EP3030703B1

EP3030703B1 - Foot-covering garment

Info

Publication number: EP3030703B1
Application number: EP14744297.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gianmario PEDRINE
Original assignee: Steps Holding BV
Current assignee: Steps Holding BV
Priority date: 2013-08-08
Filing date: 2014-07-21
Publication date: 2022-11-23
Anticipated expiration: 2034-07-21
Also published as: ITBS20130122A1; WO2015018630A1; EP3030703A1

Description

Field of the invention

The present invention relates in general to the field of hoses, and similar garments, and relates in particular to a garment having the shape of a foot-covering hose of the type known in Italy with the name of 'fantasmino'.
The invention further relates to a method for manufacturing such a garment on circular machines for hosiery and knitwear.

State of the Art

Foot-covering garments are known to be fitted on the foot in order to become substantially not visible once a shoe has been put on. With the terms 'foot-covering garment' and 'under-foot sock' a garment is referred to, which is adapted to cover the foot toe, sole and heel portions only of a wearer, as well as part of the foot lateral portion, allowing the instep and the ankle to be uncovered.
Such garments generally comprise a toe portion, a sole portion, two lateral portions and a heel portion. Usually, then, at least the toe and heel portions have a top elastic edge in order to correctly hold the garment on the foot when put on.
The foot-covering garment is preferably made on circular machines for hosiery and knitwear and can be realized as a whole, that is to say free from seems to carry out outside the same machine at the toe or heel portion, and free from seems for fastening elastic portions.
EP 0632972 , by the same inventor of the present patent application, relates to a foot-covering garment having two opposite parts having the shape of pouch heel and integrally joined to a middle area, and having an elastic edge realized and knitted with the two heel-shaped parts. Such a garment can provide the presence of an elastic band at the whole edge thereof which defines the opening through which the foot can be inserted into the garment itself. EP 0632972 also relates to a method for manufacturing such a garment integrally on a circular machine for hosiery. Such specific garment configuration with a closed - loop elastic edge and method thereof, however, are limited in connection with the size of the garment itself. Indeed the closed - loop elastic edge limits the extension of the middle portion and therefore the whole length of the garment. In order to fit to large sizes, over number 42, the foot-covering garment has to be realized of an elastic material which thus makes it extensible. This however limits the selection of usable yarns; for example natural fibres such as cotton, which are by nature little extensible, have to be unavoidably excluded.
In order to obviate such a drawback, EP 1133245 puts forward a garment having a sole, a partial upper foot region, a heel, and a toe. The opening for the insertion of the foot is provided in middle position between toe and sole, at the partial upper foot region. The length of such a partial upper foot region can vary according to the needs to allow the realization of garments of different size. The elastic edge is provided at the toe and heel portions only; on the contrary, at the partial upper foot region no finishing edge is provided. Since the ends of the upper foot partial portions are free from any type of finishing edge, they are prone to bend on themselves, making a thickness. Furthermore, such portions are highly extensible and thus, in order to ensure that the worn under-foot garment remains correctly fitted on when subjected to friction by the shoe as the wearer is moving, the presence of the elastic edge at the heel and toe portion is needed. However, since the elastic edge is little comfortable, in EP 1133245 is specifically provided that it is not present at the partial upper foot region just to minimize the bother for the user.
EP 2202339 discloses an ankle sock having a toe portion, a middle portion and a heel portion, wherein the middle portion has inelastic edges comprising tuck stitches formed from helanca yarn.
US 2001293 discloses a knitted stocking foot protector, comprising a toe portion, a heel portion and a sole portion, wherein the sole portion comprises a main section, which is knit from a woolen, silk or cotton yarn, and marginal sections knit from a separate covered elastic yarn. The outer edges of said marginal sections comprise selvage loops, which each span two courses of the knitting.

