This invention, in general, relates to hosiery garments. More particularly, this invention relates to a sock for providing grip to the foot of a person when the person is engaged in a sports or other activity.
In sports that involve running, skating, etc. where the person engaged in the sports activity changes directions quickly, the person's foot tends to slip inside the sock and also the sock tends to slip inside the shoe due to lack of sufficient grip between the feet and the sock and between the foot and the shoe respectively. This slippage also causes a lack of response time when the person moves in the new direction. Lack of sufficient grip may also cause the person playing the sport to slip or roll inside their shoe and suffer injuries. For example, the foot of the person wearing the sock and shoe may slip at the base of the shoe during a sharp turn leading to an ankle injury.
A conventional sock is typically constructed by knitting natural or synthetic yarns or both, utilizing circular knitting machines. The yarn is wrapped or packaged on cones or spools by machinery and then shipped to knitting mills for production of the conventional sock. The yarn cones hang from racks overtop the circular knitting machines. The yarn is then fed through finger tubes and moved through a series of latch needles that knits the yarn together. The upper section of the conventional sock is completed as a circular opening. The opening at the bottom of the sock is completed to form a toe seam. The foot of the person wearing the shoe may slip within the conventional sock worn and may result in the foot moving inside the shoe and may also lead to injuries. Athletes, in various sports that require sharp turns of direction, purchase extremely tight shoes to avoid slipping. However, this does not provide a total solution and is also rather uncomfortable and unhealthy for the athletes' feet. The conventional sock thus constructed using yarn may not provide sufficient grip to the person's foot.
Hence there is an unmet need for a hosiery garment that provides grip to the person's foot and prevents the person's foot from slipping inside the hosiery garment and also prevents the hosiery garment from slipping inside the shoe.
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the invention, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, exemplary constructions of the invention are shown in the drawings. However, the invention is not limited to the specific methods and instrumentalities disclosed herein.
The hosiery garment disclosed herein prevents the foot from slipping inside the hosiery garment and also prevents the hosiery garment from slipping inside a footwear by adhering to the skin on the foot and the inside material of the footwear respectively by the use of a first tacky thread knit on an inner surface of a foot enclosure and a second tacky thread knit to an outer surface of the foot enclosure using a plating technique where a circular knitting machine knits one thread of a material or more than one threads of different materials to the inner surface of the foot enclosure, and one thread of a material or more than one threads of different materials to the outer surface of the foot enclosure.
The first tacky thread is exposed on the inner surface but not the outer surface of the foot enclosure. The second tacky thread is exposed on the outer surface but not the inner surface of the foot enclosure.
The supplementary threads 201b and 202b may, for example, be made of materials such as cotton, nylon, Lycra®, acrylic, wool or other traditional materials used in the manufacture of socks. In an embodiment, the hosiery garment 100 may have a first type of supplementary thread 201b used for the inner surface 101a of the foot enclosure 101 and a second type of supplementary thread 202b used for the outer surface 101b of the foot enclosure 101. For example, the first supplementary thread 201b used to make the inner surface 101a of the foot enclosure 101, that accompanies the first tacky thread 201a, is made of cotton, while the second supplementary thread 202b used to make the outer surface 101b of the foot enclosure 101, that accompanies the second tacky thread 202a is, for example, made of nylon. In an embodiment, the supplementary threads 201b and 202b used for the inner surface 101a and the outer surface 101b are made of the same material.
The first tacky thread 201a and the second tacky thread 202a are coated with an anti-adhesive material, for example, silicon, talcum powder, etc, to allow the free flow of the tacky threads 201a and 202a through the circular knitting machine 603. Also, the first tacky thread 201a and the second tacky thread 202a are not intertwined or covered with an additional fabric or supplementary thread. The first tacky thread 201a and the second tacky thread 202a may have a thickness ranging from about 1 millimeter diameter to about 0.3 millimeters diameter. The tacky threads 201a and 202a may be packed in a box 301 as exemplarily illustrated in
The foot enclosure 101 of the hosiery garment 100 is configured to conform to the person's foot. The foot enclosure 101 defines an inner surface 101a and an outer surface 101b. A stitch pattern, for example, plating, is used for creating the inner surface 101a and the outer surface 101b of the foot enclosure 101. The inner surface 101a is proximal to the person's foot and distal to the footwear when the person is wearing the foot enclosure 101 and the footwear. The outer surface 101b is distal to the person's foot and proximal to the footwear when the person is wearing the foot enclosure 101 and the footwear.
