SOCKS WITH HOLES AND HANGER

Abstract

A pair of socks including a first sock having at least one reinforced opening and a second sock having at least one reinforced opening. The pair of socks also includes at least one attachment device. The at least one attachment device is removably securable through the at least one reinforced opening of the first sock and the at least one reinforced opening of the second sock so as to secure the first sock to the second sock.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This applications claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent App. 63/312,236, filed Feb. 21, 2022, titled “SOCKS WITH HOLES AND HANGER,” the entire disclosure of each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The disclosed technology pertains to a system for allowing a pair of sock to be attached to one another so as to be easily kept together so a single sock does not get lost.

BACKGROUND

Socks are normally purchased, stored, worn, and laundered in pairs. However, keeping socks in pairs is harder than it sounds. Therefore, the need exists for a means of keeping pairs of socks together in the laundry or in storage.

The drawings and detailed description that follow are intended to be merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention as contemplated by the inventors.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure provides a pair of socks that can be secured together by an attachment device. The pair of socks including a first sock having at least one reinforced opening and a second sock having at least one reinforced opening. The at least one attachment device is removably securable through the at least one reinforced opening of the first sock and the at least one reinforced opening of the second sock so as to secure the first sock to the second sock.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings and detailed description that follow are intended to be merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention as contemplated by the inventors.

FIG. 1 shows a pair of socks and a pair of stockings according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows the pair of socks from FIG. 1 attached to one another via an attachment device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows the connected pair of socks from FIG. 2 being placed into a washer as a connected pair of socks;

FIG. 4 shows various individual socks utilizing different attachment means and having different reinforced openings thereon; and

FIG. 5 shows two individual socks, each sock utilizing a different shaped reinforced opening.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to a system of making sure a pair of socks is not lost during cleaning or storage of the socks. FIG. 1 shows a pair of socks 10a and 10b along with a pair of stockings 12a and 12b. Each sock in the pair of socks includes at least one reinforced opening 14 in the upper fabric portion 16 of each sock. The at least one reinforced opening 14 allows both socks of the pair to be attached to each other via an attachment device, such as the attachment device 18 shown in FIG. 2. In one or more embodiments, the attachment device 18 can be selected from the group consisting of a heat-resistant clip, a hanger, a rod, a cord, and a tie. The attachment device 18 allows a user to easily keep a pair of socks, such as socks 10a and 10b, or a pair of stockings, such as stockings 12a and 12b, together without losing either sock or stocking of the pair. When in use, the reinforced opening 14 provides no irritation to the wearer such that when being worn on the foot, there is little difference compared to standard socks.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment wherein the attachment device 18 is in the form of a two-piece attachment device, 18a and 18b, with sock 10a including a female attachment device 18a and sock 10b including a male attachment device 18b. The two-piece attachment device 18a, 18b snap on or over the reinforced opening/hole(s) 14 of the first sock 10a and second sock 10b, and they come back around through the other side of the reinforced opening/hole 14, with 18a then being able to snap together with 18b. The two-piece attachment device 18a, 18b can each be designed in a way that they can be a collectible item, a company logo/brand, design, or even wearable technology could be added to it like a light, child GPS tracking, QR code, RFID tag, or smart device for measuring physical movement.

When off the feet, the socks 10a, 10b or stockings 12a, 12b can be secured together with the attachment device 18. This would give the wearer the opportunity to store together the socks 10a, 10b or stockings 12a, 12b by clipping, connecting, or fastening together the attachment device 18. The present disclosure also gives the wearer an opportunity to launder the socks 10a, 10b or stockings 12a, 12b together by clipping, connecting, or fastening together the attachment device 18, for use in a washing machine, such as the washing machine 100 shown in FIG. 3, and dryer. The present disclosure eliminates the need for folding over the socks 10a, 10b, or stockings 12a, 12b, which can destroy the elasticity of the socks 10a, 10b, or stockings 12a, 12b over time.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention wherein each reinforced opening 14 also includes a secondary sock clip 20. The secondary sock clip 20 fits within the opening of each reinforced opening 14. The secondary sock clip includes a flap of material with a male connection end at one end and a female connection end at the other end of the flap of material. The flap of material is folded over on itself, and the male connection end and the female connection end connect to each other to create an aperture. The attachment device 18 is then strung through the apertures of the secondary sock clips 20. This provides for less wear and tear on the reinforced openings 14 of each sock 10a and 10b. The secondary sock clips 20 can each be designed in a way that they can be a collectible item, a company logo/brand, design, or even wearable technology could be added to it like a light, child GPS tracking, QR code, RFID tag, or smart device for measuring physical movement.

