JP-7855357-B2 - Socks with excellent cold-weather protection

Inventors

• 下野 央子
• 宮城 敬
• 山科 友理恵
• 郡山 千鶴
• 岸田 麻衣

Assignees

• グンゼ株式会社

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20220202

Claims (2)

1. These socks are constructed in a tubular shape that covers the foot from the opening through the heel to the instep, sole, and toes, and offer excellent cold protection. The toe covering portion has a slit on the instep side, and the toe covering portion covers the toes on the toe side of the slit, and the toe side is joined to the sole portion that covers the sole of the foot, and the toe covering portion is closed, and the toes can be exposed through the slit. When the toes are exposed through the aforementioned slit, the toe covering portion is configured to allow the exposed toes to be placed on the instep side surface. The aforementioned socks are made of long-pile fabric on both the inside and outside (both the side that touches the skin and the opposite side), and the long-pile fabric creates and traps a layer of warm air, so you can feel the warmth immediately when you put them on, achieving high cold protection. A sock with excellent cold-weather protection features that, when the wearer feels stuffiness or other discomfort (or before going to sleep), exposes the toes, thereby effectively suppressing discomfort caused by stuffiness, poor blood circulation due to restricted toe movement, and failure to induce sleep due to a lack of core body temperature decrease .
2. The sock with excellent cold-weather protection function according to claim 1, characterized in that the part of the sole that comes into contact with the skin of the foot has a highly moisture-absorbing section.

Description

Application of Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act. Published on the website (https://www.gunze.jp/) on October 8, 2021. This invention relates to socks with excellent cold-weather protection, and more particularly to socks that can be worn indoors or while sleeping during winter, providing high levels of warmth while suppressing foot dampness and allowing for easy care of the toes or toenails. The socks according to this invention include those called socks, room socks, room shoes, foot warmers, leg warmers, slippers, etc. Regular socks are single-layered, and in winter (especially when sleeping in cold climates), wearers would layer wool socks over their regular socks to enhance warmth. However, simply layering socks in this way presented the following problems. Even if your feet are cold before getting into bed, wearing socks in the warm environment inside the futon can make you feel hot, causing sweating and dampness, which can be uncomfortable. Also, wearing socks while sleeping restricts the movement of your toes, constricting capillaries and impairing blood circulation. This can make your feet feel colder and may cause swelling. Furthermore, heat can build up in your toes, preventing your core body temperature from dropping and potentially lowering the quality of your sleep. In other words, recent sleep research has shown that before falling asleep, increased blood flow to the skin and increased heat dissipation lower the body's internal temperature (core body temperature), which induces sleep. Wearing socks may hinder this sleep induction process. Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-077203 (Patent Document 1) discloses socks that solve the problem of discomfort caused by stuffiness in the aforementioned issues. The socks disclosed in Patent Document 1 are characterized by comprising a toe-enclosing portion that specifically separates and stores the toes, and a removable covering portion that visually obscures the toe-enclosing portion. These socks feature toe compartments that separate and house each toe individually. Therefore, even if you have athlete's foot or other fungal infections on a toe, it will not spread to other toes. The covering portion that visually obscures the toe compartments is removable, allowing you to cover or uncover the toe compartments. In warm weather, you can uncover the covering portion, leaving only the toe compartment as a single layer, preventing your toes from becoming sweaty and smelly. In cold weather, you can cover the covering portion to create a double layer for added warmth. Moreover, when the covering portion is covered, the toe compartments are visually obscured, making the socks look like regular socks and not causing any discomfort to those around you. Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-077203 A schematic top view of a sock 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, (A) the front side (outside) and (B) the inside side (skin side) when turned inside out.Figure 1 shows a schematic bottom view of the sock 10 (a view showing the side that contacts the floor), with (A) being the front side (outside) and (B) being the inside side (skin side) when turned inside out.Figure 1 shows a schematic side view of the sock 10, with (A) being the front side (outside) and (B) being the inside side (skin side) when turned inside out.Figures 1 to 3 are perspective views of the sock 10.Figures 1 to 3 show a person wearing the socks 10 sitting in a chair (without exposing their toes).Figures 1 to 3 show a person wearing the socks 10 lying in bed (with their toes exposed).Figures 1 to 3 illustrate the function of the sock 10 in exposing the toes. The following describes in detail, with reference to the drawings, a sock 10 (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "sock 10") with excellent cold-weather protection according to an embodiment of the present invention. There are various structures and manufacturing methods for socks, and the present invention is not limited to a specific structure or manufacturing method. That is, any sock is acceptable as long as it has the features described later (a slit on the instep side, a toe covering portion that covers the toes on the toe side of the slit, and the toe covering portion is closed by joining the toe side with the sole portion that covers the sole of the foot, allowing the toes to be exposed through the slit). For example, the type of fabric used to make up the sock can be anything. Therefore, the general structure of the sock shown below is merely an example. Furthermore, in order to provide excellent cold-weather protection, as shown in Figure 4, for example, this sock 10 is made of a fluffy fabric with long fibers on both the inside and outside (both the side that touches the skin and the opposite side), and this fabric gently wraps the foot, providing exceptional warmth and achieving high cold-weather protection when worn indoors or while sleeping. When the fabric forming the sock 10 is thick, i