Object and Summary of the Invention

The present invention has been conceived just with the aim of compensating for the drawbacks of the known art by putting forward a foot-covering garment provided, at its side portions, with effective restraining edges, while not bulky as the conventional elastic edges.
Such objects are reached with a knit foot-covering garment according to claim 1.
In particular, the foot-covering garment comprises a heel portion, a toe portion, a middle portion located between the heel portion and the toe portion and an opening between said heel portion, said middle portion and said toe portion for the insertion of a user's foot, wherein the toe portion and the heel portion are aligned along a longitudinal direction, and wherein, at said opening, the middle portion ends with at least one right or left edge which garment is seamlessly knitted as a whole.
The foot-covering garment according to the invention is characterized in that the edge is a restraining edge comprising a plurality of specific stitches of at least one main thread composing the foot-covering garment, named elongated stitches, each of them having a longitudinal extent in the longitudinal direction corresponding to the longitudinal extent in the longitudinal direction of at least two stitches of said at least one main thread in the remaining middle portion.
Advantageously, thus, with respect to the foot covering garments until now proposed, the under-foot garment of the present invention is provided with at least one lateral restraining edge at the at least one of the two ends, preferably of both ends of the middle portion, at the opening. Since such restraining edges compose the lateral ends of the middle portion, independently from the toe and heel portions, they do not generate any constraint in the extent of the middle portion and thus of the under-foot garment itself. Furthermore, each restraining edge comprises a sequence of elongated stitches having a length at least twice, in the longitudinal direction, with respect to the stitches in the remaining of the garment. This means that each restraining edge, in the longitudinal direction, comprises a number of stitches smaller than the remaining of the middle portion and, consequently, is less extensible and exerts its restraining function and correctly holds the foot covering garment on the user's foot also in absence of any type of edge at the heel and/or toe portion.
Preferably each restraining edge is defined by a longitudinal series of elongated stitches and each elongated stitch has, in its turn, a longitudinal extent in the longitudinal direction corresponding to the total longitudinal extension in the longitudinal direction of three, but preferably four, stitches of the main thread in the remaining middle portion.
This way the action exerted by the restraining edge is further increased.
Each restraining edge is defined by a matrix of stitches elongated in the longitudinal direction, the matrix comprising, in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, at least two, preferably at least six and more preferably at least ten elongated stitches.
This configuration allows having a restraining edge having the shape of a band and, thus, improving the distribution of the pressure exerted on the user's foot.
The restraining edges, when both present, can have in their inside and between one another, elongated stitches with different longitudinal extents; additionally, the two restraining edges can have different extent one from another in the orthogonal direction in order to fit better to the foot configuration.
In addition each restraining edge can comprise one or more elastic threads, different from the main thread, knitted at the elongated stitches.
The restraining edge can be therefore stretch in order to further improve its effectiveness.
Advantageously, at the toe and/or heel portions a conventional elastic edge or, in a particularly preferred configuration, a restraining portion as described and claimed in the Italian Patent Application BS2013A000101, filed on July 10, 2013 , can be combined. In particular, a foot covering garment is obtained as combined to a restraining portion rather than to a conventional elastic edge, which is highly comfortable and does not require any elastic in order to remain correctly worn also when the wearer moves and if subjected to friction by a shoe. Because of their shape each restraining portion and each restraining edge, also when stretch, are more comfortable than the conventional elastic edges and do not limit at all the extent of the under-foot garment.
The foot-covering garment can be manufactured entirely on a circular machine for knitwear or hosiery, provided with needles able to be selectively activated and supported by a cylinder which is in its turn able to be selectively and rotationally activated in continuous motion and reciprocating motion.
More in detail, the manufacturing comprises the consecutive steps of knitting at least one main thread with the rotating cylinder activated in reciprocating motion, in order to realize a toe portion or a heel portion of the foot covering garment; then knitting with a needle set of the rotating cylinder, activated in reciprocating motion, in order to realize a first restraining edge, a middle portion and a second restraining edge, wherein the needle set comprises two ending needles, one or more needles adjacent to the ending needles and a plurality of middle needles with respect to the adjacent needles; carrying on by knitting said at least one main thread with part of the needles of the rotating cylinder activated in reciprocating motion, in order to realize the heel portion or the toe portion, respectively, of the foot covering garment, the toe and heel portions being aligned along a longitudinal direction. Specifically, the step needed for realizing the first restraining edge, the middle portion and/or the second restraining edge is performed by activating substantially all the needles of said needle set in order to compose a corresponding stitch row or course at least at one run of the rotating cylinder; by activating, for at least one following run of the rotating cylinder, the ending needles and the middle needles only and deactivating the adjacent needles of the needle set in order to prevent said at least one main thread from being knitted by the adjacent needles, at the restraining edges; and by alternating the previous steps in order to compose the first and/or the second restraining edge with a plurality of specific stitches of the main thread, named elongated stitches, each of them having longitudinal extent corresponding to the number of runs of the rotating cylinder performed with the adjacent needles deactivated.
With the name "course" the row of stitches composed during each run of the rotating cylinder is referred to. In fact the foot covering garment is composed of a sequence of curved lines of stitches extending in the transversal direction, each formed during a relative run of the rotating cylinder and just defined as course. Therefore, advantageously, the composing of the foot covering garment starts with the realization of a heel or toe portion as usual, carries on with the composing of the middle portion and contemporaneously of a restraining edge at one or both its ends and ends with the realizing of a toe or heel portion. The sequence with which the foot covering garment is produced is similar to the usually employed one, except than in the composing of the heel and toe portion the needles are selected with a never used before mode in order to obtain, at the same time, the composing of one or two lateral restraining edges according to the needs. In fact, by suitably selecting the position of the adjacent needles at every run of the cylinder, bringing them in an active position in which they take the main thread to knit, or bringing them in an inactive position wherein they do not take the main thread to avoid knitting, the so-called elongated stitches are obtained which compose each restraining edge. Due to this particular needle selection the entire under-foot garment can be obtained, provided with restraining edges, in the same time needed for producing a foot covering garment produced according to the known art, but free from any type of restraining edge. Until now whether the foot covering garment should be provided with a lateral edge, this is applied as a separate element, outside of the circular machine for knitwear or hosiery, with an increase of manufacturing times and costs.
Preferably, the adjacent needles are kept inactive for at least one, preferably two and more preferably three consecutive runs of the rotating cylinder in order to compose elongated stitches having longitudinal extension corresponding to two, preferably three and more preferably four stitches, respectively, of the main thread in the remaining middle portion.
Furthermore, the adjacent needles are at least two, preferably at least six and more preferably at least ten in order to define a restraining edge having, in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, an extent of at least two, preferably at least six and more preferably at least ten elongated stitches.
Advantageously, during the steps needed for composing the middle portion and each restraining edge, at least the ending needles and the adjacent needles knit one or more elastic threads along with the main thread, such that each restraining edge is stretch.
Finally, before the initial step of composing a toe or heel portion and/or after the ending step of composing a heel or toe portion, one or more steps are provided for the composing of a conventional elastic edge or one or more steps described and claimed in the Italian Patent Application BS2013A000101, files on July 10, 2013 , for the composing of a restraining band.
Advantageously, the foot covering garment can be realized with any type of thread or yarn; additionally the foot covering garment can be single jersey or have any type of knit or knitting which can be obtained through a circular machine for knitwear or hosiery.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be therefore further illustrated in the following in the description made referring to the accompanying indicative and not limitative drawings, in which:

