U.S. patent application number 15/738769 was filed with the patent office on 2019-01-31 for resistance garments having integral seamless resistive zones.
The applicant listed for this patent is 6 O'CLOCK ENTERPRISES PTY LTD. Invention is credited to Paul Karl Collins, Charlie Harb, Brett Mikelsons.
Application Number | 20190029336 15/738769 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 57584326 |
Filed Date | 2019-01-31 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190029336 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Collins; Paul Karl ; et
al. |
January 31, 2019 |
RESISTANCE GARMENTS HAVING INTEGRAL SEAMLESS RESISTIVE ZONES
Abstract
Garment, and method for forming a garment, comprising a fabric
configured to conform to a body portion of a wearer, wherein
resistive zones are seamlessly integrally formed in the fabric, and
wherein the resistive zones are positioned in the fabric to resist
movement of the body portion of the wearer.
Inventors: |
Collins; Paul Karl;
(Melbourne, Victoria, AU) ; Harb; Charlie;
(Cranebrook, New South Wales, AU) ; Mikelsons; Brett;
(Melbourne, Victoria, AU) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
6 O'CLOCK ENTERPRISES PTY LTD |
Melboume |
|
AU |
|
|
Family ID: |
57584326 |
Appl. No.: |
15/738769 |
Filed: |
June 24, 2016 |
PCT Filed: |
June 24, 2016 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/AU2016/050536 |
371 Date: |
October 18, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62184509 |
Jun 25, 2015 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D 2500/20 20130101;
G06F 2113/12 20200101; A41D 2400/82 20130101; G06F 30/23 20200101;
A41D 2400/38 20130101; A41D 31/18 20190201; A41D 2300/22 20130101;
A41D 13/0015 20130101; A41H 3/007 20130101; A41D 2600/10 20130101;
A41D 2500/10 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A41D 13/00 20060101
A41D013/00; A41D 31/00 20060101 A41D031/00 |
Claims
1. A garment, comprising a fabric configured to conform to a body
portion of a wearer, wherein resistive zones are seamlessly
integrally formed in the fabric, and wherein the resistive zones
are positioned in the fabric to resist movement of the body portion
of the wearer.
2. The garment of claim 1, wherein the fabric is a knitted fabric
or a woven fabric.
3. The garment of claim 2, wherein the fabric is a
three-dimensional (3D) knitted fabric.
4. The garment of claim 1, wherein the resistive zones are
resistive bands.
5. The garment of claim 1, wherein the fabric and the resistive
zones are formed using a circular knitting machine.
6. The garment of claim 1, wherein the resistive zones are
positioned in the fabric using virtual prototyping of a virtual
model of the garment on a virtual model of the body portion.
7. The garment of claim 6, wherein the virtual prototyping
comprises finite element analysis (FEA) of the virtual garment
model on the virtual model of the body portion.
8. The garment of claim 2, wherein the resistive zones are
seamlessly formed by varying knitting or weaving patterns of the
fabric, varying composition of the fabric, or a combination
thereof.
9. The garment of claim 1, wherein the garment comprises an arm
sleeve, a leg sleeve, a body sleeve, a pair of pants, a top, and
combinations thereof.
10. The garment of claim 9, wherein the garment comprises a
resistance suit comprising the pair of pants and the top.
11. The garment of claim 9, wherein the pair of pants comprises a
waist and a pair of legs respectively terminating below leg calves
of the wearer.
12. The garment of claim 11, wherein the resistive zones are
positioned to extend downwardly from the waist to rearwardly
encircle and anchor under and to muscles of the leg calves of the
wearer, and to forwardly encircle and anchor under and to the
wearer's knee.
13. The garment of claim 11, wherein the resistive zones are
positioned to provide resistance to muscles of the wearer between
the waist and the leg calves as the body moves, the muscles
comprising gluteus maximus, upper leg muscles, lower leg muscles,
and combinations thereof.
14. The garment of claim 1, wherein the resistive zones are
positioned to resist biomechanical movement of the body portion,
limit range of motion of the body portion, or a combination
thereof.
15. The garment of claim 1, wherein the fabric comprises synthetic
fibres, natural fibres, or a combination or blend thereof.
16. The garment of claim 15, wherein the fabric comprises polyamide
and elastane.
17. The garment of claim 1, wherein the garment is configured as a
sportswear garment, an exercise garment, a running garment, a yoga
garment, a rehabilitation garment, a cross fit garment, a
veterinary garment, and combinations thereof.
