Functional Sportswear Having Ripping Line

Abstract

Disclosed is a functional sportswear having ripping lines. The ripping lines 6 and 8 are patterned by cutting a portion of a fibrous sportswear top 2 or fibrous sportswear bottoms 2A so as to form one or more pieces 10, and sewing adjacent pieces 10 to each other and sewing respective pieces 10 to cut portions adjacent thereto using a ripping-line sewing thread 12, which has a lower tensile strength than a tensile strength of a typical sewing thread, in a zigzag form. The ripping-line sewing thread 12 is formed of a twisted yarn including a frangible fiber yarn 14, which has a lower tensile strength than a polyester fiber yarn for a sewing thread, and a soluble yarn 16. The soluble yarn 16 is dissolved and removed after weaving using the sewing thread, whereby the frangible fiber yarn 14 remains in the ripping-line sewing thread 12 that sews the ripping lines 6 and 8.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to clothes, and more particularly to functional sportswear, which may assist the easy judgment of a foul in sports in which body contact frequently occurs, such as football, basketball, and handball.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] Because sports, such as football, basketball, and handball, entail body contact at a very high frequency and are characterized by personal fouls that occur often and instantaneously, referees have difficulty in judgment thereof. In particular, there are many kinds of personal foul, such as, for example, a foul in which a player purposely pulls opponent's sportswear top or bottoms such that the referee cannot see the foul, and the outcome of the game may often be decided by these personal fouls.

[0003] Although attempts have been made to use video replays in order to alleviate the problem described above and such video replays are used in some areas, many games are still played only under referee judgment because the use of video may be problematic in consideration of practical conditions including game characteristics, etc.

[0004] In addition, in the case of a game officiated by only a few referees, such as an amateur game, the referees have great difficulty in recognizing a foul in which a player pulls opponent's sportswear top or bottoms.

[0005] Hence, an enthusiastic response is expected from all parties concerned if there is provided sportswear that assists referees in immediately recognizing personal fouls, such as, for example, a foul in which a player purposely and forcefully pulls opponent's sportswear top or bottoms in a game that entails body contact at a high frequency, and that may aid in the prevention of such personal fouls.

DISCLOSURE

Technical Problem

[0006] Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide functional sportswear, which may assist the easy judgment of a foul in sports in which body contact frequently occurs, such as football, basketball, and handball.

Technical Solution

[0007] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of functional sportswear top or bottoms having ripping lines, wherein ripping lines 6 and 8 are patterned by cutting a portion of a fibrous sportswear top 2 or fibrous sportswear bottoms 2A so as to form one or more pieces 10, and sewing adjacent pieces 10 to each other and sewing respective pieces 10 to cut portions adjacent thereto using a ripping-line sewing thread 12, which has a lower tensile strength than a tensile strength of a typical sewing thread, in a zigzag form, wherein the ripping-line sewing thread 12 is formed of a twisted yarn including a frangible fiber yarn 14, which has a lower tensile strength than a polyester fiber yarn for a sewing thread, and a soluble yarn 16, and wherein the soluble yarn 16 is dissolved and removed after weaving using the sewing thread, whereby the frangible fiber yarn 14 remains in the ripping-line sewing thread 12 that sews the ripping lines 6 and 8.

[0008] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there are provided functional sportswear top or bottoms having ripping lines, wherein ripping lines 6 and 8 are patterned by cutting a portion of a fibrous sportswear top 2 or fibrous sportswear bottoms 2A so as to form one or more pieces 10, and sewing adjacent pieces 10 to each other and sewing respective pieces 10 to cut portions adjacent thereto using a ripping-line sewing thread 12, which has a lower tensile strength than a tensile strength of a typical sewing thread, in a zigzag form, and wherein the ripping-line sewing thread 12 is formed of a frangible fiber yarn 14, which has a lower tensile strength than a polyester fiber yarn for a sewing thread.

