CN107072324B

CN107072324B - Sports underwear comprising an elastic fabric contributing a level of compression adapted to the musculature

Info

Publication number: CN107072324B
Application number: CN201580056355.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 拉吉卜·布里贝赫
Original assignee: Hannes Operations Europe
Current assignee: Champions Europe GmbH
Priority date: 2014-10-17
Filing date: 2015-10-14
Publication date: 2021-04-30
Anticipated expiration: 2035-10-14
Also published as: CA2964856A1; RU2017116558A; RU2700823C2; KR20170071556A; MX2017004963A; BR112017007852A2; KR102519872B1; JP2017536487A; AU2015332045A1; US20170238621A1; WO2016059579A1; RU2017116558A3; FR3027195B1; CN107072324A; EP3206516A1; FR3027195A1; CA2964856C

Abstract

Undergarment for sports practice is provided, comprising an elastic fabric which fits the body while exerting compression in order to limit the oscillations of the muscle tissues during the practice of the sport, characterized in that it has areas (102, 104, 106, 112, 114, 116, 132, 134, 142a, 142b, 144) of different levels of elasticity, each of these areas contributing a level of compression adapted to the muscle tissues they cover, including a higher compression when these muscle tissues exhibit greater oscillations from the beginning.

Description

Sports underwear comprising an elastic fabric contributing a level of compression adapted to the musculature

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an undergarment for sports practice, which is provided for improving comfort and performance.

Background

In the practice of physical activity, rapid and repeated movements result in the oscillation of the whole of the muscular tissue of the body, including muscles, fatty substances and skin. These oscillations depend on the muscles, varying with the exercise being exercised and the individual, in particular his/her sex, age, height and weight.

In addition to the effort necessary for physical activity, the oscillations of the muscle tissue require additional energy of the muscles for supporting this matter, which fatigues these muscles more quickly and limits the energy dedicated to the sports performance.

Furthermore, micro-injuries may be caused on the scale of the muscles, which makes them fatiguing even more.

In order to exert a tight retention on the limbs for medical reasons, it is known to produce supporting underwear, in particular supporting stockings for the legs, comprising an elastic fabric exerting a constant and uniform tight retention force on the limbs as a whole.

The tight retention of the limbs makes it possible to compress the superficial venous network and in particular to limit the formation of oedema which can lead to thrombosis. However, these undergarments are not suitable for improving athletic performance.

Furthermore, a sports underwear of the known type in the form of pants for the lower torso is presented, in particular in document US-a1-2014059741, which has vertical elastic bands arranged along the legs, which exert additional support in this direction, making it possible to reduce the muscular fatigue of the legs.

However, this type of trousers with elastic bands along the legs cannot adapt to the following tight retention levels, in particular for each type of muscle: the tight maintenance level is adapted to each type of muscle in order to optimize the performance of each of these muscles to the best possible extent.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention specifically aims to prevent these drawbacks of the prior art.

To this end, an undergarment is proposed that is provided for sports practice, comprising an elastic fabric that fits the body while exerting compression in order to limit the oscillations of the muscle tissues during the sports practice, characterized in that said elastic fabric has areas of different levels of elasticity, each of these areas contributing a level of compression adapted to the muscle tissues that they cover, including a higher compression when these muscle tissues exhibit greater oscillations from the beginning.

The advantages of this undergarment are: it is thus possible to define precisely different areas on the human body, each corresponding to the range of oscillation of the muscular tissue during the exercise, and then, for each of these areas, it is possible to adapt the level of elongation and the degree of tension of the elastic fabric in order to suitably reduce the oscillations.

Therefore, it is possible to restrain the muscle masses to a large extent and restrain the other muscle masses to a small extent with the regions having shapes freely adapted to the muscle masses exhibiting the most extensive oscillation, thereby ensuring the comfort of the underwear.

These garments improve the body recovery, that is to say faster recovery of good body shape, and therefore indirectly improve the performance to the extent that exercise exercises can be restarted faster and therefore more exercises can be performed, resulting in greater benefit and therefore better body performance.

Furthermore, the undergarment according to the invention can have one or more of the following features which can be combined together.

Advantageously, the higher compression area has silicone deposited on the elastic fabric. Silicone is a material that is extremely elastic and highly stressful, and in addition, silicone is readily deposited and adheres to elastic fabrics. The compression may be contributed by other methods, for example by application of a resin other than silicone, adhesion or addition of a material or any other application, in particular of the type of material reinforcement which enhances the elasticity in the higher compression regions.