A first pair 201 comprising the first tacky thread 201a and the first supplementary thread 201b defines the inner surface 101a of the foot enclosure 101. The first tacky thread 201a is exposed on the inner surface 101a of the foot enclosure 101. The first tacky thread 201a is not exposed on the outer surface 101b of the foot enclosure 101. A second pair 202 comprising the second tacky thread 202a and the second supplementary thread 202b defines the outer surface 101b of the foot enclosure 101. The second tacky thread 202a is exposed on the outer surface 101b of the foot enclosure 101. The second tacky thread 202a is not exposed on the inner surface 101a of the foot enclosure 101. The second pair 202 is knitted with the first pair 201 to define the foot enclosure 101. The first pair 201 comprising the first tacky thread 201a and the first supplementary thread 201b knitted with the second pair 202 comprising the second tacky thread 202a and the second supplementary thread 202b are illustrated in
For purposes of illustration, the first pair 201 refers to threads 201a and 201b and a second pair 202 refers to threads 202a and 202b. However, the scope of the hosiery garment 100 disclosed herein is not limited to the first pair 201 and the second pair 202 but may be extended to include multiple pairs of multiple threads.
The inner surface 101a of the foot enclosure 101 defined by the first pair 201 provides grip to the person's foot between the foot and the hosiery garment 100, and the outer surface 101b of the foot enclosure 101 defined by the second pair 202 simultaneously provides grip to the person's foot between the hosiery garment 100 and the inside of the footwear. The first pair 201 of threads and the second pair 202 of threads are knitted into the hosiery garment 100 such that the inner surface 101a of the foot enclosure 101 and the outer surface 101b of the foot enclosure 101 are made of the same traction, tacky material-supplementary material thread. In an embodiment, different traction, tacky material-supplementary thread combinations are used. The upper section 102 of the hosiery garment 100 may comprise any traditional fabric and has an opening at the top similar to traditional socks. The upper section 102 may be of different lengths.
Multiple tacky threads 201a and 202a and supplementary threads 201b and 202b are provided 401. The tacky threads 201a and 202a are coated with an anti-adhesive material, for example, silicon, talcum powder, etc. to prevent gathering and tangling in the machinery. A foot enclosure 101 configured to conform to the person's foot is created 402. To create the foot enclosure 101, the tacky threads 201a and 202a are separated out of the box 301 as exemplarily illustrated in
Consider an example where the first tacky thread 201a, the second tacky thread 202a, a first supplementary thread 201b, and a second supplementary thread 202b are wound 402b onto a first spool 502a, a second spool 502b, a third spool 502c, and a fourth spool 502d respectively. The first spool 502a of the first tacky thread 201a and the third spool 502c of the first supplementary thread 201b are placed 402c onto a rack 604 positioned on a knitting unit 600 above a first finger tube 601a as exemplarily illustrated in
To create the inner surface 101a, the first tacky thread 201a and the first supplementary thread 201b from the first spool 502a and the third spool 502c respectively are simultaneously fed 402e into the first finger tube 601a as exemplarily illustrated in
To create the outer surface 101b, the second tacky thread 202a and the second supplementary thread 202b from the second spool 502b and the fourth spool 502d respectively are fed 402f simultaneously into the second finger tube 601b as exemplarily illustrated in
The first pair 201 is knitted 402i with the second pair 202 to form the foot enclosure 101 using one or more of multiple latch needles 602 in the circular knitting machine 603 as illustrated in
A latch needle 602a accepts the first pair 201 of threads and the second pair 202 of threads at the same time to form the inner surface 101a and the outer surface 101b of the foot enclosure 101 simultaneously as illustrated in
In this method of construction, the latch needles 602 simultaneously retrieve the first supplementary thread 201b and the second supplementary thread 202b from the third finger tube and the fourth finger tube respectively. The first supplementary thread 201b retrieved from the third finger tube and the second supplementary thread 202b retrieved from the fourth finger tube is knitted 701f using the plating technique, where the first supplementary thread 201b goes to the inner surface 101a of the foot enclosure 101 and the second supplementary thread 202b goes to the outer surface 101b of the foot enclosure 101. The first supplementary thread 201b is exposed on the inner surface 101a of the foot enclosure 101 and the second supplementary thread 202b is exposed on the outer surface 101b of the foot enclosure 101. After the first course of knitting is complete, the latch needles 602 on the circular knitting machine 603 simultaneously retrieve the first tacky thread 201a from the first finger tube and the second tacky thread 202a from the second finger tube simultaneously. The first tacky thread 201a and the second tacky thread 202a are then knitted 701g in the plating technique, where the first tacky thread 201a goes to the inner surface 101a of the foot enclosure 101 and the second tacky thread 202a goes to the outer surface 101b of the foot enclosure 101. The first tacky thread 201a is exposed on the inner surface 101a. The first tacky thread 201a is not exposed on the outer surface 101b. The second tacky thread 202a is exposed on the outer surface 101b. The second tacky thread 202a is not exposed on the inner surface 101a. The first pair 201 comprising the first tacky thread 201a and the first supplementary thread 201b defines the inner surface 101a of the foot enclosure 101. The second pair 202 comprising the second tacky thread 202a and the second supplementary thread 202b defines the outer surface 101b of the foot enclosure 101.