[0009] In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there are provided functional sportswear top or bottoms having ripping lines, wherein ripping lines 6 and 8, which have a lower tearing strength than a tearing strength of a fibrous sportswear top 2, are patterned in the sportswear top 2, wherein the ripping lines 6 and 8 are formed as soluble yarns 21 and 24, which are introduced upon weaving of the sportswear top 2, are dissolved and removed by an elution solution after the weaving of the sportswear top 2, and wherein a warp, excluding the soluble yarn 21, among warps constituting the sportswear top 2, is a low melting point yarn 20, and the low melting point yarn 20 is exposed in a gap, from which the soluble yarn 24 constituting the ripping line 6 has been removed, in a state in which a sheath of the low melting point yarn 20 is melted via thermal treatment after the weaving of the sportswear top 2 and a core 20a of the low melting point thread 20 remains.

Advantageous Effects

[0010] According to the present invention, ripping lines are formed in sportswear top or bottoms so that the sportswear top or bottoms are ripped along the ripping lines when, for example, a foul in which a player purposely and forcefully pulls opponent's sportswear top or bottoms in a game that entails body contact at a high frequency, thereby assisting referees in immediately recognizing the foul and in making a judgment and preemptively alerting other players that the sportswear top or bottoms have this ripping function, which may advantageously prevent or minimize the incidence of personal fouls. Advantageously, the ripped sportswear may be reused as needed by being repaired and sewed using ripping-line sewing threads so that the ripping lines are restored.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating one example of a functional sportswear top in accordance with the present invention,

[0012] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view illustrating horizontal and vertical ripping lines in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention,

[0013] FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a thread for sewing the ripping lines of functional sportswear in accordance with the present invention illustrated in FIG. 2,

[0014] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the state in which a portion of the functional sportswear top in accordance with the present invention is ripped,

[0015] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view illustrating horizontal and vertical ripping lines in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention,

[0016] FIG. 6 is a view illustrating major fibrous tissues for the manufacture of the functional sportswear top in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 5,

[0017] FIG. 7 is a view illustrating major fibrous tissues provided with the horizontal and vertical ripping lines in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention,

[0018] FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating the core of a low melting point yarn exposed at the position of the horizontal ripping line illustrated in FIG. 7,

[0019] FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating functional sportswear bottoms in accordance with the first or second embodiment of the present invention, and

[0020] FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating the state in which a portion of the functional sportswear bottoms in accordance with the first or second embodiment of the present invention is ripped.

BEST MODE

[0021] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] In the present invention, sportswear top or bottoms are patterned with ripping lines so as to be ripped when pulled by any person, including an opposing player, with strong force even though they are fibrous sportswear top or bottoms woven with warps and wefts, rather than paper or non-woven fabric.

[0023] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a fibrous functional sportswear top 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating fibrous functional sportswear bottoms 2A in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] In addition, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view illustrating horizontal and vertical ripping lines 6 and 8 patterned in the back portion 4 of the sportswear top 2 illustrated in FIG. 1 or the back portion 4 of the sportswear bottoms 2A illustrated in FIG. 9.

[0025] In the embodiments of the present invention, the ripping lines 6 and 8 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 9 are patterned in a portion of the sportswear top 2 or the sportswear bottoms 2A that may be easily pulled by a game opponent, and more particularly, in the back portion 4 of the sportswear top 2 or the sportswear bottoms 2A.

[0026] The ripping lines 6 and 8 of the present invention have a considerably lower tearing strength than the tearing strength of the sportswear top 2 or the sportswear bottoms 2A, and serve as lines at which tears will form when an opposing player forcefully pulls the sportswear top 2 or the sportswear bottoms 2A.

[0027] In a first embodiment of the present invention, the ripping lines 6 and 8, formed in the back portion 4 of the sportswear top 2 or the sportswear bottoms 2A, are acquired by cutting a portion of the sportswear top 2 or the sportswear bottoms 2A, such as, for example, the back portion 4, so as to form one or more pieces 10, and sewing adjacent pieces 10 to each other and sewing respective pieces 10 and cut portions to each other using a ripping-line sewing thread 12, which has a lower tensile strength than the tensile strength of a typical sewing thread, in a zigzag form as illustrated in FIG. 2.

