CA2376793C

CA2376793C - Protective undergarment for ice skating sports

Info

Publication number: CA2376793C
Application number: CA002376793A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Ross M. Angus
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Pro Formance Insights RA Inc
Priority date: 2002-03-18
Filing date: 2002-03-18
Publication date: 2005-02-01
Anticipated expiration: 2022-03-18
Also published as: CA2376793A1

Abstract

A hockey shirt with a lower trunk opening, a neck opening and collar, including sleeves and cuff assembly. The shirt has special protective cover stitched on the lower sleeves, underarm parts and armpits to prevent against gashes, cuts and other injuries caused by skate blades.

Description

50907-2(S) Protective Undergarment for Ice Hockey FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the field of sports equipment, and more particularly to hockey equipment of the sort worn by a player to provide comfort and protection during the rough and tumble play of the game of hockey.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Ice hockey is one of the most popular team sports played in Canada and the USA. It is a fast-paced game that combines players of many sizes together on the rink with high skating speed and fast, furious action.
Hockey is known as a hard-hitting, collision sport. Players risk injury from high-impact collisions with each other, the rigid boards that mark the boundary of the playing surface, and the goal posts. Impact with a skate blade, long sticks, and pucks traveling more than 100 MPH
also add to the risk.
Lacerations (cuts) to the head, scalp and face have been reduced by 'the use of helmets and face shields but sadly, more serious cuts still continue to cause physical trauma to players at all levels in minor and major league hockey, including ringette, recreational and pick-up hockey games and practices.
While newer protective equipment is lighter, stronger and offers more protection, it has also been modified to make hockey movement easier. In particular, hockey gloves are now shorter and expose players to more wrist and arms injuries than before. Likewise, there is no 50907-2(S) equipment to protect the underarms, sides of torso and armpits from serious cuts.
What is required is not only protection for the body parts susceptible to injury from skate blades, but protection that is lightweight, inexpensive and doesn't impede range of motion, particularly wrist and shoulder movement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, there is provided a protective undergarment worn for ice skating sports comprising a torso portion having a neck opening, first and second arm sleeves extending from said torso portion, at least a portion of each sleeve comprising a plurality of layers of material, including a first, lower layer of flexible fabric material and a second layer of material over and joined to said first layer, said second layer comprising a high performance, flexible fabric, resistant to cutting by skate blades.
Advantageously, this arrangement provides an undergarment for ice hockey and other ice skating sports which provides arm protection from skate blade lacerations while providing comfort to the wearer by reducing chaffing, itching and other discomforts that might arise if the entire undergarment were made from high performance material.
Furthermore, the invention provides a product which does not add to the list of clothing or equipment worn today by players, but replaces an existing item of apparel.
Also according to the present invention, there is provided a protective undergarment worn for ice skating sports comprising a torso portion having a neck opening,

2 50907-2(S) first and second arm sleeves extending from said torso portion and including an upper arm portion for covering the upper arms of a wearer, each upper arm portion having an underside portion, and wherein each underside portion comprises a high performance, flexible fabric, resistant to cutting by skate blades.
According to the present invention, there is further provided a protective undergarment worn for ice skating sports comprising a torso portion having a front, a back and sides between the front and back, and a neck opening, first and second arm sleeves extending from said torso portion and a high performance flexible fabric, resistant to cutting by skate blades, extending from an underside of each sleeve to a respective side to provide underarm protection.
According to the present invention, there is further provided a protective undergarment worn for ice skating sports comprising a torso portion having a neck opening, first and second arm sleeves extending from said torso portion, each sleeve including a lower arm portion for covering a lower arm of a wearer and wherein said lower arm portion comprises a high performance, flexible fabric resistant to cutting by skate blades.
According to the present invention, there is further provided a protective undergarment worn for ice skating sports comprising a torso portion having a front, a back and a neck opening, said torso portion comprising a jersey fabric, and a flexible, high performance fabric, resistant to cutting by skate blades, forming first and second sleeves which are joined to said torso portion.

