Abstract:
A sock is protected against wear due to rubbing against a wearer&#39;s toes by a sleeve that is placed over the wearer&#39;s toes in order to be interposed between the wearer&#39;s toes and the inside of the sock. The sleeve fits inside the sock and covers only the wearer&#39;s toes so the protected sock is comfortable to wear.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the general art of wearing apparel, and to the particular field of wearing apparel for the foot. 
     2. Discussion of the Related Art 
     The inventor has observed that many socks are worn out before their time because a hole is worn through the sock. Such a sock must either be sewn up or discarded. If discarded, a matching sock may become worthless thereby aggravating the loss. Time and expense must be expended to sew the sock if it is to be repaired. Often a repaired sock is not as desirable as an unrepaired sock. 
     Therefore, there is a need for a means for protecting a sock from being worn away by contact between a wearer&#39;s foot and the sock during use of the sock. 
     The inventor has also observed that many socks become worn in the toe portion thereof. This is due to the pressure placed on the sock by a walking motion during use of the sock or due to a wearer&#39;s toe nail wearing through the sock. Because of the particular motion executed by some people when they walk, the rubbing contact between the toe, or toes, of the wearer and the sock eventually wears a hole in the sock. Once a hole has been worn in the sock, the above-discussed problems occur. 
     Therefore, there is a need for a means for protecting a toe portion of a sock from being worn away by contact between a wearer&#39;s foot and the sock during use of the sock. 
     The wearing apparel art has many examples of foot wear. Some of these examples include socks. Some of these socks have a double layer of material in the sock. However, this makes the sock more expensive to manufacture, thicker, more cumbersome and less versatile. All, or any, of these factors make the sock less desirable. 
     Some people may actually wear two socks. However, this is not desirable since this may be hot on the wearer&#39;s foot and/or uncomfortable due to the added thickness of the sock. This may also be expensive since it requires an extra sock in a situation where one sock should suffice. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a means for protecting a sock from being worn away by contact between a wearer&#39;s foot and the sock during use of the sock and which does not add any discomfort to the wearer. 
     Still further, it is desirable for some socks to be worn in several different situations. This will make the socks efficient and economical. Thus, it may be desirable for some socks to be worn in a dress situation where little walking may occur, yet also be worn in other situations where a great deal of walking may occur. In the first situation, the sock may not need to be protected; whereas, in the second situation, the sock may need to be protected. A sock with added protection may be expensive or cumbersome in the first situation, yet an unprotected sock may not suffice for the latter situation. This may force a wearer into either wearing an overly cumbersome sock for a situation that does not require a protected sock, or to wear a sock that is not really suited for another situation. 
     Therefore, there is a need for a means for protecting a sock from being worn away by contact between a wearer&#39;s foot and the sock during use of the sock and which permits a sock to be worn in a manner that is most efficient for a particular situation. 
     PRINCIPAL OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a main object of the present invention to provide a means for protecting a sock from being worn away by contact between a wearer&#39;s foot and the sock during use of the sock. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a means for protecting a sock from being worn away by contact between a wearer&#39;s foot and the sock during use of the sock and which does not add any discomfort to the wearer. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a means for protecting a toe portion of a sock from being worn away by contact between a wearer&#39;s foot and the sock during use of the sock. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a means for protecting a sock from being worn away by contact between a wearer&#39;s foot and the sock during use of the sock and which permits a sock to be worn in a manner that is most efficient for a particular situation. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     These, and other, objects are achieved by providing a means that protects only the toe portion of a sock during use. A sock protector is worn when a situation is anticipated that a sock will be stressed and is not used in other situations. For example, if the wearer anticipates that he or she will do a great deal of walking, the sock protector is worn; however, if the wearer anticipates a great deal of standing or sitting, such as may occur in a dress situation, the sock protector may not be needed. However, the same sock can be worn in both situations making the sock versatile. The protector is worn over the toes of the wearer to locate the protection in the exact area that generally is most vulnerable to being worn away by contact with the wearer&#39;s foot while leaving unprotected those areas of the sock that do not need such protection. 
     In this manner, the sock can be manufactured in the most efficient manner, yet a protected sock will not be unreasonably cumbersome, hot or thick. Specifically, only the area of the sock that is most likely to wear away is fully protected without protecting other areas whereby a sock can be protected without adding significant cost or material to the sock. It is also noted that the toe area of a sock or shoe generally has the most extra room and thus a wearer&#39;s foot will not be overly restricted by adding a sock protector only at the toe area of the foot; whereas, adding material to other areas may overly-restrict a wearer&#39;s foot. Thus, one problem (protecting a sock) is solved without creating other problems (such as overly-restricting a wearer&#39;s foot). 
