Baseball undersocks

Abstract

To provide undersocks for baseball with a tape substrate attached thereto, which eliminates the need to directly stick or wrap a tape substrate such as kinesio tape around the foot. [Solution] An undersock (1) for baseball, comprising an undersock body (2) made of a stretchy material and fitted closely to the foot including the calf, and a first tape substrate (3) integrally attached to the undersock body in the part of the foot that comes into contact with at least the calf when the undersock body is fitted to the foot.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to baseball undersocks suitable for a wide range of age groups, particularly for professional baseball players, and relates to baseball undersocks equipped with a tape substrate. Undersocks are also called understockings, and both have the same technical meaning: socks worn under stockings. Undersocks (understockings) and stockings (also called uniform socks) are widely known as items used as part of baseball uniforms. [Background technology]

[0002] Taping has long been popular in the sports world, both professional and amateur. It is also widely known in the medical field and everyday life, and is used by people of all ages and genders. Taping is a technique for fixing and supporting joints and muscles by applying or wrapping a specific tape substrate over them. It is primarily used for the purposes of first aid, prevention, and recurrence prevention of injuries, as well as performance improvement.

[0003] There are many prior art documents regarding taping technology in the form of non-patent literature. For example, see Non-Patent Literature 1 to Non-Patent Literature 4. As described in Non-Patent Literature 1 to 4, conventional taping technology involves applying a tape substrate directly to or wrapping around an affected area when an injury occurs or as a preventative measure.

[0004] Furthermore, the above-mentioned Non-Patent Documents 1 to 4 state that "kinesio tape" is used as the tape material. Kinesio tape is made of cotton, polyurethane, or the like, and is highly elastic, breathable, and water-resistant. It can be applied for a long period of time, from several hours to several days, so it is often used during professional baseball games and practices.

[0005] For example, it is known that professional baseball players play (in games or practice) with kinesio tape applied to their calves (gastrocnemius and soleus muscles). For professional baseball players, the calves are heavily involved in base running, stepping and pivot foot stability when pitching or batting, agile movements and explosive power when fielding, and fatigue caused by standing for long periods of time. In other words, for professional baseball players, the calves are an area that is extremely susceptible to overuse, causing fatigue and minor muscle disorders.

[0006] For this reason, calf taping is used for purposes such as fatigue reduction (relieving muscle tension, fatigue, and discomfort), muscle support (assisting movement in the direction of muscle fiber contraction), blood flow promotion (promoting blood and lymph flow to aid recovery), injury prevention (preventing recurrence of minor muscle strains and tension), and performance maintenance (supporting calf function and maintaining natural movement). Non-Patent Document 5 also lists a tape substrate made of kinesiology tape material that is applied to the calf from below the heel to the back of the knee and the sole of the foot, including the Achilles tendon, to "prevent cramps." Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the calf from below the heel to the back of the knee and the sole of the foot, including the Achilles tendon, will be referred to as the "calf, etc." In prior art, a tape substrate such as kinesiology tape is applied to the calf, etc., directly or via an underwrap. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7389003 [Non-patent literature]

[0008] [Non-Patent Document 1] Kazunori Ito, "Illustrated Taping Techniques for Sports Injuries and Rehabilitation Treatment", 1st Edition, Midori Shobo Co., Ltd., September 1, 2016, pp. 3-61 [Non-patent document 2] Kenzo Kase, "Kinesio Taping Latest Manual", First Edition, Northland Publishing Co., Ltd., August 15, 2007, pp. 12-22, 135-156 [Non-patent document 3] Kenzo Kato, "The Latest Kinesio Taping Method: Kinesio Taping and Athletic Taping Combined Techniques," First Edition, First Printing, Ski Journal Co., Ltd., March 25, 2002, pp. 10-150 [Non-patent document 4] Kinesio Taping Association, "Fast-acting Kinesio Taping for Sports Injuries," First Edition, Vol. 1, Ski Journal Co., Ltd., October 30, 2000, pp. 10-59

[0009] [Non-Patent Document 5] NICHIBAN, "How to taping: Calf tape application by body part", [online], [text], [accessed June 30, 2025], Retrieved from<https: / / www.battlewin.com / howto_taping / calf_01 / index.html> [Non-patent document 6] Micro-tec, "What is Screen Printing?", [online], [text], [accessed June 30, 2025], Retrieved from<https: / / https: / / www.e-microtec.co.jp / > [Non-Patent Document 7] Yumeron Kurokawa, "ABOUT HEATRAY: What is natural mineral fiber?" [online], [text], [accessed July 3, 2025], retrieved from < https: / / heatray-yumeron.com / > Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] As described above, conventional taping requires the tape substrate to be applied directly to the calf or other areas. When professional baseball players (and amateur and youth baseball players alike) tape their calves or other areas before a game or practice, they cut a tape substrate such as kinesiology tape to an appropriate length, apply it to the affected calf, and then put on undersocks, stockings over those, and finally uniform pants. Kinesiology tape has an adhesive that allows the tape substrate to adhere closely to the foot (calf, etc.), and its high elasticity allows it to contract in response to muscle movement (gastrocnemius and soleus), thereby achieving the desired effect. After one or more games or practice sessions, the tape substrate is finally peeled off from the foot, i.e., the calf, etc., by reversing the procedure described above.