[0028] In the formation of the ripping-line sewing thread 12 sewed in the zigzag form in accordance with the present invention, the ripping-line sewing thread 12 is formed of a twisted yarn illustrated in FIG. 3, which is formed by twisting a frangible fiber yarn 14, which has a considerably lower tensile strength than that of a typical polyester fiber yarn, and an additional soluble yarn 16 with each other.

[0029] The frangible fiber yarn 14, which is one constituent element of the ripping-line sewing thread 12, may be, for example, cotton yarn or rayon yarn, and may be referred to as a fine yarn in terms of thickness. The fine yarn has a metric thread count of 60 or more, and has a thickness of 100 denier or less, and more particularly, a thickness of 20-60 denier.

[0030] In addition, the soluble yarn 16, which is the other constituent element of the ripping-line sewing thread 12, is a fiber yarn that will be dissolved in an elution solution to thereby be removed from the ripping-line sewing thread 12, which sews the horizontal and vertical ripping lines 6 and 8 after the sportswear top 2 or the sportswear bottoms 2A are completely woven. The soluble yarn 16 is formed of, for example, Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) or Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA).

[0031] PVA, which is the material of the soluble yarn 16, is expensive, but is dissolved in water, which is freely available. In addition, PLA, which is the material of the soluble yarn 16, is suitable in industrial and environmental terms. Such PLA is also called corn fiber, and is environment-friendly and biodegradable and is dissolved in an alkali solvent at a temperature of about 120 to 180 degrees Celsius. Hence, when the soluble yarn 16 is formed of PVA, the elution solution is water. When the soluble yarn 16 is formed of PLA, the elution solution is an alkali solvent.

[0032] In the present invention, the reason why the ripping-line sewing thread 12 is formed of the twisted yarn including the frangible fiber yarn 14 and the soluble yarn 16 is to substantially prevent the breakage of the thread during zigzag sewing for the formation of the ripping lines 6 and 8.

[0033] In FIG. 2, the dotted circle designated by "A" shows, on an enlarged scale, the state in which the ripping-line sewing thread 12, which is formed of the twisted yarn including the frangible fiber yarn 14 and the soluble yarn 16, is sewed in the zigzag form.

[0034] Once the functional sportswear top 2 or the functional sportswear bottoms 2A have been completely woven via sewing using the sewing thread 12, which is formed of the twisted yarn including the frangible fiber yarn 14 and the soluble yarn 16, the soluble yarn 16 is dissolved in an elution solution and removed from the thread 12 sewed in the zigzag form, whereby only the frangible fiber yarn 14 remains in the ripping-line sewing thread 12, which sews the ripping lines 6 and 8. This allows the ripping lines 6 and 8, which are sewed using soft yarns, to be considerably easily ripped when, for example, an opposing player pulls the sportswear top 2 or the sportswear bottoms 2A with strong force.

[0035] In FIG. 2, the dotted circle designated by "B" shows, on an enlarged scale, the state in which the soluble yarn 16 has been removed from the ripping-line sewing thread 12 sewed in the zigzag form, and only the frangible fiber yarn 14 remains.

[0036] Meanwhile, although the ripping-line sewing thread 12 may be formed of the twisted yarn including the frangible fiber yarn 14 and the soluble yarn 16 in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in an alternative embodiment, the ripping-line sewing thread 12 may be formed of only the frangible fiber yarn 14 without the soluble yarn 16.

[0037] At this time, prevention of the breakage of the ripping-line sewing thread 12 during sewing may be achieved by adjusting the tension of a thread in a sewing machine or increasing the twist factor of the ripping-line sewing thread 12. In addition, the ripping-line sewing thread 12 may be slightly thicker than the frangible fiber yarn 14 of the twisted yarn.