     A sock can be manufactured in the most cost-effective manner, yet be adaptable to several different situations. Thus, a sock can be manufactured to have only a single layer of thickness, yet by using the sock protector included in the present invention, the sock can be used in situations where thick socks are most efficient. This makes the sock versatile, comfortable and efficient, yet inexpensive. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a sock having a sock protector located in the toe portion thereof in accordance with the teaching of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged, front perspective view of a sock protector of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the sock protector shown in FIG.  2 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
     In accordance with the teaching of the present invention, a sock is protected by a wearer donning a special sock protector over his or her toes before donning a sock. This places protection in the most effective area and an area that will most easily accommodate extra material without adding material to other areas of the sock, such as the instep portion, that may be unnecessary to protect and which may create a situation that overly-restricts a wearer&#39;s foot by placing extra material in the shoe in locations that cannot readily accommodate such extra material. Thus, by protecting only the area most likely to wear out, the sock can be efficient and cost-effective to manufacture, as well as comfortable to wear. 
     Referring first to FIG. 1, it can be seen that a sock  10  is formed of knit material, such as cotton, nylon or the like and includes a toe portion  12 , a heel portion  14  and an instep portion  16  connecting toe portion  12  to heel portion  14  of the sock. As above discussed, in some situations, the sock may become worn in toe portion  12  by rubbing between a wearer&#39;s toe and toe portion  12  of sock  10 . This often wears a hole in sock  10  and may be wasteful. As used in the present disclosure, the toe portion  12  of the sock  10  extends rearwardly from the forwardmost end  15  of the sock  10  and is represented by dimension T, with instep portion  16  extending rearwardly from the toe portion  12  as indicated in FIG. 1 by arrow I. The toe portion  12  of the sock  10  will fit over a wearer&#39;s toes between the front tip of the wearer&#39;s toes (forward of the toe nails) and the transverse arch of the wearer&#39;s foot where the toes join the rest of the foot. This portion of a sock  10  is generally established when the size of the sock is determined by a manufacturer and need not depend entirely on the size of the wearer&#39;s foot. 
     The sock protector included in the present invention further includes a sleeve  20 , best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Sleeve  20  has a forwardmost end  22  which will be located immediately adjacent to the inside of forwardmost end  15  of the sock and the front tip of the wearer&#39;s toes and will be immediately interposed therebetween when the sleeve  20  is worn. Sleeve  20  further includes a rearwardmost end  24  and a body  26  connecting forwardmost end  22  to rearwardmost end  24 . Body  26  has an upper section  30 , a lower section  32  which will be located beneath a wearer&#39;s toes when the sleeve is in position on the wearer&#39;s foot. A sewn seam  34  connects upper section  30  of body  26  to lower section  32  of body  26 . Sewn seam  34  has a first end  36  that intersects rearwardmost end  24  of sleeve  20  at a first area  40  of rearwardmost end  24  of sleeve  20  and a second end  42  intersecting rearwardmost end  24  of sleeve  20  at a second area  44  of rearwardmost end  24  of sleeve  20  and extends around body  26 . First and second reinforcing elements  46  and  48  are located in first and second areas  40  and  44  respectively. 
     As can best be seen in FIG. 3, rearwardmost end  24  of sleeve  20  is open and has a rim  50  that extends on upper section  30  of body  26  of sleeve  20  and on first and second ends  36  and  42  of sewn seam  34  and on lower section  32  of body  26  of sleeve  20  to completely encircle rearwardmost end  24 . Rearwardmost end  24  of sleeve  20  has a first inner dimension  52  and forwardmost end  22  of sleeve  20  has a second inner dimension  54  immediately adjacent to the toe portion of the sleeve. First inner dimension  52  is larger than second inner dimension  54  with body  26  of sleeve  20  tapering in size from first inner dimension  52  to second inner dimension  54  to snugly fit around the toes of a wearer. Thus, sleeve  20  is roughly conical in shape. 
     As can be seen in FIG. 1, sleeve  20  is entirely located inside toe portion  12  of sock  10  with rearwardmost end  24  of sleeve  20  being positioned in toe portion  12  of sock  10  and is located forwardly of the instep portion  16  of sock  10  when in use whereby only the toes of a wearer are covered by sleeve  20  when that sleeve is worn by the wearer. As shown in FIG. 1, rearwardmost end  24  is located substantially at the intersection of sock toe portion  12  and sock instep portion  16 ; however, rearwardmost end  24  can be located closer to toe end  15  of sock  10  if desired whereby some of the sock toe portion  12  is not covered by sleeve  20 . 
     In one form of the invention, sleeve  20  is constructed of nylon or rayon or a mix of the two in order to be comfortable yet strong. One form of the invention has a rearwardmost end dimension  52  of approximately five inches and a body dimension between rearwardmost end  24  and forwardmost end  22  of approximately 4.75 inches. A vent hole  60  can also be included to make the sleeve even more comfortable. 
     It is understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangements of parts described and shown.