Abstract:
An ankle and foot protector accessory for hockey players includes a front flexible vertically elongated rectangular instep protector pad constructed of fabric laminations having formed therebetween a vertical series of laterally elongated pockets, each holding an impact force attenuating shield made of a strip of hard, elastic material such as high density polyethylene (HDPE). Flexible laminated ankle protector pads protruding from opposite vertical sides of the instep protector pad are bendable over opposite sides of a skate and releasably secured by a strap and buckle protruding from opposed pads. Each ankle protector pad has a pocket holding an impact force attenuating shield consisting of a circular meniscus-shaped, outwardly convex shell made of an elastic material such as HDPE, which. reversibly deforms into a concave shape upon impact, thus attenuating forces transmitted to the ankles. Optionally, one or more shields may be backed by a resilient material such as a gel.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to accessories for use by players engaging in the sport of hockey. More particularly, the invention relates to a protector accessory which fits over the skate of a hockey player to minimize injuries to the foot and ankle of the player. 
     B. Description of Background Art 
     Ice hockey has long been a popular group sport for young people to participate in. It is also a very popular spectator sport in which fans can watch their favorite grade school, high school, college or professional hockey teams engage competing teams. 
     Probably one of the main reasons that people enjoy watching or playing hockey games is the speed at which play occurs. Players accelerate quickly on the ice, and skate between goals at opposite ends of an ice rink at speeds up to 15 miles per hour. A pair of goal nets is positioned at opposite long ends of the ice rink. Goal points are scored by launching a disk-shaped puck made of a very hard rubber into an opponent&#39;s net which is guarded by a goalie stationed at the net. The puck is launched by striking it with an L-shaped stick, to thus propel it along the ice or through the air into the goal net. 
     Originally, hockey sticks were made of a tough hard wood such as ash. Using traditional hard wood sticks, a puck could be accelerated to speeds of about 35 to 45 mph. Thus, it can be easily understood that a hard rubber puck, weighing about 8-10 ounces and traveling at 40 mph. can cause painful injuries if it impacts a player. Since a puck is launched from the surface of an ice rink, the puck generally travels along the surface of the ice or at relatively low elevations above the surface of the ice. Therefore, the most common impact areas of a player who inadvertently gets in the way of a speeding puck are the player&#39;s skates, feet and ankles. 
     Modernly, wooden hockey sticks have been replaced with sticks made of aluminum, fiberglass, or synthetic composite materials. The newer hockey sticks are more durable than the older wooden sticks, and have the advantage of enabling pucks to be launched at much higher speeds. Modern hockey sticks made of such materials are capable of accelerating pucks to speeds as great as twice that attainable with the older wooden sticks, e.g., 70 mph. as opposed to 35 mph. Since the kinetic energy of a moving object is proportional to the square of its velocity, pucks launched with the newer sticks can have kinetic energies of the order of four times that of pucks launched using a wooden hockey stick. Accordingly, the potential for receiving painful and potentially serious injuries from a flying puck in modern hockey games if quite substantial. 
     The potential for painful if not serious injuries to the feet and ankles exists for all hockey players, and particularly so if they are participants in games in which the newer aluminum or composite sticks are used. The problem of potential injuries exists for both professional hockey players, and members of amateur grade school, high school and college teams. Also, because of the increasing popularity of hockey, there are increasing numbers of amateur hockey players who are not necessarily affiliated with a school or college. Accordingly, there is an increasing need for providing some means of protecting the ankles and feet of hockey players from injuries caused by pucks flying at higher speeds. 
     One solution to the problem of protecting the ankles and feet of a hockey player from impact injuries caused by flying hockey pucks is to use the obvious expedient of positioning some sort of padding medium over likely and vulnerable impact regions of the feet and ankles. Thus, there have been proposed various sorts of cushioning or padding accessories which are incorporated into the instep and/or ankle side regions of hockey skates, or as parts of straps which may be attached over skates on a player&#39;s feet. However, such protective articles have not been widely adopted, for a number of reasons. 
