EP1588635A1 - Clothing for water sports - Google Patents

Abstract

The sports wear has a main part (12) to cover trunk and/or pelvis of a user, and two extensions (22, 24) to respectively cover sleeves and legs of the user. An end sheet made up of cellular material is placed at the level of the end of extensions. The sheet has a softened zone (19) in which a series of guide grooves is formed. The grooves are arranged along a common direction oriented along a common axis of the extensions.

Description

The invention relates to clothing, especially water sports clothing, such as than those adapted to the practice of nautical or underwater activities such as surfing, windsurfing, diving, etc ...

These garments may cover the upper body, lower body, or, in the case of combinations, cover both the top and the bottom of the body.

These clothes, and especially the suits, are generally classified in two categories: dry or tight suits in which water does not enter the interior of the combination, and wet suits in which a thin film of water is allowed between the garment and the body of the diver, this film being almost instantly heated by the body of the diver.

Combinations usually have a main part that covers the bust and the user's pool. This main part is completed by extensions (sleeves and legs) which are intended to cover, at least partially, the arms and legs of the user. They may also comprise, at the level of a passage opening of the head, a collar or hood.

These garments, particularly wet suits, are usually made from flexible and elastic materials so as to fit the shape of the body without hindering movements. These materials may for example be elastic fabrics (such as fabrics comprising elastane) or polychloroprene foams (known as "Neoprene"), these materials can be combined with one another different places of the same garment. Depending on the choice of these materials, these clothes can offer protection against the cold, against shocks, against the sun, etc ...

In the design of these clothes, even non-waterproof, we try to limit the quantities of water likely to penetrate inside the garment, directly in contact with the skin of the user. But the ends of the sleeves and legs of the garment are, with the neckline, areas that are likely to allow such water inflow. That is even more so when you're dealing with long sleeves going up to the level of users' wrists or long legs down to the ankles of the user.

In this case, it has been noticed that these water entries are due in particular to the fact that these particular areas are areas of articulation that exhibit great variability of shapes according to the different movements. In this way, a garment that seems perfectly adjusted during a static test may prove to be inefficient in terms of water intake when tested under actual conditions of use, that is to say when practicing the sport.

To avoid the entry of water at this level, it is tempting to predict that these ends are as close as possible, or even as tight as possible, around the game corresponding body of the user. This is not necessarily satisfactory because a tightening excessive is a source of discomfort, preventing proper blood circulation (which may encourage the onset of cramps), and a source of embarrassment, in particular by the fact that Sleeve ends and legs must, under certain conditions, allow the evacuation water that can get into the garment. If the ends are tight at the point prevent the evacuation of water, it tends to accumulate at the end of the sleeves and legs, forming heavy, bulky and unsightly pockets.

It has also been proposed clamping adjustment systems at the ends, by example in the form of adjustment straps. Such systems allow better adaptation to the morphology of the user, but they require adjustment / adjustment at each donning / removing the garment, and they often interfere with the flexibility of the garment in these sensitive areas that are the joints.

It therefore appears the need for a new design of water sports clothing which ensures a good seal at the ends of the sleeves and legs, without however, it affects the wearing comfort and ease of donning the garment.

For this purpose, the invention proposes a garment for aquatic sports, of the type having a main part intended to cover the torso and / or the pelvis of a user, as well as extensions (for example substantially tubular) intended to cover the least partially each a member of the user, of the type in which the garment has, at least at the end of an extension, at least one sign end of cellular material, said end panel of cellular material forming at least a portion of an end edge of the extension, characterized in that the panel end of the extension has a relaxed zone in which are arranged a series of grooves, said grooves being arranged in a substantially general direction oriented along the general axis of the extension. In one embodiment of the invention, the thickness of the cellular material is reduced at the bottom of the grooves.

• la figure 1 est une vue schématique de face illustrant une combinaison de sports aquatiques munie de zones d'extrémités assouplies selon l'invention ;
• la figure 2 est une vue similaire à celle de la figure 1, dans laquelle la combinaison est illustrée en vue de dos ;
• la figure 3 est une vue partielle agrandie en perspective illustrant une extrémité assouplie selon l'invention ;
• les figures 4 à 6 sont des vues schématiques en coupe transversale illustrant trois modes de réalisation des rainures dans le panneau d'extrémité ; et
• la figure 7 est une vue similaire à celle de la figure 3 illustrant encore un autre mode de réalisation de l'invention, comportant deux séries de rainures.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the detailed description which follows, as well as in view of the appended drawings in which:

• Figure 1 is a schematic front view illustrating a combination of water sports provided with softened end zones according to the invention;
• FIG. 2 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1, in which the combination is illustrated in a back view;
• Figure 3 is an enlarged partial perspective view illustrating a relaxed end according to the invention;
• Figures 4 to 6 are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating three embodiments of the grooves in the end panel; and
• Figure 7 is a view similar to that of Figure 3 illustrating yet another embodiment of the invention, having two sets of grooves.

