JP7509414B2 - socks - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to socks.

Patent Document 1 discloses a sock in which toe pouches corresponding to the five toes of the foot are provided on the toe side. In the sock disclosed in Patent Document 1, each toe pouch is subjected to shape memory processing, or shape memory fibers or metallic fibers are interwoven, so that the shape of each toe pouch is maintained in a tubular shape corresponding to each toe.

Utility Model Registration No. 3211891

However, in the socks disclosed in Patent Document 1, each toe pouch is subjected to shape-memory processing, etc., which causes a problem in that when a user puts on the socks, the shape-memory processed fibers, etc., make the socks less comfortable for the user.

One aspect of the present invention aims to make it easier for users to put on socks by easily inserting their toes into the toe pockets while maintaining good comfort when wearing the socks.

In order to solve the above problems, a sock according to one aspect of the present invention comprises at least one toe pouch for accommodating the toes, and a main body portion connected to the toe pouch and covering the foot other than the toes, and the toe pouch is formed with a shape-retaining portion for retaining the three-dimensional shape of the toe pouch.

By forming a shape-retaining portion on the toe pocket that maintains the three-dimensional shape of the toe pocket, the toe pocket stands up and the loss of comfort when wearing the socks by the user is reduced. This makes it easier for the user to put their toes into the toe pocket and put on the socks while maintaining a good wearing comfort for the user.

At least one pair of finger side portions of the finger pouch covers the side of the finger facing the foot width direction, and the shape-retaining portion is formed on at least a portion of at least one of the finger side portions, and the shape-retaining portion may be a hardened area formed by melting a heat-sealed yarn.

At least a portion of the side of the toe is hardened by forming a hardened area where the heat-sealed yarn is melted, and the toe pocket stands up. In addition, because at least a portion of the side of the toe is hardened, it is possible to reduce the loss of comfort when wearing the socks by the user. This makes it easier for the user to put their toes into the toe pocket and put on the socks while maintaining a good fit for the user.

The shape-retaining portion may be made of yarn with shape stability. By making the shape-retaining portion out of yarn with shape stability, the toe pockets can be raised and the loss of comfort when wearing the socks by the user can be reduced. This makes it easier for the user to put their toes into the toe pockets and put on the socks while maintaining a good wearing comfort for the user.

The sock may include at least two of the toe pockets. This makes it easier for the user to put on the sock even if the sock includes two or more toe pockets.

The hardened area may be formed in a base covering portion that covers the base of the finger. In order to raise the finger pocket, it is effective to form the hardened area in the base covering portion that covers the base of the finger.

The hardened area may be formed over the entire surface of at least one of the finger side portions. By forming the hardened area over the entire surface of the finger side portion, the entire surface of the finger side portion is hardened and the finger pocket stands up. This allows the finger pocket to stand up effectively, making it easier for the user to put on the socks.

The hardened area may be formed over the entire surface of all of the toe side portions. By forming the hardened area over the entire surface of all of the toe side portions, the entire surface of all of the toe side portions is hardened and the toe pocket stands up. This allows the toe pocket to stand up effectively, making it easier for the user to insert their toes into the toe pocket and put on the socks.

The hardened area may be formed only on the side of the toe of the toe pouch. By forming the hardened area only on the side of the toe of the toe pouch, the user can maintain a good wearing comfort of the sock compared to when the hardened area is formed over the entire toe pouch.

The shape-stable yarn may be made of a knitted fabric containing polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber. By making the finger pocket out of a knitted fabric containing polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber as a shape-stable yarn, the user can maintain a good wearing comfort of the socks.

Only the portion of the sock that is closer to the toe pocket than the portion covering the metatarsophalangeal joints of the foot may be made of the shape-stable yarn. With the above configuration, only the portion necessary to make it easier for the user to insert their toes into the toe pocket and to make the sock easier to put on can be made of shape-stable yarn.

