Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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B_CKG_OUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a novel construction for supporting sport
stockings for example hockey stockings.
In the prior art, various proposals have been made to support the protective
equipment and also for securing stockings. According to the general practice, hockey
stockings were supported by means OI garter-type supports. For example, please refer
to US patent 3,787,892 (the entire contents of which is herein incorporated by
reference). However, this equipment hacl numerous disadvantages due to the lack of
support provided by same and the discomfort imposed on the wearer.
Another support is found in US patent 4,811,427 (the entire contents of which
is herein incorporated by reference). The invention disclosed in this reference is
directed to an athletic garment for protecting the genital area of the wearer. In an
alternative embodiment, the invention is described as including a support for securing
stockings. This support includes an inner and an outer pant, the outer pant is
provided with a pair of VelcroTM fasteners of the type formed with a multiplicity of
filament-like hooks. This support suffered many disadvantages, for example, the
fasteners are not compatible with different types of stockings and moreover, thefilament-like hooks has the tendency to damage the fibers of the stockings.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a sport garment provided with
means to secure stockings and prevent same from creeping downward and which willeliminate the use of conventional garter-type fasteners.
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It would further be advantageous to have a sport garment having securing
means for stockings and which will not damage the latter. It would, thus, in
particular, be advantageous to have supporting means for a sport garment which will
provide an easy way to engage with and disengage from the stockings while
maintaining same in place during a game. It would also be advantageous to have asport garment which is comfortable and snug to wear and does not impede the
player's movements.
It would be particularly advantageous to have a sport garment of the above
soJt and which will provide a good support for securing different kind of sport
stockings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As mentioned above, the present invention relates to a sport garment suitable
for supporting sport stockings.
- More particularly in accordance s1vith an aspect, the present invention relates
to a sport garment for supporting stockings, the stockings being of the type including
. an expandable or stretchable upper section, said garment comprises:
- pant element including waist securing means so as to secure the
garment to the waist of the wearer and two pant leg portions;
- supporting means secured to said pant leg portions;
wherein sakl supporting means comprises a plurality of rigidly extending hook means
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being configured to co-operate with the upper section; the hook means having a
certain size; said supporeing means being engaged with the hook means by radially,
outwardly and upwardly expanding the said upper section of the stockings so that the
hook means penetrate the material of the stockings; the hook means being so co-
operative with the material of the stockings that, to disengage the latter, the upper
section of the stockings is radially, outwardly and downwardly expanded to disengage
same from the hook means of the supporting means; the expansion of the expandable
or stretchable portion of the stockings necessary to engage and disengage the material
of the stockings to and away from the hook means being at least the size of the hook
means.
Thus, for example:
A sport garment, in accordance with the present invention may comprise an
upper flexible part ha~ing a portion intended to surround the waist of the wearer. A
pair of thigh portions are included for snugly encompassing the upper legs of the
wearer. Supporting elements secured to the thigh portions include a rectangular
plastic base provided with a plurality of generally C-shaped hooks (in cross-section~.
The hooks are disposed in a generally horizontal arrangement. Each of the plastic
bases is made from a flexible material so that same can conform with the upper leg
- of the wearer and therefore, increase the comfort of the garment. The plastic base
is secured to the outer surface of the pant by any suitable means including stitching.
The first plastic base is secured to the thigh portion in the front portion while the
second base is diametrically secured in the rear portion of the pant. The second thigh
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portion is a rnirror image of the first portion. The hooks are preferably made from
the same material as the bases and typically are unitary with the bases. The hooks
will of course be numbered, sized and so constructed as to take factors into account
such as skating movement from the wearer or player and stress created by his
S movement. For example, there may be 11 hooks per base. ~is will ensure that the
stockings remain in position. The stockings are engaged with the hooks by radially,
outwardly and upwardly expanding their upper section to a certain distance and by
forcing the penetration of the hooks into the material of the stockings. To disengage
the stockings from the hooks, a similar movement is necessary, that is, radially,
outwardly and downwardly expanding the stockings so as to disengage the hooks from
the material of the stockings.
In accordallce with a particular aspect, the present invention provides a hockeygarment for supporting hockey stockings, said garment comprising an upper flexible
pant element having a portion intended to surround the waist of the wearer. A pair
of thigh portions are included for snugly encompassing the upper legs of the wearer.
~upporting elennents secured to the thigh portions include a rectangular plastic base
provided with a plurality of generally C-shaped hooks (in cross-section). The hooks
are disposed in a generally horizontal arrangement on each base. Each of the plastic
bases is made from a flexible material so that same can conform with the upper leg
of the wearer and therefore, increase the comfort of the garment. The plastic base
is secured to the outer surface of the pant by any suitable means including stitching.
The first plastic base is secured to the thigh portion in the front portion while the
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second base is diametrically secured in the rear portion of the pant. The second thigh
portion is a mirror image of the first portion. The hooks are preferably made from
the same material as the bases and typically are unitary with the bases. 'rhe hooks
will of course be numbered, sized and so constructed as to take factors into account
such as skating movement from the player and stress created by such skating
movement. Experience has shown that eleven hooks per base should be sufficient
for securing hockey stockings. This will ensure that the stockings remain in position.
` The stockings is engaged with the hooks by radially, outwarclly and upwardly
expanding the upper section of the stockings to a certain distance and by forcing the
penetration of the hooks into the material of the stockings. To disengage the
stockings from the hooks, a similar movement is necessary, that is, radially, outwardly
and downwardly expanding the stockings so as to disengage the hooks from the
material of the stockings.