In this case, advantageously, the deposition of, for example, silicone on the areas of higher compression forms a pattern comprising meshes, preferably of hexagonal shape or of any other known geometric shape, for example triangular. These meshes form a kind of decoration which at the same time allows to set the level of elasticity by adjusting the thickness of the meshes.

Advantageously, the silicone is deposited according to a pattern produced by a screen printing process. This process makes it easy to form different patterns.

Advantageously, the elastic fabric is a plain knit based on polyamide and elastic fibres. This type of fabric has a good level of elasticity and is comfortable to wear.

In this case, it is advantageous that the knitting width of the elastic fabric is arranged according to the height of the undergarment, but it may be arranged in the width direction as well, provided that the elongation and the modulus are similar. A greater compression is thus obtained in the height direction representing the direction of maximum oscillation of the muscle tissue.

In particular, the compressed area comprising the highest level has an elongation of about 49%, in particular between 40% and 60%, for a load of 15N in the height direction of the undergarment and an elongation of about 66%, in particular between 55% and 75%, for a load of 15N in the width direction, these measurements being made according to standard BS 4952. These values contribute to a good level of compression of the muscle tissue with the highest oscillations.

According to one embodiment, the undergarment is in the form of pants having a low compressed lower region on the legs up to the knees and a high compressed upper region above the lower region up to the top. Thus, there is a region adapted to the movement of the corresponding muscle tissue.

In addition, between the low compression zone and the high compression zone, substantially at the level of the knees, the trousers can have a medium compression zone in the form of a band rising towards the inside between the legs.

According to another embodiment, the undergarment is in the form of a jersey having a low compression upper region in the upper portion, substantially down to the middle of the chest and on the arms, and one or more lower regions of higher compression below the upper region. Also in this case, there is a region adapted to the movement of the corresponding muscle tissue.

In addition, the jersey can have a lower region that includes a substantially horizontal band that is completed on each side by contributing a descending portion of a medium or high compression level, at a height that is centered between the front and back and intermediate the chest.

Drawings

The invention will be better understood and other characteristics and advantages will appear more clearly after reading the following description, given as an example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

figures 1a and 1b present human muscles from the front and back, respectively;

figures 2a and 2b present on the human body from the front and back, respectively, regions corresponding to three levels of oscillation of the musculature during the running exercise;

-figures 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b present, from the front and back respectively, a pant or "legging" and a jersey or "T-shirt" with three levels of elasticity according to the invention;

figure 5 presents a silicone covering pattern applied on an elastic fabric in order to adapt its elasticity level; and is

Figures 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b present trousers or "leggings" and jerseys or "T-shirts", respectively, from the front and back, according to a variant with two levels of elasticity.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1a presents the human body as seen from the front, with the following muscles on each leg starting from the bottom: peroneal brevis 2, tibialis anterior 4, vastus medialis 6, vastus lateralis 8, rectus femoris 10, adductor longus 12, sartorius 14, tensor fasciae latae 16, and adductor magnus 18, gracilis 20, pubic muscle 22, and iliocostalis 24 toward the medial side of the leg.

The human body has the following muscles from the bottom in the upper half: the extraabdominal oblique muscle 26, the abdominal rectus muscle 28, the anterior serratus muscle 30, the pectoralis major muscle 32, and the deltoid muscle 34. The body has, starting from the hand, on each arm, an ulnar carpometrics muscle 36, a palmaris longus muscle 38, a brachioradialis muscle 40, a brachialis muscle 42, and a biceps brachii muscle 44.

Fig. 1b presents the human body as seen from the back, with the following muscles on each leg starting from the bottom: soleus muscle 50, peroneal longus muscle 52, gastrocnemius muscle 54, metatarsus muscle 56, semimembraneous muscle 58, semitendinosus muscle 60, biceps femoris muscle 62, gluteus maximus muscle 64 and gluteus medius muscle 66.

The human body has the following muscles in the upper half from the bottom: latissimus dorsi 68, infraspinatus 70, and trapezius 72. On each arm, from the hand, the body has an extensor carpi ulnaris 80, an ancus 82, a triceps brachii 84, a large circular muscle 86, and a small circular muscle 88.

Fig. 2a and 2b present different oscillation levels of muscle tissue during a running exercise, measured by sensors for human body samples representing different gender, age, height and weight. Measuring movement in three dimensions; in the case of such a movement, the movement is generally greater in the vertical direction.

These movements depend on the contraction of the muscle; they are larger when the muscles relax.

