HOSIERY ARTICLE WITH ANTI-UNPAIRING MAGNETIC DEVICE |
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申请号 | EP17151449.0 | 申请日 | 2017-01-13 | 公开(公告)号 | EP3195742B1 | 公开(公告)日 | 2018-08-22 |
申请人 | Fenoglio, Andrea; | 发明人 | Fenoglio, Andrea; | ||||
摘要 | A hosiery article (1; 1-ii; 1-iii; 1-iv; 1-v; 1-vi) including a tubular body (2) having a circular development and an axial development, the hosiery article incorporating a magnet (m) configured for magnetic coupling with a homologous magnet (m) on a similar hosiery article (1; 1-ii; 1-iii; 1-iv; 1-v; 1-vi) and being characterized in that said magnet (m) is housed in a confined pocket (p) provided on said tubular body (2), said confined pocket (p) extending along a fraction (p2c, p3c, p4c, p5c, p6c) of the circular development of said tubular body and along a fraction (p2c, p3c, p4c, p5c) of the axial development of said tubular body (2) | ||||||
权利要求 | |||||||
说明书全文 | The present invention relates to hosiery articles, for example stockings or socks, of the type including a magnet configured for magnetic coupling with a homologous magnet on a similar hosiery article so as to prevent unpairing during washing. Known in the art is a wide range of examples of hosiery articles, for example stockings or socks, provided with an anti-unpairing magnetic system. Examples of these solutions may be found in the documents Nos. This type of hosiery articles is configured for pairing with an identical hosiery article provided with a homologous magnetic element, where the first and second hosiery articles constitute a pair of stockings or socks. To prevent unpairing when these articles are to be washed in a washing machine, the magnets on each article are brought close to one another so as to cause magnetic coupling thereof by the force of attraction, thus keeping the two articles coupled together during washing. However, after washing it is necessary to disengage the two articles so as to be able to wear them subsequently. The solutions of fixing of the magnet to the hosiery article proposed in the aforementioned documents lead rapidly, already starting from the first cycles of coupling-separation of the articles, to serious phenomena of tearing of the material (whether woven or non-woven fabric) of which the articles are made. This renders the pair unusable after a few washing cycles, thus rendering it extremely disadvantageous to resort to an anti-unpairing system, unless recourse is had to reinforcement inserts made of the same material as that of the hosiery article, which, however, has a non-negligible effect on the cost of production of the articles. The object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks mentioned previously. In particular, the object of the invention is to provide a hosiery article equipped with an anti-unpairing magnetic system, as well as a corresponding pair of hosiery articles, in which the magnetic system will enable repeated cycles of pairing and unpairing of the hosiery articles to be carried out without causing tearing of the material of the article itself and in which moreover the magnetic system will bring about a minimum alteration of the aesthetic appearance of the article. The object of the present invention is achieved by a hosiery article, by a method, and by a pair of hosiery articles having the features forming the subject of the appended claims, which form an integral part of the technical disclosure provided herein in relation to the invention. The invention will now be described with reference to the annexed figures, which are provided purely by way of non-limiting example and in which:
The reference C in Basically, falling in the scope of the invention are all the hosiery articles having a tubular body 2 with an axial development, i.e., in the direction that substantially proceeds from the leg to the toe, passing through the ankle, and a circular development, i.e., along a curve contained in a plane substantially orthogonal to the direction of axial development and defining the perimeter of each section of the article. The wording "circular development" is merely used as reference: as is known, the perimeter of the sections of the article 1 along the axial development may vary markedly as a result of the deformability of the article. The hosiery article 1 moreover incorporates a magnet M, in particular a permanent magnet, which is configured for magnetic coupling with a homologous magnet M on a complementary hosiery article 1 of the set C, where the set (pair) C consequently includes two identical articles 1. The two hosiery articles 1 of the set C can be joined together in a temporary way thanks to coupling between the magnets M for preventing unpairing, for example, when they are washed. With reference to The toroidal cavity 61 is used for creating a confined pocket P within which the magnet M is housed, preferentially a magnet having an elongated cylindrical shape and a small diameter (once again preferentially chosen between 3 mm and 10 mm) delimited by a perimetral seam formed by stitches ST obtained by sewing a thread TH along a substantially U-shaped path that passes through both walls of the cavity 61, as illustrated in the representation of The perimetral path of stitches ST starts from the end edge of the tubular body 2, proceeds through a first stretch along the collar 6 in an axial direction that points towards the end 4, then through a second stretch in the circular (or circumferential) direction, and again, through a third stretch, in the axial direction, this time in the opposite direction with respect to the first stretch, so as to terminate on the end edge of the body 2. The person skilled in the art will appreciate hence that the confined pocket P extends along a fraction of the circular development of the tubular body designated by the reference P2C and a fraction of the axial development of the tubular body 2, designated by the reference P2A. The overall shape of the perimeter of the pocket P is substantially quadrangular, and the dimensions are preferentially chosen in the range 30mm x 60 mm to 50 mm x 80 mm. It should be noted that