Protective Ice Hockey Sock

Abstract

A protective article of clothing for preventing lacerations and blunt force injuries to a lower leg of an ice hockey player. The protective article of clothing comprises a sock element and a protective barrier element integrated within the sock element for protecting a back of the lower leg. The protective barrier element combines a cut resistant portion and an impact absorbing portion to protect from multiple types of injuries that commonly occur to hockey players.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A protective article of clothing for protecting a calf and an Achilles tendon of a user from blunt force and penetrating injuries, the protective article of clothing comprising:
 a sock element configured to encapsulate a lower leg from a heel to at least a knee and to fit over a shin guard worn on the lower leg, wherein the sock element comprises a front portion and a back portion; and   a protective barrier element comprising a cut resistant portion and an impact absorbing portion, wherein the protective barrier element is implanted in the back portion of the sock element.   
     
     
         2 . The protective sock of  claim 1 , wherein the cut resistant portion of the protective barrier element is a flexible cut-resistant fabric. 
     
     
         3 . The protective sock of  claim 2 , wherein the flexible cut-resistant fabric comprises at least one of the following materials: aramid fiber, thermoplastic polyethylene fiber, polypropylene fiber, high-density microfiber, or polyester fiber. 
     
     
         4 . The protective sock of  claim 3 , wherein the impact absorbing portion is a closed cell foam. 
     
     
         5 . The protective sock of  claim 4 , wherein the impact absorbing portion is thermally bonded to the cut resistant portion. 
     
     
         6 . A protective hockey sock for protecting a calf and an Achilles tendon of an ice hockey player from blunt force and penetrating injuries, the protective article of clothing comprising:
 a sock element configured to encapsulate a lower leg from a heel to above a knee and to fit over a shin guard worn on the lower leg, wherein the sock element comprises a front portion, a back portion, an inside, an outside, a base, and a top; and   a protective barrier element comprising a cut resistant portion and an impact absorbing portion, wherein the cut resistant portion is a high tensile polymer, the impact absorbing portion is a closed cell foam, and the protective barrier element is attached to the back portion of the sock element.   
     
     
         7 . The protective article of clothing of  claim 6 , wherein the protective barrier element is sandwiched within the back portion of the sock element. 
     
     
         8 . The protective article of clothing of  claim 7 , wherein the closed cell foam is an extruded polyethylene foam. 
     
     
         9 . The protective article of clothing of  claim 8 , wherein the extruded polyethylene foam is bonded to the high tensile polymer. 
     
     
         10 . The protective article of clothing of  claim 9 , wherein the extruded polyethylene foam has a density of approximately between 1.7 and 2.2 pounds per cubic foot. 
     
     
         11 . The protective article of clothing of  claim 10 , wherein the impact absorbing portion comprises a plurality of cushions. 
     
     
         12 . The protective article of clothing of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of cushions comprise one top cushion and three pairs of lower cushions. 
     
     
         13 . The protective article of clothing of  claim 12 , wherein the protective barrier element extends from the base of the sock element to approximately between one and two inches below a crease of the knee. 
     
     
         14 . A protective sock for protecting a calf and an Achilles tendon of an ice hockey player from blunt force and penetrating injuries, the protective sock comprising:
 a sock element configured to encapsulate a lower leg from a heel to a knee and to fit over a shin guard worn on the lower leg, wherein the sock element comprises a front portion, a back portion, an inside, an outside, a base, and a top; and   a flexible protective barrier element comprising a cut resistant portion, an impact absorbing portion, a top portion, and a bottom portion, wherein the cut resistant portion is an aramid fiber fabric, the impact absorbing portion is an extruded polyethylene closed cell foam, and the flexible protective barrier element is integrated within back portion of the sock element.   
     
     
         15 . The protective sock of  claim 14 , wherein the cut resistant portion of the flexible protective barrier element comprises multiple layers of the aramid fiber fabric. 
     
     
         16 . The protective sock of  claim 14 , wherein the flexible protective barrier element extends laterally toward the front portion of the sock element so as to at least partially overlap the shin guard. 
     
     
         17 . The protective sock of  claim 16 , wherein the impact absorbing portion comprises a plurality of cushions. 
     
     
         18 . The protective sock of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of cushions comprise one top cushion and three pairs of lower cushions. 
     
     
         19 . The protective sock of  claim 18 , wherein the each pair of lower cushions generally substantially form a chevron in shape with a gap in a center of the chevron. 
     
     
         20 . The protective sock of  claim 18 , wherein the three pairs of lower cushions are substantially shaped as a set of six abdominal muscles.