figure 1 shows a perspective view of a foot-covering garment according to the present invention;
figure 2 shows an enlarged detail circled in figure 1;
figure 3 shows a simplified scheme of the needles of the rotating cylinder;
figure 4 shows a scheme of the structure of part of the hose;
figure 5 shows a perspective view of a foot-covering garment according to the present invention provided with elastic edges according to the known art; and
figure 6 shows a perspective view of a foot-covering garment according to the present invention provided with restraining portions.

Detailed Description Of The Invention

In said drawings, by the numeral 1 a foot-covering garment is wholly indicated which is obtained by knitting at least one main thread and formed as a whole, i.e. seamlessly.
The foot-covering garment comprises a toe portion 2, a middle portion 3, a heel portion 4 and an opening 5 defined by said portions, for allowing the insertion of a user foot. The toe portion and the heel portion are aligned along a longitudinal direction.
According to the invention, at the opening 5 the foot covering garment is provided with at least one lateral right and/or left restraining edge 6, 6', each realized as a whole with a relative end of the middle portion. The restraining edge 6, 6' can be provided, at the opening 5, only at one end of the middle portion 3 intended to contact one of the two foot sides of the user or at both ends of the middle portion itself.
Each restraining edge 6, 6' is composed of a plurality of specific stitches 7, named elongated stitches, arranged in a series in the longitudinal direction and formed by at least one main thread of the foot covering garment 1. Each elongated stitch 7 has a longitudinal extent in the longitudinal direction corresponding to the longitudinal extent in the longitudinal direction of at least two stitches 8 of the main thread in the remaining middle portion 3; preferably each stitch has a longitudinal extension in the longitudinal direction corresponding to the total longitudinal extension in the longitudinal direction of three or four stitches 8 of the remaining middle portion 3.
Each restraining edge 6, 6' is composed of a matrix of elongated stitches 7, the matrix comprising, in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, at least two elongated stitches 7. Preferably the restraining edges 6, 6' extend, in the orthogonal direction, for six or more elongated stitches 7 - as shown in figure 2. In particular figure 2 shows an enlarged detail of one of the two ends of the middle portion, provided with the relative restraining edge 6', wherein the elongated stitches 7 of the restraining edge and the stitches 8 of the remaining part of the middle portion are represented. As visible, the elongated stitches 7 have longitudinal extent larger than the remaining stitches 8, are arranged in sequence along the longitudinal direction and are placed side by side in the orthogonal direction in order to define a band-like restraining edge having the intended transversal extent. The longitudinal extent of each restraining edge depends on the extent of the middle portion.
The extent in the orthogonal direction of a restraining edge 6, 6' and the extent of the elongated stitches 7 composing the same can be equal to, or different from, those of the other restraining edge 6, 6', if present, which composes the opposite end of the middle portion 3.
The foot covering garment as shown in figure 1 does not comprise a conventional elastic edge at the portions of the toe 2 and/or heel 4.
Each restraining edge 6, 6' can further comprise one or more elastic threads, which are knitted at the elongated stitches 7. Therefore each restraining edge, if needed, can be stretch.
The afore described foot covering garment can further comprise, at the portions of the toe 2 and/or heel 4, a conventional elastic edge - as shown in figure 5.
In a preferred solution shown in figure 6, the foot covering garment according to the present invention can be provided, in substitution of the elastic edges, with a restraining edge at the heel portion 4 and/or at the toe portion 2, as described and claimed in the Patent Application N. BS2013A000101, filed on July 10, 2013 , by the same Applicant. This allows having a foot covering garment provided with a restraining edge/portion along all the opening, thus being able to avoid the use of elastic edges in order to obtain a highly comfortable foot covering garment. Also in case the arrangement of the restraining portions and/or edges should contain an elastic thread, they are however more comfortable for the user than the conventional elastic edges and do not represent any limit to the extent of the garment.
The seamless knit foot-covering garment 1 can be manufactured wholly on a circular machine for knitwear or hosiery, provided with needles able to be selectively activated and supported by a cylinder in its turn able to be selectively and rotationally activated in continuous motion and reciprocating motion.
In detail the manufacturing provides the following steps:

a) knitting a main thread through the rotating cylinder activated in reciprocating motion, in order to realize a toe portion 2 or a heel portion 4 of the foot-covering garment 1;
b) at the end of the step a), knitting by means of a needle set 9 of the rotating cylinder activated in reciprocating motion in order to realize a first restraining edge 6, a middle portion 3 and a second restraining edge 6', wherein the needle set 9 comprises two ending needles 10, one or more needles 11 adjoining to the ending needles 10 and a plurality of middle needles 12 with respect to the adjacent needles 11,
c) at the end of step b), knitting the main thread through the rotating cylinder activated in reciprocating motion, in order to realize the heel portion 4 or the toe portion 2, respectively, of the foot covering garment 1, wherein the toe 2 and heel 4 portions are aligned along a longitudinal direction,

b') during the step b) and by at least one run of the rotating cylinder, activating all the needles of said needle set 9 in order to compose a corresponding course,
b") during the step b) and at least at one run of the rotating cylinder, activating the ending needles 10 only and the middle needles 12 and deactivate the adjacent needles 11 of said needle set 9 in order to prevent the main thread from being knitted by the adjacent needles 11 and thus among the ending needles 10 and the middle needles 12, at said restraining edges 6, 6',
b‴) alternating the steps b') and b") in order to compose the first and/or second restraining edge 6, 6' with a plurality of specific stitches 7 of the main thread, named elongated stitches, each of them having a longitudinal extension corresponding to the number of runs of the rotating cylinder performed during the step b").

