Garment with gripping elements

Abstract

A garment comprising one or more gripping elements is disclosed. The gripping elements provided on the garment can enhance the friction between the garment and an object (such as sports equipment) that can be in contact with the garment. The gripping elements can be composite structures provided on one or more surfaces of the garment and can include elastic and / or rubber materials in which gravel materials (such as sand, aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, etc.) are embedded. Compared to gripping elements formed only by elastic materials, the gravel material can be at least partially exposed at the surface of the gripping elements and can enhance the gripping force when the gripping elements are wet (such as with sweat). The gripping elements can be formed separately on various parts of the garment, and then these parts can be attached to each other to form a garment with gripping elements.

Description

Background Art

[0001] During an exercise, such as weightlifting or bench pressing, a person may slip or slide relative to the exercise equipment he or she may be using. This may reduce the person's performance and / or reduce the effectiveness of the exercise being performed. In general, slipping relative to exercise equipment during competition or training may reduce the effectiveness and / or enjoyment of the exercise being performed.

[0002] Many times, a person may slip relative to the exercise equipment (e.g., a barbell, weights, bench, etc.) at the point where his or her clothing contacts the exercise equipment. In other words, the friction between the person's clothing and the exercise equipment may be insufficient. When the clothing is wet (e.g., due to sweating), the friction with the exercise equipment may be even less. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears. The same reference numbers in different drawings indicate similar or identical items.

[0004] Figure 1 Schematic diagrams of exemplary front and back portions of a shirt with gripping elements disposed on the back of the shirt are shown according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0005] Figure 2 Schematic diagrams of exemplary front and rear portions of a shirt with gripping elements disposed on the front portion of the shirt and the rear portion of the shirt according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown.

[0006] Figure 3 A flow chart is shown of an example method by which an apparel having gripping elements may be manufactured according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0007] Figure 4 A flow chart is shown of an example method for forming gripping elements on a portion of apparel in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0008] Figure 5 A flow chart is shown of an exemplary method for forming gripping elements on a portion of apparel by screen printing a curable substrate according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0009] Figures 6A-6C A cross-sectional view of a gripping element formed on a portion of a garment is shown, wherein the gripping element includes various types of grit material, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0010] Figure 7 A flow chart is shown of an example method for forming a gripping element with a premixed gripping epoxy according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figures 8A-8C Cross-sectional views showing various placements of gripping elements with and without grit according to example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figures 9A-9G Schematic diagrams showing various patterns of gripping elements that may be provided on a garment according to example embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] Example embodiments of the present disclosure include garments and / or apparel having gripping elements disposed thereon. These gripping elements can enhance the friction between apparel and an object (e.g., sports equipment). According to example embodiments, the gripping elements can be formed as a composite structure having more than one material. For example, the gripping elements can be constructed with grit embedded in silicone, plastisol, or other elastic materials. This type of gripping element can provide an enhanced level of friction with an object compared to gripping elements composed of a single material (e.g., silicone itself). In example embodiments, the composite gripping elements as discussed herein can provide enhanced friction when the garment is damp or wet (e.g., with body sweat) compared to other gripping elements or garments without gripping elements.

[0014] In some example embodiments, one or more gripping elements may be disposed on a portion of a garment, such as the back side of a T-shirt. In other example embodiments, gripping elements may be disposed on multiple portions of a garment, such as the front, back, and sides of a pair of pants. In some cases, gripping elements may be formed on a portion of a garment and then attached to another portion of a garment to form a garment with gripping elements. For example, a gripping element may be formed on the back portion of a T-shirt and then the back portion may be attached to the front portion of the T-shirt to form the T-shirt.

[0015] According to some example embodiments, a garment may include different types of gripping elements, such as composite gripping elements and single material gripping elements. For example, a hoodie may include different types of gripping elements, some of which are silicone or rubber gripping elements and other gripping elements are silicone or rubber with grit embedded therein. Thus, a garment may include two different types of gripping elements, some of which may include a grit material and other of which may not include a grit material.

