US20040187193A1

US20040187193A1 - Talking sock having an animal face for producing animal-type sounds

Info

Publication number: US20040187193A1
Application number: US10/395,464
Authority: US
Inventors: Ike Cohen
Original assignee: HORIZON IMPORTS Inc
Current assignee: HORIZON IMPORTS Inc
Priority date: 2003-03-25
Filing date: 2003-03-25
Publication date: 2004-09-30

Abstract

A hosiery sock with a sound device for producing animal-type sounds. The hosiery sock includes a foot section, a heel section, and an ankle section. The hosiery sock includes a three-dimensional unit attached to the ankle section. The three-dimensional unit includes a sound assembly having a sound chip, a speaker for transmitting the sound of the sound chip, an activation button for activating the sound produced by the sound chip, with filler material therein and a decorative cover having an animal face thereon. The sound chip is used for producing a sound which corresponds to the sound that the anim al face makes.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a talking hosiery sock having an animal face for producing animal-type sounds. More particularly, the hosiery sock produces animal-type sounds by squeezing the animal face on a three-dimensional unit being attached to the ankle portion of the hosiery sock.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Talking dolls, toys, teddy bears and the like having a voice device within the dolls, toys or teddy bears are known in the art. Further, ornaments, articles, decorations and embellishments to clothing are also known in the art. None of these dolls, toys, teddy bears have combined articles of clothing thereon that produce a voice or sound from that article of clothing.

There remains a need for a novel talking hosiery sock having an animal face attached to an ankle section of the hosiery sock which produces a sound that corresponds to the sound that the animal face makes upon the squeezing of an activation button within the animal face three-dimensional unit. Additionally, the animal face three-dimensional unit may be permanently attached to the ankle section of the hosiery sock or the animal face three-dimensional unit may be detachably mounted to the ankle section of the hosiery sock.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

Talking toys, dolls, action figures, cars and the like having sound assemblies within them are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,360,615 to Smela discloses a wearable effect-emitting strain gauge device that generates effects, such as sound or light, in response to strain, such as caused by body position or movement. The strain gauge device can be incorporated within a cuff, band or tube being worn on a bendable portion of the body, such as the knee, ankle, elbow, etc. This prior art patent does not teach or disclose the structure and method of use for a talking sock that produces an animal-type sound (i.e. a monkey) from an animal face upon squeezing on the ankle section of the sock.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,144,388 to Bornstein discloses a process for displaying articles of clothing (i.e. shoes, socks, pants, etc.) on an image of a person upon voice command. This prior art patent does not teach or disclose the structure and method of use for a talking sock that produces an animal-type sound from an animal face upon squeezing on the ankle section of the sock.

None of the aforementioned prior art references disclose the present invention of a talking hosiery sock having an animal face thereon that produces animal-type sounds upon squeezing the embroidered and decorative animal face on the ankle section of the hosiery sock.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel talking hosiery sock having an animal face thereon that produces animal-type sounds upon squeezing the decorative animal face on the ankle section of the hosiery sock.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a talking hosiery sock having a decorative face on a three-dimensional unit that includes a sound assembly therein, wherein the sound assembly includes a sound chip, a speaker for transmitting the sound of the sound chip, a battery for supplying power to the sound chip and an activation button for activating the sound of the sound chip.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a talking hosiery sock having a decorative face or a caricature-type face on a three-dimensional unit in the form of an animal face such as a frog, a pig, a cow, a lamb, a monkey, a pony, a donkey, a duck, a mouse, a lion cub, a bear cub, a puppy, a kitten, a purple dinosaur or other animals; or in the form of a caricature-type face, figurine or body such as a happy face, a man-in-the-moon, a clown, an action figure (i.e., Superman™, Spiderman™, the Hulk™ etc.) or an entertainer (i.e., Elvis, Madonna, Celine, etc.), and the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a talking hosiery sock wherein the sound chip of the sound assembly produces a sound which corresponds to the sound of the animal face or action figure or entertainer, such that a lamb animal face would produce a baah-baah sound, or an action figure “SUPERMAN™” would produce the theme music from the “SUPERMAN™” movie or an ELVIS figure/face would sing “You Ain't Nothing But a Hound Dog”.®

