Socks and liners with shock absorbing properties

Abstract

A shock absorbing covering that has an opening, a closed liner distal end, and sidewalls. The distal end further comprises a distal region that is knitted with spacer fabric to the same circumference as the liner or sock or is configured to conform to specific areas of a foot; preferably, (1) the toe region leaving out the big toe region, (2) the metatarsal head (MTH) 1 region leaving out the MTHs 2-3 region and the MTHs 4-5 region, (3) the medial mid-foot region, (4) the lateral mid-foot region, and (5) the lateral heel region leaving out the medial heel region. The spacer fabric is preferred as a 2×2 knit outer wall with a 1×3 inner wall made using a number of knitting steps described herein but may be a multitude of configurations allowing for a continuous seamless shape in three dimensions. An alternative yarn may be used that is coated in poly(vinyl alcohol) that expands after being washed to create shock absorbing expansion pockets.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.