[0011] The task of directly attaching and detaching the tape base to the calf, etc., is quite time-consuming and tedious, and the applicant, who has experience playing baseball, has diligently studied ways to simplify and simplify this task. Of course, any simplification or simplification must produce the same or better results.

[0012] Therefore, the purpose of this invention is to provide baseball undersocks with a tape substrate attached, eliminating the need to directly apply or wrap a tape substrate such as kinesiology tape around the foot (calf, etc.).

[0013] Another object of the present invention is to provide a baseball undersock equipped with a tape substrate containing at least powdered ore. [Means for solving the problem]

[0014] In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that it is an undersock for baseball, comprising an undersock body made of a stretchy material and fitted closely to the foot, including the calf, and a first tape substrate integrally attached to the undersock body in the portion of the foot that comes into contact with at least the calf when the undersock body is fitted to the foot.

[0015] The invention of claim 2 is a baseball undersock as described in claim 1, which has a second feature in that it has powdered ore mixed into the first tape base material, and the ore includes at least one type of ore from the group consisting of radium ore, germanium, quartz, terahertz ore, and tourmaline ore.

[0016] The invention of claim 3 is a baseball undersock as described in claim 1 or claim 2, and its third feature is that the first tape substrate is formed from either kinesio tape or a cloth fabric woven with natural mineral fibers, and is attached integrally to the main body of the undersock. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] With the baseball undersocks of this invention, a tape base is attached to the main body of the undersock that comes into contact with the wearer's calves, etc., so it is possible to achieve a taping effect equal to or better than conventional taping.Furthermore, by wearing these undersocks, the work of attaching and detaching the tape base to the feet (calves, etc.) as in the past is no longer necessary, which has the significant effect of shortening the overall time required to change uniforms compared to conventional methods.

[0018] Furthermore, according to the baseball undersocks of the present invention, the tape base material contains at least powdered ore, so that taping effects equal to or greater than those of conventional products can be achieved.

[0019] Furthermore, according to the baseball undersocks of the present invention, the tape base is formed from at least either kinesio tape or a cloth fabric woven with natural mineral fibers, so it can achieve taping effects equal to or better than conventional ones. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view of a baseball undersock according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a rear (back) view of a baseball undersock according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 3] 1 is a view of a baseball undersock according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the right side (right side). FIG. [Figure 4] 1 is a front view of a baseball undersock according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. [Figure 5] 1 is a rear oblique view of an undersock for baseball according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 6] 1 is a front view of a baseball undersock worn with a stocking according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 7] 1 is a rear (back) view of a state in which stockings are worn over baseball undersocks according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 8] 1 is a view from the right side (right side) of a state in which a stocking is worn over a baseball undersock according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 1 is a front view of a baseball undersock according to an embodiment of the present invention worn with stockings. FIG. [Figure 10] 1 is a view showing a state in which stockings are worn over baseball undersocks according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from diagonally behind (from the back). FIG. [Figure 11] 1 is a view of an application example of baseball undersocks according to one embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the right side (right side). [Figure 12] 1 is a rear oblique view of an example of an application of baseball undersocks according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 13] 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a tape substrate attached to a baseball undersock in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 14] 1 is a diagram illustrating the shape of a tape substrate attached to a baseball undersock in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

[0021] The present invention will be described in more detail below using preferred embodiments. However, the following embodiments are merely examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, the directions of left, right, front, back, up and down in the description and drawings are set for the convenience of explanation, and are not intended to limit the directions.

[0022] (Embodiment) Baseball undersocks according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 14. Figure 1 is a view of baseball undersocks 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention as seen from the front (front), Figure 2 is a view of baseball undersocks 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention as seen from the rear (back), Figure 3 is a view of baseball undersocks 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention as seen from the right side (right side), Figure 4 is a view of baseball undersocks 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention as seen diagonally from the front, and Figure 5 is a view of baseball undersocks 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention as seen diagonally from the rear.