Another object of the present invention is to provide a talking hosiery sock that has a three-dimensional unit permanently attached to the ankle section of the hosiery sock by means of stitching, sewing, gluing, laser welding or the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a talking hosiery sock that has a three-dimensional unit detachably mounted to the ankle section of the hosiery sock by means of buttons, hook and loop fasteners (Velcro™), male and female snaps and the like for enabling the wearer to launder the hosiery sock by detaching the three-dimensional unit from the ankle section of the hosiery sock.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a talking hosiery sock that is used by infants, young children, pre-teens, and teenagers as novel and decorative footwear.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a talking hosiery sock that can be mass-produced in an automated and economical manner and is readily affordable by the user.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a hosiery sock with a sound device for producing an animal-type sound. The hosiery sock includes a foot section, a heel section, and an ankle section, with a three-dimensional unit attached to the ankle section. The three-dimensional unit includes a sound assembly having a sound chip, a speaker for transmitting the sound of the sound chip, an activation button for activating the sound of the sound chip, with filler material therein and a decorative cover having an animal face thereon. The sound chip is used for producing a sound which corresponds to the sound that the animal face makes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon the consideration of the following detailed description of the presently-preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: [0016]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the talking hosiery sock of the preferred embodiment of the present invention showing a decorative monkey face on a three-dimensional unit in an operational mode on a child's foot; [0017]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the talking sock of the present invention showing a decorative cow face on a three-dimensional unit attached to an ankle section of a hosiery sock; [0018]
FIG. 3 is a perspective sectional view of the talking hosiery sock of the present invention showing a three-dimensional unit attached by stitching to an interior wall surface of the ankle section of the hosiery sock; [0019]
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the talking hosiery sock of the present invention showing a pig face on a three-dimensional unit being attached to an exterior wall surface of the ankle section of the hosiery sock by a pair of buttons; [0020]
FIG. 5 is a cross-section view of the talking hosiery sock of the present invention taken along line [0021] 5-5 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows showing a decorative cover on the three-dimensional unit, filler material, a sound chip, a speaker, a battery, an activation button, and a non-decorative rear cover attached to the ankle section of the hosiery sock;
FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the talking hosiery sock of the present invention showing the three-dimensional unit having a pony face decorative front cover, a sound assembly, filler material, and a non-decorative rear cover; [0022]
FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the talking sock of the present invention showing the three-dimensional unit being attached to the exterior wall surface of the ankle section of the hosiery sock by hook and loop fasteners; and [0023]
FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the talking hosiery sock of the present invention showing the three-dimensional unit being attached to the exterior wall surface of the ankle section of the hosiery sock by a pair of male and female snaps.[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The talking [0025] hosiery sock 10 and its component part of the preferred embodiment of the present invention are represented in detail by FIGS. 1 through 8 of the patent drawings. The talking hosiery sock 10 includes a hosiery sock 20 having a foot portion/section 22, a heel portion/section 24 and an ankle portion/section 26. The hosiery sock 20 further includes an interior wall surface 28 and an exterior wall surface 30. The hosiery sock 20 is made of materials selected from the group consisting of cotton, wool, nylon, rayon, polyester and combinations thereof. The hosiery sock 20 can be varied in size for infants, children, pre-teens, teenagers or adults.
The talking [0026] hosiery sock 10 also includes, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a three-dimensional unit 40 attached to the ankle section 26 of the hosiery sock 20. The three-dimensional unit 40 includes, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a decorative front cover section 42, a rear cover section 44, filler material 46 and a sound assembly 60 embedded within the filler material 46 for protecting the sound assembly 60 from damage. The filler material 46 is matted cotton fibers, polyester fibers or combinations thereof. The decorative front cover section 42 includes an animal face 48 in the form of a monkey 50, a cow 52, a pig 54 or a pony 56, as depicted in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 6 of the drawings. The sound assembly 60 includes, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a housing 62 having a sound chip 64, a speaker 66 for transmitting the sound or voice 68 of the sound chip 64, an activation button 70 for activating the sound or voice 68 produced by the sound chip 64 and a battery 72 for supplying power to the sound chip 64. The sound chip 64 of the sound assembly 60 produces a sound 68 which corresponds to the sound 68 of the animal face 48. For example, a lamb animal face (not shown) would produce a baah-baah sound, a cow animal face 52 would produce a moo-moo sound or a pig animal face 54 would produce an oink-oink sound. Further, the sound chip 64 may produce a voice 68 repeating the nursery rhyme the “Three Little Pigs” from the pig animal face 54, when the user activates the push button 70 on animal face 48, as shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings.
The three-[0027] dimensional unit 40 can be permanently attached to the ankle section 26 of hosiery sock 20 by attachment means 80 in the form of stitching 82, sewing, gluing, laser welding and the like, as depicted in FIGS. 3 and 5. In an alternate configuration, the three-dimensional unit 140 can also be detachably mounted to the ankle section 26 of hosiery sock 20 by attachment means 180 in the form of buttons 84 and button eyelets 86, hook and loop fasteners 88 and 90, and male and female snaps 92 and 94, as depicted in FIGS. 4, 7 and 8 of the drawings, respectively.
In an alternate design configuration, the three-[0028] dimensional units 40 or 140 can have a front cover section 42 in the form of a caricature-type face, a doll-like body, a humanoid or animal-type body such as a happy face, a man-in-the-moon, a clown, a teddy bear, an action figure (i.e., Superman™, Spiderman™, the Hulk™, etc.) or an entertainer (i.e., Elvis, Madonna, Celine, etc.) and the like. In addition, the sound chip 64 of the sound assembly 60 produces a sound or voice 68 which corresponds to the sound or voice 68 from the caricature-type face, or from the animal or humanoid-type body such that the happy face (not shown) would produce a laughing sound, the clown (not shown) would produce a honking sound from a horn, or the Elvis face or Elvis body (not shown) would produce singing from a song (i.e. “You Ain't Nothing But a Hound Dog”®).

