U.S. patent application number 12/545523 was filed with the patent office on 2011-02-24 for compression girdle with hamstring support system.
Invention is credited to Stephen C. Arensdorf.
Application Number | 20110041226 12/545523 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43604071 |
Filed Date | 2011-02-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110041226 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Arensdorf; Stephen C. |
February 24, 2011 |
COMPRESSION GIRDLE WITH HAMSTRING SUPPORT SYSTEM
Abstract
A compression sport pant compliments the pelvic region and legs
and supports the hamstring muscles of a wearer. A neoprene liner in
the back of a leg portion and in contact with the associated leg of
the wearer holds natural body heat next to the wearer's skin. A
stretchable, relatively wide strap is wrapped around the leg
portion over the liner when the garment is worn to apply additional
support to the hamstring area.
Inventors: |
Arensdorf; Stephen C.;
(Hays, KS) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ERICKSON, KERNELL, DERUSSEAU & KLEYPAS, LLC
800 W. 47TH STREET, SUITE 401
KANSAS CITY
MO
64112
US
|
Family ID: |
43604071 |
Appl. No.: |
12/545523 |
Filed: |
August 21, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/22 ; 2/228 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D 13/0543 20130101;
A41D 1/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/22 ; 2/228 |
International
Class: |
A41D 13/05 20060101
A41D013/05; A41D 1/06 20060101 A41D001/06 |
Claims
1. A hamstring support garment comprising: a compression sport pant
shaped to compliment the pelvic region and legs and support the
hamstring muscles of a wearer, and presenting a pair of downwardly
extending leg portions for receiving the legs of a wearer, a
neoprene liner in the back of at least one of said leg portions and
in contact with the associated leg of the wearer when the garment
is worn, whereby to hold natural body heat next to the wearer's
skin, and a stretchable, relatively wide strap wrapped around said
one leg portion over the liner when the garment is worn to apply
additional support to the hamstring area of the wearer.
2. The support garment as claimed in claim 1, further comprising
means on an outer surface of said pant at a rear portion thereof
for securing the strap wrapped thereon in a fixed position.
3. The support garment as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a
strip of material secured to said one leg portion and extending
upwardly to a buttock region of the garment, said strip presenting
a first mating portion of a hook and loop fastener and said strap
presenting a second mating portion of said fastener, whereby said
strap is secured in a desired fixed position.
4. The support garment as claimed in claim 1, further comprising
means on an outer surface of said pant at a front portion thereof
for engaging said strap to hold the strap in place when the garment
is worn.
5. The support gannet as claimed in claim 4, wherein said means for
engaging said strap comprises a first mating portion of a hook and
loop fastener, and said strap comprises a second mating portion
thereof.
6. A hamstring support garment comprising: a compression sport pant
shaped to compliment the pelvic region and legs and support the
hamstring muscles of a wearer, and presenting a pair of downwardly
extending leg portions for receiving the legs of a wearer, and a
neoprene liner in the back of each of said leg portions in contact
with the associated leg of the wearer when the garment is worn and
presenting top, bottom and side edges secured to the respective leg
portion by an essentially continuous, peripheral line of stitching,
whereby to hold natural body heat next to the wearer's skin.
7. The support garment is claimed in claim 6, further comprising a
pair of stretchable, relatively wide straps wrapped around
respective leg portions over the liners when the garment is worn to
apply additional support to the hamstring area of the wearer, and
two strips of material secured to respective leg portions and
extending upwardly to a buttock region of the garment, each of said
strips presenting a first mating portion of a hook and loop
fastener and said straps presenting a second mating portion of said
fastener, whereby the straps are secured in a fixed positions to
preclude downward shifting when the garment is worn.
Description
[0001] This invention relates to improvements in compression
support pants or shorts and, in particular, to a compression
garment that keeps the hamstring muscle warm by holding natural
body heat next to the skin.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The compression girdle is a widely used and accepted garment
for active individuals and athletes engaged in diverse physical
activities such as bicycling, hiking, track and field events,
basketball and football. One example of this type of garment is set
forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,257 which discloses a sport pant in
the form of a knee-length football girdle made from a highly
resilient fabric comprising, for example, a blend of 75% nylon and
25% Lycra.RTM. (Dupont registered trademark). This fabric provides
a four-way stretch with the desired compression characteristics for
effective support of the underlying muscles of the wearer. Sport
garments of this type are available in both short styles and
full-length pants.
[0003] Although the compression girdle effectively supports the
user's hamstring muscles, it does not, of itself, materially
prevent body heat from escaping from the hamstring muscles at the
back of the legs of the wearer. Therefore, the user relies upon
outer garments for this function. Light-weight outer garments,
often worn, provide little resistance to the escape of natural body
heat from the hamstring muscle area.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] In an embodiment of the present invention the aforementioned
problem is addressed by providing a compression sport pant shaped
to compliment the pelvic region and legs and support the hamstring
muscles of a wearer. Downwardly extending leg portions of the
garment receive the legs of the wearer, and a neoprene liner in the
back of each of the leg portions contacts the leg of the wearer
when the garment is worn and thus holds natural body heat next to
the wearer's skin. To apply additional support to the hamstring
area, a stretchable, relatively wide strap is wrapped around the
leg portion over the liner when the garment is worn.
[0005] In another aspect of the invention, means is provided on an
outer surface of the pant at a rear portion thereof to secure the
strap in a fixed position. The securing means may comprise a strip
of hook or loop material extending upwardly to a buttock region of
the garment to hold the strap in the fixed position.