18. The garment of claim 17, comprising a rehabilitation garment,
wherein the resistive zones are positioned to mimic targeted
resistance provided by TheraBand therapy, sports taping, or a
combination thereof.
19. A method, comprising: seamlessly and integrally forming
resistive zones in fabric of a garment that is conformable to a
body portion of a wearer, wherein the resistive zones are
positioned in the fabric to resist movement of the body
portion.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the resistive zones are
seamlessly integrally formed in the fabric by 3D knitting.
Description
FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to resistance garments having
integral seamless resistive zones.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Resistance garments, such as resistance suits for resistance
training in sports, conventionally comprise resistive bands secured
to fabric. The resistive bands are positioned to resist expansion
and contraction of muscles of the wearer as the body moves. The
fabric typically comprises elastic resilient material so that the
resistance garment also provides some compression in addition to
resistance.
[0003] Conventional resistance garments have various disadvantages.
They typically have seams and channels with bulky elastic bands
that do not fit precisely or conform smoothly to the body, but
instead tend to pucker up and chafe against the skin as the body
portion moves. The seams and bulky elastic bands create unsightly
and uncomfortable lines in conventional resistance garments that
adversely affect their fit, fashion and function.
[0004] In this context, there is a need for resistance garments
having improved fit, fashion and function.
SUMMARY
[0005] According to the present invention, there is provided a
garment, comprising a fabric configured to conform to a body
portion of a wearer, wherein resistive zones are seamlessly
integrally formed in the fabric, and wherein the resistive zones
are positioned in the fabric to resist movement of the body portion
of the wearer.
[0006] The fabric may be a knitted fabric or a woven fabric. For
example, the fabric may be a three-dimensional (3D) knitted
fabric.
[0007] The resistive zones may be resistive bands.
[0008] The fabric and the resistive zones may be formed using a
circular knitting machine.
[0009] The resistive zones may be positioned in the fabric using
virtual prototyping of a virtual model of the garment on a virtual
model of the body portion. The virtual prototyping may comprise
finite element analysis (FEA) of the virtual garment model on the
virtual model of the body portion. The virtual model of the body
portion may comprise a meshed, 3D model of the body portion.
[0010] The resistive zones may be seamlessly formed by varying
knitting or weaving patterns of the fabric, varying composition of
the fabric, or a combination thereof.
[0011] The garment may comprise an arm sleeve, a leg sleeve, a body
sleeve, a pair of pants, a top, and combinations thereof. For
example, the garment may comprise a resistance suit comprising the
pair of pants and the top.
[0012] The pair of pants may comprise a waist and a pair of legs
respectively terminating below leg calves of the wearer.
[0013] The resistive zones may be positioned in the fabric to
extend downwardly from the waist to rearwardly encircle and anchor
under and to muscles of the leg calves of the wearer. The resistive
zones may forwardly encircle and anchor under and to the wearer's
knee.
[0014] The body portion may comprise arms, legs, upper torso, lower
torso, and combinations thereof. The resistive zones may be
positioned to provide resistance to muscles of the wearer between
the waist and the leg calves as the body portion moves. For
example, the muscles may comprise gluteus maximus, upper leg
muscles, lower leg muscles, and combinations thereof.
[0015] The resistive zones may be positioned to resist
biomechanical movement of the body portion, limit range of motion
of the body portion, or a combination thereof.
[0016] The fabric may comprise synthetic fibres, natural fibres, or
a combination or blend thereof. For example, the seamless fabric
may comprise polyamide and elastane.
[0017] The garment may be configured as a sportswear garment, an
exercise garment, a running garment, a yoga garment, a
rehabilitation garment, a cross fit garment, a veterinary garment,
and combinations thereof. For example, the garment may be a
rehabilitation garment, wherein the resistive zones are positioned
to mimic targeted resistance provided by TheraBand therapy, sports
taping, or a combination thereof.
[0018] The present invention also provides a method,
comprising:
[0019] seamlessly and integrally forming resistive zones in fabric
of a garment that is conformable to a body portion of a wearer,
wherein the resistive zones are positioned in the fabric to resist
movement of the body portion.
