EP0265395A2

EP0265395A2 - Natural fibre one-size sock

Info

Publication number: EP0265395A2
Application number: EP87830356A
Authority: EP
Inventors: David Pacifici
Original assignee: EXTEND Srl
Current assignee: EXTEND S.R.L.
Priority date: 1986-10-21
Filing date: 1987-10-12
Publication date: 1988-04-27
Also published as: ES2003837A4; PT85971A; GR880300134T1; DE265395T1; IT8648570A0; AU7990487A; EP0265395A3; AU594205B2; IT1198451B

Abstract

A natural fibre one-size sock having a tract between the heel and the tip of the foot, and preferably close to the tip of the foot, of an unstretched length variable between 2.5 and 15 cm, preferably about 7 cm, which tract is made up of at least a coated elastic yarn, such as for instance an "elastan" yarn coated with one or two pure cotton threads.

Description

The present invention relates to a natural fibre one-size sock.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a sock of the type mentioned above which is made up of virtually 100 % natural fibre but shows such elastic properties as to allow the same to adapt itself to any foot size.
The usual procedures of the present time for making socks of sufficient elastic properties, such as to cover the whole range of sizes of feet consist in the employment for the making of the sock, of a second thread in addition to the very thread of a natural fiber, said second thread being internally coated and characterized by a certain degree of elastic recovery.
Usually the thread employed is a textured polyamide yarn of the Helanca type which is inserted inside the manufactured article in order not to alter the outer aspect as well as the so-called "hand", of the product, through the coating technique.
As is well known by those who are skilled in the art, the coating technique, from which the term "coated knitting" or "vanisé" comes, consists in feeding two different threads to the needle respecting precise and constant positions. In such way, a so-called "double-side" or "double-face" fabric is obtained.
The result obtained by such procedure, though satisfying after all, gives also some problems stemming for the most part from the presence of the man-made thread.
Indeed, as said synthetic polyamide thread is employed in the whole length of the sock, i.e., not only at the points corresponding to the foot but also at those corresponding to the leg, the final weight of the polyamide component is of the order of 20 % of the total weight of the sock.
Such fact gives as a result the impossibility of attributing to the product the market qualification of "pure cotton" or of "pure virgin woll" according to the laws in force, a fact to which reference will be made in the following, so that easily imaginable negative consequences arise from a commercial standpoint.
Moreover, as the man-made thread is to be inserted inside the product, because of obvious aesthetic reasons, the sock turns out to be definitely less comfortable, as the foot does not contact the more valuable natural thread; accordingly, allergies, perspiration, mycosis, etc. occur.
As regards the laws in force in Italy relating to the compulsory marking of the market qualification, which laws also agree with the laws in force both in European countries and in the United States, the article 10 of the law No. 833 provides that "...the total weight of the textile product, as regards the calculation of the fibres relative percentages compositions, is to be considered as the net weight of the product free from those components which, though essential for the realization of said product, nevertheless are considered extraneous as regards the compulsory label.
The following materials are to be considered as extraneous:
a)... reinforcing parts..., elastic parts, ...; ..."
Moreover, article 28 of the Rules provides that "... 3) in the case of sock articles, the parts are to be eliminated which are possibly reinforced, as well as the elastic borders".
According to the above and in the light of the laws in force, it is quite clear that the advantage of a sock according to the present in vention having an elastic tract between the heel and the tip of the foot is very high, the employment being provided of a coated elastic thread of such properties and structure as to make the sock in question of the "one-size" type and simultaneously to keep the possibility of employing the market qualification of "100 % natural fibre".
Accordingly, it is the main object of the present invention that of providing a natural fibre one-size sock that can be made employing the knitting machines commercially available at the present time, which sock has an elastic tract at the points corresponding to the foot, which tract allows the sock to be employed for any foot size.
To that aim, the present invention suggests the realization of a one-size sock having an elastic tract between the heel and the tip of the foot which tract is realized employing at least one elastic yarn which is coated so that the weight of the man-made thread represents a very low percentage with respect to the total weight of the product (percentages even lower than 1 %).
Accordingly, it is a specific object of the present invention a natural fibre one-size sock having a tract between the heel and the tip of the foot of an unstretched length variable between 2.5 and 15 cm, such tract or piece being realized with at least one coated elastic yarn.
According to the present invention, said coated elastic yarn can also be made up of a composite yarn of elastan or rubber coated with one or two pure cotton threads.
Preferably, such yarn can be made up of the yarn commercially available from DuPont under the trade mark Lycra.
A yarn such as those mentioned above has a stretching ability of 300 % and is so gauged in diameter as to be inserted into the knitting of the fabric without altering the outer aspect of the sock.
Socks such as those which are the object of the present invention are made according to the technologies of the present time em ploying one-working position machines or two- or three-working positions machines.
Preferably two-working positions machines are employed with the coated elastic yarn used on both the working positions or also on one working position only.
Even three-working positions machines can be employed using said elastic yarn on one working position, on two working positions or also on all three working positions
Anyway, the best results were shown to be attained employing the yarn on one working position only.
According to a preferred embodiment of the sock of the present invention, said tract or piece is of about 7 cm length (in the unstretched state) and it is arranged just before the tip of the sock.
Such a solution, as shown in the enclosed Figures 1 and 2, provides a natural fibre sock capable of becoming sufficiently stretched so as to fit all man-sizes from the size 10½ (Figure 1), which is equal to 27 cm to the size 13 (Figure 2 shows a stretching of 12½, i.e., 32 cm).
An elastic tract or piece of an unstretched lenght of 7 cm, with the yarn employed on one working position only, has a weight corresponding to about 4 % the weight of the sock itself.
Said percentage of 4 % is in turn made up of 85 % cotton and 15 % synthetic fibre (elastan), i.e., the weight of the total synthetic fibre equals the 0.6 % of the whole weight.
Accordingly, it is well evident that the possibility of having at disposal a product like that proposed by the present invention gives a number of advantages.
Indeed, it is possible to obtain a high quality article of commerce, which article consists of natural fibres but shows concomitantly all advantages which up to the present time were an exclusive property of synthetic component products.
Accordingly, a strong reduction is obtained of the amounts of stored product, which reduction also gives remarkable money and space savings with the possibility of ordering a wider range of colors. Moreover, lower amounts of remnants are obtained as the product does not give rise to disassortment of sizes.
In addition, it is possible to exhibit the product for sale in places not of the traditional type, such as supermarkets, autogrills and so on, because the user's selection is limited to the color of the socks themselves.
The present invention has been disclosed just for illustrative and not for limitative purposes, according to some preferred embodiments of the same but it is to be understood that modifications and/or changes can be introduced in the same by those who are skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention for which a priority right is claimed.