Small oscillations of less than 15mm are obtained on the back of the leg, below the knee 280 and in the centre of the back 282. Moderate oscillations of between 15mm and 25mm are obtained in the lower chest and in the centre of the abdomen 284, on the lower back 286 and on the upper arms 288 and on the upper back of the legs towards the inner side 298. Large oscillations of more than 25mm are obtained on the upper part of the legs, including the pelvis 290, and on the side 292 of the abdomen, for the front, and on the side 294 of the legs and on the side 296 of the back, for the back.

Figures 3a and 3b present a pant 100 made of elastic fabric, while the pant 100 generates compression of the lower body due to the material and the way this fabric is made and due to the silicone applied to certain areas of this fabric. The fabric contributes solely to a low level of compression; the silicone combined with the fabric contributes to a medium level of compression and a high level of compression depending on its pattern.

The fabric is a plain knit based on polyamide and elastane, in particular comprising 78% polyamide and 22% elastane. The gram weight is 200g per square meter. In the woven length direction, the fabric has an elongation of 77% for a load of 15N and a modulus of 233cN for a force of 30%. In the weave width direction, the fabric has an elongation of 59% for a load of 15N and a modulus of 107cN for a force of 30%. These measurements were made according to standard BS 4952.

Since the oscillations of the musculature are greater in the height direction, it would be advantageous for manufacturing to arrange the width of the fabric in the height direction of the trousers 100 in order to benefit from the greater stiffness of this fabric in this direction. Furthermore, a greater elasticity in the width direction is obtained, which allows the product to be pulled on more comfortably.

On the leg, the trousers 100 have a lower region 102 characterized by the absence of fabric contributing a low level of compression silicone, the lower region 102 rising almost up to the knee, toward the medial side, and substantially covering the fibula short muscle 2 and tibialis anterior muscle 4 on the front and the soleus muscle 50, fibula long muscle 52 and gastrocnemius muscle 54 on the back.

Then, above said upper region, trousers 100 have a middle region 104 in the form of a band that also rises towards the inside between the legs and almost to the crotch, middle region 104 being characterized by a fabric with silicone contributing a medium level of compression, middle region 104 substantially covering the metatarsus muscle 56, semimembraneous muscle 58 and semitendinous muscle 60.

Finally, above the middle region, the pants 100 have an upper region 106 up to the waist characterized by a fabric with silicone contributing a high level of compression, the upper region 106 substantially covering the medial femoral muscle 6, the lateral femoral muscle 8, the rectus femoris 10, the adductor longus 12, the sartorius 14, the adductor major 18, the gracilis 20, the pubic muscle 22, and the iliocochloas 24 on the front. This upper region 106 substantially covers the biceps femoris muscle 62 and the gluteus maximus muscle 64 on the back.

Fig. 4a and 4b present a jersey 110 made of the same elastic fabric, which due to the material and the way this fabric is made and due to the silicone applied on certain areas, generates compression on the upper body in the same way, so as to contribute to three compression levels.

For manufacturing, the width of the fabric is also arranged in the height direction of the jersey 110, in order to benefit from greater stiffness in this direction and to make the product easier to sleeve.

On the upper body and sleeves down to the middle of the chest, the jersey 110 has an upper area 112 that is characterized by having no fabric that contributes to a low level of compression of silicone, the upper area 112 covering substantially all of the muscles of the pectoralis major 32, deltoid 34, infraspinatus 70, trapezius 72, great circular 86, small circular 88, and arms.

Then, below said upper region, the jersey 110 has a middle region 114, the middle region 114 having, at the center of the front and back and at a height in the middle of the chest, thin, substantially horizontal bands which are completed on each side by a descending portion extending below this chest, the middle region 114 being characterized by a fabric with silicone contributing a medium level of compression. The medial region 114 substantially covers the rectus abdominis muscle 28 and the anterior serratus muscle 30.

Finally, below the middle region, on each side, the jersey 110 has a lower region 116, low to the waist, characterized by a fabric of silicone that contributes to a high level of compression, the lower region 116 substantially covering the extraabdominal oblique muscles 26 on the front and the latissimus dorsi 68 on the back.

Fig. 5 presents a pattern produced with silicone for the medium and high compression zones, comprising meshes according to a hexagonal shape 120 having a width L of about 10mm and a height H of about 15 mm.

Advantageously, the medium and high compression areas are distinguished by adapting the thickness E of this pattern, which is 2mm for medium compression and 3mm for high compression, so as to enable the appearance and manufacturing of the device to be maintained still similar.

Preferably, a two-component silicone with a shore a hardness between 10 and 40 is used, which is advantageously a medical type material, to avoid reactions with the skin.

In particular, the silicone can be deposited on the textile by screen printing in order to obtain the desired pattern, a process which allows the silicone to be impregnated in the textile, which increases the tension of the textile, that is to say the force with which it returns to its original position.

