Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02750817 2013-03-14
1
CUT-RESISTANT HOCKEY SOCK
[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] Embodiments of the present invention relates to a hockey sock.
More particularly they relate to a hockey sock provided with a cut-resistant
liner feature.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Hockey socks are ankle-to-thigh garments worn over protective
gear by ice hockey players. Traditionally, they are form-fitting and are
made of a cotton, synthetic, or blended rib-knit fabric. "Hockey socks"
should not be confused with "hockey skate socks" which are thin socks
worn over the foot inside the skate in the same manner as socks worn
inside shoes. The hockey sock generally are held up either by a garter or
attached to undershorts with hook-and-loop fabric fastener tabs. Some
players keep their socks tucked inside the upper ankle area of their skates,
but other wear their socks pulled down over the outside heel of their
skates. Many organized hockey teams wear hockey socks in designated
team colors, which may be complementary to the team jersey.
[0004] One of the risks faced by hockey players is injury when the
sharpened blade of a skate (worn by another player or oneself) comes into
contact with the player. A resulting cut may range from a shallow cut or
scrape to a deep wound that can sever muscles and/or tendons. For
example, a player who falls to the ice during play may expose his calf and
Achilles tendon to debilitating injury by another player who slides into him.
[0005] Some "hockey skate socks" have been developed using cut-
resistant aramid fibers. These thin socks are worn next to the skin, and ¨
CA 02750817 2011-08-29
2
as a result of the physical properties of the fibers with which they are made
cannot typically be dyed in a color-fast manner that would promote player
use and compliance with uniform rules in hockey leagues. They may be
screen printed or the like, but the regular washing of socks of this type
(e.g., by school age and other non-major league/professional hockey
players) may weaken the aramid fibers and may erode any printed
pattern/color.
[0006] Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide protective
equipment that protects against such injury without impairing the mobility
of a player wearing the equipment. It would further be advantageous to
provide equipment of a type already in common use that would further
provide protection against such injury. It would also be advantageous to
provide cut-resistance in an outermost hockey garment such as a hockey
sock, which will permit any underlying layers of garments, equipment, or
the like to potentially assist in further protection.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0007] In one aspect, embodiments of the present invention may include
a hockey sock including a cut-resistant liner separate from an outer layer.
Certain embodiments may include more than one cut-resistant layer.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 shows a pair of hockey socks;
[0009] FIG. 2 shows an external view of a dual-layer hockey sock;
[0010] FIG. 3 shows a perspective lateral section view of the hockey
sock of FIG. 2, with a lining layer displayed; and
[0011] FIG. 4 shows a view of the hockey sock of FIG. 2, with an
intermediate length of an outer layer removed to display a lining inner
layer.
CA 02750817 2011-08-29
3
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] Embodiments are described with reference to the drawings in
which like elements are generally referred to by like numerals. The
relationship and functioning of the various elements of the embodiments
may better be understood by reference to the following detailed
description. However, embodiments are not limited to those illustrated in
the drawings. It should be understood that the drawings are not
necessarily to scale, and in certain instances details may have been
omitted that are not necessary for an understanding of embodiments of the
present invention, such as ¨ for example ¨conventional fabrication and
assembly. The present invention now will be described more fully
hereinafter. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different
forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth
herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will
be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention
to those skilled in the art. As used in this specification and the claims, the
singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the
context clearly dictates otherwise.
[0013] FIG. 1 shows a pair of hockey socks 100 of the present
invention, including a multi-colored striped pattern on its exterior. FIG. 2
shows a side view of a single hockey sock 100. The sock 100 is open at
its top end 102 and at its bottom end 104, forming a tapered tube or
generally tube-like shape configured and dimensioned to accommodate
and fit to a player's leg, including any underlying equipment (e.g., shin
guards, thigh pads, etc.). A smaller-diameter portion near the bottom
end 104 may allow a player to tuck the sock 100 into his skate or to have it
closely fit around the skate's exterior. The visible outer layer 110 may
include or completely be constructed of, for example, a textured polyester
fiber, cotton, or a combination thereof, as well as any other appropriate
knitted, woven, or non-woven textile material. In preferred embodiments,
CA 02750817 2011-08-29
4
the outer layer 110 may be dyed during and/or after construction, and/or
may incorporate dyed or otherwise colored yarn and/or other construction
materials that will be useful and likely to be used by players desiring (or ¨
subject to rules ¨ needing) to have certain colors in their hockey socks.