[0020] The resistive zones may be seamlessly integrally formed in
the fabric by 3D knitting.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0021] Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of
example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which:
[0022] FIG. 1a is a schematic diagram of a pair of resistance pants
according to an embodiment of the invention;
[0023] FIGS. 1b and 1c show outside and inside leg views
respectively of the resistance pants of FIG. 1a;
[0024] FIGS. 2 to 4 are schematic diagrams of resistance running
pants, resistance yoga pants and resistance exercise pants
according to embodiments of the invention;
[0025] FIGS. 5 and 6 are screenshots of virtual FEA of resistance
pants using a meshed, 3D model of the lower body;
[0026] FIG. 7 is a photograph of a resistance sleeve according to
an embodiment of the invention;
[0027] FIG. 8 is a photograph of a pair of resistance pants
according to an embodiment of the invention;
[0028] FIGS. 9a and 9b are dynamometer test results of hip peak
torque and hip average power generated while wearing the resistance
pants of FIG. 8, compared to conventional gym shorts; and
[0029] FIGS. 10a and 10b are dynamometer test results of knee peak
torque and knee average power generated while wearing the
resistance pants of FIG. 8, compared to conventional gym
shorts.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0030] FIGS. 1 and 10 illustrate a resistance garment 10 according
to embodiments of the invention. In these embodiments, the
resistance garment 10 may comprise a pair of resistance pants 10
having a waist 12 and a pair of legs 14 respectively terminating
below leg calves 16 of a wearer (not shown). The wearer may be a
human, or an animal such as a horse, a dog, etc. The garment 10 may
be formed from a fabric configured to conform to a portion of the
wearers body, such as the lower body and legs. The garment 10 may
be totally seamless or have at least one seam, for example, one
side seam. Resistive zones 18 may be seamlessly integrally formed
in the fabric. In some embodiments, the garment 10 may be locally
seamless around resistive zones 18. For example, each leg sleeve 14
of the resistance pants 10 may be seamless, even if there are seams
connecting the leg sleeves to each other and/or to the waist 12 of
the resistance pants 10. A seamless configuration at and around the
resistive zones 18 ensures that the resistance at these regions
only depends on the deliberately arranged resistive zones 18, and
is not provided by uncomfortable and unsightly seams.
[0031] The resistive zones 18 may comprise elongate resistive bands
18. Other equivalent or alternative shapes and geometries may also
be used for the resistive zones 18. The resistive bands 18 may have
reduced elasticity (ie, increased modulus of elasticity), reduced
resilience or increased resistive force relative to the base fabric
forming the major portions of the garment 10. For example, the
resistive zones 18 may be about ten times stiffer than the base
fabric.
[0032] The resistive bands 18 may be positioned in the fabric to
resist movement of a body portion of the wearer. For example, the
resistive bands 18 may resist or limit expansion and/or contraction
of muscles in the body portion. This resistance to movement results
in increased muscular work performed by the wearer when moving, and
thereby increases efficiency of exercise or other physical
activity. Further or alternatively, the resistive bands 18 may
resist or limit biomechanical movement of the body portion, for
example, resistance pants 10 may resist extension and/or flexion of
the hip and/or knees. Further or alternatively, the resistive bands
18 may resist or limit a range of motion of the body portion. These
embodiments may be useful for physiotherapy and rehabilitation, for
example as an alternative or complementary treatment to TheraBand
therapy and/or sports taping. For example, resistance pants 10 may
comprise resistive zones 18 across the hip and waist regions that
are configured to mimic placement of a TheraBand when performing
exercises such as clamshell and sidestep exercises. The body
portion may comprise arms, legs, upper torso, lower torso, and
combinations thereof. Opposite ends of the resistive zones 18 may
be anchored at spaced-apart anatomical anchor points on the body
portion. The anatomical anchor points may comprise any and all
suitable spaced-apart protuberances in bone, muscles and/or soft
tissue of the body portion.
[0033] For example, the resistive bands 18 may be positioned in the
fabric to extend downwardly from the waist 12 to rearwardly
encircle and anchor under and to muscles of the leg calves 16 of
the wearer. The resistive bands 18 may forwardly encircle and
anchor under and to the wearers knee. The positioning of the
resistive bands 18 on the front and rear sides of the garment 10
are illustrated in FIGS. 1a to 1c by light grey and dark grey
lines, respectively. The resistive bands 18 may be positioned to
provide resistance to muscles of the wearer between the waist 12
and the leg calves 18 as the body moves. For example, the muscles
may comprise gluteus maximus, upper leg muscles, lower leg muscles,
and combinations thereof.