The main body has a first extension part that covers the metatarsophalangeal joint of the foot, and a second extension part that is a part of the main body other than the first extension part, and the first extension part may have a stronger extension force than the second extension part. Since the first extension part has a stronger extension force than the second extension part, the first extension part tightens the metatarsophalangeal joint of the foot. This makes it easier for the toes to spread outward when the user puts on the socks, making it easier to insert the toes into the toe pocket.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to make it easier for the user to put on the socks by easily inserting the user's toes into the toe pockets while maintaining a good wearing comfort of the socks.

1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a sock according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a diagram showing a toe pouch provided in the sock shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the metatarsophalangeal joints of the foot. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a sock as a first modified example of the sock shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a sock as a second modified example of the sock shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a sock according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Embodiment 1]
<Configuration of Sock 1>
Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a sock 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a toe bag 10A included in the sock 1 shown in Fig. 1. In Fig. 1, when the sock 1 is covering the foot, the direction from the toe bag 10E toward the toe bag 10A is the positive X direction, the direction from the toe bag 10 toward the main body 20 is the positive Y direction, and the direction from the portion of the sock 1 corresponding to the sole toward the portion corresponding to the instep is the positive Z direction.

The X direction is the width direction of the foot, i.e., the direction in which the toes are lined up, and the Y direction is the length direction of the foot, i.e., the direction from the toes to the instep. Reference numeral 101 in FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the sock 1 as viewed from the positive X direction, and reference numeral 102 in FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the sock 1 as viewed from the negative X direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the sock 1 includes a toe pouch 10 and a main body 20. In the first embodiment, the sock 1 is knitted flat. In other words, the sock 1 is manufactured by a flat knitting machine that manufactures socks by flat knitting. At least one of at least a portion of the toe pouch 10 and at least a portion of the main body 20 may be knitted flat. For example, the toe pouch 10 and the second stretch portion 22 may be knitted flat, and the portion of the sock 1 other than the toe pouch 10 and the second stretch portion 22 may be knitted circularly.

<Configuration of finger pouch 10>
The finger stall 10 is formed with a shape retaining portion that retains the three-dimensional shape of the finger stall 10. In the first embodiment, a case will be described in which a hardened region 12 is formed in the finger stall 10 as an example of the shape retaining portion. The finger stall 10 is made up of finger stalls 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, and 10E corresponding to the five toes of the foot. The finger stalls 10A to 10E respectively accommodate the big toe, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger.

Unless otherwise described herein as having different configurations, finger pouches 10A to 10E are assumed to have the same configuration, and only finger pouch 10A will be described first. Finger pouch 10A includes finger side portion 11. Finger side portion 11 covers the side of the finger facing the X direction. Finger side portion 11 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

In FIG. 2, the center of finger pouch 10A in the X and Z directions is C1, and the axis parallel to the X direction and passing through center C1 is A1. In addition, two axes on the XZ plane that form an angle of α with axis A1 are A2 and A3, respectively. Finger side surface portion 11 is the surface of finger pouch 10A within the region formed by moving region R1 on the XZ plane between axis A2 and axis A3, which includes axis A1, in the Y direction.

Finger side portion 11P, 11M are formed as a pair of finger side portions 11 on finger pouch 10A. Finger side portion 11P covers the side of the finger facing the positive X direction, and finger side portion 11M covers the side of the finger facing the negative X direction. A hardened area 12 is formed on the entire surface of each of finger side portions 11P, 11M. Hardened area 12 is an area where the thermal fusion yarn is melted. Note that hardened area 12 may be formed on at least a portion of at least one of finger side portions 11P, 11M.

Similarly, for the other finger pouches 10B to 10E, hardened areas 12 are formed on the entire surfaces of both pairs of finger side portions 11. In other words, hardened areas 12 are formed on the entire surfaces of all finger side portions 11 of the finger pouch 10. As a result, the entire surfaces of all finger side portions 11 are hardened and the finger pouch 10 stands up. This allows the finger pouch 10 to stand up effectively, making it easier for the user to insert their toes into the finger pouch 10 and put on the sock 1.