For example, the sock may include colored material selected to provide a
desired color scheme such as official team colors, or some other pre-
determined color and/or color-combination.
[0014] FIG. 3 shows an upper portion of the sock 100 of FIG. 3, viewed
along a lateral section taken across line 3-3 of FIG. 2. The outer layer 110
surrounds an inner layer 112. The inner layer 112 includes an ultra-high
molecular weight polyethylene yarn (e.g., commercially available under the
trade name Dyneema ). In various embodiments, the liner/ inner
layer 112 may include, consist of, or consist essentially of the ultra-high
molecular weight polyethylene yarn, which may be woven or may be knit,
for example, as a half-cardigan fabric. The liner 112 may be woven, knit,
or any combination thereof. FIG. 4 shows the hockey sock of FIG. 2, with
an intermediate portion of the outer layer 110 removed for illustrative
purposes only to show the liner 112. In the embodiment shown, the
liner 112 is attached to the outer layer 110 only along a circumferential
upper seam 106 near the upper end 102 and/or a circumferential lower
seam 108 near the lower end 104. At least one or more other points
and/or seams of contact between the liner 112 and the outer layer 110
may be provided in other embodiments between near the upper end and
near the lower end, but with a significant surface portion of each of the
outer layer 110 and the liner 112 being disposed in a "floating" relationship
between contact regions. Each of the outer layer 110 and the liner 112
preferably will include at least one layer of material, but each of the outer
layer 110 and the liner 112 may include more than one layer of material.
In embodiments where the outer layer 110 and/or the liner 112 includes
more than one layer of material, those other layers may include the same
or different construction and composition than each other. Stated
CA 02750817 2011-08-29
differently, a first layer 110 will include at least one layer of material,
but
may ¨ in other embodiments that will readily be understood ¨ include a
plurality of layers, each of which may differ from the others. In like
manner, a second, inner, layer 112 will include at least one layer of the cut-
resistant material described above, but may ¨ in other embodiments that
will readily be understood ¨ include a plurality of layers, each of which may
differ from the others. As such, each of the outer layer 110 and the
liner 112 may include multilayer construction. Those of skill in the art will
readily appreciate that the floating construction and other construction
features described above with reference to two-layer-only embodiment will
readily apply to such further multilayer embodiments, within the scope of
the present disclosure.
[0015] This construction may enhance the cut-resistance feature of the
hockey sock 100. The liner fabric 112 made of ultra-high molecular weight
polyethylene yarn most preferably will have cut-resistant properties
inherent in the yarn and aided by the knit or woven nature of the fabric,
such that it is configured to resist significant cutting penetration by a
hockey skate blade. The "floating" relationship between a significant
surface portion of each of the outer layer 110 and the liner 112 may
provide for extra energy absorption and redirection in the kind of glancing
blow that may commonly be expected when a skate blade contacts the
hockey sock 100 being worn by a player during skating/ game-play
conditions.
[0016] Although no standardized test is known for measuring cut-
resistance of hockey socks being contacted by skate blades, exemplary
embodiments have been tested under conditions believed to approximate
those that could be encountered in a skating/ game-play situation. For
each test, a sock specimen was mounted onto a legform (as used for
testing under "BS EN 13061, Protective Clothing; Shin guards for
association football players requirements and test"). A rubber pad,
1.27 cm (0.5 inches) thick was placed over the legform to simulate muscle
CA 02750817 2013-03-14
6
and skin of a human leg. The sharpened edge standard hockey skate
blade was directed into the simulated leg using a tracked drop tower. In
the control tests, the simulated leg was sheathed in a standard single-layer
hockey sock made of a knit cotton polyester blend. The blade penetrated
through the sock and through the 0.5 inches of material at an average
velocity of 6.28 m/sec. However, in the tests of the test embodiment of a
lined sock of the type described above with reference to FIGS. 1-4
(specifically embodied with an outer layer of a knit textured polyester and
recycled cotton and an inner layer of Dyneemae yarn knitted as a half-
cardigan fabric), even skate speeds in excess of 8.2 m/sec did not cut
through the 0.5 inches of material (a >30% increase in the speed/energy of
blade attack, which was the maximum velocity attainable on the testing
equipment used). In each of the experimental operations using the
legform sheathed with a lined hockey sock 100, the liner remained intact or
substantially intact.
[0017] While particular embodiments of the present invention have been
illustrated and described, the scope of the claims should not be limited by
the embodiments set forth in the examples, but should be given the
broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.