[0016] In some example embodiments, gripping elements may be provided on clothing, wherein different grit materials may be used within the gripping elements. For example, a T-shirt may include a pattern of gripping elements, wherein some of the gripping elements include grit materials having sharp edges and other gripping elements include grit materials having rounded edges. In still other example embodiments, there may be gripping elements provided on clothing, wherein the gripping elements include different types of grit therein. For example, a pair of pants may include some gripping elements that include grit in the form of sand and other gripping elements that include grit elements in the form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3).

[0017] In example embodiments, when different types of gripping elements are provided on a garment, the different types of gripping elements may have different shapes. For example, a gripping element comprising grit may have a larger surface area than a gripping element in which no grit is embedded. Alternatively, a gripping element comprising grit may have a smaller surface area than a gripping element in which no grit is embedded. Additionally or alternatively, if two different grit materials in two different corresponding gripping elements are provided on a garment, one type of grit element may be formed to have a larger surface area than the other. In some cases, a larger gripping element surface area may result in a reduced level or at least a reduced perceived level of edge inconsistencies and / or pattern inconsistencies of the gripping element that may be caused by agglomeration of grit.

[0018] In some example embodiments, a gripping element may be provided on a garment, wherein the gripping element may have a portion having grit embedded therein and another portion without grit. For example, the gripping element may be in the form of a solid shape, wherein an interior portion of the gripping element may include grit, and an exterior portion of the gripping element may be free of grit. In some cases, providing grit on an interior portion of a gripping element and not on an edge may result in a reduction in edge roughness and / or inconsistency caused by the accumulation of grit on the edge of the gripping element.

[0019] According to an exemplary embodiment, a gripping element can be formed on a portion of a garment by applying one or more elastic material layers to a portion of the garment. The elastic material can be, for example, plastisol, silicone, rubber, neoprene, latex, isoprene-containing compounds, other elastic compounds, silicone foam, butyl rubber, ethylene-vinyl acetate, nitrile rubber, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) suspension, a combination thereof, or a similar material. Once a predetermined number of elastic material layers are arranged on the garment, a grit material can be applied to the top of the elastic material. The grit material can include a material that can be frosted, rough, gritty, relatively small and / or a material that usually increases the friction of an object in contact with it (e.g., increases the static friction coefficient). This grit material can be sand, ceramic particles, engineering particles, metal oxides and / or similar materials. Once the grit material is applied, one or more additional elastic material layers can be formed on the grit material arranged on the previous elastic material layer. In this way, the grit material is embedded and retained in the elastic material, and in some cases, protrudes from the surface of the gripping element formed on a portion of the garment.

[0020] According to example embodiments, the gripping element can be disposed on any suitable clothing material, such as cotton, lycra, spandex, nylon, rayon, tight fabric, linen, hemp-based fabric, or any suitable fabric and / or clothing material. In some cases, different parts of a garment can be made of different types of fabrics. As a further embodiment, different fabrics can have various mechanisms utilized by providing gripping elements thereon. For example, different fabrics can have different amounts of base layers (e.g., silicone materials) disposed thereon before providing a gravel material to form a gripping element.

[0021] In some cases, substrates (e.g., polymeric materials, elastic materials, etc.) can be deposited by screen printing. For example, a fluid elastic material (e.g., liquid plastisol, liquid silicone, etc.) can be squeezed through a patterned screen, which is arranged with the portion where the gripping element is to be formed in the garment. The fluid elastic material can then be cured (e.g., heat curing, ultraviolet (UV) curing, etc.) to form a substrate layer, such as an elastic substrate layer. In some cases, the fluid elastic material can be partially cured and fully cured at a later time point. The substrate of the gripping material or the elastic material layer formed before the deposition of the gravel material can be formed by one or more liquid elastic material layers. For example, after forming the first substrate layer, another substrate layer can be formed on the first substrate layer in a similar manner by arranging and screen printing the liquid elastic material on the first substrate layer, then by the curing process. In this way, any number of substrate layers can be formed on this part of the garment.

