Article of apparel with areas of increased tension

a technology of increased tension and articles, applied in the field of articles of apparel, can solve the problems of reducing performance, reducing the advantage provided by additional seams, and increasing hydrodynamic drag, and achieve the effect of increasing tension

Inactive Publication Date: 2005-10-13
NIKE INC
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008] Substantial advantage is achieved by providing an article of apparel having areas with increased tension. For example, a swimsuit in accordance with the present invention can be provided with areas of increased tension when the swimsuit is donned by the user. The areas of increased tension reduce the tendency of a pocket forming where tenting is likely to occur in areas between elevated portions of the user's anatomy. This is highly advantageous since it reduces the tendency of water accumulating within these areas, allowing the user to carry less mass, resulting in less hydrodynamic drag and improved performance.

Problems solved by technology

However, such stretchable materials tend to tent between anatomical high points of the user's body, creating areas where the swimsuit is not in contact with the swimmer.
A problem encountered when swimming with a swimsuit that tents is that once the swimsuit is submerged, these areas fill with water, forcing the swimmer to carry more mass, resulting in more hydrodynamic drag and reduced performance.
However, conventional seams create additional drag, thereby diminishing the advantage provided by the additional seams.

Method used

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  • Article of apparel with areas of increased tension
  • Article of apparel with areas of increased tension
  • Article of apparel with areas of increased tension

Examples

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Embodiment Construction

[0017] The present invention may be embodied in various forms. A preferred embodiment of an article of apparel 10 is illustrated as a swimsuit 10 in FIG. 1. Although the embodiment illustrated here is a swimsuit, it is to be appreciated that articles of apparel other than swimsuits are considered to be within the scope of the present invention. In preferred embodiments, swimsuit 10 is formed of a stretchable material, which allows the swimsuit to be stretched over the user's body and conform tightly to their anatomy in a tight-fitting manner, which reduces drag as the user swims through the water.

[0018] Swimsuit 10 has at least one area 12 having increased tension when swimsuit 10 is donned by a user. Increased tension area 12 is preferably positioned in an area on the user's body between two or more anatomical high points. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, first increased tension area 12 is positioned between the breasts of the user on the front 14 of swimsuit 10. The const...

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PUM

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Abstract

An article of apparel having improved body conformity including a body of material formed of a stretchable fabric. A stretchable piece of material is secured to the body of material and has a size and shape configured to at least partially cover an area of a user's body between anatomical high points of the user's body.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates generally to an article of apparel, and, in particular, to an article of apparel that has areas of increased tension when worn by a user, providing improved conformity to a user's body. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Certain articles of apparel, such as performance swimwear, may be formed of a stretchable material, such as polyester, spandex or nylon, which conforms, for the most part, tightly to the user's body. However, such stretchable materials tend to tent between anatomical high points of the user's body, creating areas where the swimsuit is not in contact with the swimmer. Exemplary tenting areas include between the pectoral muscles, between the breasts, and in the lumbar region of the user's back. A problem encountered when swimming with a swimsuit that tents is that once the swimsuit is submerged, these areas fill with water, forcing the swimmer to carry more mass, resulting in more hydrodynamic drag and reduced perfo...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): A41D13/02A41D31/00A41D31/02A41D7/00
CPCA41D7/00A41D13/02A41D2400/24A41D2400/38
Inventor NORDSTROM, MATTHEW D.
Owner NIKE INC
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