Patent ID: 9609896
Date: 2017-04-04
CPC Classifications: A41B,A43B

Claim:
1. A water sock, comprising: an elongate sewn tubular body formed from a first resiliently stretchable fabric material having a top, a bottom, a foot engaging portion and a heel engaging portion, each of said foot engaging portion and said heel engaging portion defining an open end, said open end of said heel engaging portion being formed in said first material and including a heel band, said heel band dimensioned and permanently shaped to lie beneath the ankle joint of a user and, in use, to securingly engage a user's foot beneath the ankle joint of a user whereby the user's ankle joint is exposed; the top and bottom of the first material at said open end of said foot engaging portion being sewn together to thereby form a toe strap extending between opposing sides thereof thereby creating two discrete openings adapted to separate the big toe from the remaining toes of a wearer, said bottom of said body having a ball region and a heel region; said first material adapted to cling to a wearer's foot; a circumferential toe band on said open end of said foot engaging portion surrounding said two discrete openings and joined at said toe strap and being formed in said first material and dimensioned and permanently shaped to be angled about said toe strap both in use and in non-use of the water sock and, in use, to securingly engage a user's foot about respective locations at which the user's toes are joined to the user's foot; said heel band and said toe band providing an increased thickness of elastic material, relative to said first material, about a user's heel and toes to facilitate retention of the water sock on the user's foot; said first material including at least one seam connecting cut portions of the first material to one another, said seam formed with a flatlock stitch, said seam separate from said open ends of said foot and heel engaging portions and extending along a significant portion of a length of said first material; a plurality of discrete slip resistant regions formed from a second material, said plurality of slip resistant regions positioned on said bottom of said body such that said first material underlies said plurality of slip resistant regions; wherein said first material and said second material are different, said first material being formed from a combination of spandex and at least one of polyester or nylon and said second material being formed at least partially from a polymer, said plurality of discrete slip resistant regions being separated from each other along the bottom of the sock body by areas of said resiliently stretchable first material thereby enabling the bottom of the sock to stretch longitudinally and laterally; and said water sock being resistant to the accumulation of significant amounts of water.