[0023] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 , a baseball undersock 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an undersock body 2 and a tape substrate 3 integrally formed with the undersock body 2. The tape substrate 3 corresponds to the first tape substrate described in claim 1 of the present application. The undersock body 2 itself is made of the same material and design as common undersocks available on the market and can be worn closely around the wearer's foot. The tape substrate 3 is attached to the inside of the undersock body 2, which comes into contact with the calf and other parts of the wearer's foot, in a manner that is integral and intimate with the undersock body 2. The baseball undersock 1 of this embodiment is configured so that, when the undersock 1 is worn on the wearer's foot, the tape substrate 3 comes into intimate contact with the sole of the foot, from below the heel to the back of the knee, including the calf and Achilles tendon. As described above, this "sole of the foot, from below the heel to the back of the knee, including the calf and Achilles tendon" is referred to as the "calf, etc." The undersock 1 may be configured so that the tape substrate 3 is in close contact with the sole of the foot, including the calf.

[0024] In this embodiment, the tape substrate 3 is attached to the undersock body 2 by at least either adhesive bonding or sewing. A common taping material such as kinesiology tape is used as the tape substrate 3, and is attached to the undersock body 2 by adhesive bonding. As mentioned above, kinesiology tape used as the tape substrate 3 is well known to have high elasticity. Furthermore, since the undersock body 2 is also generally elastic, when the player (wearer) puts on the undersock 2, the undersock body 2 and the tape substrate 3 attached integrally to the undersock body 2 come into close contact with the player's calf, etc. This allows the tape substrate 3 to expand and contract in response to the movement of the player's feet (calf muscles; gastrocnemius and soleus muscles) while wearing the baseball undersocks 1 during a game or practice, and similar to conventional technology, it can provide effects such as fatigue reduction (relieving muscle tension, fatigue, and discomfort), muscle support (assisting movement in the direction of muscle fiber contraction), blood flow promotion (promoting blood and lymph flow to aid recovery), injury prevention (preventing the recurrence of minor muscle strains and tension), and performance maintenance (supporting the function of the calf and maintaining natural movement).

[0025] The tape substrate 3 also contains powdered ore PO. While tourmaline is a suitable type of ore, other types of ores may be used as long as they have similar functions and effects, and are not limited to tourmaline. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses radium ore, germanium, quartz, and terahertz ore as ores that have similar functions and effects to tourmaline (see paragraph "0055" of the specification). The applicant of the present application has also discovered other ores, such as black silica, monazite, ceramic balls, bakuhan stone, and zeolite, as well as binchotan charcoal, which is not an ore. The ores described above, either individually or in combination, are finely powdered and mixed into the tape substrate 3 as ore PO.

[0026] The ore PO can be mixed into the tape substrate 3 by using a known technique such as screen printing as shown in Non-Patent Document 6. Patent Document 1 describes mixing the above-mentioned ore into fabric such as a T-shirt using a silk screen printing technique. Silk screen printing is now simply called screen printing (see paragraphs "0053-0055" in the specification of Patent Document 1). Furthermore, mixing is not limited to screen printing, and other means may also be used.

[0027] In this embodiment, the tape substrate 3 may be a fabric woven with natural mineral fibers instead of a typical taping material such as the kinesio tape described above. Natural mineral fibers are materials made by pulverizing and kneading natural minerals such as tourmaline, germanium, radium, negative ion, and ceramic minerals into fibers. These fibers are expected to have effects such as warming the body from the inside out by emitting far-infrared rays, promoting blood circulation, providing a relaxing effect by emitting negative ions, and regulating bioelectric currents. Since the tape material 3 of this embodiment is a fabric, it can be attached to the undersock body 2 by sewing. This embodiment is also expected to have the same effects as kinesio tape or a tape material containing minerals. Natural mineral fibers are commercially available, as described in Non-Patent Document 7, and can be used as the tape substrate 3.

[0028] Figures 6 to 10 show a configuration in which stockings 4 are worn over baseball undersocks 1 according to this embodiment. Figure 6 is a view from the front (front) of the state in which stockings 4 are worn over baseball undersocks 1 according to one embodiment of this invention, Figure 7 is a view from the back (rear) of the state in which stockings 4 are worn over baseball undersocks 1 according to one embodiment of this invention, Figure 8 is a view from the right side (right side) of the state in which stockings 4 are worn over baseball undersocks 1 according to one embodiment of this invention, Figure 9 is a view from diagonally front of the state in which stockings 4 are worn over baseball undersocks 1 according to one embodiment of this invention, and Figure 10 is a view from diagonally rear of the state in which stockings 4 are worn over baseball undersocks 1 according to one embodiment of this invention.

[0029] The stockings 4 are also called uniform stockings, and are worn by baseball players over the undersocks 1 while playing (during a game or practice), and are sometimes made in the colors of the baseball team because they are more visible from the outside than the undersocks 1. Even when the stockings 4 are worn, the taping effect of the baseball undersocks 1 of this embodiment remains unchanged.