[0034] In other embodiments, the garment 10 may be a sock, a
stocking, an arm sleeve, a leg sleeve, a body sleeve, a pair of
pants, a top, or a combination thereof. The sleeves, pants and tops
may be full- or half-length depending on the desired use and
appearance of the garment 10. The resistance garment 10 may be
configured in any and all conventional shapes, sizes, cuts,
patterns, lengths, widths, thicknesses etc. For example, the
garment 10 may comprise a resistance suit comprising the pair of
pants and the top. Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the resistance
garment 10 may be sportswear garments, such as a running garment, a
yoga garment and an exercise garment, respectively. Further, the
garment 10 may be configured as a rehabilitation garment or a cross
fit garment (not shown). In other embodiments, the resistance
garment 10 may be configured as a therapeutic compression garment,
for example, compression socks or stockings, which may be used to
treat venous disorders such as edema, phlebitis and thrombosis.
[0035] The resistive force provided by the seamlessly-formed
resistive zones 18 may be selectively varied and controlled based
on the intended purpose of the resistance garment 10. For example,
the position, 3D construction, thickness, width, surface area,
material composition and fabric composition of the resistive zones
18 may be selectively and individually varied to provide different
levels of resistive force suitable to the intended use and/or the
intended user of the resistance garment 10. For example, the
resistive force provided by the resistive zones 18 of a
rehabilitation garment 10 may be lower than the resistive force
provided by the resistive zones 18 in an exercise or cross fit
garment 10. In further examples, the resistive zones 18 on a pair
of rehabilitation pants for treating hip flexor strains may be
arranged differently compared to the resistive zones on a
rehabilitation pants for treating anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)
strains in the knee. The resistive zones 18 may be configured to
provide different levels of resistive force, such as easy, medium
or hard levels of resistance. In some embodiments, the resistance
provided by the seamlessly formed resistive zones 18 may be
selectively varied throughout the resistance garment 10. For
example, the resistive zones 18 for therapeutic compression socks
may be configured so that resistance gradually decreases from the
ankle towards the waist.
[0036] The resistance garment 10 may alternatively be implemented
as a veterinary garment 10 for an animal, such as a horse or a dog.
For example, the veterinary garment 10 may be configured as a
training and/or rehabilitation garment for a race horse or a
greyhound. The veterinary garment 10 may be configured to conform
to the upper and/or lower leg of the animal, and the resistive
zones 18 may be positioned and configured to resist movement of the
animal's upper and/or lower leg.
[0037] The fabric may be a knitted fabric or a woven fabric. For
example, the fabric may be a 3D knitted fabric. The fabric and the
resistive bands 18 may be formed integrally with each other in a
single process using a single machine, such as a flat knitting,
warp knitting or circular knitting machine. The increased
resistance of the resistive zones compared to the base material may
be provided by varying knitting or weaving patterns of the fabric,
varying composition of the fabric, or a combination thereof.
Resistive zones 18 thus formed are seamlessly integrated into the
base fabric. The fabric may comprise synthetic fibres, natural
fibres, or a combination or blend thereof. For example, the fabric
may comprise polyamide and elastane. Other equivalent or
alternative fibres may also be used, for example, a nylon/lycra
blend.
[0038] The resistive bands 18 may be planned and positioned in the
fabric using virtual prototyping of a virtual model of the garment
10 on a virtual model of the body portion. The virtual prototyping
may comprise FEA of the virtual garment model on the virtual model
of the body portion. The virtual model of the body portion may
comprise a meshed, 3D model of the body portion. FIGS. 5 and 6 are
screenshots of virtual FEA of the resistance pants 10 using a
meshed, 3D model of the lower body. The 3D model simulated rotation
about the hip and knee joints, specifically extension of the left
leg 30 degrees forwards and pivoting of the right leg 5 degrees
backwards. This simulates a lower limb movement frequently
performed during many physical activities such as running, walking,
weight lifting, yoga, etc. The variation in greyscale along the
resistive bands 18 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 represents variation in
resistive load on the virtual body, with a lighter grey indicating
a higher load. In this example, the arrangement of the resistive
zones 18 places the gluteus and quadriceps regions under higher
loads, compared to, for example, the knee region. It will be
appreciated that this virtual modelling technique may be used to
simulate different levels of resistance provided by various
arrangements of resistance zones 18 on various postures of the
wearer's body, and may be used to customise and prototype
resistance garments 10 according to an intended use and/or the
intended user.
[0039] The invention will now be described in more detail, by way
of illustration only, with respect to the following examples. The
examples are intended to serve to illustrate this invention, and
should not be construed as limiting the generality of the
disclosure of the description throughout this specification.