[0022] In an exemplary embodiment, grit can also be deposited on a substrate to form a gripping element by using screen printing. For example, dry grit and / or suspended grit (e.g., slurry) can be screen printed (e.g., deposited by patterned screen) on a substrate portion that has been formed on a part of clothing by a mechanism described herein. In an exemplary embodiment, due to the stickiness of the gripping material surface, grit may adhere to the substrate. In addition, the grit screen printing on the substrate where the clothing portion is located may not move in the orientation relative to the normal direction of the earth. Therefore, gravity and / or friction on the grit material may cause the grit material not to move relative to the substrate. Next, one or more additional elastic material layers can be screen printed on the grit material as an overlay elastic material, for example, by the mechanism discussed herein. In this way, the grit material can be embedded in the elastic material of one or more base layers and one or more overlay layers and / or maintained by it to form a gripping element on a part of clothing.

[0023] According to exemplary embodiments, there may be variations in how the elastic material is formed on a portion of a garment. For example, instead of screen printing, one or more layers of elastic material may be deposited by a printing process similar to an inkjet printer. In other exemplary embodiments, a preformed pattern of a substrate may be formed separately from a portion of a garment and then disposed and attached to a surface of the fabric, such as by using a heat treatment. In fact, any suitable process may be used to deposit the elastic material onto a garment and / or cure the elastic material.

[0024] How the grit material is arranged on the clothing can also have variation.For example, the grit material can be applied before any base layer is formed on the clothing.In this case, the elastic material can be applied on the grit material arranged on the part of the clothing to keep and / or embed the grit material.As another example, the grit material can be sprinkled on the surface of a part of the clothing without using a patterned screen and can adhere to the position of the pre-existing elastic material.After the final manufacture of the clothing, the redundant grit can be brushed off, blown off, shaken off and / or washed off from the clothing.In a similar embodiment, the grit material can not utilize the patterned screen to scatter the surface of a part of the clothing again and only the position of the substrate layer that is screen-printed subsequently will be the position where the grit material adheres to and is embedded in the elastic material to form a gripping element.The grit material from other parts of the clothing can be brushed off, blown off, shaken off and / or washed off.

[0025] After forming the gripping elements on a portion of the garment, the portion of the garment can be attached to one or more other portions of the garment to form the garment. For example, as described herein, the gripping elements can be formed on the back portion of a T-shirt and then sewn to the front portion of the T-shirt to form the T-shirt with the gripping elements disposed thereon. In some cases, more than one portion of a garment can have gripping elements formed thereon. For example, a pair of pants can have gripping elements on both the front and back portions of the pants.

[0026] In an example embodiment, the gripping element can be formed by depositing different types of elastic materials. For example, a three-step process can involve forming a first elastic material patterned layer, a second elastic material patterned layer, and then forming a third elastic material patterned layer. In some cases, the process can form a gripping element in which no grit is embedded. In other cases, a grit material can be deposited on the three layers of elastic material, and then one or more additional elastic material layers are formed to embed the grit. In other words, this multi-layer (e.g., three-layer) process can be used to manufacture a gripping element in which grit is embedded or not embedded. In this process, the first layer can be a silicone transparent base epoxy layer, the second layer can be a smooth jelly layer and / or a smooth polymer / elastic layer, and the third layer can be a plastisol ink layer. The number and order of these layers is only an example, and it should be understood that there can be any suitable number of layers, material types, and / or layer order.

[0027] In some cases, gripping elements can be formed on the inner part of clothing and the outer part of clothing. For example, a gripping shirt can have a gripping element formed on the inner side that contacts the wearer's skin and a gripping element formed on the outer side that can contact other objects (e.g., sports equipment). The gripping element arranged on the inner side of clothing can lack a gritty material to provide a comfortable feeling for the wearer, and the gripping element on the outer side can include a gritty material to enhance the friction with other objects. Forming gripping elements on the inner side (e.g., clothing surface in contact with the wearer's body) and the outer side (e.g., clothing surface opposite to the inner clothing surface) of clothing may require forming a gripping element on one side of a part of clothing and then forming an additional gripping element on the opposite side of this part of clothing.

[0028] In some exemplary embodiments, the gripping element with grit can be formed by premixing the grit material with a liquid elastic material or an elastic precursor epoxy to prepare a gripping mixture or a gripping epoxy. For example, sand can be mixed with a liquid silicone. The gripping epoxy can then be arranged on a portion of the garment, for example, according to a pattern and then cured to form a gripping element with grit. The concentration of grit in the substrate can be any suitable concentration, for example, about 10% by volume. The curing process can be by any suitable mechanism, such as thermal curing, evaporative curing, curing based on radiation (e.g., ultraviolet (UV) radiation), etc.