The hardened areas 12 are preferably formed only on the finger side portions 11P, 11M of the finger pouch 10A. The same applies to the other finger pouches 10B to 10E. This allows the user to maintain a good wearing comfort of the sock 1 compared to when the hardened areas 12 are formed over the entire finger pouch 10A.

Note that one aspect of the present invention is not limited to a configuration in which the hardened area 12 is formed over the entire surface of both finger side portions 11P, 11M, but also includes a configuration in which the hardened area 12 is formed over the entire surface of at least one of the finger side portions 11P, 11M.

The hardened area 12 may also be formed over the entire surface of the finger side portion 11 of at least one of the finger pouches 10A to 10E. In this case, it is particularly difficult to insert toes into finger pouches 10D and 10E, which accommodate the ring finger and little finger, among the finger pouches 10A to 10E, so it is preferable that the hardened area 12 be formed over the entire surface of the finger side portion 11 of the finger pouches 10D and 10E. Furthermore, the hardened area 12 may also be formed over the entire surface of at least one of the finger side portions 11P and 11M.

<Configuration of hardened region 12>
The heat-sealed yarn in the hardened region 12 is not particularly limited, and may be configured by fusing a core yarn and a sheath, or may be configured by melting the entire yarn. When the heat-sealed yarn in the hardened region 12 is configured by fusing a core yarn and a sheath, the sheath is coated around the core yarn. Since the melting point of the sheath is lower than the melting point of the core yarn, when the core yarn and the sheath are subjected to a heat treatment, the sheath melts and the core yarn remains.

If the heat-sealed yarn in the hardened region 12 is constructed such that the entire yarn is melted, the entire yarn will melt when the yarn is subjected to heat treatment. The yarn may be, for example, nylon or polyurethane.

The heat treatment for forming the hardened region 12 is not particularly limited, and may be performed, for example, by spraying steam onto the knitted sock, or by wetting the sock and then heating it in an oven or the like. This heat treatment is performed on regular socks that do not have a hardened region 12 for the purpose of smoothing out wrinkles in the regular socks. Therefore, no additional process is required to form the hardened region 12.

The hardened area 12 is composed of a back yarn exposed on the skin side, i.e., on the inside, and a front yarn exposed on the outside. In the hardened area 12, FTY (Filament Twisted Yarn) and one heat-sealed yarn are used as the back yarn. In the hardened area 12, three yarns made of cotton, polyester, nylon, wool, etc., or a blend of these yarns are used as the front yarn. The parts of the sock 1 other than the hardened area 12 are also composed of back yarn and front yarn. In the parts of the sock 1 other than the hardened area 12, FTY is used as the back yarn, and the same front yarn as the front yarn in the hardened area 12 is used as the front yarn.

<Configuration of main body portion 20>
The main body part 20 is connected to the toe pouch 10 and covers parts of the foot other than the toes. In other words, the main body part 20 is connected to the toe pouches 10A to 10E. The main body part 20 has a first extension part 21 and second extension parts 22, 23. The first extension part 21 covers the metatarsophalangeal joint BO of the foot shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the metatarsophalangeal joint BO of the foot. The second extension parts 22, 23 are parts of the main body part 20 other than the first extension part 21. The first extension part 21 has a stronger extension force than the second extension parts 22, 23.

The first extension section 21 has a stronger extension force than the second extension sections 22 and 23, and therefore the first extension section 21 tightens the metatarsophalangeal joint BO of the foot. This makes it easier for the toes to spread outward when the user puts on the sock 1, making it easier for the user to insert the toes into the toe pouch 10.

The main body 20 is made of natural fibers such as cotton or wool, synthetic fibers such as nylon or polyester, or semi-synthetic fibers such as rayon. The main body 20 may be made of a spun yarn that is a blend of these fibers. The finger pouch 10, except for the stiffened region 12, may be made of the same material as the main body 20 described above.