Example 1: Resistance Sleeve
[0040] Referring to FIG. 7, a resistance leg or arm sleeve 10 was
made from 3D knitted fabric comprising 92% polyamide and 8%
elastane using a Santoni circular knitting machine. Two different
knit patterns were used to generate the base fabric and the
seamlessly integrally formed resistive bands 18. The resistive
bands 18 were formed and positioned as "X" shapes as viewed from
the front and rear of the resistance sleeve 10.
[0041] Four samples of the fabric and the resistive bands 18 were
taken from the resistance sleeve 10 and subjected to tensile
strength testing using a 30 kN Instron tensile tester with a 100 N
load cell and a 40 mm gauge length. Each sample was preloaded with
0.5 N of force at a rate of 5 mm/s. Each sample was then extended
to 80 mm more than the original gauge length at a rate of 5 mm/s.
Upon reaching the 80 mm extension length the test was stopped and
the jaws of the tester were returned to their starting positions
and the sample removed.
[0042] The length and width of each sample was measured with a
ruler taking the approximate average of three measurements. The
thickness of the samples was measured using a digital fabric
micrometre taking the average of three measurements. The modulus of
elasticity of each sample was calculated by the Instron Blue Hill 3
program. The results of the tensile strength testing are set out
below in Table 1.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Tensile strength test results Thick- Mod-
Length Width ness Extension Max ulus Sample (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm)
Force (N) (MPa) Fabric 1.1 50 21 1.1 80.00251 7.01823 0.23913
Fabric 1.2 51 20 1.1 80.00251 7.09435 0.25178 Fabric 1.3 50 20 1.1
80.00252 7.34818 0.2789 Fabric 1.4 50 20 1.1 80.00252 7.49706
0.27098 Fabric Avg 0.2602 Bands 2.1 49 21 1.4 80.00246 8.86116
0.24033 Bands 2.2 46 19 1.4 80.00252 11.03479 0.38316 Bands 2.3 45
22 1.4 80.00253 10.54839 0.29984 Bands 2.4 47 18 1.4 80.00252
9.50191 0.34663 Bands 2 Avg 0.31749
[0043] The above results indicate that the seamlessly integrally
formed resistive bands 18 had a greater modulus of elasticity
relative to the base fabric forming the major portions of the
garment 10.
Example 2: Resistance Pants
[0044] FIG. 8 shows a pair of resistance pants 10 made from 3D
knitted fabric comprising 92% polyamide and 8% elastane using a
Santoni circular knitting machine. Two different knit patterns were
used to generate the base fabric and the seamlessly integrally
formed resistive bands 18 respectively. The resistive bands 18 were
formed and positioned as "X" shapes as viewed from the front and
rear of the resistance pants 10.
[0045] A Biodex dynamometer was used to measure the effect of
resistance pants 10 on leg movement. The movements tested were
rotation about the hip joint, and rotation about the knee joint.
FIGS. 9a and 9b show test results of hip peak torque and hip
average power measured using the Biodex dynamometer. The bar
labelled "Resistance" refers the measurements obtained while
wearing the resistance pants 10 of FIG. 8, and the bar labelled
"Control" represents the results obtained while wearing a pair of
conventional, non-compressive gym shorts. FIGS. 10a and 10b
similarly show dynamometer test results of knee peak torque and
knee average power measured while wearing the resistance pants of
FIG. 8, compared measurements obtained while wearing conventional
gym shorts.
[0046] The results indicate that the resistance pants 10 with
seamlessly integrated resistive zones 18 arranged in the "X" shaped
configuration as shown in FIG. 8 provides significantly greater
resistance against rotation at the hip and knee, and required more
torque and power for the measured movements, compared to
conventional gym shorts.
[0047] Embodiments of the present invention provide resistance
garments for humans and animals having integral seamless resistive
zones that provide improved fit, fashion and function. The
resistance garments with integral seamlessly formed resistive zones
are precisely fitted to the body to produce a smoother, clean look.
The resistance garments with integral seamlessly formed resistive
zones conform smoothly to individual shapes of wearers and produce
fewer visible lines. The lack of seams around the resistive zones
provides for improved comfort as the body moves. The seamlessly
integrated resistive zones are precisely positioned using virtual
prototyping to optimise their functionality in resisting movement
of one or more body portions of the wearer.
[0048] For the purpose of this specification, the word "comprising"
means "including but not limited to,", and the word "comprises" has
a corresponding meaning.
[0049] The above embodiments have been described by way of example
only and modifications are possible within the scope of the claims
that follow.
* * * * *