It should be noted that since the elongation of the silicone used to reinforce the elastic fabric before breaking is greater than that of this fabric, there is no risk of damaging this silicone in the case of greater stretching.

For the medium compression area, an elastic fabric is obtained having an elongation of 54% for a load of 15N and a modulus of 560cN for a force of 30% in the height direction of the product. In the width direction, the elastic fabric has an elongation of 72% for a load of 15N and a modulus of 420cN for a force of 30%. These measurements were made according to standard BS 4952.

It was observed that for this medium compression region there was a reduced elongation and greater stiffness and better tension of the fabric in both directions.

For the high compression area, an elastic fabric is also obtained having an elongation of 49% for a load of 15N and a modulus of 640cN for a force of 30% in the height direction of the product. In the width direction, the elastic fabric has an elongation of 66% for a load of 15N and a modulus of 420cN for a force of 30%. These measurements were made according to standard BS 4952.

For this high compression region, there is even greater stiffness.

Fig. 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b present a trousers 100 and a jersey 110 with only two compression zones, namely a low compression zone with only elastic fabric and a high compression zone with fabric receiving silicone in order to produce the highest compression presented above.

For manufacturing, the width of the fabric is also arranged in the height direction of the trousers 100 and the jersey 110 in order to benefit from greater stiffness in this direction and make these products easier to put on.

Fig. 6a and 6b present a pair of trousers 130, on each leg, the trousers 130 having a lower region 132, the lower region 132 being characterized by a fabric without silicone contributing to a low level of compression, the lower region 132 being almost up to and including the knee, rising slightly towards the outside, and substantially covering the fibula brevis muscle 2 and tibialis anterior muscle 4 on the front and the soleus muscle 50, fibula longus muscle 52 and gastrocnemius muscle 54 on the back.

Above the lower region, the pants 130 have an upper region 134 up to the waist characterized by a fabric with silicone contributing a high level of compression, the upper region 134 substantially covering the vastus medialis 6, vastus lateral 8, rectus femoris 10, adductor longus 12, sartorius 14, adductor major 18, gracilis 20, pubis 22, and iliocostalis 24 on the front, and covering the metatarsus 56, semimembranosus 58, semitendinosus 60, biceps femoris 62, and gluteus maximus 64 on the back.

Fig. 7a and 7b present a jersey 140, with the jersey 140 having an upper area 142a on the upper body and sleeves down to the middle of the chest, the upper area 142a being characterized by a fabric without silicone contributing a low level of compression, the upper area 142a covering substantially all of the muscles of the pectoralis major 32, deltoid 34, infraspinatus 70, trapezius 72, great circular 86, small circular 88, and arms.

In addition, at the mid-abdomen and mid-back down to the bottom, the jersey 140 has two lower central regions 142b, the lower central regions 142b being fabrics that do not have silicone that contributes to a low level of compression.

Finally, the jersey 140 has a lower region 144, at a height that is in the middle of the front and back and in the middle of the chest, the lower region 144 having thin, substantially horizontal bands that are completed on each side by a drop portion that extends to the bottom, the lower region 144 being characterized as a fabric with silicone that contributes to a high level of compression. This lower region 144 substantially covers the extraabdominal oblique muscle 26, the abdominal rectus muscle 28 and the anterior serratus muscle 30 on the front, and the latissimus dorsi muscle 68 on the back.

In a practical manner, similar measurements performed on the same type of person wearing or not wearing this type of underwear show gains with respect to muscle tissue oscillation levels between 20% and 40%. In the case of wearing these undergarments, there is therefore a significantly reduced muscle movement, which reduces energy consumption, improves comfort and enables an increased athletic performance.

In general, according to the invention, it is possible to produce on the undergarment different numbers (more than three) of zones corresponding to different compression levels of the fabric, and a zone profile specifically adapted to the muscle to be covered. In particular, it is possible to produce an undergarment that: the underwear is provided for different categories of people, in particular according to their type, their age, their height and their weight, in order to optimize comfort and athletic performance in a specific way.