[0030] FIG. 11 is a right-side view of a baseball undersock 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a rear-oblique view of the baseball undersock 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, the tape substrate 3 is formed as a first tape substrate in the portion of the undersock body 2 that contacts the calf, etc. However, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a second tape substrate 5 may be formed in the portion that contacts the sole of the foot. In this case, the tape substrate 5 should be formed to a size that covers as many acupressure points and reflex zones as possible on the sole of the foot. In baseball undersocks 10, the tape substrate 5 may be formed with powdered PO of at least one mineral selected from tourmaline, radium mineral, germanium, quartz, and terahertz mineral, as described above. Alternatively, the tape substrate 5 may be formed from a fabric woven with natural mineral fibers, instead of a common taping material such as kinesiology tape.

[0031] By configuring it in this way, the pressure points and reflex zones on the soles of the feet are stimulated appropriately, which has the effect of activating the autonomic nervous system and internal organ functions, relieving fatigue, and promoting blood circulation.

[0032] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the tape substrate 3 attached to the baseball undersock 1 in one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an application example of the shape of the tape substrate 3 attached to the baseball undersock 1 in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] The tape substrate 3 itself may be made of a conventional taping material, such as kinesio tape. The tape substrate 3 is formed in a tape shape. Alternatively, instead of kinesio tape, the tape substrate 3 may be a tape substrate containing at least finely powdered mineral PO such as tourmaline. In addition, when a cloth made of natural mineral fiber is used as the tape substrate 3, it is also formed into a tape shape as shown in FIG. 13.

[0034] The size of the tape substrate 3 is approximately 6 cm in maximum width. The length is preferably approximately 25 cm to 30 cm, but may be changed as appropriate, for example, to a length corresponding to the calf. In this case, it will be shorter than the length corresponding to the calf or other parts of the body. In the case of kinesiology tape, the thickness of the tape substrate 3 is generally 0.3 to 0.6 mm, which is thinner than the thickness of the skin and highly elastic.

[0035] Figure 14 shows application examples of the shape of tape substrates including the tape substrate 3. In Figure 14(a), the tape substrate 3 is formed in an I-shape when viewed from the rear, in Figure 14(b), the tape substrate 3 is formed in a Y-shape when viewed from the rear, in Figure 14(c), the tape substrate 3 is formed in an X-shape when viewed from the rear, in Figure 14(d), the tape substrate 3 is formed in a rake shape when viewed from the rear, and in Figure 14(e), the tape substrate 3 is formed in a slit shape when viewed from the rear. All of these shapes are well-known technologies as described in Non-Patent Documents 2 and 3.

[0036] As explained above, the baseball undersocks of the present invention have a tape base material attached to the undersock body, and by wearing these baseball undersocks, the player does not have to put on and take off the tape base material on the feet (calves) as in the past, which has the significant effect of shortening the overall time required to change into a uniform.

[0037] Furthermore, with the baseball undersocks of the present invention, the tape base is attached to the main body of the undersock that comes into contact with the wearer's calves, etc., so it is possible to achieve a taping effect equal to or better than conventional taping.Furthermore, by wearing these undersocks, there is no longer the need to attach and remove the tape base to the feet (calves, etc.) as in the past, and as a whole, it has the significant effect of shortening the time it takes to change uniforms compared to conventional methods.

[0038] Furthermore, according to the baseball undersocks of the present invention, the tape base material contains at least one type of powdered mineral from the group consisting of radium mineral, germanium mineral, quartz mineral, terahertz mineral, and tourmaline mineral, thereby achieving a taping effect equal to or better than conventional taping.

[0039] Furthermore, according to the baseball undersocks of the present invention, the tape base is formed from at least either kinesio tape or a cloth fabric woven with natural mineral fibers, so it can achieve taping effects equal to or better than conventional ones. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1,10 Baseball undersocks 2 Undersocks 3. First tape substrate 4. Stockings 5 Second tape substrate PO powdered ore

Claims

1. A baseball undersock, An undersock body made of a stretchable material and fitted closely to the foot, including the calf, etc.; a first tape substrate integrally attached to the undersock body at a portion that contacts at least the calf or the like of the foot when the undersock body is worn on the foot; An undersock for baseball characterized by comprising:

2. The tape includes a powdered ore mixed in the first tape substrate, The ore includes at least one of radium ore, germanium, quartz, terahertz ore, and tourmaline ore.

2. The baseball undersock according to claim 1.

3. The first tape substrate is formed of either kinesio tape or a fabric woven with natural mineral fibers, and is integrally attached to the undersock body portion.

3. The baseball undersock according to claim 1 or 2.

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