DIOMEDI, Alessandro (Via A. Manzoni 3, Porto Sant'Elpidio, I-63018, IT)
FABI, Marco (Via San Giovanni Bosco 83, Porto Sant'Elpidio, I-63018, IT)
NATALI, Massimo (Via L. Settembrini 9, Porto Sant'Elpidio, I-63018, IT)
| CLAIMS 1. Knee high sock (1) with incorporated shin guard (5) to be used in the sports sector and more specifically in those sports such as football in which physical impacts and extreme stress to the lower limbs are frequent, equipped with a shin guard pocket (2) positioned on the tibial point the seam (3) of which is characterised in the lower part of the knee high sock (1) by two seams (4a) and (4b) the development of which corresponds to two slots (6a) and (6b) in the shin guard (5) in which the said seams (4a) and (4b) automatically fit (5) when the shin guard (5) is inserted in the shin guard pocket (2) of the knee high sock (1) so as to prevent any vertical or lateral movements of the shin guard (5). 2. Knee high sock (1) with incorporated shin guard (5) as claimed in claim 1 characterised by the fact that the lower part of the shin guard (5) made of plastic or carbon fibre has two slots (6a) and (6b) which, corresponding to the two seams (4a) and (4b) of the shin guard pocket which automatically fit into them, prevent any vertical or lateral movements of the shin guard (5). |
The present invention concerns the sports and leisure sector and, more specifically, it concerns that of football or, in any case, of sports in which physical impacts are frequent and it concerns a knee high sock equipped with a shin guard pocket in which it is possible to insert a shin guard made of plastic or carbon fibre the vertical and lateral movements of which are blocked by means of two slots into which the two seams of the pocket positioned in the lower part of the knee high sock automatically fit.
Background of Invention
In some sports, such as for example football, it is necessary both for professional players and for amateurs or enthusiasts to protect their shins from the impacts that normally take place with the opposing team.
In this sense, it is compulsory for all players to insert in their knee high socks shin guards normally made of plastic or carbon, the part coming into direct contact with the skin of the player being usually covered with foam rubber, fastened to the limb of the player by means of a band called a skin saver because its purpose is to protect the skin from the adhesive tape that normally wraps the shin guard in order to fasten it to the lower part of the limb.
On other occasions, players use a shin guard with two elastic bands, an upper one and a lower one, which serve to fasten the shin guard still inserted in the knee high sock to the limb of the player by means of two straps.
The fastening of the currently used shin guards in the knee high socks of the players of football or other sports, presents various problems, the first of which derives from the fact that the shin guard must be wrapped with a band tightened very firmly around the calf of the player and normally this leads to cramps due to blood circulation difficulties.
Another problem is that the insertion of the shin guard in the knee high sock and its subsequent fastening to the limb of the athlete requires a great deal of time, causing delays in re-entering the field of play when, due to a impact with an opponent, the player has had to remove the shin guard and all its binding in order to allow the masseur to intervene on the part of the leg covered by the shin-guard.
In order to avoid the above-described problems, at the current state of the art, various patents exist the object of which is a knee high sock equipped with a shin guard pocket and, among these, the following are worth noting:
document No. GB 1 549 230 A which describes and claims a knee high sock equipped with a shin guard pocket knitted or otherwise secured under the knee where the shin guard position is fastened with a closing system on the upper part of the pocket consisting of a zip and a protective flap closable with a press-stud, a button and button-hole and intergaging hooks and eyes;
document No. FR 2 804 876 Al which envisages a knee high sock equipped with a pocket sewn on the inside of the front containing a tibia protector;
document No. JP 10 280202 A which describes two elastic reinforcements located in the upper and lower parts of the knee high sock, the purpose of which is to prevent the vertical movements of the shin guard inserted in the pocket of the said sock;
document No. FR 2 849 580 Al which claims a knee high sock with a shin guard pocket sewn on three sides of the front part of the knee high sock and open on the upper side, closable with two strips of Velcro;
document No. GB 2 442 190 A which describes a knee high sock with a shin guard pocket incorporated in its front part, the upper part of which is equipped with an elasticated strip to keep the shin guard in place.