The composing of the foot covering garment can start indifferently, as usual, with the composing of a toe or heel portion according to known art.
In figure 3 a simplified scheme of the needles of the rotating cylinder is shown, for the sake of simplicity arranged in line rather than along a circumference. The needles of the needle set 9 used during the composing of the middle portion are represented by a small dot, whereas the other needles of the rotating cylinder are represented by a small cross and are not used for the composing of the middle portion. The suspension dots indicate that only part of the used needles are indicated which compose the needle set 9 and part of the not used needles only. In effect and only by way of example, for the production of a foot covering garment according to the invention, circular machines for hosiery can be used that have a rotating cylinder having a diameter of 9,53 centimetre (3.75 inches) and provided with a number of needles comprised between 200 and 400, depending on the type of used thread and the fineness of the foot covering garment to realize, of which a number comprised between 150 and 350 needles is used and the remaining is unused, i.e. out of work, during the composing of the garment itself. The needle set 9 comprises in its turn a plurality of middle needles 12, two ending needles 10, which compose the opposite ends of said needle set 9 and two sets each of one or more needles 11 adjacent from opposite sides, each positioned between the middle needles 12 and the relevant ending needle 10.
Preferably, the step b") is carried out for two or three consecutive runs of the rotating cylinder in order to compose elongated stitches 7 with a longitudinal extent corresponding to three or four stitches 8, respectively, in the remaining middle portion 3.
Furthermore, each adjacent needle set 11 comprises advantageously at least two, but preferably at least six or at least ten needles in order to define a matrix of elongated stitches 7 which, in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, comprises at least two, at least six or at least ten elongated stitches 7.
In figure 4 the structure of part of the middle portion is schematically represented, as composed during a certain number of consecutive runs of the rotating cylinder and thus tipped over by 90° with respect to the longitudinal direction the foot covering garment takes when rested on a horizontal plane. It is composed of a sequence of courses denoted with R₁, ..., R9; also the position the needles of the needle set 9 take in each course is shown. The active needles are represented by a solid dot, whereas the inactive needles are represented by an empty dot. In said figure two restraining edges 6, 6' are shown, each composed of a matrix formed by two rows of elongated stitches 7, each one comprising six side by side elongated stitches; the elongated stitches have an extent equal to four stitches 8 of the remaining middle portion. This means that the restraining edges have an extent orthogonal to the longitudinal direction equal to six elongated stitches. As visible in the first course R1, all the needles of the needle set 9 are active, i.e. they take the main thread to knit; in the second, third and fourth course, respectively indicated by R2, R3 and R4, the adjacent needles 11 remain inactive and thus do not knit through the main thread, whereas the remaining needles knit and compose the stitches 8 of the remaining part of the middle portion; in the fifth course R5 also the adjacent needles 11 knit again, each one by knitting and thus closing the relative elongated stitch 7 begun during the first course R1; subsequently in the sixth, seventh and eighth course the adjacent needles are inactive again and hold the main thread without knitting it, whereas in the ninth course R9 they are active again by closing the relative elongated stitch and so on.
The ending needles 10 have the function of knitting and working on the main thread even when the adjacent needles 11 are in inactive position in order to prevent the main thread, not knitted by the adjacent needles 11, to be unthreaded; correspondingly in the inner side of the restraining edges, i.e. that intended to contact the user's foot, short lengths of non-knitted thread 13 are formed, i. e. the thread can float between the last needle of the middle needles 12 and the corresponding ending needle 10. These lengths of floating thread 13 have an effect similar to the effect of the terry cloth and aid to make more comfortable the restraining edges.
Advantageously, in step b) needed for composing the restraining edges, at least the ending needles 10 and the adjacent needles 11 knit one or more elastic threads with the main thread. This way the elongated stitches are formed by knitting both the main thread and an elastic thread, thus obtaining stretch restraining edges 6, 6'.
Finally, before the step a) of composing the toe and/or heel portion and/or after the step c) of composing the heel or toe portion, one or more steps needed for composing an elastic edge are provided.
In a particularly preferred solution before the step a) of composing the toe and/or heel portion and/or after the step c) of composing the heel or toe portions, one or more steps are provided as described and claimed in the Italian Patent Application BS2013A000101, filed on July 10, 2013 .

Claims

Foot-covering garment (1) comprising a heel portion (4), a toe portion (2), a middle portion (3) located between the heel portion (4) and the toe portion (2) and an opening (5) between said heel portion (4), said middle portion (3) and said toe portion (2) for the insertion of a user's foot, wherein the toe portion (2) and the heel portion (4) are aligned along a longitudinal direction and wherein, at said opening (5), the middle portion (3) ends with at least one right or left edge, which garment is seamlessly knitted as a whole with at least one main thread, and the edge is a restraining edge (6, 6') comprising a plurality of elongated stitches (7), each elongated stitch having a longitudinal extension in the longitudinal direction corresponding to the total longitudinal extension in the longitudinal direction of at least two stitches (8) of said at least one main thread in the remaining middle portion (3); characterized in that the elongated stitches (7) are of the at least one main thread of the foot-covering garment (1).
Foot-covering garment (1) according to claim 1, wherein each right or left restraining edge (6, 6') is defined by a longitudinal series of elongated stitches (7) and each elongated stitch (7) has, in its turn, a longitudinal extension in the longitudinal direction corresponding to the total longitudinal extension in the longitudinal direction of three, preferably four, stitches (8) of the main thread in the remaining middle portion (9).
Foot-covering garment (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each restraining edge (6, 6') is defined by a matrix of stitches (7) elongated in the longitudinal direction, the matrix comprising, in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, at least two, preferably at least six and more preferably at least ten elongated stitches (7).
Foot-covering garment (1) according to any one of the preceding claims 1-3, wherein each restraining edge (6, 6') further comprises one or more elastic threads, different from said main thread and knitted at the elongated stitches (7).
Foot-covering garment (1) according to any one of the preceding claims 1-4, wherein the toe (2) and/ or heel (4) portions comprise an elastic edge.