     One problem with prior art protectors for hockey players&#39; feet and ankles is that some such devices are custom made of expensive materials such as carbon fibers, and, at a cost of several hundred dollars per skate, effectively place such articles beyond the practical reach of most amateur players. 
     Simpler and cheaper feet protector devices for hockey players have been proposed which utilize an elastomeric insert, or a flowable gel to absorb impact energy of a flying puck. However, these devices have proved ineffective because they generally transmit the full impact shock of a flying puck to parts of the ankle or foot. 
     The limitations of prior art ankle and foot protectors for hockey players discussed above was a primary motivation for the present invention. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide an impact force attenuating accessory which fits over the instep and ankle regions of a skate worn by a hockey player to thereby reduce the magnitude of impact forces exerted by a flying hockey puck on the ankle and foot of a hockey player. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide an impact force attenuating accessory for hockey players which fits over the skate and includes a vertically disposed front instep protector pad, and two angularly upwardly and rearwardly disposed ankle side protector pads which extend laterally outwardly and upwardly from opposite vertical sides of the instep pad. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide an impact force attenuating accessory for hockey players which includes a front vertically disposed instep protector pad and a pair of left and right ankle side protector pads that protrude laterally outwards from left and right vertical sides of the instep protector pad, each ankle side protector pad having a pocket which holds therein a force attenuating shield consisting of a convex meniscus-shaped insert shell which is made of an elastically deformable polymer material. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide an impact force attenuating accessory which is removably attachable to a hockey skate and includes a front vertically disposed instep protector pad and left and right ankle side protector pads that protrude laterally outwards from left and right vertical sides of the instep protector pad, each ankle side protector pad having a pocket containing an outwardly convex meniscus-shaped insert made of an elastically deformable polymer, such as high density polyethylene (HDPE), outer lateral sides of the ankle side protector having protruding laterally outwards therefrom a strap and buckle, respectively, for securing the side ankle protectors in position over the ankle sides of a player&#39;s skate. 
     Various other objects and advantages of the present invention, and its most novel features, will become apparent to those skilled in the art by perusing the accompanying specification, drawings and claims. 
     It is to be understood that although the invention disclosed herein is fully capable of achieving the objects and providing the advantages described, the characteristics of the invention described herein are merely illustrative of the preferred embodiments. Accordingly, I do not intend that the scope of my exclusive rights and privileges in the invention be limited to details of the embodiments described. I do intend that equivalents, adaptations and modifications of the invention reasonably inferable from the description contained herein be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Briefly stated, the present invention comprehends an impact force attenuating energy dissipating ankle and foot protector accessory which is removably attachable over an ice skate worn by a hockey player, and which protects the ankle and foot of a player from painful and potentially serious injuries which can be caused by a flying hockey puck impacting the feet and ankles of a player. 
     According to the invention, a pair of identical accessories is provided, each of which is interchangeably attachable over the left or right skate of a hockey player. 
     Each impact force attenuating energy dissipating ankle and foot protector accessory for hockey players according to the present invention includes a front, flexible vertically elongated rectangular instep protector pad which is positionable over the instep or front lace area of a hockey skate. Preferably, outer corners of left and right upper and lower edges of the instep protector pad have convex, arcuately curved edges, thus giving the instep protector pad in plan view the shape of a vertically oriented race track. 
     The instep protector pad of the ankle and foot protector accessory according to the present invention preferably is made of a durable, flexible fabric such as ballistic nylon which has inner and outer laminations that have formed therebetween adjacent laterally elongated, rectangularly-shaped pockets. In an example embodiment, the instep protector pad has a lower rectangularly-shaped pocket which has a lower sewn edge located a short distance above the lower eyelets, two intermediate pockets of approximately the same size and shape as the lower pocket located above and spaced apart from the lower pocket, and an upper pocket located above the upper lateral edge of the upper one of the two intermediate pockets. Each pocket contains therein an impact force attenuating shield consisting of a thin, generally rectangularly-shaped strip of a hard, elastically deformable material such as high density polyethylene (HDPE) which is effective in attenuating the impact force of a hockey puck. Optionally, the hard force attenuating strips may be backed by resilient or gel-filled pads. 
