Abstract:
A hockey sock is provided, constructed as a tube. The tube includes an outer textile layer and an inner lining including an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene yarn that confers cut-resistance to the hockey sock. The inner lining may be configured as a knit half-cardigan fabric that is disposed generally in a floating relationship with the outer textile layer such that the two are connected only at their respective top and bottom, and/or a select number of locations such as point connections, seams, or other connections that permit a sliding relationship between the layers.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a non-provisional application which claims priority to U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/432,863, filed Jan. 14, 2011, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     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—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. 
       
    
    
     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, although the sock may be solid color or any combination of solid color(s) and/or pattern(s).  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&#39;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&#39;s exterior. The visible outer layer  110  may include or completely be constructed of, for example, a textured polyester fiber, cotton, spun polyester, or a combination thereof, as well as any other appropriate knitted, woven, or non-woven textile material. In some embodiments, an inward-facing surface of the outer layer may include spun polyester, which provides desirable strength, low weight, and low moisture absorption (e.g., as compared to cotton). In preferred embodiments, 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 (UHMW—ultra-high molecular weight fiber). One preferred material is 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. Cut-resistant fibers including non-UHMW materials such as, for example, para-aramid synthetic fibers (e.g., poly paraphenylene terephthalamide, available as Kevlar®) high-density polyethylene (HDPE) fibers, and/or other materials may be used with or in addition to UHMW materials). The liner  112  may be woven, knit, or any combination thereof. A tubular knit construction, of which half-cardigan is one example, may be preferred in many embodiments for the inner layer  112 .  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 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 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 Dyneema® yarn knitted as a half-cardigan fabric, or formed as another tubular knit construction), even skate speeds in excess of 8.2 m/sec did not cut through the 0.5 inches of material (a &gt;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]    Those of skill in the art will appreciate that embodiments not expressly illustrated herein may be practiced within the scope of the present invention, including that features described herein for different embodiments may be combined with each other and/or with currently-known or future-developed technologies while remaining within the scope of the claims presented here. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. It is therefore intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting. And, it should be understood that the following claims, including all equivalents, are intended to define the spirit and scope of this invention. Furthermore, the advantages described above are not necessarily the only advantages of the invention, and it is not necessarily expected that all of the described advantages will be achieved with every embodiment of the invention.