Patent Application
20060010573
The present invention relates to charms and more specifically to charms displayed on a clothing article.
It has become fashionable for women to display charms on their legs, usually a short distance above the top of their shoes, boots, etc., where the charms are typically supported by at least one chain. This fashion extends to situations where the woman is wearing socks. Unfortunately, the charm and chain would tend to become obscured behind and tangled in the material near the top of the sock.
Furthermore, young girls often seek to wear jewelry worn by grown women, including the charm chains. However, a child's limited dexterity typically prevents her from easily actuating the clasp on a chain.
Accordingly, there is a need for charms to be displayed on a sock and, located proximal to the charms, indicia imitative of a chain, providing the appearance of a real charm chain. The indicia would have the advantage of being incapable of tangling with or obscured by the material near the top of the sock.
An article of clothing for a child is disclosed. The article comprises at least one charm connected to the garment, and indicia imitative of a chain located proximal to the at least one charm. The article provides the appearance of a charm chain without the complications and drawbacks that would face a woman or child attempting to wear a charm chain.
In order that the manner in which the above objectives are realized, a particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that the drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
An article of clothing is disclosed consisting of a sock having one or more charms and indicia imitative of a chain applied thereto. These features provide a woman or child with the appearance of a charm chain without the complications and drawbacks that would face the woman or child attempting to wear a charm chain.
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The sock 4 has indicia 14 located between the bottom edge of the welt 16 and the heel 8. The indicia 14 are imitative of a chain having intertwined links. The purpose of the indicia 14 is to provide the sock 4 with the appearance of an overlying chain. The Figures illustrate a charm anklet with circular links, but it is to be appreciated that a variety of fashionable chain shapes could be chosen for the indicia. Such shapes include herringbone, rope and Figaro.
Preferably, the indicia 14 are produced using, for example, a jacquard knit, but the indicia can also be embroidered or even screen-printed onto the sock 4. If knitting or embroidery is used, then a typical metallic fiber provides the luster and appearance of a metallic chain. The metallic fiber is blended with a fiber that is similar to that used in fabricating the sock. The yarn that results from the blended fibers is sufficiently elastic, strong and durable to sustain the indicia during application and normal wear and care.
The indicia 14 are sized to provide the typical link diameter for a real chain. For example, each link has a diameter of preferably between 2 and 10 mm. For symmetry, each link has a thickness of approximately one fifth of the diameter. The overall length of the indicia 14 is equivalent to the circumference of the sock at the location of the indicia. However, the indicia 14 could alternatively be designed with the appearance of chain slack, and in that case the overall length would be longer than the circumference of the sock.
The indicia 14 are illustrated as being continuous, i.e., imitative of a chain without a clasp. The continuous chain provides symmetry to a viewer when looking at the sock 4 from any perspective. However, the indicia could include the design of a clasp to further imitate a real chain.
The top of the indicia 14 is separated from the top edge 12 of the sock 4 by a distance that is sufficient to visually separate the indicia 14 from the top edge of the sock 12. With regard to a sock having a welt 10 (or other form of permanent cuff), the indicia 14 is separated from the bottom edge 16 of the welt 10 by a distance that is sufficient to visually separate the indicia 14 from the welt 10.
The distance between the chain and the top edge of the sock 12 is not so large that the indicia 14 appear lower than the angle bone for a girl or woman. With an anklet sock, having a short span of material between the bottom edge 16 of the welt 10 and the heel 8, the top of the indicia 14 is separated from the bottom edge 16 of the welt 10 by less than half of the diameter of a single link of the indicia.
At least one charm 18 is attached to the sock 4. The charm 18, in the illustration, is a heart. The charm can be any known and enjoyed charm, where known charms relate to relationships, sports, religion and other interests.
The material used for fabricating the charm may be, for example, plastic, enamel or rhinestone, which may be painted as desired, or the charm may be fabricated from a non-precious metal or a typical metal alloy, which may be silver-plated, or even from a precious metal such as solid silver. The charm 18 is small enough to be comfortable for a person to wear but large enough to be seen and appreciated. For example, the surface area of the charm is between two and three times the surface area of a single link on the indicia 14. The charm 18 has a typical thickness that is large enough to withstand normal use.
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The charm 18 is attached to the sock 4 in the vicinity of at least one link of the indicia 14. This location provides the appearance of connecting the charm to the indicia rather than to the sock 4. It is to be appreciated that there can be as many charms as there are links in the indicia while still maintaining the appearance of a charm anklet connected to the sock.
The indicia 14 are preferable but not essential, as charms are capable of being connected to the sock without the addition of indicia 14. Without the indicia 14, a plurality of charms could be symmetrically disposed about the sock circumference, below the top edge of the sock. Such a design is cost effective by minimizing the process of manufacturing the clothing article.
Accordingly, an article of clothing has been disclosed consisting of a sock 4 having one or more charms and indicia imitative of a chain attached thereto. The indicia have the added benefit of providing a woman or child with the appearance of a charm chain without the complications and drawbacks that would face the woman or child attempting to wear a real chain.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not as restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims and their combination in whole or in part rather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