     The arrangement of vertically spaced apart pockets each containing a separate hard insert enables the instep protector pad to be bendable into a rearwardly facing arcuately curved convex shape which is conformable to the concave front lacing area of an ice skate which overlies the instep area of a skater&#39;s foot. 
     In a preferred embodiment of a protective accessory according to the present invention, the instep protector pad has located a short distance above a lower transversely disposed horizontal edge of the pad a pair of horizontally aligned eyelets which are laterally spaced apart from a longitudinal center line of the pad. The eyelets are provided to receive therethrough the bottom horizontally disposed segment of a skate&#39;s attaching lace, thus securing the bottom edge of the instep protector pad in position over the lower front portion of the skate&#39;s lacing area and the instep of a skater wearing the skate. 
     Each impact force attenuating, energy absorbing ankle and foot protector accessory also includes a pair of left and right ankle side protector pads which protrude laterally outwards from left and right vertical sides of the front vertically disposed instep protector pad. Each ankle protector pad is flexibly bendable rearward from the instep protector pad, and secureable in place to overlie outer and inner ankle sides of a skater by a strap and buckle which protrude outwardly from outer edges of the ankle protector pads. 
     Each ankle protector pad of each ankle and foot protector accessory has a pocket in which is contained a force attenuating shield consisting of an outwardly, convex, circular meniscus-shaped insert shell which is made of relatively hard, elastically deformable material such as high density polyethylene (HDPE). The meniscus-shaped HDPE insert shell is reversibly deformable into a concave shape upon being impacted by a flying hockey puck. This deformation is highly effective in absorbing energy from a flying puck, and substantially attenuating impact forces on a skater&#39;s ankles. Optionally, the concave rear surface of each meniscus-shaped hard insert may be backed by a resilient or gel-filled pad. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front elevation view of an impact energy dissipating ankle and foot protector accessory for hockey players according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a rear elevation view of the accessory of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a left side perspective view of the accessory of  FIG. 1 , showing ankle protector pads of the accessory flexed rearwards. 
         FIG. 4  is a right side perspective view of the accessory of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is an upper rear view of the accessory of  FIG. 1 , showing ankle protector pads of the accessory flexed rearwardly from the instep protector part of the accessory. 
         FIG. 6  is a lower rear view of the accessory of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  is a partly broke-away front perspective view of the accessory of  FIG. 1 , showing both meniscus-shaped insert shells and flat energy absorbing insert strips thereof. 
         FIG. 8  is a medial longitudinal sectional view of the meniscus insert shell of  FIG. 7 , showing in phantom a optional resilient or gel filled backing pad. 
         FIG. 9  is a front perspective view of the accessory of  FIG. 1  located in a position preparatory to attaching the accessory to an ice skate. 
         FIG. 10  is a view similar to that of  FIG. 9 , showing the accessory attached to an ice skate. 
         FIG. 11  is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the accessory of  FIG. 9 , showing the relation of a skaters angle side relative to a convex energy dissipation meniscus insert shell of the accessory. 
