GARMENT INCLUDING ANKLE CUSHION AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME
A garment is provided including a main body adapted to enclose at least the foot of a wearer, the main body including an ankle portion and a foot portion, and a cushion located at the ankle portion of the main body, wherein the cushion is configured to protect an ankle of the wearer from abrasion caused by a heel of a footwear.
This application is a non-provisional claiming priority to a commonly owned U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/130,580, filed Jun. 2, 2008, of Anwar Hasan, entitled ‘STEP A.K.A. “ANKLE COMFORT” PADS,’ the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference to the extent not inconsistent with the present disclosure.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to a garment to cover the ankle and a method of making the same. More particularly, the subject matter relates to an ankle comfort pad that is adapted for the protection of the ankle from irritation caused by the heel of a shoe or the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONGarments covering the legs and feet take various forms such as leggings, socks, stockings and tights and other hosiery. These garments serve several purposes such as keeping the feet warm, providing comfort to the wearer, keeping the feet clean, and providing style or fashion. Additionally, these garments often help to absorb the sweat in the foot and draw it to areas where it can be evaporated. In cold environments, garments such as socks help to retain heat while removing moisture, thereby helping to prevent frostbite. Further-more, hosiery may help to ease chafing and irritation between the foot and footwear. Particular types of footwear such as dress shoes, hockey skates, ski boots, athletic footwear and high heeled shoes often cause irritation to the wearer where the heel of the footwear digs in and rubs against the ankle, despite the use of these garments. This is also a major concern when a wearer uses new footwear that is stiff and yet to be broken in.
Thus, a garment that reduces the chafing, irritation or cutting of the skin caused by the heel of footwear would be well received in the art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONAccording to one aspect of the invention, a garment comprises a main body adapted to enclose at least the foot of a wearer, the main body including an ankle portion and a foot portion, and a cushion located at the ankle portion of the main body, wherein the cushion is configured to protect an ankle of the wearer from abrasion caused by a heel of a footwear.
According to another aspect of the invention, a garment adapted to be worn over the foot of a wearer comprises a cushion located above a heel portion of the sock, and extending at least partially about an ankle portion of the sock, the cushion configured to provide protection to the wearer from a heel of a footwear.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, a method of producing a hosiery garment comprises attaching a cushion to an ankle portion of the hosiery garment, wherein the cushion is configured to protect an ankle of a wearer of the hosiery garment from abrasion caused by a heel of a footwear.
The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
A detailed description of the hereinafter described embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures.
Referring firstly to
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A further aspect of the present invention includes a method of producing a garment 10 comprising attaching the cushion 20 to the ankle portion 16 of the garment 10, wherein the cushion 20 is configured to protect the ankle 32 of the wearer 12 of the garment 10 from abrasion caused by the heel 22 of footwear 24, 26. The sewing may further comprise introducing the cushion 20 to the ankle portion 16 of the garment 10 and sewing, attaching or adhering the cushion 20 to the ankle portion 16 around the cushion 20. Alternately, the method may further comprise introducing the cushion 20 to the ankle portion 16 of the garment 10 and sewing the fabric layer 38 to the ankle portion 16 around the cushion 20.
Elements of the embodiments have been introduced with either the articles “a” or “an.” The articles are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “including” and “having” and their derivatives are intended to be inclusive such that there may be additional elements other than the elements listed. The conjunction “or” when used with a list of at least two terms is intended to mean any term or combination of terms. The terms “first” and “second” are used to distinguish elements and are not used to denote a particular order.
While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A garment comprising:
- a main body adapted to enclose at least a foot of a wearer, the main body including an ankle portion and a foot portion; and
- a cushion located at the ankle portion of the main body, wherein the cushion is configured to protect an ankle of the wearer from abrasion caused by a heel of a footwear.
2. The garment of claim 1, wherein the cushion is made of a material selected from the group consisting of cotton, foam, feather, polyester, silk, linen, gel, rubber and plastic.
3. The garment of claim 1, wherein the cushion includes a lateral body, the lateral body wrapping partially around the ankle portion from a back side of the ankle portion.
4. The garment of claim 3, wherein the cushion includes a vertical lip, the vertical lip extending from the lateral body at least partially to the heel.
5. The garment of claim 1, wherein the cushion is sewn into the main body of the hosiery garment.
6. The garment of claim 1, wherein the cushion is held in place between the main body and a fabric layer sewn into the main body.
7. The garment of claim 1, wherein the cushion is configured to protect the ankle of the wearer from abrasion caused by the heel of a footwear selected from the group consisting of dress shoes, casual shoes, high heeled shoes, boots, sneakers, tennis shoes, orthopedic shoes, basketball shoes, running shoes, ice skates, athletic cleats, ski boots, cross trainer shoes, sandals, and flats.
8. The garment of claim 1, wherein the garment is a garment selected from the group consisting of dress socks, casual socks, stockings, legging, toe socks, tights, thigh-high socks, and athletic socks.
9. A garment adapted to be worn over an ankle of a wearer comprising:
- a cushion located above a heel portion of the sock, and extending at least partially about an ankle portion of the sock, the cushion configured to provide protection to the wearer from a heel of a footwear.
10. The garment of claim 9, wherein the cushion further includes a vertical lip, the vertical lip extending from the lateral body at least partially to the heel.
11. The garment of claim 10, wherein the vertical lip provides protection to the wearer from a plurality of footwear having a plurality of heel heights.
12. The garment of claim 9, wherein the cushion is made of a material selected from the group consisting of cotton, foam, feather, polyester, silk, linen, gel, rubber and plastic.
13. The garment of claim 9, wherein the cushion is sewn into the sock.
14. The garment of claim 9, wherein the cushion is held in place between the sock and a fabric layer sewn into the sock.
15. The garment of claim 9, wherein the cushion is configured to protect the ankle of the wearer from abrasion caused by the heel of a footwear selected from the group consisting of dress shoes, casual shoes, high heeled shoes, boots, sneakers, tennis shoes, orthopedic shoes, basketball shoes, running shoes, ice skates, athletic cleats, ski boots, cross trainer shoes, sandals, and flats.
16. A method of producing a garment, the method comprising:
- attaching a cushion to an ankle portion of the garment, wherein the cushion is configured to protect an ankle of a wearer of the garment from abrasion caused by a heel of a footwear.
17. The method of producing a garment of claim 16, wherein the sewing further comprises introducing the cushion to the ankle portion of the garment and sewing a fabric layer to the ankle portion around the cushion.
18. The method of producing a garment of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises sewing the cushion to the garment.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 10, 2009
Publication Date: Dec 3, 2009
Inventor: Anwar Ricky Hasan (Troy, NY)
Application Number: 12/368,769
International Classification: A41B 11/00 (20060101); A43B 17/00 (20060101); A41D 27/00 (20060101);