3 50907-2(S) According to the present invention, there is further provided a protective undergarment worn for ice skating sports, comprising a torso portion having a neck opening, first and second arm sleeves extending from said torso portion, each sleeve being formed of a jersey fabric and a high performance, flexible fabric, resistant to cutting by skate blades and joined to said jersey fabric to thereby form an integral sleeve therewith.
Embodiments of the invention provide a simple and easy method for protecting arm and torso parts not covered by existing hockey equipment protection.
Embodiments of the invention provide a product that is easily maintained and laundered as it will be worn often and close to the skin.
Embodiments of the invention provide a product that improves the comfort of the wearer, such as by reducing chaffing, itching and other discomforts that might arise if the entire shirt were to be fabricated with the protective covering only.
Embodiments of the invention provide a product that does not inhibit range of motion, thereby maintaining a player's effectiveness.
Embodiments of the invention provide a product that can be mass produced.
Embodiments of the invention provide a product that is affordable.
Embodiments of the invention provide a product that can accommodate players of all sizes.

4 50907-2(S) In one embodiment, the undergarment comprises an undershirt for use by hockey players, the undershirt comprising: a torso portion with a lower trunk opening; a pair of sleeves attached to the torso portion; a sleeve cuff assembly on each of said sleeves; a head opening; and a protective covering cover stitched on the jersey.
The protective covering is made of an aramid fibre material, for example 1000 Kevlar to guard against cuts and gashes between the hockey gloves and the elbow pads and shoulder pads; on the underside of the arms, in the armpit and on the sides of the torso.
In one embodiment, this protective covering is cover stitched on a plain jersey made of 50o polyester and 50o cotton. It can also be made of tubular 1000 cotton and other similar materials without affecting the integrity of the safety features. In one embodiment, the protective covering is 1000 Kevlar, a fibre invented by Dupont more than 25 years ago. Kevlar is five times stronger than an equal weight of steel, has exceptional stretch resistance and is inherently flame resistant. This fibre is used extensively in Personal Body Armour, specialized gear for Correctional Officers and has many other uses in workplace safety. As well as providing protection against lacerations, it is light in weight, provides an extended-wear life and can be laundered.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Examples of embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which Figure lA shows a front view of an undershirt according to an embodiment of the present invention,

5 50907-2(S) Figure 1B shows a back view of the undershirt shown in Figure lA, and Figure 1C shows an enlarged view of a coverstitch used in embodiments of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
Referring to Figures 1A and 1B, an undershirt 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a torso portion 3, having a front 5, a back 7, and two side portions 9, 11, and right and left arm sleeves 13, 15 extending from the torso portion 3. The torso portion further includes a neck opening 17, which may include a cuff 19, and a lower trunk opening 21.
The torso portion comprises a fabric, for example a combination of 50o polyester and 50% cotton. In other embodiments, the torso portion may be made of tubular 1000 cotton or other similar materials without affecting the integrity of the safety features.
The sleeves 13, 15 each comprises a first layer of fabric 23, 25 which may comprise for example a combination of 50o polyester and 50o cotton, tubular 1000 cotton or other similar materials. The sleeves 13, 15 further include a second layer of material comprising a high performance, flexible fabric, which is resistant to cutting by skate blades and which overlays the first layer of fabric 13, 15 in the regions of an underside portion 27, 29 of the upper arm of the sleeve, the lower arm portion 31, 33 and a portion 28, 30 of the undergarment which extends from the upper arm to the side portions 9, 11 of the torso portion 3.
In the particular embodiment shown in Figures 1A
and 1B, the second layer, which may comprise 1000 Kevlar,