[0029] In some exemplary embodiments, the gripping element may include a superabsorbent material, such as a superabsorbent polymer, such as a hydrogel, acrylonitrile, polyacrylate, polyacrylamide, polyacrylamide copolymer, ethylene maleic anhydride copolymer, cross-linked carboxymethyl cellulose, polyvinyl alcohol copolymer, cross-linked polyethylene oxide, combinations thereof, and the like. Including a superabsorbent material in a gripping element (e.g., in an elastic material) may allow the gripping element to absorb liquid, such as sweat from the wearer. The sweat may then evaporate from the gripping element, such as in a clothes dryer, before the garment is subsequently used. During use, the wearer may feel comfortable because the gripping element with the superabsorbent material may pull away and / or trap moisture from the wearer's skin.

[0030] Figure 1 Schematic diagrams of example front and rear portions 100 and 110 of a shirt having gripping elements 114 disposed on the rear portion 110 of the shirt according to example embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. In example embodiments, one or more or all of the gripping elements 114 may include grit therein. Thus, in some example embodiments, only the gripping elements 114 having grit embedded therein may be formed on the surface 112 of the rear portion 110 of the shirt. In other example embodiments, only the gripping elements 114 having no grit embedded therein may be formed on the surface 112 of the rear portion of the shirt. In still other example embodiments, some of the gripping elements 114 formed on the surface 112 of the rear portion of the shirt may include grit embedded therein, while other gripping elements 114 may not include any grit.

[0031] As described herein, gripping elements 114 can be formed on the back portion 110 of the shirt and then the back portion 110 is attached to (e.g., by sewing) the front portion 100 of the shirt. In this way, different parts of a garment can have gripping elements formed thereon separately and then these various parts of the garment can be attached together to form a final garment. The shirt formed by two separate parts is shown here only as an example. Gripping elements can be set on any kind of suitable garment, such as pants, hoodies, tights, socks, gloves, sweatshirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, pullovers, jackets, combinations thereof, etc. In addition, garments can be formed using any suitable number of separately manufactured parts. For example, a hoodie can be formed by attaching three separate parts including a front portion, a back portion, and a hoodie portion, any of which can include gripping elements as described herein.

[0032] The gripping elements 114 may be formed on the back portion 110 of the shirt by any of a variety of suitable mechanisms. In some cases, one or more substrate layers (e.g., silicone, plastisol, etc.) may be patterned (e.g., by screen printing) onto the back portion 110. The substrate may be disposed with a liquid (e.g., pre-cured epoxy) (e.g., liquid silicone) by a patterned screen of a screen printing mechanism, and then partially or completely cured. For example, the substrate may be formed into hexagonal features, as shown, which are arranged in a honeycomb pattern. However, this is an example pattern and the substrate may be applied to the back portion 110 in any suitable pattern. A grit material may then be disposed on the substrate, and one or more additional substrate layers may then be patterned and formed on the grit material to form the gripping elements 114 in which the grit material is embedded.

[0033] In another example embodiment, the base epoxy and the grit material may be premixed into an epoxy mixture or a gripping element mixture. The epoxy mixture may be patterned onto the back portion 110, for example in the pattern shown. In other words, the epoxy mixture may be arranged as hexagonal features configured as a honeycomb pattern on the surface 112 of the back portion 110. However, this is an example pattern and the epoxy mixture may be applied to the back portion 110 in any suitable pattern. After depositing the epoxy mixture, the epoxy mixture may be cured to form the gripping elements 114 with the grit material embedded therein.