         FIG. 12  is a view similar to that of  FIG. 11 , but showing a convex energy dissipating meniscus insert shell thereof elastically and reversibly deformed to a concave shape in response to an impact force exerted by a flying puck. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       FIGS. 1-12  illustrate the construction and function of an impact force attenuating energy dissipating ankle and foot protector accessory for hockey players, according to the present invention. The accessory may be removably attached to either the left or right skate worn by a hockey player. Preferably two of the accessories would be used, one for the left skate and one for the right skate. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-6 , it may be seen that an impact force attenuating energy dissipating ankle and foot protector accessory  20  for hockey players includes a front vertically disposed instep protector pad  21 , and left and right ankle protector pads  22 ,  23 , respectively, which extend laterally outwards from opposite vertical sides  24 ,  25  of the instep protector pad. Preferably, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 6 , the left and right protector pads  22 ,  23  are laterally outwardly located parts of a unitary ankle protector component  26 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , ankle protector component  26  has a central generally rectangularly-shaped section  27  which has a flat front surface  28  that is affixed to a flat rear surface  29  of the instep protector pad  21 . As may be seen best by referring to  FIG. 7 , both instep protector pad  21  and left and right ankle protector pads  22 ,  23  of ankle protector component  26  have a laminated construction. Thus, as shown in  FIG. 7 , front instep protector pad  21  includes a front lamination  30 , and a congruently-shaped rear lamination  31 . The front and rear laminations are joined together near the outer peripheral edges thereof by sewn stitching, forming between the front and rear laminations a space  33  having a plan-view shape similar to those of the front and rear laminations. 
     Front and rear laminations  30  and  31  of instep protector pad  21  are preferably made of a tough, flexible fabric such as ballistic nylon. In an example embodiment of protector  20 , the front and rear laminations  30 ,  31  were both made of: 
     1680 denier, 
     Approx. 320 threads per inch 
     12 ounces/square yard 
     3M brand ballistic nylon, purchased from Glen Raven Inc., 1831 North Park Avenue, Glen Raven, N.C. 27217-1100, USA. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , space  33  between inner facing surfaces of front and rear laminations  30 ,  31  of instep protector pad  21  has the shape of a vertically elongated rectangle. Preferably, as shown in  FIG. 1 , each of the four corners of instep protector pad  21  have convex, arcuately curved, i.e., radiused edges, thus giving it the shape of a vertically oriented race track. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the rectangular space  33  within instep protector pad  21  is partitioned into a vertical sequence of parallel laterally elongated rectangularly-shaped pockets  34 - 1 ,  34 - 2 ,  34 - 3  and  34 - 4 . The first or lowest pocket  34 - 1  has a lower horizontally disposed closed edge  35 - 1  which is preferably formed by a horizontally disposed line sewn threaded stitching line. Lowest pocket  34 - 1  also has an upper horizontally disposed edge  35 - 2  which serves as the lower edge for the second pocket  34 - 2 . Similarly, second pocket  34 - 2  has an upper edge  35 - 3  which is co-extensive with the lower edge of third pocket  34 - 3 , third pocket  34 - 3  and has an upper edge  35 - 4  which is co-extensive with the lower edge of fourth, uppermost pocket  34 - 4 , which has an upper sewn edge  35 - 5 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , pockets  34  have a common vertically disposed left edge which also is a sewn joint  36 -L. 
