Patent Publication Number: US-6209141-B1

Title: Decorative band for sock

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/162,123, filed Oct. 29, 1999. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to decorative bands for a pair of socks, and more specifically, decorative bands for a pair of socks to identify a sports team, holiday occasion, or organizational logo. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Ever since the invention of socks, hosiery, and stockings, people have been inventing ideas to keep the top of the socks from sliding down the wearer&#39;s leg. Many other types of attachments to socks and hosiery has also been the subject of patentability. The following design patent illustrates a fashionable sock. Des. U.S. Pat. No. 374,764, issued to Deborah M. Penn on Oct. 22, 1996, illustrates a sock dickie. The ornamental design of the sock dickie shows a dickie having a fuzzy upper half. 
     The following patents describes different types of socks, anklets, and hosiery for various uses from keeping a person&#39;s ankle warm to holding up the top of the sock above the wearer&#39;s calf. U.S. Pat. No. 743,625, issued to Elizabeth M. Douglas on Nov. 10, 1903, describes an anklet to protect a person&#39;s ankle from the cold weather. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,065,936, issued to Harry Hardie on Dec. 29, 1936, describes a band of a sock or stocking for wearing apparel. The band is anchored to the upper portion of the sock and comprises a strip of elastic rubber which presses a roughened surface against the wearer. The rubber strip is sewed in a position in a tubular welt knitted in the upper end of the sock. The band and sock are one unit comprising a body of knitted silk with an upper end with a welt forming a hollow tubular member. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,228,404, issued to Saftlas, et al. on Jan. 14, 1941, describes a supporter for holding up an article of clothing on someone&#39;s leg. The invention comprises a stocking which takes the form of a half hose having a welt which is either of the turned type or ribbed top commonly employed in a men&#39;s half hose. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,571,543, issued to Walter F. Connor on Dec. 6, 1948, describes a cloth top sock. The foot, ankle, and leg of the sock are constructed of knitted material while the cuff is constructed of woven material. U.S. Pat. No. 2,918,679, issued to Henry G. Bell on Dec. 29, 1959, describes an elastic support for a stocking. The knee-high stocking includes a knitted top or welt, a leg portion, a heel pocket, a foot, and a toe pocket. All the portions are of a unitary structure. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,122,906, issued to Herman E. Crawford on Mar. 3, 1964, describes a self-supporting hosiery top. The self-supporting hosiery top includes inwardly extending loops of relaxed frictional material around the inner periphery at the top. The material frictionally engages the leg of the wearer to support the top of the hose. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,238,537, issued to Fowler, et al. on Mar. 8, 1966, describes an ankle warmer. The main function of the ankle warmer is to be worn around the ankle of the wearer to provide desired warmth for the lower extremities, and at the same time to be fashionable. The ankle warmer comprises an elongated strip of material, convexly contoured in a direction transverse to its axis. The material strip has two free ends which are attached together around an ankle by a fastening means such as clip hooks. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,580, issued to Otis W. Holder on Jul. 12, 1977, describes a boot sock with a stay-up cuff and a method. The stay-cuff includes an outwardly turned welt integrally knit to the top of the leg of the sock. The single-ply edge portion is adapted to extend down over the upper edge of the boot to prevent the sock from being drawn into the boot. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,177, issued to Margaret L. Binder on Nov. 26, 1991, describes cuff-like tubular extensions for wearing apparel. The cuff-like elements are formed from a textile which causes them to constrict about the wearer&#39;s legs or arms. A plurality of cuff-like elements may be interfitted with each other and worn independently of other apparel. The cuff-like elements can be separate from the wearing apparel. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,898, issued to Mitchell G. Malpee on Jul. 7, 1998, describes an athletic footwear for beach terrain. The three portions of the footwear include a permeable elastic portion on the top of the foot, an insulative portion on the bottom of the foot and a toe portion. Top portion includes a Spandex or leather band for extra support to hold up the footwear. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,839, issued to Michael R. Lawlor on Feb. 9, 1999, describes an athletic sock garter and method of using the same. The garter is an elongated strap comprised of an elastic material. An adjustable fastener is connected to the elongated strap about the leg portion of the sock. U.S. Pat. No. 5,898,948, issued to Graham M. Kelly on May 4, 1999, describes a support sport sock. The sock includes a sock body of an elastomeric material which is supported against the calf of a wearer&#39;s leg by the elastic material. The sock includes a padded heel and biomechanical support panels. 
     France Pat. No. 835,354, published December, 1938, and France Pat. No. 982,991 published June, 1951, both illustrate a band for tucking in the end of the wear&#39;s pant leg along the top of a boot. France Pat. No. 2,457,645, published December, 1980, illustrates a band incorporated into the top of a sock and an additional separate band to act as a shield around the ankle and boot of the wearer. 
     There is a need for a band that slides over the top of any sock to identify a sports team, holiday occasion, or organizational logo. The band should be movably attachable or detachable in order for the band to be transferred from one sock to another. The band could be transferred to a new sock if the wearer outgrows the other socks or gets a hole in the existing socks. The sock bands would be used day after day without having to wash them after each use. 