OPERATION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

In operating the talking [0029] hosiery sock 10 of the present invention, the user simply presses inwardly the activation button 70 of the speaker assembly 60 on a nose area 48 a of the animal face 48 with the use of the user's finger 12 while the hosiery sock 20 is on the foot 14 of an infant or child (not shown); as shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings. The user can repeatedly press the activation button 70 to produce the sound or voice 68 coming from the speaker 66 of sound chip 64 on the child's foot 14.
Further, the three-[0030] dimensional unit 140 can be detachably removed from the ankle section 26 of the hosiery sock 20, such that the user simply unbuttons the buttons 84 from the bottom eyelets 86, or removes hook fastener 88 from the loop fastener 90 or re-snaps the male snaps 92 from the female snaps 94, as shown in FIGS. 4, 7 and 8 of the drawing. This aforementioned procedure affords the user the capability of washing the sock(s) without damaging the sound assembly 60 within the three-dimensional 140, such that the unit 140 is not washed. After washing the hosiery sock 20, the user buttons, fastens or snaps back the aforementioned attachment means 180 as previously described for attaching the three-dimensional unit 140 to the ankle section 26 of hosiery sock 20.

ADVANTAGES OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Accordingly, advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a novel talking hosiery sock having an animal face thereon that produces animal-type sounds upon squeezing the decorative animal face on the ankle section of the hosiery sock. [0031]
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a talking hosiery sock having a decorative face on a three-dimensional unit that includes a sound assembly therein, wherein the sound assembly includes a sound chip, a speaker for transmitting the sound of the sound chip, a battery for supplying power to the sound chip and an activation button for activating the sound of the sound chip. [0032]
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a talking hosiery sock having a decorative face or a caricature-type face on a three-dimensional unit in the form of an animal face such as a frog, a pig, a cow, a lamb, a monkey, a pony, a donkey, a duck, a mouse, a lion cub, a bear cub, a puppy, a kitten, a purple dinosaur or other animals; or in the form of a caricature-type face, figurine or body such as a happy face, a man-in-the-moon, a clown, an action figure (i.e., Superman™, Spiderman™, the Hulk™ etc.) or an entertainer (i.e., Elvis, Madonna, Celine, etc.), and the like. [0033]
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a talking hosiery sock wherein the sound chip of the sound assembly produces a sound which corresponds to the sound of the animal face or action figure or entertainer, such that a lamb animal face would produce a baah-baah sound, or an action figure “SUPERMAN™” would produce the theme music from the “SUPERMAN™” movie or an ELVIS figure/face would sing “You Ain't Nothing But a Hound Dog”.®[0034]
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a talking hosiery sock that has a three-dimensional unit permanently attached to the ankle section of the hosiery sock by means of stitching, sewing, gluing, laser welding or the like. [0035]
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a talking hosiery sock that has a three-dimensional unit detachably mounted to the ankle section of the hosiery sock by means of buttons, hook and loop fasteners (Velcro™), male and female snaps and the like for enabling the wearer to launder the hosiery sock by detaching the three-dimensional unit from the ankle section of the hosiery sock. [0036]
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a talking hosiery sock that is used by infants, young children, pre-teens, and teenagers as novel and decorative footwear. [0037]
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a talking hosiery sock that can be mass-produced in an automated and economical manner and is readily affordable by the user. [0038]
A latitude of modification, change, and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure, and in some instances, some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention herein. [0039]

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. Hosiery with a sound device, comprising:

a) a hosiery sock having a foot section, a heel section, and an ankle section;

b) a three-dimensional unit attached to said ankle section;

c) said three-dimensional unit including a sound chip, a speaker for transmitting the sound of said sound chip, an activation button for activating the sound produced by said sound chip, a battery for supplying power to said sound chip and a decorative cover having an animal face thereon; and

d) said sound chip producing a sound which corresponds to the sound that the animal face makes.

2. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 1, wherein said three-dimensional unit is attached to said ankle section by attachment means in the form of stitching, sewing, gluing, laser welding, hook and loop fasteners, snaps or buttons.

3. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 1, wherein said three-dimensional unit further includes a filler material in order to give volume to said three-dimensional unit.

4. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 3, wherein said sound chip, speaker, battery and activation are button are embedded within said filler material for protecting said sound chip and speaker.

5. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 3, wherein said filler material is matted cotton fibers, polyester fibers or combinations thereof.

6. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 1, wherein said animal face is selected from a group consisting of a frog, a pig, a cow, a lamb, a monkey, a pony, a donkey, a duck, a mouse, a lion cub, a bear cub, a puppy, a kitten, a purple dinosaur and other animals.

7. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 1, wherein said decorative cover of said three-dimensional unit is made from materials selected from the group consisting of cotton, wool, polyester, nylon, rayon and combinations thereof.

8. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 2, wherein said three-dimensional unit is permanently attached to said ankle section.

9. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 2, wherein said three-dimensional unit is detachably mounted to said ankle section.

10. Hosiery with a sound device, comprising:

a) a hosiery sock having a foot section, a heel section, and an ankle section;

b) a three-dimensional unit attached to said ankle section;

c) said three-dimensional unit including a sound chip, a speaker for transmitting the sound or voice of said sound chip, an activation button for activating the sound or voice produced by said sound chip, a battery for supplying power to said sound chip and a decorative cover having a face thereon; and

d) said sound chip producing a sound or voice which corresponds to the sound or voice that the face makes.

11. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 10, wherein said face is in the form of a caricature-type face, or an entertainer/celebrity face.

12. A hosiery sock in accordance claim 10, wherein said three-dimensional unit is attached to said ankle section by attachment means in the form of stitching, sewing, gluing, laser welding, hook and loop fasteners, snaps or buttons.

13. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 11, wherein said three-dimensional unit is permanently attached to said ankle section.

14. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 11, wherein said three-dimensional unit is detachably mounted to said ankle section.

15. Hosiery with a sound device, comprising:

a) a hosiery sock having a foot section, a heel section, and an ankle section;

b) a three-dimensional unit attached to said ankle section;

c) said three-dimensional unit including a sound or voice chip, a speaker for transmitting the sound or voice of said sound chip, an activation button for activating the sound or voice produced by said sound chip, an activation button for activating the sound chip produced by said sound chip, a battery for supplying power to said sound chip and a decorative cover having a figure-type body thereon; and

d) said sound chip producing a sound or voice which corresponds to the sound or voice that the figure-type body makes.

16. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 15, wherein said figure-type body is in the form of a caricature-type body, a doll-like body, an animal-type body or an entertainer/celebrity-type body.

17. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 15, wherein said three-dimensional unit is attached to said ankle section by attachment means in the form of stitching, sewing, gluing, laser welding, hook and loop fasteners, snaps or buttons.

18. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 15, wherein said three-dimensional unit is permanently attached to said ankle section.

19. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 15, wherein said three-dimensional unit is detachably mounted to said ankle section.

20. Hosiery with a decorative device, comprising:

a) a hosiery sock having a foot section, a heel section, and an ankle section; and

b) a three-dimensional decorative device in the form of an animal face attached to said ankle section.

21. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 20, wherein said three-dimensional decorative device is attached to said ankle section by attachment means in the form of stitching, sewing, gluing, laser welding, hook and loop fasteners, snaps or buttons.

22. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 20, wherein said three-dimensional decorative device further includes a filler material in order to give volume to said three-dimensional decorative device.

23. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 20, wherein said animal face is selected from a group consisting of a frog, a pig, a cow, a lamb, a monkey, a pony, a donkey, a duck, a mouse, a lion cub, a bear cub, a puppy, a kitten, a purple dinosaur and other animals.

24. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 20, wherein said decorative device is made from materials selected from the group consisting of cotton, wool, polyester, nylon, rayon and combinations thereof.

25. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 21, wherein said three-dimensional decorative device is permanently attached to said ankle section.

26. A hosiery sock in accordance with claim 21, wherein said three-dimensional decorative is detachably mounted to said ankle section.