     Referring still to  FIG. 7 , it may be seen that each pocket  34  of instep protector pad  21  contains an impact absorbing protective insert strip  37 . Each protective insert strip  37  consists of thin, laterally elongated, rectangular strip which is made of a tough, flexible material such as high density polyethylene (HDPE). In an example embodiment, each insert strip  37  was made of an inch thick strip of Prime HDPE 250, obtained from Primex Plastics Corporation, 65 River Drive, Garfield, N.J. 07026 USA. As shown in  FIG. 7 , some or all of the pockets  34  of instep protector  21  may optionally include an additional insert  38  located between the rear surface of an insert  37  and the front, inner facing surface  30 L of rear lamination sheet  31 . Insert  38  is made of a resilient material such as Prime HDPE 250 or a capsule filled with a gel such as 150 Gel, Stock # 19661, obtained from Impact Gel Equine, 1540 Heritage Blvd., Suite 201A, West Salem, Wis. 54669 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the right vertical edges of pockets  34  are closed by a common vertically disposed sewn joint  36 -R. As is also shown in  FIGS. 1 and 7 , instep protector  21  preferably has a pair of horizontally aligned grommets or eyelets  40 L,  41 R which are spaced equidistant from opposite sides of a vertical center line and are located a short distance above the lower edge of the instep protector pad  21 . 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 2 and 7 , ankle protector component  26  of ankle and foot protector accessory  20  includes a front lamination  42  and a congruent rear lamination  43  which are joined together near outer peripheral edges thereof, preferably by a peripheral stitched joint  44  which is parallel to and located a short distance inwards of the outer peripheral edges of the laminations, forming between the front and rear laminations a space  44 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , left and right ankle protector pads  22 ,  23  have an identical shape. Each pad  22 ,  23  has a straight vertical inner edge  45 L,  45 R which joins left and right outer edges  46 L,  45 R of rectangular central section  27  of ankle protector component  26 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , a lower end of rectangular central section  27  of ankle protector component  26  is joined to the rear surface  47  of insert protector pad  21  by a horizontally disposed sewn stitched joint  48  which is located a short distance above and parallel to the lower edge  49  of the central section  27 . Preferably lower stitched joint  48  of ankle protector pad central section  27  is coextensive with the upper stitched joint  35 - 2  of lowest insert pocket  34 - 1  of instep protector pad  21 . 
     Referring still to  FIG. 2 , it may be seen that rectangular central section  27  of ankle protector component  26  is joined to rear surface  47  of instep protector pad  21  by a second horizontal stitched joint  50 , which is located above and parallel to first, lower stitched joint  48 . Preferably, stitched joint  50  is coextensive with the upper stitched joint  35 - 3  of second insert pocket  34 - 1  of instep protector pad  21 . This second joint  50  is located at a distance of about one-third the height of the rectangular central section  27  of ankle protector pad component  26 . Thus located, second, upper ankle protector joint  50  serves as a horizontally disposed self-hinge line which enables the upper part of the central section  27  to be flexed rearwardly from the instep protector pad  21 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , it may be seen that left and right ankle protector pads  22 ,  23  of ankle and foot protector accessory  20  have lower generally straight edges  51 L,  51 R which extend obliquely outwards and upwards from the bottom edge  52  of central section  27  of ankle protector component  26 . Outer ends of obliquely upwardly and outwardly angled edges  51 L,  51 R are tangent to generally semi-circularly-shaped left and right pad sections  53 L,  53 R of left and right protector pads  22 ,  23 , respectively. Semi-circular pad sections  53 L,  53 R in turn have upper arcuately curved, convex edges  54 L,  54 R which extend inwardly towards central rectangular section  27  of ankle protector component  26 , and arcuately join the arcuately curved concave upper edge  55  of the central rectangular section. 
     As may be best understood by referring to  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  7 , the laminated construction of ankle protector component  26  of protector accessory  21  forms between the common front and rear laminations  42 , 43  of left and right ankle protector pads  22 ,  23 , left and right generally circular plan-view pockets  55 L,  55 R. As shown in  FIG. 7 , each pocket  55 L,  55 R holds therein a force attenuating insert  56 L,  56 R. As shown in  FIG. 8 , each force attenuating insert  56  has the shape of a section of a thin spherical shell which has a convex outer surface  57  and concave inner surface  58  which is concentric with and generally parallel to the outer convex surface, thus giving the insert the shape of a meniscus. Insert shell  56  is made of a hard, elastically deformable material such as a synthetic polymer. In an example embodiment of accessary  20 , each shell  56  was made of Prime HDPE 250 which had a density of 0.950 grams/cc, an outer radius of curvature of 3.2807 inches, an inner radius of curvature of 3.2207 inches, a thickness of 0.060 inch, and a base diameter of 3.25 inches. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , ankle protector component  26  of ankle and foot protector accessory  20  preferably has a pair of horizontally aligned grommets or eyelets  60 L,  60 R which penetrate left ankle protector pad  22  and right ankle protector pad  23 , respectively. Grommets  60 L,  60 R are located laterally outwards of left and right outer vertical side edges  46 L,  46 R of instep protector pad  21 , a short distance above lower obliquely upward angled edges  51 L,  51 R of left and right protector pads  22 ,  23 . 