The invention will be described below in the context of a combination covering both the up and down the body of a user. However, it goes without saying that it could be other types of water sports clothing, such as jackets, jerseys, overalls, etc .... comprising only either sleeves or legs.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a combination 10 having a main portion 12 covering the bust and pelvis of a user. This main part 12 thus comprises a front face 14 covering the front part of the torso and a rear face 16 covering the back. This part has shoulders 18 on either side of a hole 20 for the passage of the head. The orifice 20 for the passage of the head has the shape of a tubular collar which is intended to back up along the user's neck. The combination also includes extensions, in this case sleeves 22 and legs 24, which are intended to cover respectively the arms and legs of a user. In the example shown, the sleeves and the legs of the suit are long so as to cover the user respectively up to the wrists and ankles. However, we can also implement the invention on a combination with short sleeves and / or short legs.

The combination is for example essentially made of cellular material such as Polychloroprene foam, in the form of panels assembled together. These panels may have different thicknesses or characteristics (coating, elasticity, etc ....) according to their positioning on the garment. The combination can also have inserts of different materials for example in the form of fabrics elastic. The combination is preferably a wet suit perfectly adjusted to the body of the user.

To allow the user to easily put on and take off the suit, this one is provided with an opening (not shown) which can for example be arranged in the form of a cut made in the main part, this cutout being further provided with closure means (not shown) such as a zipper.

In Figure 3, there is shown the end of a sleeve 22 of the combination. All as the legs 24 of the suit, the sleeves 22 are in the form of substantially tubular extensions of the main part of the suit, so that they have a general axis corresponding to the length of the corresponding member of the user.

In the example shown, the end of the sleeve 22 is made in the form of two panels 26, 28: an inner panel 26 (arranged on the wrist side in the extension of the palm of the hand) and an outer panel 28. In this embodiment, the two panels are polychloroprene foam panels (possibly lined on a or on both sides of an extensible textile) joined together by two seams 30. The two panels 26, 28 open into the end edge 32 of the sleeve 22, that is to say that said edge is formed by edges of these two panels.

Of course, other embodiments of the end of the sleeve (or leg) can be envisaged, in particular by modifying the patronage. This end can be thus composed of a single panel closed on itself by a longitudinal seam, by a single annular seamless panel, or other panel assembly, for example using panels of different materials.

According to the invention, one of these panels, in this case the inner panel 26, presents a relaxed zone 19 having a series of grooves 34 oriented globally according to the longitudinal direction of the sleeve 22.

The series of grooves 34 has grooves of different lengths, but preferably all the grooves open into the edge 32 of the sleeve. Moreover, it is planned in the embodiment of the invention that the edge of the panel 26 into which the grooves is devoid of the edge of protection 38 which is provided with the corresponding edge of the other sign 28.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, the grooves 34 are formed by portions of lower thickness of the panel 26, the residual thickness of the material at the groove 34 being of course inversely proportional to the depth of the groove.

As can be seen by comparing FIGS. 4 and 5, the depth of a groove can vary along its length. Preferably, this variation of depth is done in such a way that the groove is deeper near the edge 32 of the sleeve, and less and less deep as one moves away from the edge. Possibly this depth can vary gradually until the groove disappears. In the example of FIGS. 5, all grooves of the series have substantially the same depth. On the contrary, in the example shown in Figure 6, we can see that some of the grooves may be more deeper than others. In this case, we can see that the groove or grooves transversely at the center of the series are deeper than the lateral grooves arranged on either side of these central grooves. In this way, it is possible to provide that the grooves more extreme of the series are barely marked.

On the contrary, the deepest grooves may have a greater depth at 80% of the thickness of the panel 26.

In the example illustrated, the grooves have a substantially identical width, and they are spaced from each other by a constant interval. However, one could predict that the grooves are of different widths and / or have intervals between them different.

In the illustrated example, the grooves are substantially rectilinear and parallel. However, one could predict that the grooves are non-rectilinear, and / or non-parallel, as long as their divergent general orientation remains overall in the longitudinal direction of the sleeve 22. Grooves whose general orientation is shifted by about 20 degrees from the longitudinal direction of the sleeve will retain the same technical effect.

Indeed, the grooves 34 make it possible to soften the zone of the sleeve end on which they are arranged. Each groove in the honeycomb material forms, by its Thicker, a hinge that allows the material to flex around an axis corresponding to the direction of the groove. Thus, the series of grooves 34 forms a series of hinges close together, so that the area thus relaxed will be able to marry at best the different curvatures of the corresponding portion of the user's body, including during this one is active, which causes important modifications of the geometry of its body as is the case at the joints.

FIG. 7 illustrates a second embodiment of the invention in which the zone The softened end of the sleeve has not one but two sets of grooves. The first series of grooves 34 is, as in the previous example, oriented substantially according to the general axis of the sleeve 22. On the contrary the second series of grooves 36 is it oriented in another direction. In this case, the second series 36 is oriented substantially perpendicular to the first, so that the two series of grooves 34, 36 intersect and form a kind of grid. Again, the second set of grooves 36 is shown here in the form of parallel grooves, but all embodiments envisaged above for the first series of grooves 34 may also be implemented for producing the second series of grooves 36.

In the two examples shown, the relaxed area only extends over a half circumference from the end of the tubular sleeve. However, we could predict that extends over a larger or smaller part of this circumference.

