Variable Elastane Density Sock Panels for Foot Size Adaptability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The rapid growth of infants' and children's feet leads to frequent size changes in socks, resulting in a high demand for multiple sock sizes, increasing production costs and storage requirements for manufacturers and consumers alike.
Innovation Solution
A sock made from a composite fabric with varying elastane density, featuring panels of higher and lower elastane density, allowing for a wider range of standard foot sizes to be accommodated, with the higher density panels positioned strategically to enhance stretch and recovery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If standard sock size ranges are used to accommodate growing children's feet, then children need multiple sock sizes, but this increases the number of sock versions required, production costs, and storage space
Solution Approach 1:
The sock incorporates panels with different elastane densities in specific locations - higher elastane density panels (40-60% elastane) in the toe and heel areas for stretch and recovery, and lower elastane density panels (10-30% elastane) in the body portion for comfort. This localized variation in material properties allows the sock to adapt to different foot sizes and shapes within a single product design.
Solution Approach 2:
The sock is constructed from composite fabric combining elastane with other fibers (cotton, polyester, or nylon) in varying proportions across different panels. This composite structure with graded elastane content (10-60%) enables the sock to provide both stretch for growth accommodation and comfort for extended wear, effectively spanning multiple traditional size ranges.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple sock size ranges are produced to fit different foot sizes, then more foot sizes can be accommodated, but manufacturing and retail complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the elastane density parameter across different panels of the same sock - with the body portion containing 10-30% elastane and toe/heel panels containing 40-60% elastane. This parameter variation within a single product allows one sock design to fit multiple foot sizes (infant through adult), eliminating the need to manufacture separate versions for each size category.
3Ease of manufacture
If uniform elastane density is used throughout the sock body, then manufacturing is simpler, but the sock cannot accommodate a wider range of foot sizes
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than using uniform elastane density, the invention applies local quality variation with higher elastane concentration (40-60%) in the toe and heel panels where stretch and recovery are most needed, and lower elastane concentration (10-30%) in the body portion. This targeted approach maintains manufacturing feasibility while significantly expanding the usable foot size range.
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 sock can fit a wider range of foot sizes, reducing the need for multiple sizes, lowering production and storage costs, and allowing shared use among children of different ages, thereby reducing overall clothing expenses.
Implementation Method 1
the body portion is formed in a composite fabric of an elastane and one or more other components such that the elastane density varies in the body portion in a manner effective to allow the sock to fit a wider range of standard foot sizes
Data Source
AI summary
A sock having a toe portion, a heel and ankle portion, and a body portion disposed between the heel and ankle portion is disclosed. The body portion may comprise one or more elastic panels, which are incorporated in a manner to allow the sock to fit a wider range of standard foot sizes than a similar sock lacking the elastic panels disclosed herein.