<Modification 1>
Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing socks 2 and 3 as a first modified example of the sock 1 shown in Fig. 1. Reference numeral 201 in Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the sock 2, and reference numeral 202 in Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the sock 3. As shown by reference numeral 201 in Fig. 4, the sock 2 differs from the sock 1 in that the toe pocket 10 is changed to a toe pocket 10H. The sock 2 includes one toe pocket 10H. The toe pocket 10H accommodates the five toes of the foot. In other words, the toe pocket 10H accommodates the big toe, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger.

A pair of finger side portions 11 are formed on the finger pouch 10H. One finger side portion 11 covers the side of the finger facing the positive X direction, and the other finger side portion 11 covers the side of the finger facing the negative X direction. The hardened area 12 is formed on the entire surface of both of the pair of finger side portions 11. The hardened area 12 may be formed on the entire surface of at least one of the pair of finger side portions 11.

As shown by reference numeral 202 in FIG. 4, sock 3 differs from sock 2 in that toe pouch 10H has been changed to toe pouch 10I. Toe pouch 10I is composed of two toe pouches 10J and 10K. Toe pouch 10J accommodates the big toe, and toe pouch 10K accommodates the index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger. A pair of toe side portions 11 are formed on each of toe pouches 10J and 10K. The configuration of toe side portions 11 and hardened region 12 of toe pouch 10I is similar to the configuration of toe side portions 11 and hardened region 12 of toe pouch 10H.

In addition, in sock 3, hardened area 12 may be formed over the entire surface of the toe side portion 11 of at least one of toe pockets 10J and 10K. In this case, since toe pocket 10J is smaller than toe pocket 10K and it is particularly difficult to insert toes into toe pocket 10J of toe pockets 10J and 10K, it is preferable that hardened area 12 be formed over the entire surface of the toe side portion 11 of toe pocket 10J. From the configuration of sock 1 and the configurations of socks 2 and 3 of variant 1, the sock has at least one toe pocket.

Furthermore, in the sock 3, the toe pouch 10J may accommodate at least one of the five toes. In this case, the toe pouch 10K accommodates the other toes of the five toes of the foot than the one accommodated by the toe pouch 10J. The sock 3 may also include three or more toe pouches, one of which accommodates at least one of the five toes of the foot, and the other toe pouches accommodate the other toes of the five toes of the foot than the one accommodated by the one toe pouch. With the above configuration, the sock includes at least two toe pouches. Even when the sock includes two or more toe pouches, it is easy for the user to put on the sock.

<Modification 2>
Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a sock 4 as a second modified example of the sock 1 shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 5, the sock 4 differs from the sock 1 in that the toe pouch 10 has been changed to a toe pouch 10L. The toe pouch 10L is made up of toe pouches 10P, 10Q, 10R, 10S, and 10T corresponding to the five toes of the foot. The toe pouches 10P to 10T respectively accommodate the big toe, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger.

A pair of finger side portions 11 are formed on each of the finger pouches 10P to 10T. The finger side portion 11 includes a base covering portion 31. The base covering portion 31 covers the base of the toes. A hardened area 12A is formed in the base covering portion 31. In order to make the finger pouches 10P to 10T stand up, it is effective to form the hardened area 12 in the base covering portion 31 that covers the base of the toes. Note that the hardened area 12A is not formed in any portion of the finger side portion 11 other than the base covering portion 31, and this portion may be made of the same material as the second extension portions 22, 23.

The hardened area 12 shown in FIG. 1 and the hardened area 12A shown in FIG. 5 form a hardened area on at least a part of the finger side portion 11. The hardened area 12 formed by melting the heat-sealed yarn on at least a part of the finger side portion 11 hardens at least a part of the finger side portion 11, causing the toe pocket to stand up. Furthermore, because at least a part of the finger side portion 11 is hardened, it is possible to reduce impairment of comfort when wearing socks by the user. This makes it easier for the user to put their toes into the toe pocket and put on the socks while maintaining a good wearing comfort for the user.