In length, tests have shown that grooves extending over a length between 3 and 25 cm gave good results in terms of adaptability to body shapes.

Above all, the softened zones arranged at the ends have been described more particularly. sleeves 22 of the suit, that is to say near the wrists of the user. However, as can be seen in Figure 2 the same means can be put in with the same advantages, to create relaxed areas at the end legs 24 of the combination, that is to say near the ankles. Preferably, the softened zone will then be arranged in priority on the rear of the circumference corresponding to the ankle, so as to cover the Achilles tendon of the user and the adjacent areas. The invention also covers the case where the same type of grooves is used at the level of the zone neckline, which is an extension of the garment intended to partially cover the neck of the user, with therefore a generally vertical general orientation of the grooves. The grooves according to the invention will for example be arranged on the rear part of the neck.

For the realization of the grooves of the softened zones as just described, several processes are possible. First, the foam panels of polychloroprene being obtained by expansion molding, it is conceivable that the grooves are obtained directly during molding. It can also be provided that the grooves are obtained simply by removal of material in a plate of cellular material of uniform thickness, for example by chemical means. We can also predict that the grooves be carried out according to a technique similar to quilting, that is to say by providing that a seam is made at the location of the groove by compressing the material locally under the seam, thus forming the groove.

However, in the exemplary embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in the figures, the grooves are obtained by a thermoforming process with compression of material, also called embossing, starting from a panel of alveolar material initially thick constant.

More specifically, in the example chosen, this thermoforming is carried out on a plate of polychloroprene lined on both sides with an extensible textile. However, the same treatment can be applied on an unlined panel, or doubled on one side only. This thermoforming may be performed according to any known technique, on one side or on both sides of the panel as described in US-6,623,839. This guy of thermoforming is known for the realization of bending folds at the knees and elbows combinations, the bending folds then being parallel to the axis of the joint corresponding. Moreover, it can be seen that the illustrated combination comprises such folds of bending arranged at the neckline 20 to increase the mobility of the neck of the user. These bending folds 40, 42 are respectively arranged on the front face 14 and on the rear face 16 of the garment, just at the base of the neckline 20, and comprise one or more parallel grooves oriented in a generally horizontal direction.

This embodiment of the grooves by thermoforming has the advantage of not reduce the amount of material present under the grooves, the latter being in a state compressed.

In addition, there appeared an additional and paradoxical advantage in the use of the method thermoforming for the realization of the grooves. Indeed, we realized that the material compressed by thermoforming exhibited resistance to elongation in superior traction to uncompressed material. This feature does not prevent the groove from playing its hinge role, as described above. On the other hand, it decreases the elongation capacity of the material in the longitudinal direction of the sleeve (or leg of the garment). Paradoxically, this slight elongation according to the direction Longitudinal allows the hand (or foot) to pass through the portion of the sections narrowed that is usually the end of the sleeve (or the leg of the garment). Indeed, when the material is very elastic in the longitudinal direction, the hand, more than the section provided for the wrist, tends to remain locked at the wrist moment of donning the garment, and the elasticity of the material tends to absorb all the energy implementation to try to get the hand. In contrary, limiting somewhat the longitudinal elasticity of the material in the end zone of the sleeve (or leg), without significantly affecting its ability to stretch radially, the passage of the hand (foot) is more frank, allowing a better in place of the garment.

Claims (12)

Apparel for water sports, of a type comprising a main part (12) intended to cover at least the torso and / or pelvis of a user, and extensions (22, 24) intended to at least partially cover each limb of the user, of the type in which the garment comprises, at least at the end of an extension (22, 24), at least one end panel (26) of cellular material,
characterized in that the end panel (26) of the extension (22, 24) has a relaxed zone (19) in which are arranged a series of grooves (34), said grooves (34) being arranged in a substantially general direction oriented along the general axis of the extension (22, 24). Garment according to claim 1, characterized in that said end panel (26) of cellular material forms at least a portion of an end edge (32) of the extension (22, 24). Garment according to claim 2, characterized in that at least a part of the grooves (34) opens into the end edge (32) of the extension (22, 24). Garment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the relaxed zone (19) of the end panel (26) comprises at least one second series of grooves (36) oriented in a general direction different from those of the first series of grooves (34). Garment according to claim 4, characterized in that the two series of grooves (34, 36) intersect each other. Garment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the thickness of the cellular material is reduced to the bottom of the grooves (34). Garment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the grooves (34) have a decreasing depth away from an end edge (32) of the extension (22, 24). Garment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the groove series (34, 36) comprises at least one central groove framed by lateral grooves, and in that the depth of the lateral grooves is less than that of the groove. central groove. Garment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that grooves (34, 36) are formed by embossing the foam material. Garment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the extension is a sleeve (22) which covers an arm of the user up to the wrist, and in that the relaxed zone (19) is arranged on the inner side wrist. Garment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the extension (24) is a leg intended to cover a leg of the user to an ankle zone, and that the relaxed zone (19) is arranged opposite the rear face of the ankle area. Garment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cellular material comprises polychloroprene foam.

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