Claims

1. A natural fibre one-size sock, characterized in that it has a tract or piece between the heel and the tip of the foot of a length variable between 2.5 and 15 cm (such lenght being measured in unstretched state), said tract being realized with at least one coated elastic yarn.

2. A natural fibre one-size sock according to claim 1, characterized in that said coated elastic yarn is made up of a yarn of elastan.

3. A natural fiber one-size sock according to claim 2, characterized in that said elastan yarn is coated with one or two pure cotton threads.

4. A natural fibre one-size sock according to claim 1, characterized in that said coated elastic yarn is made up of a rubber yarn.

5. A natural fibre one-size sock according to claim 4, characterized in that said rubber yarn is coated with one or two pure cotton threads.

6. A natural fibre one-size sock according to claim 1, characterized in that it is made employing a one-working position machine or a two-working positions or a three-working positions machine.

7. A natural fibre one-size sock according to claim 6, wherein said coated elastic yarn is employed just on one of the working positions of said machines.

8. A natural fibre one-size sock according to claim 6, characterized in that said coated elastic yarn is employed on two of the working positions of said two- or three-working positions machines.

9. A natural fibre one-size sock according to claim 6, wherein said coated elastic yarn is employed on all three working positions of said three-working positions machine.

10. A natural fibre one-size sock according to claim 1, characterized in that said tract or piece extends over a length of about 7 cm, said length being measured in the unstretched state.