The circular knitting machine 603 then continues to alternate on each course of knitting between the tacky threads 201a and 202a and the supplementary threads 201b and 202b until the hosiery garment 100 is complete. This technique is also not limited to alternating between the tacky threads 201a and 202a and supplementary threads 201b and 202b on each and every course. As an example, the tacky threads 201a and 202a may be knitted into the hosiery garment 100 on the third course, the fourth course, or any combination thereof.
Consider an example of constructing a hosiery garment 100, for example, a sock that provides grip to a person's foot. Multiple tacky threads 201a, 202a, etc. for example, made of rubber are coated with an anti-adhesive material, for example, silicon, talcum powder, etc. or both to prevent the threads from gathering and tangling in the machinery.
A foot enclosure 101 configured to conform to the person's foot is then created in the circular knitting machine 603. To create the foot enclosure 101, the tacky threads 201a, 202a, etc. are separated into two separate spools 502a and 502b of tacky threads 201a, 202a, etc. using a twisting machine 501 as exemplarily illustrated in
A single tacky thread 201a and a single strand of a first supplementary thread 201b, for example, cotton, are drawn simultaneously from the spools 502a and 502c into the first finger tube 601a for grouping into the first pair 201. The first pair 201 defines the inner surface 101a of the foot enclosure 101. The second tacky thread 202a and a single strand of the second supplementary thread 202b, for example, nylon, are drawn simultaneously from spools 502b and 502d into a second finger tube 601b for grouping into the second pair 202.
The first pair 201 and the second pair 202 are knitted using a latch needle 602a as illustrated in
The foregoing examples have been provided merely for the purpose of explanation and are in no way to be construed as limiting of the present invention. While the invention has been described with reference to various embodiments, it is understood that the words, which have been used herein, are words of description and illustration, rather than words of limitation. Further, although the invention has been described herein with reference to particular means, materials and embodiments, the invention is not intended to be limited to the particulars disclosed herein, rather, the invention extends to all functionally equivalent structures, methods and uses, such as are within the scope of the appended claims. Those skilled in the art, having the benefit of the teachings of this specification, may effect numerous modifications thereto and changes may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention in its aspects.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2050535 | Martel | Aug 1936 | A |
3874001 | Patience et al. | Apr 1975 | A |
3983870 | Herbert et al. | Oct 1976 | A |
4021860 | Swallow et al. | May 1977 | A |
4069515 | Swallow et al. | Jan 1978 | A |
4069600 | Wise et al. | Jan 1978 | A |
4149274 | Garrou et al. | Apr 1979 | A |
4397161 | Chesebro, Jr. et al. | Aug 1983 | A |
5412957 | Bradberry et al. | May 1995 | A |
5617585 | Fons et al. | Apr 1997 | A |
5737943 | Bernhardt | Apr 1998 | A |
6173589 | Hayes, Jr. et al. | Jan 2001 | B1 |
6324874 | Fujimoto | Dec 2001 | B2 |
7587915 | Kaneda | Sep 2009 | B2 |
20030177566 | Williams | Sep 2003 | A1 |
20030230121 | Yokoyama | Dec 2003 | A1 |
20040221371 | Kato | Nov 2004 | A1 |
20060195972 | Alley | Sep 2006 | A1 |
20060253961 | Chan | Nov 2006 | A1 |
20070028365 | Williams | Feb 2007 | A1 |