Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D13/00—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches
  • A41D13/0015—Sports garments other than provided for in groups A41D13/0007 - A41D13/088
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D31/00—Materials specially adapted for outerwear
  • A41D31/04—Materials specially adapted for outerwear characterised by special function or use
  • A41D31/18—Elastic
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F30/00—Computer-aided design [CAD]
  • G06F30/20—Design optimisation, verification or simulation
  • G06F30/23—Design optimisation, verification or simulation using finite element methods [FEM] or finite difference methods [FDM]
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D2300/00—Details of garments
  • A41D2300/20—Inserts
  • A41D2300/22—Elastic inserts
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D2400/00—Functions or special features of garments
  • A41D2400/38—Shaping the contour of the body or adjusting the figure
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D2400/00—Functions or special features of garments
  • A41D2400/80—Friction or grip reinforcement
  • A41D2400/82—Friction or grip reinforcement with the body of the user
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D2500/00—Materials for garments
  • A41D2500/10—Knitted
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D2500/00—Materials for garments
  • A41D2500/20—Woven
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D2600/00—Uses of garments specially adapted for specific purposes
  • A41D2600/10—Uses of garments specially adapted for specific purposes for sport activities
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41H—APPLIANCES OR METHODS FOR MAKING CLOTHES, e.g. FOR DRESS-MAKING OR FOR TAILORING, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • A41H3/00—Patterns for cutting-out; Methods of drafting or marking-out such patterns, e.g. on the cloth
  • A41H3/007—Methods of drafting or marking-out patterns using computers
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F2113/00—Details relating to the application field
  • G06F2113/12—Cloth

Definitions

• the present invention relates to resistance garments having integral seamless resistive zones.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• the fabric may be a knitted fabric or a woven fabric.
• the fabric may be a three-dimensional (3D) knitted fabric.
• the resistive zones may be resistive bands.
• the fabric and the resistive zones may be formed using a circular knitting machine.
• 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.
• FEA finite element analysis
• the virtual model of the body portion may comprise a meshed, 3D model of the body portion.
• 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.
• the garment may comprise an arm sleeve, a leg sleeve, a body sleeve, a pair of pants, a top, and combinations thereof.
• the garment may comprise a resistance suit comprising the pair of pants and the top.
• the pair of pants may comprise a waist and a pair of legs respectively terminating below leg calves of the wearer.
• 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.
• 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.
• the muscles may comprise gluteus maximus, upper leg muscles, lower leg muscles, and combinations thereof.
• 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.
• the fabric may comprise synthetic fibres, natural fibres, or a combination or blend thereof.
• the seamless fabric may comprise polyamide and elastane.
• 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.
• 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.
• the present invention also provides a method, comprising:
• resistive zones 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.
• the resistive zones may be seamlessly integrally formed in the fabric by 3D knitting.
• Figure 1 a is a schematic diagram of a pair of resistance pants according to an embodiment of the invention.
• Figures 1 b and 1 c show outside and inside leg views respectively of the resistance pants of Figure 1 a;
• Figures 2 to 4 are schematic diagrams of resistance running pants, resistance yoga pants and resistance exercise pants according to embodiments of the invention
• Figures 5 and 6 are screenshots of virtual FEA of resistance pants using a meshed, 3D model of the lower body
• Figure 7 is a photograph of a resistance sleeve according to an embodiment of the invention.
• Figure 8 is a photograph of a pair of resistance pants according to an embodiment of the invention.
• Figures 9a and 9b are dynamometer test results of hip peak torque and hip average power generated while wearing the resistance pants of Figure 8, compared to conventional gym shorts;
• Figures 10a and 10b are dynamometer test results of knee peak torque and knee average power generated while wearing the resistance pants of Figure 8, compared to conventional gym shorts.
• FIG. 1 and 10 illustrate a resistance garment 10 according to embodiments of the invention.
• 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 wearer's 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• the resistive zones 18 may be about ten times stiffer than the base fabric.
• the resistive bands 18 may be positioned in the fabric to resist movement of a body portion of the wearer.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 wearer's knee.
• the positioning of the resistive bands 18 on the front and rear sides of the garment 10 are illustrated in Figures 1 a to 1 c 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.
• the muscles may comprise gluteus maximus, upper leg muscles, lower leg muscles, and combinations thereof.
• 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.
• the garment 10 may comprise a resistance suit comprising the pair of pants and the top.
• the resistance garment 10 may be sportswear garments, such as a running garment, a yoga garment and an exercise garment, respectively.
• the garment 10 may be configured as a rehabilitation garment or a cross fit garment (not shown).
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• the resistance provided by the seamlessly formed resistive zones 18 may be selectively varied throughout the resistance garment 10.
• the resistive zones 18 for therapeutic compression socks may be configured so that resistance gradually decreases from the ankle towards the waist.
• the resistance garment 10 may alternatively be implemented as a veterinary garment 10 for an animal, such as a horse or a dog.
• 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.
• the fabric may be a knitted fabric or a woven fabric.
• 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.
• the fabric may comprise polyamide and elastane. Other equivalent or alternative fibres may also be used, for example, a nylon/lycra blend.
• 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.
• Figures 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 Figures 5 and 6 represents variation in resistive load on the virtual body, with a lighter grey indicating a higher load.
• 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.
• 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.
• Figure 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.
• FIG. 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 Figure 8
• the bar labelled "Control” represents the results obtained while wearing a pair of conventional, non-compressive gym shorts.
• Figures 10a and 10b similarly show dynamometer test results of knee peak torque and knee average power measured while wearing the resistance pants of Figure 8, compared measurements obtained while wearing conventional gym shorts.
• 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.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Evolutionary Computation (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Geometry (AREA)
• Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
• Professional, Industrial, Or Sporting Protective Garments (AREA)
• Knitting Of Fabric (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

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ID=57584326

Family Applications (1)

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• 2016
  • 2016-06-24 WO PCT/AU2016/050536 patent/WO2016205887A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2016-06-24 CN CN201680049132.0A patent/CN108024583A/zh active Pending
  • 2016-06-24 US US15/738,769 patent/US20190029336A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2016-06-24 AU AU2016282202A patent/AU2016282202B2/en active Active
  • 2016-06-24 EP EP16813395.7A patent/EP3313218A4/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2016-06-24 JP JP2018518758A patent/JP2018518609A/ja active Pending

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