[Embodiment 2]
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. For ease of explanation, the same reference numerals are used for components having the same functions as those described in the first embodiment, and their explanation will not be repeated. Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of socks 5, 6 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 301 in Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the sock 5, and reference numeral 302 in Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the sock 6. As shown by reference numeral 301 in Fig. 6, the sock 5 includes a toe pouch 40 and a main body portion 50.

In the second embodiment, the socks 5 and 6 are circularly knitted. In other words, the socks 5 and 6 are manufactured by a circular knitting machine that manufactures socks by circular knitting. A flat knitting machine can knit only a portion of a sock, but a circular knitting machine cannot knit only a portion of a sock, so the socks 5 and 6 are knitted with yarn all at once over the entire toe pocket.

<Configuration of finger pouch 40>
The finger pouch 40 is formed with a shape-retaining portion that retains the three-dimensional shape of the finger pouch 40. In the second embodiment, an example of the shape-retaining portion will be described, which is made of yarn having shape stability. The finger pouch 40 is made of finger pouches 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D, and 40E corresponding to the five toes of the foot. The finger pouches 40A to 40E respectively accommodate the big toe, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger. The finger pouches 40A to 40E are made of yarn having shape stability. Hereinafter, the yarn having shape stability will be referred to as shape-stable yarn.

The shape-stable yarn is made of knitted fabric containing polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber. As a result, finger pockets 40A-40E are made of knitted fabric containing polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber as a shape-stable yarn, so the user can maintain a good wearing comfort of sock 5.

The heat treatment for adjusting the shape of the shape-stable yarn is not particularly limited, and may be performed, for example, by spraying steam onto the knitted socks, or by wetting the socks and then heating them in an oven or the like. This heat treatment is performed on regular socks that are not made of shape-stable yarn, for the purpose of smoothing out wrinkles in the regular socks, etc. Therefore, no new process is added to form the shape-stable yarn.

<Configuration of main body portion 50>
The main body portion 50 is connected to the toe pouch 40 and covers the parts of the foot other than the toes. In other words, the main body portion 50 is connected to the toe pouches 40A to 40E. The main body portion 50 includes a first stretchable portion 21, a front portion 51, and a second stretchable portion 23. The front portion 51 may have a similar configuration to the second stretchable portion 23, but may also be made of a shape-stable yarn. When the front portion 51 has a similar configuration to the second stretchable portion 23, the front portion 51 becomes the second stretchable portion.

When the front portion 51 is made of shape-stable yarn, only the portion of the sock 5 that is closer to the toe pouch 40 than the first extension portion 21, which covers the metatarsophalangeal joint BO, is made of shape-stable yarn. This makes it possible to make only the portion necessary to make it easier for the user to insert their toes into the toe pouch 40 and to make the sock 5 easier to put on, out of shape-stable yarn.

The portion of the sock 5 from the toe pouch 40 to the portion covering the vicinity of the base of the toes may be made of shape-stable yarn. In other words, only the portion of the sock 5 that is closer to the toe pouch 40 than the portion covering the proximal phalanx of the foot may be made of shape-stable yarn. The entire toe pouch 40 and the entire main body 50 may be made of shape-stable yarn, or only the entire toe pouch 40 may be made of shape-stable yarn. If only the entire toe pouch 40 is made of shape-stable yarn, the entire main body 50 is not made of shape-stable yarn.

As shown by reference numeral 302 in FIG. 6, sock 6 differs from sock 5 in that toe pocket 40 has been changed to toe pocket 40F. Toe pocket 40F is made up of two toe pockets 40G and 40H. Toe pocket 40G accommodates the big toe, and toe pocket 40H accommodates the index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger. Toe pockets 40G and 40H are made from shape-stable yarn.

Like socks 5 and 6, in embodiment 2, the sock includes at least one toe pocket. Also, in sock 6, toe pocket 40G may accommodate at least one of the five toes. In this case, toe pocket 40H accommodates the toes other than the toe accommodated by toe pocket 40G.