In the aforementioned patents, no technical device has been envisaged in order to prevent the lateral movement of the shin guard inserted in the knee high sock, and therefore the total safety of the wearer is not guaranteed.
Disclosure of invention
It is an object of the present invention to remedy the aforementioned problem by using a knee high sock equipped with a pocket in which to insert with extreme ease a shin guard made of plastic or carbon fibre and fasten it automatically, preventing it from being subjected to lateral and vertical movements.
It is a further object of the present invention to guarantee greater protection to the lower limbs of the wearer.
It is still another object of the present invention to obtain a knee high sock with a shin guard pocket that possesses better protective characteristics than the shin guards currently available on the market.
These and other objects are achieved by the invention that is the object of the present application which concerns a knee high sock equipped with a shin guard pocket fastened to the same by means of a seam that runs all around the edge of the shin guard pocket with the exception of the upper part and characterised in the lower part of the said sock by two seams which automatically fit into the two slots in the shin guard in order to prevent vertical and lateral movements of the same.
Brief description of drawings
Further features and advantages of the invention shall be better understood from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the knee high sock with shin guard object of the present patent application, illustrated by way of indicative but non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings in which:
Fig. 1 portrays the knee high sock (1) with its shin guard pocket (2) positioned in the tibial point and fastened to the sock (1) with a seam (3) that runs all around the edge of the shin guard pocket (2) with the exception of the upper part, and the lower part of which is characterised by the two seams (4a) and (4b) of the shin guard pocket (2) of Fig. 3 corresponding to the two slots (6a) and (6b) of the shin guard (5) of Fig. 2 into which the two seams (4a) and (4b) automatically fit when the shin guard (5) is inserted into the shin guard pocket (2). Also portrayed, merely by way of description because already known, are the elastic reinforcements (8) and (8bis) positioned at the top and the bottom respectively next to the ankle, and the part of the tip (7) of the knee high sock (1) made of water-repellent material necessary for protecting the wearer's foot from the cold;
Fig. 2 portrays the shin guard (5) not inserted in the shin guard pocket (2) and equipped with two slots (6a) and (6b) into which the two seams (4a) and (4b) of the shin guard pocket (2) of Fig. 3 automatically fit so as to prevent any vertical or lateral movements of the shin guard (5);
Fig. 3 portrays the shin guard pocket (2), detached from the knee high sock (1), with the two seams (4a) and (4b) corresponding to the two slots (6a) and (6b) of the shin guard (5);
Fig. 3bis portrays the shin guard pocket (2) sewn to the knee high sock (1) with the detail of the upper flap (9) of the shin guard pocket (2) and with the lower reinforcement (8bis) of the knee high sock (1), all elements that are already known.
Detailed description of Invention
The invention that is the object of the present application concerns a knee high sock (1) equipped with a shin guard pocket (2) positioned at the tibial point in which a shin guard (5) made of plastic or carbon fibre is easily inserted. This device is necessary for the prevention of injuries to athletes practising sports in which impacts with opponents are frequent, such as for example football, for which the use of the shin guard is, in any case, compulsory.
The shin guard pocket (2) is fastened to the knee high sock (1) by means of a seam (3) that runs all around the edge of the shin guard pocket (2) with the exception of its upper part which has a fastening system already known consisting of a flap (9) and two elastic reinforcements (8) and (8bis) positioned on the upper and lower parts of the knee high sock (1), respectively. The stitching (3) of the shin guard pocket (2) in the lower part of the knee high sock (1) develops along the two seams (4a) and (4b) corresponding to the two slots (6a) and (6b) with which the shin guard (5) is equipped into which the two seams (4a) and (4b) automatically fit when the shin guard (5) is inserted in the shin guard pocket (2) of the knee high sock (1) in order to prevent any vertical or lateral movements of the shin guard. The materials and the dimensions of the above-described invention, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and later claimed, may be varied according to requirements. Moreover, all the details may be replaced by other technically equivalent ones without for this reason straying from the protective scope of the present invention patent application.
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