Tacky Thread Hosiery for Foot and Shoe Grip
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional socks lack sufficient grip, causing the foot to slip inside the sock and the sock to slip inside the shoe, leading to reduced response time and potential injuries during quick directional changes in sports, as they do not provide adequate traction between the foot and the sock or the shoe.
Innovation Solution
A hosiery garment with a first tacky thread knitted on the inner surface and a second tacky thread on the outer surface, using a plating technique with circular knitting machines, to create a fabric that adheres to the skin and the inside of the footwear, preventing slippage by utilizing tacky yarns like synthetic rubber or latex for enhanced traction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional yarn is used to construct the sock, then the sock can be manufactured using standard circular knitting machines, but the sock lacks sufficient grip causing the foot to slip inside the sock and the sock to slip inside the shoe
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter of the yarn from conventional textile yarn to tacky yarn (such as rubber or latex-based yarn). This parameter change transforms the surface properties of the sock to provide enhanced grip and traction, preventing foot slippage inside the sock and sock slippage inside the shoe, while remaining compatible with standard circular knitting machine manufacturing processes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material construction by incorporating tacky yarn (rubber or latex-based) into the sock fabric structure. This composite approach combines the flexibility and comfort of textile materials with the high-friction properties of rubber/latex materials, achieving both comfort and grip requirements simultaneously
2Reliability
If athletes wear extremely tight shoes to avoid slipping, then grip may be improved, but the shoes become uncomfortable and unhealthy for the athletes' feet
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the grip function from the shoe and transfers it to the sock by using tacky yarn in the sock construction. This allows the shoe to be worn at a normal, comfortable tightness while the sock provides the necessary friction and traction to prevent slipping, thereby separating the gripping function from the constraining function
Solution Approach 2:
The tacky sock acts as an intermediary layer between the foot and the shoe, providing the necessary grip and traction. This intermediate layer with high-friction properties prevents direct slippage between foot and shoe, eliminating the need for the shoe to be extremely tight while still achieving slip prevention
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The hosiery garment effectively prevents foot slippage within the sock and sock slippage inside the shoe, enhancing stability and reducing the risk of injuries by providing consistent grip during dynamic movements.
Implementation Method 1
a first tacky thread knitted on an inner surface of a foot enclosure and a second tacky thread knitted to an outer surface of the foot enclosure
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a hosiery garment for providing grip to a person's foot between the foot and the hosiery garment, and for simultaneously providing grip to the person's foot between the hosiery garment and the inside of a footwear. The hosiery garment comprises a foot enclosure configured to conform to the person's foot. The foot enclosure defines an inner surface and an outer surface. A first pair comprising a first tacky thread and a first supplementary thread defines the inner surface. A second pair comprising a second tacky thread and a second supplementary thread defines the outer surface. The inner surface defined by the first pair provides grip to the person's foot between the foot and the hosiery garment, and the outer surface defined by the second pair simultaneously provides grip to the person's foot between the hosiery garment and the inside of the footwear.