     None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is sock bands or covers which include a tubular-shaped elastomeric woven fabric which is slidable onto the top of a sock. The sock bands may include a fastening means to be placed around the inner surface of the sock band. The outer surface of the sock bands may contain indicia such as a logo or name of a team or organization. 
     Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a sock band that can bear a logo, name, color, preprinted fabric, and/or design to identify a particular team or organization. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a decorative sock band that requires no fastening means in securing the sock band to the top portion of a sock. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide sock bands that can transform a regular casual sock into a more decorative and functional look. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide sock bands that can be worn many days in a row before being washed. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes. 
     These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a cheerleader wearing the decorative band over her socks according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of the decorative band being slid onto a sock of the present invention. 
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention are decorative bands or covers for the top of a pair of socks designated as  10  in the drawings. The sock bands or covers comprise a tubular-shaped woven elastic material or stretch fabric which can be slid onto the top of a sock. The sock band has an inner and outer surface. The sock bands may include a fastening means to be placed around the inner surface of the sock band. Depending on the type of fastening means utilized, a pair of socks may also be included as part of the invention. Each sock includes a top portion and a bottom portion. 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a cheerleader  20  wearing a pair of sock bands  10  on an ordinary pair of socks  12 . The outer surface  22  of the sock bands  10  may contain indicia  24  such as a logo and name of a team or organization. The outer surface  22  of the sock bands  10  may include one or more colors to identify a team or organization. Each sock band  10  of a pair of sock bands may also vary in color from one to the other or come in preprinted fabric. The outer surface  22  of the sock bands  10  may have attached strings of beads or lace. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a sock band  10  being placed onto the top portion  26  of a sock  12 . The woven elastic material allows for easily stretching the sock band  10  over the top portion  26  of a sock  12 . Each sock band  10  comprises a piece of stretchy material which is folded together and sewn into a tube-like shape. The sock bands  10  include an inner  28  and outer  22  surface. 
     The top portion  26  of a sock  12  used in combination with the invention  10  includes an inner  30  and outer  32  surface. The tube-like inner surface  28  of the sock bands  10  are dimensioned and configured to slide onto the tube-like top portion  26  of socks  12 . Each sock band  10  can be dimensioned and configured to fit the top portion  26  of any sock  12  made for infants, children, and adults. 
     A fastening means may be utilized to secure each sock band  10  onto the top portion  26  of a sock  12 . Such fastening means may include hook and loop fastening material  34 , such as Velcro®, or snaps. If Velcro®  34  is utilized to secure the sock band  10  to the top portion  26  of a sock  12 , then the inner surface  28  of each sock band  10  would be lined with Velcro®  34 . Either the entire inner surface  28  would be lined with Velcro®  34  or just a partial portion of the inner surface  28  would be lined. 
     If snaps (not shown) are utilized to secure each sock band  10  to the top portion  26  of a sock  12 , then a male and female snap which are complementary to one another would be needed. One of the male or female snaps would be attached to the outer surface  32  of the top portion  26  of a sock  12  by a fastening means, while the other complimentary snap would be attached to the inner surface  28  of the sock band  10 . If snaps are used to secure each sock band  10  to the top portion  26  a sock  12 , then the sock  12  would also be part of the invention  10 . 
     One major benefit of the sock bands  10  is that although fastening means  34  may be used, fastening means  34  are not required in ordinary use because the sock band  10  and the sock  12  may coact to frictionally secure the sock band  10  in place. Also, stretching together the combination of the top portion  26  of the sock  12  and sock band  10  over the legs of the wearer is enough to secure the combination in place. 
     The outer surface  22  of each sock band  10  bears indicia  24  such as a logo, name, color, preprinted fabric, and/or design to identify a particular team or organization. The present invention  10  starts out as a plain sock band  10  and then a design, color, preprinted fabric, applique, lace, or embroidery is added to make the sock band  10  a functional accessory for many commercial purposes. 
     Each logo, name, and/or design can be attached in several ways that are common in the art. The preferred method of attaching the above mentioned is by a patch, applique, or embroidering. The design of the applique, embroidery, or logo are not the invention by itself, but the indicia  24  along with the combination of the sock band  10  and sock  12  are the invention. 
     A problem with most decorative socks is that they have limited uses. They can only be used during a particular season for which the decoration or occasion fits and when the entire sock is worn it must be washed. In the present invention  10 , each sock band  10  can be worn many days in a row before being washed. For example, cheerleaders can simply transfer the sock bands  10  to a clean pair of socks  12  for the next game. 
     Some teams that play sport on the same day against different teams change their team colors. All the cheerleaders would need to do is transfer the sock band  10  with one team colors to the sock bands  10  of another team color. As a result, the sock bands  10  do not limit your sock wear. The sock bands  10  are small in size and therefore easy to store. 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.