the stitches are preferably made along an open curve in so far as closing of the perimeter of the pocket P is provided by the bend created by folding the tubular body 2 back towards the outside during formation of the cavity 61. With reference to The pocket P is here obtained by stitching a patch of textile material (woven or non-woven fabric) 8 on the outside of the tubular body 2 in an area where the magnet M (once again preferably having an elongated cylindrical shape) has previously been placed. The patch is then fixed to the tubular body 2 by means of a perimetral path of stitches ST, in this case defining a closed curve, which bestows a quadrangular shape on the pocket P and confines the dimensions thereof to a fraction of the circular development of the tubular body 2, designated once again by the reference P3C, and a fraction of the axial development of the tubular body 2, designated by the reference P3A. Of course, the shape of the patch 8 and/or the shape of the perimetral path of stitches ST may vary with respect to what is illustrated. For example, it is possible to use a patch 8 having a circular shape or other polygonal shapes, and it is likewise possible to apply stitches according to circular or polygonal paths that do not necessarily follow the shape of the patch. In the case of a quadrangular patch, the dimensions are preferentially chosen in the range 30mm x 50 mm to 50 mm x 80 mm. In the case of the patch 8 having a circular shape, it is chosen with a diameter of between 30 mm and 60 mm. With reference to However, unlike the embodiments corresponding to This is the main difference from the pocket P of the article 1-II, where instead the magnet M is able, to a certain extent, to float within the pocket itself. A pocket P adherent to the magnet M provides the further advantage of limiting to the maximum the possibility of displacement of the magnet during pairing and unpairing of two articles 1-IV, limiting as a result the possibility of tearing of the fabric of the tubular body 2. The confined pocket P of the article 1-IV is obtained by means of two stitching lines ST_S mainly having an axial development and one stitching line ST_B at the base of the collar 6 that closes at the bottom the pocket P, which at the top is delimited by the cuff of the collar 6 itself. It will be appreciated, on the other hand, that the stitching lines ST_S and ST_B pass through both walls of the toroidal cavity obtained by folding the collar 6 back, and define a U-shaped perimetral seam substantially similar to the perimetral seam of the article 1-II. Also in this case, the perimetral seam corresponds to an open curve, and is closed by the bend between the walls of the cuff. The circular development of the pocket P can be chosen so as to be smaller than a semi-circumference of the magnet P so as to create a pocket P that requires a certain circumferential stretching when the magnet M is inserted (as a result of the condition of interference that is created with insertion of the magnet). This increases the stability of the position of the magnet M and further limits the movements, keeping the performance unaltered even after numerous washing cycles, when the material of the article 1-IV may be weakened). With reference to In particular, the inner diameter of the tube is equal to or a little greater than the diameter of the magnet P. Preferentially, the tube 10 is hence chosen so as to have an outer diameter comprised between 2 mm and 10 mm and an inner diameter comprised between 1 mm and 9 mm. The tube 10 is then fixed to the collar 6 or to any other portion of the body 2 by means of a stitching line ST obtained with a thread TH passed over the tube 10 and in the material of the body 2 so as to secure the tube 10 to the body 2 itself. Here, by way of example, the stitching line ST is of a cross-stitch type (in With reference to With reference to In particular, with reference to The magnet M can be inserted into the tubular element 100 that is being formed already immediately after formation of the stitching line ST1, but is preferentially inserted after one of the two ends has been closed (for this reason it is represented in brackets). Closing may be performed according to two different modalities, illustrated in In the modality illustrated in A preferred sequence of execution of the various operations may be seen in Instead, the modality of closing of the tubular body 100 being formed (or preformed, if this is the case) that is illustrated in Herein a first seam ST2R* and a second seam ST2L* are made, which are altogether similar to the seams ST2R and ST2L, except for the fact that they only pass through the layers of the patch 100B folded in two (or of the preformed and flattened tubular element, if this is the case). The sequence is again identified by the encircled references "1", "2", "3", which establish the succession in time and are associated to the element that at each step is added to the ensemble. In the example of However, the result of these operations is only the definition of the pocket P, which must then be applied to the tubular body 2 at the collar 6. To do this ( With reference to In the variant of In this case, it may, however, be convenient to provide a double seam along the long side: a first seam ST1* corresponding to the seam ST1 described, for the sole purpose of reclosing the patch 100B on itself, and a second seam STR1** that runs over the seam ST1 (or that is provided slightly offset with respect thereto), which fixes the element 100 to the collar 6 of the body 2. Further possibilities of execution are offered: in the case of use of the preformed tubular element 100, the seam for fixing will be just one and correspond to the seam ST1**. It is to be noted that the seam ST1** (this applies in general to the seam that fixes the element 100 to the tubular body 2/collar 6) can be positioned either aligned in an axial direction or oriented horizontally or obliquely, hen rotated with respect to what is illustrated in If the tubular element 100 is instead obtained starting from the patch 100B, in addition to the process of formation of the pocket P already described, it is possible to reverse the stitching steps and form first the seams ST2T and ST2B for closing the patch 100B, then insert the magnet M, and finally fix the element 100 to the collar 6 by means of the seam ST1** that simultaneously defines the pocket P. To sum up, there is thus defined a method for manufacturing the hosiery article 1-VI comprising (in general) the steps of:
In the case of the embodiment of In the case of the embodiment corresponding to In the case of the variant of As regards the circumferential dimensions of the pocket P, these do not necessarily coincide with the distance between the seams ST2R and ST2L (or ST2R** and ST2L**): in the case of the collar 6 made of elasticised fabric and of material of the patch 100B without appreciable elastic properties, according to an advantageous aspect of the invention, the tubular element 100 is fixed to the collar 6 of the body 2 by providing the lateral seams for closing the ends ST2R and ST2L (or ST2R** and ST2L**) at a distance P6C* that is a fraction of the circumferential development of the pocket P, corresponding to the distance between the seams ST2R and ST2L (or ST2R* and ST2L*; the distance coincides with that between the seams ST2R** and ST2L** if the latter run over the seams ST2R* and ST2L*) in conditions of stretching-out of the tubular body 100. This fraction is comprised between 30% and 100%, preferably between 50% and 100%, the latter value applying in the case of the collar 6 not being elasticised or in the case of the collar 6 being elasticised and the material of the patch 100B/preformed tubular element likewise being elasticized. In the case of the pocket P, where the dimension P6C is 5 cm, the distance between the seams that fix the pocket P to the collar 6 of the body 2 (ST2R and ST2L, or else ST2R** and ST2L**, the latter coinciding with ST2R* and ST2L* if they run over them) ranges from 1.5 to 5 cm, preferably from 2.5 cm to 5 cm. With reference to It should be noted, instead, that in the case of fixing aligned in the axial direction as in Following upon numerous washing tests, the inventor has noted how the use of magnets M with a force of attraction that ranges from 0.2 kgf (approx. 1.96 N) to 3 kgf (approx. 29.5 N) enables maintenance of coupling between two hosiery articles 1-VI without separation. A preferred solution envisages the use of magnets with a force of attraction of 1.1 kgf (approx. 10.8 N). Moreover envisaged is the possibility of use, in the case of a pair of articles 1-VI, a magnet M on the first article and an element of ferromagnetic material on the other article (which would be introduced into the pocket P exactly with the modalities described above). Preferentially, the inventor has moreover noted how significant advantages as regards ease of production and process times will be obtained by equipping sewing machines with which to make the seams ST2L/R, ST2L*/R*, ST2L**/R** with a plate of non-ferromagnetic material, for example aluminium. Whatever the embodiment considered for the article 1, providing confined pockets P having dimensions equal to a fraction of the circular and axial developments of the tubular body 2 (where by "fraction" is understood a fraction smaller or much smaller than unity) enables limitation of displacement of the magnet M with respect to the tubular body 2, consequently also limiting the possibility of tearing of the latter through rubbing or penetration by the magnet on account of its displacement. Especially in the embodiment of However, all the solutions presented herein provide to a variable extent effective hiding of the magnet M inside the tubular body 2, minimizing the impact on the global aesthetic appearance of the article 1. Furthermore, except for the embodiment where housing of the magnet M in a pocket P is envisaged, created by folding back the collar 6 ( Of course, the details of construction and the embodiments may vary widely with respect to what has been described and illustrated herein, without thereby departing from the sphere of protection of the present invention, as defined by the annexed claims. For instance, the person skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may also be applied to articles other than stockings or socks, for example gloves or any other article generally sold in pairs. Nevertheless, even though the embodiment illustrated herein envisages coupling between hosiery articles of the pair C by means of magnetic coupling of the respective magnets, there are moreover contemplated by the invention embodiments in which a first article 1, 1-II, 1-III, 1-IV, 1-V, 1-VI of the pair is provided in accordance with what has been described above, whereas a second article of the pair is provided in a way structurally identical to what has been described, with the sole exception represented by the substitution of the magnet M with a receiving element, for example a pad or rod of ferromagnetic material in regard to which the magnet M of the first article can exert a force of attraction. More in general, contemplated by the invention is any pair C of hosiery articles including a pair of hosiery articles in which at least one first hosiery article of the pair corresponds to the article 1, 1-II, 1-III, 1-IV, 1-V or 1-VI and in which the other hosiery article of the pair includes a tubular body and the receiving element housed in a confined pocket provided on the respective tubular body. The confined pocket of the other article, like the confined pocket P, extends along a fraction of the circular development and along a fraction of the axial development of the tubular body of the other article. The at least one first hosiery article 1, 1-II, 1-III, 1-IV, 1-V, 1-VI can consequently be connected in a temporary way to the other hosiery article of the pair by means of magnetic coupling of the corresponding magnet M with a receiving element of the other hosiery article. The foregoing is equivalent, of course, to magnetic coupling between two magnets M in the case where both of the hosiery articles correspond to the articles 1, 1-II, 1-III, 1-IV, 1-V, 1-VI. |