6 50907-2(S) covers the lower arms, front and back, the upper underarms, the armpits and the sides of the torso down to where the ribcage ends. However, in this embodiment, the protective layer does not cover a portion of the back of the upper arm of the sleeve proximate in the elbow region 32 and the upper edge 34. Regions of the sleeves which include high performance flexible cut resistant fabric are shown in the figures by cross hatching. The protective layer may be joined to the jersey fabric by for example cover stitching as shown in Figure 1C. Figure 1C shows an enlarged view of a cover stitch in which reference numeral 18 indicates jersey fabric, for example 50o polyester and 50o cotton, and indicates high performance, flexible cut resistant fabric.
15 The undershirt may be manufactured in standard Canadian sizes for children and adults or could be custom made.
In this embodiment, the sleeves include a wrist cuff assembly 37, 39 comprising a rib fabric (eg. a knitted 20 rib fabric or Spandex'rM) to ensure a secure and comfortable fit for all wrist sizes. Likewise, the neck opening or cuff 19 may comprise a rib fabric (eg. a knitted rib fabric or SpandexTM) designed to fit various neck sizes and to be comfortable.
A particularly advantageous feature of embodiments of the present invention is the combination of an undershirt with a protective covering.
It can now be appreciated that the most preferred form of an embodiment of the present invention is to combine protection and undershirt into one product, providing essentially built-in 'protection. Instead of providing

7 50907-2(S) Kevlar undershirt protection as well as a regular hockey undershirt, two dressing room steps are reduced to a single one. All that is needed is to pull the undershirt on over the head and arms. When removing the undershirt it is just as easy. Further, the whole undershirt can be easily put into the wash, meaning that the sweat accumulated is eliminated. In this way this equipment can be kept clean and fragrant.
Various modifications and alterations are possible to the form of the invention, without departing from the scope of the broad claims as attached hereto. In particular, while reference has been made to a particular jersey material or rib fabric, it is possible to alter those fabrics without compromising the protective nature of the undershirt or its value to hockey players.

8

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A protective undergarment worn for ice skating sports comprising a torso portion having a neck opening, first and second arm sleeves extending from said torso portion, at least a portion of each sleeve comprising a plurality of layers of material, including a first, lower layer of flexible fabric material and a second layer of material over and joined to said first layer, said second layer comprising a high performance, flexible fabric, resistant to cutting by skate blades.

2. A protective undergarment as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first and second sleeves include an upper arm portion for covering the upper arms of a wearer, each upper arm portion having an underside portion, and wherein each underside portion comprises said plurality of layers of material.

3. A protective undergarment as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said torso portion includes a front, a back and sides between the front and back, and wherein said plurality of layers of material extend from an underside of each sleeve to a respective side of said torso portion to protect an underarm region of a wearer.

4. A protective undergarment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each sleeve includes a lower arm portion for covering a lower arm of a wearer, and wherein said lower arm comprises said plurality of layers of material.

5. A protective undergarment as claimed in claim 4, wherein said lower arm portion includes a wrist cuff region, and wherein said plurality of layers of material extend from said wrist cuff region to at least an elbow region of said sleeve.

6. A protective undergarment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, including a wrist cuff assembly for securely fitting about a wearer's wrist.

7. A protective undergarment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein each sleeve includes an upper arm portion, part of which comprises a flexible fabric material without a layer of high performance, cut resistant material.

8. A protective undergarment as claimed in claim l, wherein said first and second sleeves include an upper arm portion for covering the upper arms of a wearer, each upper arm portion having an underside portion, and wherein each underside portion comprises a high performance flexible fabric, resistant to cutting by skate blades.

9. A protective undergarment as claimed in claim l, wherein said torso portion includes a front, a back and sides between the front and back, and further comprising a high performance, flexible fabric, resistant to cutting by skate blades extending from an underside of each sleeve to a respective side of said torso portion to provide underarm protection.

10. A protective undergarment worn for ice skating sports comprising a torso portion having a neck opening, first and second arm sleeves extending from said torso portion and including an upper arm portion for covering the upper arms of a wearer, each upper arm portion having an underside portion, and wherein each underside portion comprises a high performance, flexible fabric, resistant to cutting by skate blades.

