Looking for breakthrough ideas for innovation challenges? Try Patsnap Eureka!

Socks and other footwear with selective friction reducing features

Inactive Publication Date: 2013-10-10
THIBODEAU LEE L
View PDF6 Cites 16 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a foot covering, or sock, that helps to make it easier to put your foot into outer footwear. It is comfortable, attractive, and can be made in a cost-effective way. The sock can also have additional features like good comfort and appearance. The invention also includes outer footwear that has interior features that make it easier to put your foot into. Overall, this invention makes it easier for people to put their foot into different types of footwear.

Problems solved by technology

For example, it can be difficult to get a boot onto the foot because of resistance or friction that exists at certain locations of the foot-footwear interface.
Some are more pronounced than others and so placement of the foot into outer footwear may be more or less difficult for particular individuals.
Nevertheless, dependent upon the characteristics of the outer footwear, most every person has some difficulty in getting his or her foot into certain types of outer footwear.
That modification reduces the likelihood of a slip but such a sock is not useful in reducing the difficulty of getting a socked foot into the outer footwear.
In fact, the frictional material on the ball of the foot makes that effort even more difficult.

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Image

Smart Image Click on the blue labels to locate them in the text.
Viewing Examples
Smart Image
  • Socks and other footwear with selective friction reducing features
  • Socks and other footwear with selective friction reducing features
  • Socks and other footwear with selective friction reducing features

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

first embodiment

[0030]In the sock 10, at least one of the heel portion 14, the arch portion 24 and the ball portion 26 is fabricated with a low-friction material applied to a portion or substantially all of the outer surface of such one or more portions. The low-friction material may be a viscoelastic material or a nonviscoelastic material having a low coefficient of friction. For example, the material may be silicone. Alternatively, the low-friction material may be a spray-on material adhered to the surface of the sock 10 at one or more of the heel portion 14, the arch portion 24 and the ball portion 26. The spray-on material may be a Teflon® spray material but not limited thereto. The low-friction material applied to the sock 10 at one or more of the indicated portions may also be a metallic or a nonmetallic material selected for a coefficient of friction that is less than the remainder of the material used to make the sock 10.

second embodiment

[0031]In the sock 10, at least one of the heel portion 14, the arch portion 24 and the ball portion 26 is fabricated with one or more fibers coated with a low-friction material applied to a portion or substantially all of the outer surface of such fibers. The low-friction material may be a viscoelastic material or a nonviscoelastic material having a low coefficient of friction. For example, the material may be silicone. The fibers that are coated may be any manmade or natural fibers. The fibers may be selected from, but are not limited to, cotton and wool. The coated fibers may be integrated, that is, interspersed, with the other fibers or weaves of the conventional material(s) used to make the other portions of the sock 10 in one or more of the portions 14, 24 and 26, such as cotton, or they may be used as replacements for the materials in those areas. In that embodiment, the coated fibers would be joined with adjacent conventional fibers, such as by weaving, rather than by intersp...

third embodiment

[0032]In the sock 10, at least one of the heel portion 14, the arch portion 24 and the ball portion 26 is fabricated with one or more low-friction fibers. The one or more low-friction fibers may be any manmade or natural fibers having a coefficient of friction less than the coefficient of friction of the remainder of the material used to make the sock 10. The low-friction fibers may be selected from, but are not limited to, nylon, polyethylene and polypropylene fibers. Other viscoelastic and non-viscoelastic materials may be selected for that purpose. The fibers may be integrated, that is, interspersed, with the other fibers or weaves of the conventional material(s) used to make the other portions of the sock 10 in one or more of the portions 14, 24 and 26, such as cotton, or they may be used as replacements for the materials in those areas. In that embodiment, the low-friction fibers would be joined with adjacent conventional fibers, such as by weaving, rather than by interspersing...

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

PUM

No PUM Login to View More

Abstract

A sock and / or outer footwear having one or more portions with reduced frictional characteristics. One or more of the heel portion, the arch portion and the ball portion of the sock and / or interior of the outer footwear is fabricated with the reduced frictional characteristics. The reduced frictional characteristics may be established by applying a low-friction material to such portions, incorporating one or more low-friction fibers into the material of the sock and / or interior of the outer footwear in such portions or reducing the thickness of the material in such portions. The provision of reduced frictional characteristics in one or more of the heel, arch and ball facilitates insertion of a foot into footwear.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application is a nonprovisional, and claims the priority benefit, of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61 / 620,077 filed Apr. 4, 2012, of the same title and by the same inventor. The content of that application is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates to footwear. More particularly, the present invention relates to inner footwear, such as socks and stockings, as well as outer footwear, such as, for example, dress shoes, casual shoes, athletic boots, protective boots, sneakers, orthopedic shoes and the like. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to footwear with selective friction reducing features to reduce the difficulty of inserting a foot into outer footwear such as a boot.[0004]2. Description of the Prior Art[0005]People wear outer footwear of different types for a wide range of reasons. Outer footwear includes shoes...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to View More
IPC IPC(8): A43B7/14A43B17/00
CPCA41B2400/80A43B7/14A41B11/00A43B5/0405A43B11/00A43B17/00
Inventor THIBODEAU, LEE L.
Owner THIBODEAU LEE L
Who we serve
  • R&D Engineer
  • R&D Manager
  • IP Professional
Why Patsnap Eureka
  • Industry Leading Data Capabilities
  • Powerful AI technology
  • Patent DNA Extraction
Social media
Patsnap Eureka Blog
Learn More
PatSnap group products

Browse by: Latest US Patents, China's latest patents, Technical Efficacy Thesaurus, Application Domain, Technology Topic, Popular Technical Reports.

© 2024 PatSnap. All rights reserved.Legal|Privacy policy|Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement|Sitemap|About US| Contact US: help@patsnap.com