[0006] Another aspect of the present invention is that a tendency
of the stretchable straps to drop down in front to a low position
when the wearer is active is prevented as means is provided on the
front of the pant which engages the straps and holds them in place
when the garment is worn.
[0007] Other advantages of this invention will become apparent from
the following description taken in connection with the accompanying
drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example,
an embodiment of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a frontal and left side view illustrating the
support garment of the present invention on a wearer and shows a
stretchable support strap wrapped around and secured to the right
leg, the left leg being shown without a strap to reveal a piece of
hook material attached to the leg for securing the strap (when
applied) in a fixed position.
[0009] FIG. 2 is perspective view of the rear and left side of the
garment as worn, the support strap for the left leg also being
removed as in FIG. 1 to show the position of the neoprene liner on
the inside of the leg and a vertically extending strip of hook
material on the rear of the garmet.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a frontal view of the garment showing parts broken
away and removed to reveal the right and left neoprene liners and
details of construction.
[0011] FIG. 4 is a rear view of the garment showing the left leg
with the support strap removed therefrom and the right leg with the
support strap partially removed.
[0012] FIG. 5 is a detail view showing the layers at the rear of
the garment and arrows indicating the retention of body heat at the
hamstring muscles.
[0013] FIG. 6 illustrates the application of the support strap to
the right leg.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] Referring initially to FIGS. 1-3, the compression support
pant of the present invention is shown in place on the body of the
wearer. The garment has three sections stitched together at spaced
seams 10 and 12, such sections including a right leg section 14, a
center or crotch section 16, and a left leg section 18. The seams
10 and 12 extend from the front of a waistband 20 down under the
crotch and up to the back of the waistband 20 as seen in the rear
view of FIG. 4. The particular support pant illustrated is a
knee-length girdle style, it being appreciated that the present
invention is equally applicable to a full-length pant.
[0015] The leg and crotch sections 14, 16 and 18 are made from a
highly resilient fabric, preferably a blend of 75% nylon and 25%
Lycra.RTM. having a rating of approximately 280 denier. This
provides a fabric having four-way stretch ability and thus the
compression characteristics desired for effective compression
support of the underlying muscles of the wearer, as set forth, for
example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,257. In the present invention, a
hamstring support system is provided and includes a substantially
rectangular neoprene liner in the back of each leg of the
compression short, the liner 22 for the left leg being partially
shown in broken lines in FIG. 2 and revealed in FIG. 3 where the
fabric is broken away. The liner 22 is secured by a peripheral line
of stitching 24 which is continuous along the top, bottom and side
edges of the liner 22, the inside edge thereof being hidden from
view. An identical neoprene liner 26 is secured by peripheral
stitching to the inside, back surface of the right leg section 14
as is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
[0016] In addition to the neoprene liners 22 and 26, the hamstring
support system includes a pair of detachable straps 28 for the
respective legs, shown in place on the right leg in FIGS. 1 and 2,
the strap 28 on the left leg being omitted from the figures in
order to reveal other aspects of the present invention set forth
below. In FIG. 3 the right strap 28 is shown released and open at
the front to reveal a relatively small, rectangular piece of
Velcro.RTM. hook material 30 sewn on the leg section 14 which, when
the strap 28 is in place as shown in FIG. 1, engages and holds the
strap 28 against downward movement at the front of the garment
which might otherwise occur when the pant is worn.
[0017] An elongated, vertically extending strip 32 of elasticated
loop material is secured to the outside of each of the leg sections
14 and 18 at the rear thereof from the buttock portion down to near
the bottom of each leg for the purpose of positioning and holding
the strap 28 on each leg in place and preclude downward shifting at
the rear when worn by an active individual. This assures that the
straps 28 will not slip downward and will continue to apply support
to the hamstring area of the wearer at the desired position.
Application of the strap 28 to the right leg is illustrated in FIG.
6 where it may be appreciated that the strap is stretched tightly
as it is wrapped around the leg and thus applies the additional
support. The strap 28 is provided with a strip of hook material 34
at each end thereof which, once the strap 28 is stretched to the
extent desired by the wearer, engages the loop material of the
strap 28 to tightly secure the strap 28 in place. It will be
appreciated that the straps 28 enable the girdle of the present
invention to accommodate the leg size of the wearer and thus
provide the hamstring support.
[0018] The action of the hamstring support system of the present
invention is illustrated in FIG. 5 for the left leg section 18. The
arrows 36 represent body heat at the hamstring muscles which, in
the absence of the support system of the present invention, would
readily escape through the material and the rear of the leg
sections 14 and 18. However, the neoprene liner 22 (or liner 26,
right leg) prevents substantial heat escape as illustrated by the
arrows 38 and thus body heat does not escape, or is minimized, and
the hamstring muscles stay warm as the natural body heat is held
next to the skin. For maximum heat retention, each of the neoprene
liners should have a thickness of at least one-sixteenth of an
inch.
[0019] Furthermore, in the present invention the neoprene liners
22, 26 and the strap 28 on each leg cooperate to assure maximum
heat retention as both are held in place in overlying relationship
to the user's hamstring muscles. The straps 28 apply additional
support to the hamstring area and thus maintain a continuous amount
of consistent pressure on the hamstring muscles. The pieces 30 of
hook material and the strips 32 hold the straps 28 to prevent
downward shifting during athletic activity.
[0020] It is to be understood that while certain forms of this
invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited
thereto, except insofar as such limitations are included in the
following claims.
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