11. A protective undergarment worn for ice skating sports comprising a torso portion having a front, a back and sides between the front and back, and a neck opening, first and second arm sleeves extending from said torso portion and a high performance flexible fabric, resistant to cutting by skate blades, extending from an underside of each sleeve to a respective side to provide underarm protection.

12. A protective undergarment worn for ice skating sports comprising a torso portion having a neck opening, first and second arm sleeves extending from said torso portion, each sleeve including a lower arm portion for covering a lower arm of a wearer and wherein said lower arm portion comprises a high performance, flexible fabric resistant to cutting by skate blades.

13. A protective undergarment as claimed in claim 12, wherein each sleeve further includes a wrist cuff assembly for securely fitting about a wearer's wrist.

14. The use of a protective undergarment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13 for protection against injury from skate blades.

15. A protective undergarment worn for ice skating sports comprising a torso portion having a front, a back and a neck opening, said torso portion comprising a jersey fabric, and a flexible, high performance fabric, resistant to cutting by skate blades, forming first and second sleeves which are joined to said torso portion.

16. A protective undergarment as claimed in claim 15, wherein each of said .first and second sleeves further comprises jersey fabric and said high performance fabric is joined to the jersey fabric of the respective sleeve.

17. A protective undergarment as claimed in claim 16, wherein said flexible high performance fabric forms a protective layer over said jersey fabric over a portion of each sleeve.

18. A protective undergarment as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein said sleeves comprise a lower arm portion for covering the lower arm of a wearer, and comprising said high performance fabric.

19. A protective undergarment as claimed in claim 15 or 16, wherein each sleeve has an upper arm portion having an upper side and an underside, wherein a region of said underside includes said high performance material and a region of said upper side comprises said jersey fabric without any high performance material.

20. A protective undergarment as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein each sleeve has an upper arm portion each having a front, a back and upper and lower edges when said under garment is laid flat, a region of the front and back of said upper arm portion adjacent said lower edge comprising said high performance material, and a region of the back of said upper arm portion proximate said upper edge comprising jersey fabric without any high performance material.

21. A protective undergarment as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein said high performance material extends from an underside region of each sleeve to a side region of said torso portion.

22. A protective undergarment worn for ice skating sports, comprising a torso portion having a neck opening, first and second arm sleeves extending from said torso portion, each sleeve being formed of a jersey fabric and a high performance, flexible fabric, resistant to cutting by skate blades and joined to said jersey fabric to thereby form an integral sleeve therewith.

23. A protective undergarment as claimed in claim 22, wherein said flexible high performance fabric forms a protective layer over said jersey fabric over a portion of each sleeve.

24. A protective undergarment as claimed in claim 22 or 23, wherein said sleeves comprise a lower arm portion for covering the lower arm of a wearer, and comprising said flexible, high performance fabric.

25. A protective undergarment as claimed in any one of claims 22 to 24, wherein each sleeve has an upper arm portion having an upper side and an underside, wherein a region of said underside includes said high performance material and a region of said upper side comprises said jersey fabric without any high performance material.

26. A protective undergarment as claimed in any one of claims 22 to 25, wherein each sleeve has an upper arm portion each having a front, a back and upper and lower edges when said under garment is laid flat, a region of the front and back of said upper arm portion adjacent said lower edge comprising said high performance material, and a region of the back of said upper arm portion proximate said upper edge comprising jersey fabric without any high performance material.

27. A protective undergarment as claimed in any one of claims 22 to 26, wherein said high performance material extends from an underside region of each sleeve to a side region of said torso portion.

28. A protective undergarment as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 27, wherein said jersey fabric comprises cotton.

29. A protective undergarment as claimed in claim 28, wherein said jersey fabric comprises a mixture of cotton and synthetic fibre.

30. A protective undergarment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 29, wherein said high performance fabric comprises an aramid fabric.

31. A protective undergarment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 30, wherein each sleeve comprises an elbow region comprising a jersey fabric without any high performance material within said elbow region.

32. The use of a protective undergarment as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 31 for protection against injury from skate blades.