The sock 6 may also have three or more toe pockets, one of which accommodates at least one of the five toes of the foot, and the other toe pockets accommodate the other toes of the foot other than the one accommodated by the one toe pocket. With the above configuration, in embodiment 2, the sock has at least two toe pockets.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the toe pocket is made of shape-stable yarn, so that the toe pocket stands up and the user's comfort when wearing the socks is reduced. This makes it easier for the user to put their toes into the toe pocket and put on the socks while maintaining a good wearing comfort for the user.

[Embodiment 3]
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below. For ease of explanation, the explanations of members having the same functions as the members described in the first and second embodiments will not be repeated. In the third embodiment, a resin cured portion formed by heat fusing a flexible resin sheet to the finger stall will be described as an example of a shape retaining portion that is formed in the finger stall and retains the three-dimensional shape of the finger stall.

The resin-cured portion is a portion that is cured by heat-sealing the resin sheet to the finger pocket. The resin-cured portion may be formed in the same location as the cured region described in embodiment 1, or may be formed in the same location as the portion made of the shape-stable yarn described in embodiment 2.

The resin hardened portion may be formed on at least a portion of at least one of at least one pair of finger side portions, or may be formed on the entire finger pocket. The resin sheet may be, for example, a thermoplastic resin such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, or polyurethane.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. The technical scope of the present invention also includes embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments.

1 to 6 socks 10 toe pocket 11 toe side portion 12, 12A hardened area 20, 50 main body portion 21 first stretchable portion 22, 23 second stretchable portion 31 base covering portion

Claims (11)

At least one toe pouch for accommodating toes;
a main body portion connected to the toe pouch and covering the part of the foot other than the toes,
At least one pair of finger side surface portions of the finger pouch cover side surfaces of the toes facing a foot width direction,
a shape retaining portion that retains a three-dimensional shape of the finger pouch is formed on at least a portion of at least one of the finger side surfaces ;
The sock , wherein the shape-retaining portion is formed only on the side surface of the toe pocket . At least one toe pouch for accommodating toes;
a main body portion connected to the toe pouch and covering the part of the foot other than the toes,
a shape retaining portion that retains a three-dimensional shape of the finger stall is formed in the finger stall ,
At least one pair of finger side surface portions of the finger pouch covers the side surfaces of the toes facing the foot width direction, and the shape retention portion is formed on at least a part of at least one of the finger side surface portions,
The shape-retaining portion is a hardened region formed by melting a thermal adhesive thread,
A sock , characterized in that the hardened area is formed only on the side surface of the toe of the toe pocket . The sock according to claim 1, characterized in that the shape-retaining portion is made of yarn having shape stability. The sock according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it has at least two of the toe pockets. The sock according to claim 2, characterized in that the hardened area is formed in a base covering portion that covers the base of the toe. The sock according to claim 2 or 5, characterized in that the hardened area is formed over the entire surface of the side of at least one of the fingers. The sock according to claim 2 or 5, characterized in that the hardened area is formed over the entire surface of the side of all the fingers. The sock according to claim 3, characterized in that the shape-stable yarn is made of a knitted fabric containing polytrimethylene terephthalate fibers. 9. The sock according to claim 3 or 8 , wherein only a portion of the sock that is closer to the toe pouch than a portion covering the metatarsophalangeal joints of the foot is made of the shape-stable yarn. The main body portion is
a first extension covering the metatarsophalangeal joint of the foot;
a second extension portion that is a portion of the main body other than the first extension portion,
10. The sock according to claim 1, wherein the first stretchable portion has a stronger stretchability than the second stretchable portion. The finger pouch is weft-knitted, and an intermediate portion of the second stretch portion between the finger pouch and the first stretch portion is weft-knitted,
11. The sock according to claim 10, wherein the sock is knitted in a circular manner except for the toe pockets and the middle portion.