BABY SOCKS AND RELATED ITEMS WITH IMPROVED IN-PLACE RETENTION

Abstract

An improved baby sock that will reduce the instance of the sock coming off the foot while in use and related applications to children's, women's, and men's socks. Application of the invention to improved in-place retention for hats, mittens, foot-less onesies, shoes, and bedding are presented.

Claims

1. A sock comprising: an upper portion that has an elastic property; 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 at the base 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.

2. The sock of claim 1, where said areas of silicone may also be in the shape of dots, with each dot having a diameter in the range of 1 millimeters to 10 millimeters.

3. The sock of claim 2, 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.

4. The sock of claim 2, where said sock 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.

5. The sock of claim 2, where said sock 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, 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.

6. The sock of claim 2, further comprising 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.

7. 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 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.

8. The sock and ankle covering combination of claim 7, 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.

9. The sock and ankle covering combination of claim 8, where 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.

10. The sock and ankle covering combination of claim 8, where 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.

11. The sock and ankle covering combination of claim 8, where the ankle covering is either fastenable or elastic.

12. The sock and ankle covering combination of claim 9, where the ankle covering is either fastenable or elastic.

13. The sock and ankle covering combination of claim 10, where the ankle covering further comprises a strap or fastener.

14. 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 foot or 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 at the base 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.

15. The ankle covering of claim 14, 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.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] FIG. 1 is an interior view of the front of a pair of socks illustrating the distribution and arrangement of retaining silicone dots according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0034] FIG. 2 is an interior view of the rear of a pair of socks illustrating the distribution and arrangement of retaining silicone dots according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0035] FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a hat, rotated vertical to show a portion of the interior near the opening, illustrating the distribution and arrangement of retaining silicone dots according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0036] FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a mitten, rotated horizontally to show a portion of the interior near the opening, illustrating the distribution and arrangement of retaining silicone dots according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0037] FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a foot-less onesie, with the leg opening positioned to show a portion of the interior near the opening, illustrating the distribution and arrangement of retaining silicone dots according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0038] FIG. 6 is an isometric view of top of a shoe, to show a portion of the interior near the opening, illustrating the distribution and arrangement of retaining silicone dots according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0039] FIG. 7 is a side view of a sock, showing a portion of the exterior of the sock, illustrating the distribution and arrangement of retaining silicone dots on the exterior of the sock according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0040] FIG. 8 is a back view of a sock, showing a portion of the exterior, illustrating the distribution and arrangement of retaining silicone dots on these exterior of the sock according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0041] FIG. 9 is a top view of a sock showing a portion of the interior near the opening, illustrating the distribution and arrangement of retaining silicone dots on the interior of the according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0042] FIG. 10 is an isometric view of a sock, showing areas of silicone both on the interior and exterior of the sock at the top part of the sock, and an additional area of exterior silicone located on the heel portion of the sock.

[0043] FIG. 11 is an isometric view of a sporting boot, showing areas of silicone on the interior wall of the ankle or calf portion of the boot.

[0044] FIG. 12 is an isometric view of a pant leg, oriented to show the bottom opening and showing also the interior wall with bands of silicone spaced along the interior wall.

[0045] FIG. 13 is an exterior view of a sock showing external bands of silicone spaced on the exterior portion of the sock.

[0046] FIG. 14 is a detail view of reciprocal bands of silicone, with tapered height on the meeting edges, demonstrating one aspect of how said bands could be positioned relative to each together.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0047] 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.

[0048] In one embodiment of the invention, depicted in FIG. 1, a sock comprising an upper portion 10 that has an elastic property, with said upper portion having areas of silicone shown at 20 and 30 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 are in the shape of dots distributed at intervals around the interior circumference of the sock.

[0049] 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.

[0050] 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.

[0051] 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.

[0052] In this preferred embodiment, where the silicone dots are arranged as shown in FIGS. 1 at 20 and 30, the diameter of the silicone dots is approximately 4 mm, with horizontal dot spacing of 6 mm from the center of the dots in the same row. The preferred embodiment vertical spacing is 5 mm below the row above it. Dot thickness at the thickest point is 1.3 mm and the sock is a baby's sock.