     As is also shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , each ankle and foot protector accessory  20  has a flexible strap  61  which extends outwardly from an outer vertical edge of an ankle protector pads, such as right ankle protector pad  23 , and a buckle  62  for releasably securing an end of strap  61 , the buckle protruding from an outer vertical edge of the other ankle protector pad, such as left ankle protector pad  22 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , strap  61  preferably has an inner longitudinally disposed half  61 L which has on a front surface thereof a loop-pile fabric strip of a hook-and-loop fastener, and an outer longitudinally disposed half which has a hook-type fastener strip  61 H. With this arrangement, strap  61  may be secured to buckle  62  by inserting outer end  61 H through the eye of the buckle, looping outer hook-end  61 H back towards inner loop-end  61 L, and pressing parts  61 H and  61 L together. 
       FIGS. 9 and 10  illustrate how ankle and foot protector accessory  20  is releasably fastened to an ice skate worn by a skater. First, as shown in  FIG. 9 , accessory  20  is positioned in front of a skate placed on a skater&#39;s foot, with instep protector pad  21  aligned with the front lacing area of the skate that overlies the instep region of the skater&#39;s foot. As shown in  FIGS. 3-6 , the flexible construction of instep protector pad  21  facilitates flexibly bending the pad into a rearwardly convex contour which is conformable to the front concave contour of the instep/lace part of a skate. As is also shown in  FIGS. 3-6 , the flexible self-hinge regions between ankle protector pads  22 ,  23  and left and right edges of central section  27  of ankle protector component  26 , enable the ankle protector pads to be flexed rearwardly over the outer and inner ankle regions of the skate, as shown in  FIG. 10 . 
     Next, instep protector pad  21  of accessory  20  is fitted conformally over the front lacing area of a skate S, and a lace L is threaded through a first lower eyelet of the skate, through eyelets  41 L,  41 R of the instep protector pad and through a second lower skate eyelet. The lace is then threaded through upper eyelets of the skate in a customary fashion. Optionally, as the lace is threaded through progressively higher eyelet pairs of skate S, the lace may be threaded through eyelets  60 L,  60 R of left and right ankle protector pads  22 ,  23  and over instep protector pad  21 , to further secure accessory  20  to skate S. Finally, as shown in  FIG. 10 , strap  61  of accessory  20  is flexed around the rear ankle portion of skate S, inserted through buckle  62 , and cinched tightly, whereupon hook portion  61 H of the strap pis pressed into loop portion  61 L of the strap to secure it in place on the skate and foot of a skater. 
       FIGS. 11 and 12  illustrate the function of meniscus-shaped force attenuating shell inserts  56 L,  56 R of left and right ankle protector pads  22 ,  23 . As shown in those figures, when a hockey puck P strikes a skate with sufficient force, the outer surface of an ankle protector, such as left ankle protector pad  22 , the outer convex surface  57  of insert shell  56  deforms temporality and elastically to a concave contour, while concave inner surface  58  of the shell deforms to a convex shape. This deformation has been found to greatly reduce the magnitude of an impulsive force which would otherwise be transmitted through the skate to the ankle A of a foot F. The force attenuation is believed to be the result of absorption of a substantial amount of energy from the impacting puck, the energy being required for deforming shell  56 . 
     When the impulsive force exerted on ankle protector pad  22  by puck P terminates, as the puck rebounds from the ankle protector pad after impacting it, shell  56  reversibly reforms to its original outwardly convex shape, thus dissipating deformation energy in an outer direction. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates an optional gel-filled backing pad  70  which may be located in an ankle protector pocket  55 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , gel-filled backing pad  70  preferably has the shape of a spheroidal section which fits conformally into the concave rear interior space of meniscus-shaped shell  56 .