* _****

This invention concerns the sock sector, in particular socks or knee-length socks to be used in sports activities.

In some sports activities, above all in team games, legs are exposed to probable traumas due to collisions or falls, so that it is advisable, in many cases obligatory, to use protective supports called "shin guards" to guarantee better resistance to knocks.

The shin guards are protection structures made, in general, of an external protective shell, and an elasticized fabric in the internal part and an intermediate layer of expanded material or the like. They have an anatomical shape so as to adhere well to the front part, which is to the shin, of the legs and they can be equipped with means for fixing them to the leg, such means consisting in laces to be knotted or highly developed systems similar to the adhesive closing used in the motorcycle field.

The most used of these protections are worn in direct contact with the legs and then covered by socks. Their structure and materials they are made of fulfil the functions of adhering to the legs and protection against knocks. The lacing up or closing system is vice versa given the task of maintaining each shin guard fixed in the correct position.

However, notwithstanding their lacing and the knee-length socks that fit over them, the shin guards are always prone to sliding down the leg towards the neck of the foot, where they can cause discomfort and sometimes abrasions.

Furthermore, the shin guards in direct contact with the skin can create local transpiration problems and cause irritation and discomfort; particularly if you take into consideration the fact that while running the protection is susceptible to moving, and consequent rubbing.

The comfort in the clothing of an athlete while practicing a sports activity can play an important role in the performance and given that, in particular, the shin guards in some sports are an indispensable component of the sports outfits for the safety of the participants legs, and it is important for them to be held and always maintained in the correct position even against the strongest strain, a condition which at present is not guaranteed either by their laces or by their knee-length socks that that fit over them.

In the attempt to better fasten the disposition of the shin guards and reduce such inconveniences, some socks or knee socks have been provided, on a level with their portion of the leg, with at least a knitted area which is more elasticized and adherent so as to maintain the position of the shin guards against the legs of the athlete. The results reached are however limited by the fact that the movements of the athlete, in particular when he has to kick a ball, still tend to make the shin guards slide down.

Thick sports knee socks have also been made equipped with a bag to receive a protective element, such as a shin guard. However, according to the state of art, such a bag was made by cutting a piece of the fabric and then fixing it by stitching it to the inside of the knee-length socks, therefore adding operations that are a negative factor as regards to time and costs of the manufactured articles.

Furthermore other socks or knee-length socks were proposed having at least on pocket in which to place useful elements or objects and available for the user; also in these cases however, the or every pocket is made by using a piece of fabric fixed to the sock.

The objective of this invention is however to provide a sock, or a knee- length sock, especially but not only for sports activities and configured to:

Have one or more pockets or bags that can be positioned differently and used to hold elements or different objects, be completed and finished on terminating knitting, without the need for further follow-up operations/processing, be ideal, where requested, to receive and hold on its own a shin guard preventing improper movements, guaranteeing the efficiency and making every usual lacing up system superfluous and avoiding in addition direct contact of the shin guards with the skin of the user so as to avoid the problems of irritations and the like.

Such an objective is achieved, according to the invention, with a sock or knee-length sock, having at least on a level with its portion of leg at least one pocket or bag according to claim 1.

Further details of the invention will become evident in the following description made in reference to the attached exemplifying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows an external view of a knee-length sock with a single pocket - A - for a shin guard,

Fig. 2 shows a partial section of the knee-length sock in Fig. 1 to highlight the pocket and shin guard inside it;

Fig. 3 shows a cross-section on a level with its pocket; Fig. 4 shows an external view of a knee-length sock with several pockets and with a shin guard inserted in one of its pockets; and

Fig. 5 shows a vertical section of a knee-length sock in Fig. 4

As shown, the sock or, better, the knee-length sock 10 has a usual configuration, having a foot portion 11 , a neck-foot portion/ankle 12, and a leg portion 13 terminating in an elasticized edge 14.

However, according to the invention and in agreement with the example shown in Figs. 1-3, on a level with its leg portion 13, internally or externally, the knee-length sock 10 is provided with a single pocket 15 defined by a layer of knitting 16 woven simultaneously with the knitting forming the knee-length sock, Said layer of knitting 16 form an opening 17 facing upwards and at least a bottom portion closed 18 towards the foot-neck 12 so that the resulting pocket 15 is able to receive from above a shin guard 20 in order to support it and block it from sliding both vertically, towards the foot neck area, and sideways. In particular, the layer of knitting 16 connects and integrates with the knitting of the leg portion13 only along its lateral margins 19, in all or in a part of their extension, and on a level with its bottom 18

In the example shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the knee-length sock 10 is on the contrary provided with two or more pockets or bags 21 , 22, 23, where the or each pocket or bag is delimited by a respective layer or part of the located fabric 21a, 22a, 23a, woven simultaneously and in parallel with the fabric forming the knee-length socks. This so that each pocket or bag has its own opening 21', 22', 23' facing upwards, lateral edges integrally or partially associated with the knitting of the leg portion 13 and one bottom area closed towards the foot-neck 12 zone.

The pockets or bags 21 , 22, 23 can be differently positioned, at the front, on the sides and/or on the back of the leg portion 13, on the same or on different levels and with the same or different capacities.

Also in this embodiment, where required, one of the pockets or bags, for example the front pocket 21 can be configured to receive a shin guard 20 from the top so as to support it and prevent it from moving. Every other pocket or bag, can then be used at will to accommodate other protection elements for other parts of the leg (e.g. protection of the ankles or the muscular parts) or to house any object or element to be within easy reach of the user. In both cases, the knee-length sock can be made on sock knitting machines with a standardized stitch in each of its portions, or with types of knitting which is elasticized and has different characteristics from one zone to the other, according to requirements and nevertheless in a known way. The layers or knitted parts 16; 21a, 22a, 23a defining the bags or pockets 15; 21 , 22, 23 are woven simultaneously with the knitting forming the leg portion 13 of the knee- length socks 10, parallel on the inside or outside of said portion 13, thanks to the use of a textile machine conceived to produce two parallel layers of knitting at the same time and so that the manufactured article is complete and finished as soon as it is downloaded from said machine, except for the possible stitching of the part to be carried out in a second operation.

Lastly it should be pointed out that the knitted part layers 16; 21a, 22a, 23a forming the pockets or bags 15; 21, 22, 23 can be formed with at least one thread which for the count and type can be the same or different from the one forming the knee-length sock and nevertheless suitable for contact with the skin of the person wearing it.