[0053] 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.

[0054] 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.

[0055] 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.

[0056] 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).

[0057] In another secondary embodiment of the current invention, depicted in FIG. 10, the sock 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. An example of this is shown in FIG. 10 at 110 where both the interior region of areas of silicone and the external region of silicone occur at the same point on the sock.

[0058] 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.

[0059] 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.

[0060] FIGS. 10 at 110 and 120 also shows multiple aspects of the invention being used together on a single sock. As previously discussed, FIG. 10 at 110 shows interior and exterior regions of areas of silicone, while FIG. 10 at 120 show the use of external areas of silicone on the heel portion of the same sock.

[0061] In another secondary embodiment of the current invention, FIG. 11, at 130 shows an ankle covering in the form of a sport boot, which further comprises a region containing areas of silicone attached to its interior wall. The intention is that a sock with an exterior area of silicone such as in FIG. 10 at 110 would be located in a reciprocal fashion to the exterior area of silicone of the sport boot/ankle covering, such that the exterior areas of silicone of the sock and the areas of silicone on the ankle covering are in contact when worn.

[0062] 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 FIGS. 1 at 20 and 30, the diameter of the silicone dots is approximately 4 mm, with horizontal dot spacing of 6 mm from the center of the dots in the same row. The preferred embodiment vertical spacing is 5 mm below the row above it. Dot thickness at the thickest point is 1.3 mm.

[0063] In another secondary embodiment of the current invention, FIGS. 12 and 13 show aspects of a sock and ankle covering combination. In this embodiment, the ankle covering comprises a shoe, boot, ankle-foot-orthosis, ankle brace, ankle covering, or ankle portion of a pant leg. The sock further comprises 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. The placement of these opposing silicone bands is important to this embodiment, wherein the bands of silicone of said ankle covering are located adjacently above or adjacently below the bands of silicone of said sock. The intent is that these bands of silicone fit together like the teeth of two intersecting gears, bracketing the movement of the ankle covering relative to the sock and the sock relative to the ankle covering. FIG. 12 at 140 shows a view of the bottom (ankle) portion of a pant leg oriented to show the bottom opening and showing also the interior wall with bands of silicone spaced along the interior wall. FIG. 13 at 150 shows a partial exterior view of the upper portion of a sock showing external bands of silicone spaced on the exterior portion of the sock.

[0064] 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.

[0065] 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.

[0066] 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.

[0067] In another secondary embodiment of the current invention as seen in FIG. 14 at 160, a sock and ankle covering combination (such as described in paragraph 63) is present, but differs in that 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 a preferred embodiment, the width of each band would be 13 millimeters along the sock surface or ankle covering surface and the combined thickness of the silicone would be 10 millimeters. In this preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14 at 160, the tapering occurs from both of the meeting edges to peak in the middle of the silicone band. The first and final of the bands, the outer bands vertically in a series of bands, may have a taper for only half of its width, resulting in a taper that plateaus rather than peaks in the middle of the band.

[0068] 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.

[0069] In another secondary embodiment of the current invention, a hat as in FIG. 3, uses the three-deep row of protruding silicone dots as in FIG. 1 at 20. In application to the hat, the rows of dots may be unbroken (as in FIG. 3 at 40) around the interior circumference of the hat, or tapered as in FIG. 1 at 20. Tapering of the row pattern and breaks in the pattern of dots will allow the creation of concentrated points of pressure upon the wearer's skin allowing better grip at the points of greater pressure.

[0070] In another secondary embodiment of the current invention, a mitten as in FIG. 4, the current invention is applied with regard to the interior of a mitten cuff at 50.

[0071] 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 FIG. 5.

[0072] In another secondary embodiment of the current invention, the current invention is applied to a shoe as in FIG. 6, particularly to the interior of the shoe opening where the foot enters the shoe at 70.

[0073] 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 FIG. 1 at 20, tapered sections of silicone dots are placed at intervals around the interior sides of the corner sections of the sheet or mattress pad, thereby creating areas of concentrated pressure against the corners of the mattress.

[0074] 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 FIG. 1 at 30, or not.