[0038] When the horizontal and vertical ripping lines 6 and 8 are formed in the functional sportswear top 2 or the functional sportswear bottoms 2A of the present invention as described above, the ripping lines 6 and 8, which are sewed using soft yarns, may be easily ripped when, for example, an opposing player pulls the sportswear top 2 or the sportswear bottoms 2A with strong force. In particular, when the frangible fiber yarn 14 of the ripping-line sewing thread 12 is formed of rayon yarn, the frangible fiber yarn 14 is useful in that it is easily ripped by an opponent's pulling force during a game because the tensile force of the frangible fiber yarn 14 may be reduced by sweat due to the properties of rayon.

[0039] FIGS. 4 and 10 are perspective views illustrating the state in which a portion of the functional sportswear top 2 or the functional sportswear bottoms 2A of the present invention is ripped. When the sportswear is ripped or the ripped piece 10 is separated, a referee can immediately recognize that an opposing player has made an intentional foul, and can be aided in performing referee judgment.

[0040] The functional sportswear top 2 or the functional sportswear bottoms 2A described above are reusable by repairing and sewing the ripped piece 10 after the game ends, and in the repair and sewing stage, the horizontal and vertical ripping lines 6 and 8 may again be sewed using soft yarns, which may be easily ripped, in a zigzag form.

[0041] Meanwhile, FIGS. 5 to 8 are views related to horizontal and vertical ripping lines formed in functional sportswear top or bottoms in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view illustrating the horizontal and vertical ripping lines in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a view illustrating major fibrous tissues for the manufacture of the functional sportswear top or bottoms in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is a view illustrating major fibrous tissues provided with the horizontal and vertical ripping lines 6 and 8 in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating the core 20a of a low melting point yarn 20 exposed at the position of the horizontal ripping line 6 illustrated in FIG. 7.

[0043] In the second embodiment of the present invention, the ripping lines 6 and 8, formed in the back portion 4 of the sportswear top 2 or the sportswear bottoms 2A, are horizontal and vertical gap lines, which cross each other and are generated by dissolving and removing woven soluble yarns 21 and 24 (see FIG. 6).

[0044] FIG. 6 shows the configuration of major fibrous tissues for the manufacture of the functional sportswear top 2 in accordance with the present invention. More specifically, FIG. 6 shows fibrous tissues for the formation of the ripping lines 6 and 8 acquired via the removal of the soluble yarns 21 and 24.

[0045] In the second embodiment of the present invention, in order to form the ripping line 6 by removing the soluble yarn 24, which is included as a weft, the soluble yarn 24 for the formation of the horizontal ripping line 6 and typical fiber yarns 22 for weaving the sportswear top 2 or the sportswear bottoms 2A are used as wefts of fabric fiber yarns. In addition, the soluble yarn 21 for the formation of the vertical ripping line 8 and low melting point yarns 20 may be used as warps of the fabric fiber yarns. In addition, the warps including the low melting point yarns 20 are thinner than the wefts.

[0046] In the present invention, the soluble yarns 21 and 24, which are included to form some warps and wefts, are fiber yarns that are dissolved and removed in an elution solution in order to form the horizontal and vertical ripping lines 6 and 8 after the sportswear top 2 is completely woven. The soluble yarns 21 and 24 may be formed of, for example, Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) or Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA).

[0047] The low melting point yarn (also referred to as an LM yarn or low temperature melting yarn), which may be used as the warp in the functional sportswear top 2 or the functional sportswear bottoms 2A, is a fiber yarn consisting of a core, which is formed of polyester and has a melting point within a range from 250 to 260 degrees Celsius, which corresponds to the melting point of typical polyester, and a sheath, which has a considerably lower melting point within a range from 120 to 200 degrees Celsius.

[0048] Hence, when the functional sportswear top 2 or the functional sportswear bottoms 2A are thermally treated at the temperature of 150 to 200 degrees Celsius after the soluble yarn 24 is dissolved and removed, in the case of the low melting point yarn 20, which is the warp, the sheath thereof, which is formed of a low melting point material, is melted, causing the core 20a to be exposed in the gap from which the soluble yarn 24 has been removed, as illustrated in FIG. 8.