The socks 10a, 10b, or stockings 12a, 12b can be constructed in virtually any type of desired material and available in numerous sizes, colors, and designs. The at least one reinforced opening in the 14 can be different shapes and sizes. In one or more embodiments, the shapes of the at least one reinforced opening in the 14 can be selected from the groups consisting of circles, squares, rectangles, and designs such as in the shape of a basketball, football, animal, flower, and manufacturer logo. FIG. 5 shows a variety of shapes of at least one reinforced opening in the 14. In one or more embodiments, the at least one reinforced opening in the 14 can be reinforced by reinforcement means 20 around the outside of the at least one reinforced opening 14 that would assist in preventing ripping of the at least one reinforced opening 14. In one or more embodiments, the reinforcement means are selected from additional stitching and sowing, such as shown in FIG. 4, a cloth reinforcement, a metal reinforcement such as a metal grommet, or a plastic reinforcement such as a plastic grommet, which would also supply a source of additional support and reinforcement. It is also envisioned that the socks 10a, 10b, or stockings 12a, 12b could incorporate buttons, patches, smart technology, lights, logos, or collectible tags.

While most embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in terms of a pair of socks, it is also the intention that the term socks also includes stockings, such as the stockings 12, 12b shown in FIG. 1.

What has been described above includes examples of the claimed subject matter. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the claimed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the claimed subject matter are possible. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.

It should be understood that any one or more of the teachings, expressions, embodiments, examples, etc. described herein may be combined with any one or more of the other teachings, expressions, embodiments, examples, etc. that are described herein. The following-described teachings, expressions, embodiments, examples, etc. should therefore not be viewed in isolation relative to each other. Various suitable ways in which the teachings herein may be combined will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the claims.

Having shown and described various embodiments of the present invention, further adaptations of the methods and systems described herein may be accomplished by appropriate modifications by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. Several of such potential modifications have been mentioned, and others will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For instance, the examples, embodiments, geometrics, materials, dimensions, ratios, steps, and the like discussed above are illustrative and are not required. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be considered in terms of the following claims and is understood not to be limited to the details of structure and operation shown and described in the specification and drawings.

Claims

1. A pair of socks comprising:

a. a first sock having at least one reinforced opening;

b. a second sock having at least one reinforced opening; and

c. at least one attachment device

wherein the at least one attachment device is removably securable through the at least one reinforced opening of the first sock and the at least one reinforced opening of the second sock so as to secure the first sock to the second sock.

2. The pair of socks of claim 1, wherein the at least one attachment device is a one-piece attachment device.

3. The pair of socks of claim 2, wherein the one-piece attachment device is selected from the group consisting of a heat-resistant clip, a hanger, a rod, a cord, and a tie.

4. The pair of socks of claim 1, wherein the at least one attachment device is a two-piece attachment device.

5. The pair of socks of claim 4, wherein the two-piece attachment device includes a male attachment device securable to either said first sock or said second sock within the at least one reinforced opening and a female attachment device securable to the other of said first sock or second sock within the at least one reinforced opening.

6. The pair of socks of claim 1, further comprising a reinforcement means around an outside of the at least one reinforced opening of the first sock and around an outside of the at least one reinforced opening of the second sock.

7. The pair of socks of claim 6, wherein the reinforcement means are selected from additional stitching, a cloth reinforcement, a metal reinforcement, a plastic reinforcement, or combinations thereof.

8. The pair of socks of claim 1, wherein the at least one reinforced opening of the first sock has a shape, and wherein the shape is selected from the group consisting of circles, squares, rectangles, and designs such as the shape of a basketball, football, animal, flower, and manufacturer logo.

9. The pair of socks of claim 1, wherein the at least one reinforced opening of the second sock has a shape, and wherein the shape is selected from the group consisting of circles, squares, rectangles, and designs such as the shape of a basketball, football, animal, flower, and manufacturer logo.

10. The pair of socks of claim 1, further comprising a secondary sock clip placeable within the at least one reinforced opening of the first sock, wherein the secondary sock clip forms an aperture within which the at least one attachment device can be removably securable within.

11. The pair of socks of claim 1, further comprising a secondary sock clip placeable within the at least one reinforced opening of the second sock, wherein the secondary sock clip forms an aperture within which the at least one attachment device can be removably securable within.