In accordance with the present invention, it shall be understood that the
expression "pant element" or "flexible part" is intended to include a pant being either
~ long or short.
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D~SCRIP ON OF DRAWINGS
One exemplary embodiment of the invention is described in more detail below
with reference to the drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the sport garment in accordance
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with the present invention;
Figure 2 is a left side view of the sport garment of figure 1;
Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the supporting means of the sport
garment in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 4 is a right side view of the supporting means of figure 1 shown in
a larger scale;
Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to figures 1 to 4, there
is shown the sport garrnent S in accordance with the present invention. The garment
5 comprises a pant element 10 including a waist securing means 15 comprising a
waistband 20 which can include a drawstring 25. The drawstring 25 and the waistband
are used to secure the sport garment 5 to the wearer or player and to maintain same
in position. ~s indicated before, the pant element 10 can include a long or a short
pant leg portion. The waistband 20 can also include other snugging devices such as
snap, button or hook (not shown). Preferably, the pant element 10 should be madeof an elasticized fabric which will stretch to increase the cornfort and which will
conform to the normal configuration of the wearer. The sport garment S in
accordance with the present invention is preferably adapted to be worn as an
undergarment, however same can be used with overgarments.
The sport garment 5 comprises pant leg portions or thigh portions, a left 28
and a right 29 to which is secured the supporting means 30 in accordance with the
present invention. The sport garment 5 includes a crotch portion indicated generally
by reference numeral 32. The crotch portion 32 can be provided with a pocket 33 to
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receive and retain a protective cup (not shown). In the enclosed figures, the pant leg
portions are substantially thigh length. In a preferred embodiment as shown in figures
1 and 2, the supporting means 30 includes four identical elements 35, two of which
are secured to the outer surface of the front portion 40 of the sport garment 5 and
tWQ on the outer surface of the back portion 45 of same. It should be noted that it
is preferable to secure the stockings at these two locations, that is at the locations
indicated by reference numbers 40 and 45. By so doing, a greater movement is
allowed to the player or wearer and no undue restriction to the player's movement
is imposed. It is within the scope of the present invention, however, that the
supporting means 30 can be positioned elsewhere on the periphery of the pant legportions 2~ or 29. With re~rence to figure 3, the elements 35 includes a generally
rectangular base 36 on which is fixed a plurality of hook means 50 as also illustrated
in the enlarged view found in figure 4. It is to be understood that the base 36 can be
- of any other shape, such as an oval or a square. With reference to figure 4,
preferably, the base 36 is made from plastic or other suitable material, however the
thickness of the base should be relatively small since same must easily conform with
the wearer's thighs. In the embodiment shown, the hook means 50 comprises a
;: generally C-shaped element when viewed in cross-section. The hook means 50 is
preferably made unitary with the base 36 of the elements 35, for example, these two
elements can be moulded in one single element. The hook means 50 extend generally
horizontal from the base 36 to a certain distance from same. Preferably, the front
section 51 should be parallel to the base 36 so as not to present any sharp surface to
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the wearer.
The distance S5 between the hook means 50 and the base 36 should be
sufficient to accommodate the material of the stockings such as woollen material.
Experiences have shown that the distance 55 should be in the order of 1,5 mm andS that eleven hooks per base 36 should be sufficient to ensure proper support for
normal adult stockings. 'rhe pant leg portions 28 and 29 are intended to snugly
encornpass the upper leg of the wearer and same should be rnade of a light-weight
materials but such material rnust also absorb perspiration. In use, the player wears
the upper flexible pant element 10 to his\her waist and secures same by means of the
waist securing means 15 in the same way as the player would do with a conventional
short. ~hen, each of the stockings 60 (see figure 2) are secured to the hook means
S0 by radially, outwardly and upwardly expanding the upper section of sarne until the
hook means 50 penetrate into an opening thus created in the material of the stockings
60. A similar movement is necessary to engage the supporting means 50 located inthe front 40 and in the back 45 portions of the sport garment S. To disengage the
stockings 60 from the hook means S0, the wearer has to expand the upper section of
the stockings 60 in a radially, outwardly and downwardly movement until the material
of the stockings 60 is disengaged from the hook means 50. The supporting means 30
can be sewn directly to the pant leg portion 10, glued or otherwise secured to same.
It will be understood further that variations or rnodifications can be undertaken
in the module illustrated and described by those skilled in the art without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For
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example, the dimensions and shape mentioned above were given only for the sake of
clarity and shall not be construed as limiting in any way the invention. Furthermore,
for a particular application the number of hooks can be increased or decreased. In
the present disclosure, the supporting means has been shown as comprising a baseelement to which is secured a plurality of horizontally extending hooks, however, it
is within the scope of the present invention to provide a sport garment including
horizontally extending hooks as disclosed in the above disclosure but mounted directly
on the surface of the pant element on the entire periphery or only on a section of
same. In addition, the pant element can be constructed in various styles and shapes
for example, the supporting means 30 in accordance with the present invention can
be secured to a conventional long unde~wear. The sport garment S as described
above is easily adapted to be worn in juxtaposition with the body surface of thewearer or if desired, a conventional underwear can be employed. The bottom end
of the pant leg portion can be provided with fastening means 70 which can be
tightened to provide a snug fit. These fastening means 70 can comprise VelcroTM
tape.
In the foregoing description certain terms have been used for brevity, clearnessand understanding, but no necessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond
the requirements of the prior art, because such words are used for descriptive
purposes herein and are intended to be broadly construed.