[0049] The horizontal ripping line 6 is formed as illustrated in FIG. 1 or FIG. 9 in such a manner that the soluble yarn 24, which is included as the weft, is dissolved and removed and the warp has a reduced thickness. The horizontal ripping line 6 may be easily ripped when an opposing player pulls the top 2 or the bottoms 2A with strong force, even though it is not readily visible at other times.

[0050] In the second embodiment of the present invention, in order to form the vertical ripping line 8 via the removal of the soluble yarn 21, which is included as a warp, it is necessary to supply two kinds of warps using two warp supply units. For example, a first warp supply unit, which supplies a plurality of warps, such as low melting point yarns all at once may be a warp beam, and a second warp supply unit, which supplies a warp, such as the soluble yarn 21, may be a creel.

[0051] The vertical ripping line 8 is formed using an elution solution after the completion of weaving, in the same manner as the horizontal ripping line 6. Once the vertical ripping line 8 has been formed, the typical fiber yarn 22, which is included as the weft, is exposed from the resulting gap.

[0052] With the configuration of the horizontal and vertical ripping lines 6 and 8 formed as described above, when, for example, an opposing player pulls the sportswear top 2 or the sportswear bottoms 2A with strong force, the ripping line 6 in which the core 20a of the low melting point yarn 20, which is the warp, is exposed may be considerably easily ripped. Once the horizontal ripping line 6 has been ripped, the vertical ripping line 8 may also be easily ripped by inertia.

[0053] Although the above description of the present invention has been made with reference to concrete embodiments, such as sportswear, several alterations, such as, for example, the application of the present invention to general garments, may be practiced without deviating from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be determined by the claims and equivalents thereof, rather than being determined by the embodiments described above.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0054] The present invention may be used in the manufacture of functional sportswear top or functional sportswear bottoms, which may assist the easy judgment of a foul in sports in which body contact frequently occurs, such as football, basketball, and handball.

Claims

1. A functional sportswear having ripping lines, wherein ripping lines 6 and 8 are patterned by cutting a portion of a fibrous sportswear top 2 or fibrous sportswear bottoms 2A so as to form one or more pieces 10, and sewing adjacent pieces 10 to each other and sewing respective pieces 10 to cut portions adjacent thereto using a ripping-line sewing thread 12, which has a lower tensile strength than a tensile strength of a typical sewing thread, in a zigzag form, wherein the ripping-line sewing thread 12 is formed of a twisted yarn including a frangible fiber yarn 14, which has a lower tensile strength than a polyester fiber yarn for a sewing thread, and a soluble yarn 16, and wherein the soluble yarn 16 is dissolved and removed after weaving using the sewing thread, whereby the frangible fiber yarn 14 remains in the ripping-line sewing thread 12 that sews the ripping lines 6 and 8.

2. A functional sportswear having ripping lines, wherein ripping lines 6 and 8 are patterned by cutting a portion of a fibrous sportswear top 2 or fibrous sportswear bottoms 2A so as to form one or more pieces 10, and sewing adjacent pieces 10 to each other and sewing respective pieces 10 to cut portions adjacent thereto using a ripping-line sewing thread 12, which has a lower tensile strength than a tensile strength of a typical sewing thread, in a zigzag form, and wherein the ripping-line sewing thread 12 is formed of a frangible fiber yarn 14, which has a lower tensile strength than a polyester fiber yarn for a sewing thread.

3. A functional sportswear having ripping lines, wherein ripping lines 6 and 8, which have a lower tearing strength than a tearing strength of a fibrous sportswear top 2, are patterned in the sportswear top 2, wherein the ripping lines 6 and 8 are formed as soluble yarns 21 and 24, which are introduced upon weaving of the sportswear top 2, are dissolved and removed by an elution solution after the weaving of the sportswear top 2, and wherein a warp, excluding the soluble yarn 21, among warps constituting the sportswear top 2, is a low melting point yarn 20, and the low melting point yarn 20 is exposed in a gap, from which the soluble yarn 24 constituting the ripping line 6 has been removed, in a state in which a sheath of the low melting point yarn 20 is melted via thermal treatment after the weaving of the sportswear top 2 and a core 20a of the low melting point thread 20 remains.