Claims

1. An undergarment provided for athletic practice, the undergarment comprising:

an elastic fabric that conforms to a wearer's body while applying compression so as to limit the oscillation of the musculature of the wearer's body during the exercise of movement, wherein the elastic fabric has areas of different levels of elasticity defined by different areas on the human body, each area of the elastic fabric corresponding to a range of oscillation of the musculature during the exercise of movement, each of the areas of the elastic fabric contributing a level of compression that is adapted to the musculature that they cover, the areas of the elastic fabric including areas of higher compression at musculature with greater oscillation and areas of lower compression at musculature with less oscillation,

wherein the undergarment is in the form of pants having a lower region of lower compression on the wearer's legs that extends up the wearer's knees along the pants and an upper region of higher compression above the lower region of lower compression up to the top of the pants, wherein the lower region of lower compression substantially covers the peroneal short and tibialis anterior muscles on the front and the soleus, peroneal long and gastrocnemius muscles on the back and the upper region of higher compression substantially covers the vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, adductor longus, sartorius, adductor major, gracilis, pubic and ilium psoas and biceps and vastus on the back,

wherein between the lower region of lower compression and the upper region of higher compression, at the level of the knees of the wearer, there is a medium compression region of the elastic fabric, in the form of a band having a band height and a band length, wherein the band extends lengthwise upwards along the front and back of the pant towards the inside of the pant between the legs of the pant, wherein the medium compression region substantially covers the metatarsus, semimembraneus and semitendinosus muscles,

and wherein for each of said regions of said elastic web, the level of elongation and the tautness of said elastic web are adaptable so as to reduce oscillations.

2. The undergarment of claim 1 wherein the upper region of higher compression and the region of intermediate compression comprise a deposit of material on the elastic fabric.

3. The undergarment of claim 2 wherein the material deposition comprises a silicone deposition in a mesh pattern over the upper region of higher compression and the intermediate compression region.

4. The undergarment of claim 3 wherein the silicone is deposited according to a pattern created by a screen printing process.

5. The undergarment of claim 1 wherein the elastic fabric is a plain knit comprising polyamide and elastic fibers.

6. The undergarment of claim 5 wherein the weave width of the elastic fabric is arranged according to the height of the undergarment.

7. The undergarment of claim 1 wherein the upper region of higher compression has an elongation in the direction of the height of the undergarment between 40% and 60% for a load of 15N and between 55% and 75% for a load of 15N in the direction of the width, these measurements being made according to standard BS 4952.

8. Undergarment according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the upper region of higher compression has an elongation in the direction of the height of the undergarment between 40% and 60% for a load of 15N and between 55% and 75% for a load of 15N, in the direction of the width, these measurements being made according to the standard BS 4952.

9. The undergarment of claim 1 wherein the upper region of higher compression and the region of intermediate compression comprise a deposit of resin on the elastic fabric.

10. The undergarment of claim 9 wherein the deposition of resin comprises a mesh-forming pattern.

11. The undergarment of claim 10, wherein the mesh comprises a hexagonal shape.

12. The undergarment of claim 10 wherein the deposit of resin comprises silicone.

13. The undergarment of claim 12, wherein the silicone comprises a two-component silicone having a shore a hardness of between 10 and 40.

14. The undergarment of claim 12 wherein the silicone is at least partially impregnated into the elastic fabric.

15. The undergarment of claim 12 wherein the silicone has a thickness of 2 millimeters in the intermediate compression region.

16. The undergarment of claim 12 wherein the silicone has a thickness of 3 millimeters in the upper region of higher compression.

17. An undergarment provided for athletic practice, the undergarment comprising:

the undergarment is in the form of a jersey having a lower compression upper region in an upper portion of the jersey that extends down to the middle of the wearer's chest and over the wearer's arms, and the jersey has a middle region of moderate compression below the upper portion,

wherein at the middle of the front and back and at a height in the middle of the chest, the middle area has a substantially horizontal strap which is completed on each side by a descending part extending below this chest, the middle area has a fabric contributing a medium level of compression, the middle area substantially covers the rectus abdominis and the anterior sawn muscle,

wherein below the middle region, on each side, the jersey has a lower region of higher compression down to the waist with fabric contributing a high level of compression that substantially covers the extraabdominal oblique muscles on the front and the latissimus dorsi on the back;

18. The undergarment of claim 17 wherein the lower and middle regions of higher compression comprise deposits of resin on the elastic fabric.

19. The undergarment of claim 18 wherein the deposition of resin comprises a mesh-forming pattern.

20. The undergarment of claim 19, wherein the mesh comprises a hexagonal shape.

21. The undergarment of claim 19 wherein the deposit of resin comprises silicone.

22. The undergarment of claim 21, wherein the silicone comprises a two-component silicone having a shore a hardness of between 10 and 40.

23. The undergarment of claim 21 wherein the silicone is at least partially impregnated into the elastic fabric.

24. The undergarment of claim 21 wherein the silicone has a thickness of 2 millimeters in the intermediate region.

25. The undergarment of claim 21 wherein the silicone has a thickness of 3 millimeters in the lower region of higher compression.