orthosis, ankle brace, ankle covering, or ankle portion of a pant leg having areas of silicone attached to the interior of said ankle covering, arranged at horizontal intervals in the range of 1 millimeters to 25 millimeters measured from edge-to-edge, and a vertical interval of 1 millimeter to 25 millimeters measured edge-to-edge, where said areas of silicone are in the shape of dots, with each dot having a diameter in the range of 1 millimeters to 10 millimeters, and a thickness of 1.1 millimeters to 3 millimeters, such that concentrated points of pressure are produced at the points of contact between the areas of silicone and the skin surface or sock of the wearer.
These various aspects of the current invention are not meant to be limiting, but rather to be exemplary examples of combining multiple aspects of the current invention to achieve a complementary result.
The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.
In one embodiment of the invention, depicted in
As seen at 20 and 30, in the preferred embodiment there is a taper to the arrangement of the silicone dots on each side that provides areas of greater and lesser contact between the wearer's skin and the interior of the sock. In the areas where the silicone dots are located, an unequal and greater pressure upon the wearer's skin is created which causes the friction provided by said silicone dots to grip more tightly.
In the experimentation leading to the final development of this invention, multiple configurations were tested, with some configurations resulting in irritation or marks on the baby's skin.
Through this process of experimentation, a configuration was developed resulting in improved holding ability (one which babies are typically unsuccessful in removing), without undue risk of causing irritation or limiting the blood circulation to the baby's limb extremities.
In this preferred embodiment, where the silicone dots are arranged as shown in
In secondary embodiments of the current invention, the sock may be a child's, women's, or men's sock, a knee sock or a low-rise sock wherein the upper portion of said low-rise sock is coincident with the wearer's foot and does not extend to the ankle.
In another secondary embodiment of the current invention, the sock may be a low-rise or no-show sock wherein the upper portion of said low-rise sock is coincident with the wearer's foot and does not extend to the ankle or extends by only a small portion onto the ankle. In this embodiment of the current invention, silicone or similar material may be added to both the interior and exterior of the sock. In this embodiment, by having silicone or similar material on the outside of the sock, movement of the shoe's heel relative to the sock is greatly inhibited.
This embodiment keeps the shoe “locked in” and the heel of the shoe has much less ability to move up and down relative to the sock and foot. Inhibiting this up and down movement between the back of the shoe and the sock makes it so the shoe is not able to work the sock down. Having silicone both inside and outside of the sock at the heel of the sock locks the person's heel, sock, and the back of the shoe all together and this keeps the sock from slipping down over time while walking or running.
This arrangement of silicone works because silicone has high friction that inhibits surfaces in contact from translating relative to each other and also because silicone on both the inside and outside of the sock makes the overall sock (silicone, fabric, silicone) thicker. This combined with the added friction helps lock everything together (person's heel, sock, shoe).
In another secondary embodiment of the current invention, depicted in
It is not necessary for each external area of silicone to occur at exactly the same point as a corresponding interior area of silicone, but rather that the regions of silicone occur at the same point on the sock. Occurring at the same point on the sock allows the interior region of areas of silicone to provide improved in-place retention versus the skin of the wearer, while the external regions of areas of silicone provide friction with relation to the inside wall of a shoe, boot, ankle-foot-orthosis, ankle brace, ankle covering, or pant leg, when worn.
The additional thickness of the interior and external regions of areas of silicone occurring at the same point also allows for increased friction through pressure, increasing friction by the interior region against the skin and increasing friction by the exterior region against a shoe or ankle covering such that friction against both surfaces will work in a complementary fashion to increase in-place retention of the sock and to maintain the position of the sock relative to the shoe, foot covering, or ankle covering.
In another secondary embodiment of the current invention,
For secondary embodiments, describing regions of areas of silicone, whether internal or externally attached, the preferred embodiment is where the silicone dots are arranged as shown in
In another secondary embodiment of the current invention,
There are two preferred embodiments for the this secondary embodiment, as described in paragraph 63, depending on the application required. On one end, a “normal” application can be imagined as a knee sock for a high-school soccer athlete, perhaps in combination with an athletic tight providing an ankle covering. In this application, the preferred embodiment would be a series of silicone bands extending around the external circumference of the sock and the internal circumference of the ankle covering. The width of each band would be 8 millimeters along the sock surface or ankle covering surface, and the thickness of the silicone would be 4 millimeters.
The second preferred embodiment would be for heavy applications, such as a sock and ankle combination, where the ankle covering is the pant leg of a firefighter's protective clothing. In this case, the negative effect of the sock sliding down or the pant leg riding up could be more severe and there is utility to making the bands of silicone thick enough to both hold against heavy forces, but also to interlock in a fashion so as to form a barrier making the rapid inflow of hot gases less likely. In this second preferred embodiment, the bands would also extend around the external circumference of the sock and the internal circumference of the ankle covering. The width of the band would be 13 millimeters along the sock surface or ankle covering surface, and the thickness of the silicone would be 10 millimeters.
In another secondary embodiment of the current invention, a sock and ankle covering combination (such as described in paragraph 63) is present, but differs in that the bands of silicone comprises regions of areas of silicone arranged in a pattern to form a band, rather than a continuous band of silicone.
In another secondary embodiment of the current invention as seen in
In other secondary embodiments of the current invention, the sock may be a child's, women's, or men's sock, with a higher ankle or calf portion than a low-rise or no-show sock. In these embodiments, it may be useful to combine multiple instances of the current invention. For example, a knee sock used for soccer or other sports activity, comprising the use of an upper portion that has an elastic property, with said upper portion having areas of silicone attached to the interior of said sock arranged at various intervals and protruding by a predetermined amount such that concentrated points of pressure are produced at the points of contact between the areas of silicone and the foot or leg surface of the wearer. This application of the current invention at the upper portion of the sock, near the top of the knee sock may be combined with on or more instances of the current invention where the sock meets the top of the shoe, such that silicone or similar material is added to either the interior or exterior of the sock, or both.
In another secondary embodiment of the current invention, a hat as in
In another secondary embodiment of the current invention, a mitten as in
In another secondary embodiment of the current invention, the current invention is applied to the legs openings 60 of a foot-less onesie as in
In another secondary embodiment of the current invention, the current invention is applied to a shoe as in
In a final embodiment of the current invention, the current invention is applied to a sheet or mattress pad, in order to reduce the occurrence of the corners of the sheet or mattress pad coming free from the corners of the mattress. Using the three-deep row of protruding silicone dots as in
Across these secondary embodiments, the placement of the rows of dots may be grouped into areas where dots are present and other areas of the interior side of the garment opening where dots are not present. The areas of groups of dots may have tapered edges as in
This U.S. patent application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/259,417.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16259417 | Jan 2019 | US |
| Child | 17339989 | US |