[0034] In some example embodiments, some of the gripping elements 114 may include a grit material, while other gripping elements 114 may not include a grit material therein. In one non-limiting example, some of the outer gripping elements 114 on the surface 112 of the back portion 110 may include a grit material, while the inner gripping elements may not include a grit element. In another non-limiting example, the gripping elements 114 may alternate between including a grit material and not including a grit material. In fact, any suitable deposition including grit gripping elements 114 and non-grit gripping elements 114 is contemplated according to example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0035] In some example embodiments, the gripping element 114 may not have grit material throughout its total surface area. For example, the gripping element 114 may have an edge removal region where an interior portion thereof may include grit material, but the grit material may not be disposed proximate to the edge of the gripping element 114. In these embodiments, the pattern (e.g., screen printed pattern) used to deposit the grit material may have a different geometry (e.g., reduced air area) than the pattern used to deposit the substrate and / or epoxy (e.g., epoxy for underlying the grit material and / or epoxy for partially overlying the grit material). In example embodiments, the gripping element may have a grit edge removal region that defines a distance from the edge of the gripping element 114 that does not include grit material, the distance being in the range of about 0.5 millimeters (mm) to about 100 mm. For example, the gripping element 114 may be formed at a location where the grit edge removal may be about 5 mm, such that the grit material may be embedded near the center of the gripping element 114, but not within 5 mm of the edge of the gripping element 114. As discussed herein, grit edge removal may result in reduced clumping of grit material and / or a reduced level of edge roughness of gripping elements 114 .

[0036] In some exemplary embodiments, the collection of gripping elements 114 can form a pattern on the surface 112 of the back portion 110 of clothing. The pattern can be designed to have a position suitable for the type of movement that the person wearing the clothing can perform. For example, as shown in the figure, the pattern on the back portion 110 can be suitable for various weightlifting exercises, wherein a barbell can be placed on the shoulder (for example, squat) or wherein when he or she lies down on his or her back, high friction (for example, bench press) may be expected. Weightlifting is a type of movement that the embodiments described herein are suitable for. It should be understood that the clothing with gripping elements as described herein is suitable for various different types of movement and activities. It should also be understood that the position of some clothing and the gripping elements 114 thereon can be designed and positioned for one or more specific movements. For example, trousers and shirts can be designed for deadlifting, wherein the front thigh position of trousers and the chest position of shirt have gripping elements arranged thereon.

[0037] In further example embodiments, the air density of the pattern and the distance between the gripping elements 114 can be designed to provide a relatively high level of breathability while achieving a relatively high friction with contacting moving objects. In other words, the space with and without elastic material can be designed in such a way that there is enough air flow flowing from the wearer's body to the outside and from the surrounding environment to the inside of the fabric at the position where the gripping element 114 is not set to provide comfort for the wearer. Therefore, in example embodiments, the air density of the gripping element 114 will not be too large to cause discomfort to the wearer but will not be too low to provide insufficient friction when contacting sports equipment. In some example embodiments, the pattern can have an air density in the range of about 20% to about 100% (for example, the percentage of the area covered by the gripping element defined by the boundary of the set of gripping elements). In another example embodiment, the air density can be in the range of about 30% to about 70%. In another example embodiment, the air density can be in the range of about 35% to about 60%. In some cases, gripping elements 114 themselves can have open areas therein to reduce the air density of gripping elements 114 and increase breathability of the garment and / or comfort for the wearer. The air density ranges of gripping elements 114 are examples, and the disclosure herein contemplates any suitable range of air density of gripping elements 114.

[0038] The gripping elements 114 may protrude from the surface 112 at any suitable thickness. In some example embodiments, the gripping elements 114 may have a thickness in a range of about 0.05 millimeters (mm) to about 10 mm. In another example embodiment, the gripping elements 114 may have a thickness in a range of about 0.10 mm to about 5 mm. In yet another example embodiment, the gripping elements 114 may have a thickness in a range of about 0.15 mm to about 1 mm.

[0039] Figure 2 Schematic diagrams of example front and rear portions 200 and 210 of a shirt are shown with gripping elements 204, 206, 214 attached to the front and rear portions 200, 210 of the shirt, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1As described, some or all of the gripping elements 204, 206, 214 may have gravel embedded therein. Alternatively, none of the gripping elements 204, 206, 214 may have gravel embedded therein. In some cases, the gripping elements 204, 214 may be a repeating geometric pattern, as shown, while the gripping element 206 may be in the form of text. In other cases, the gripping elements 204, 206 disposed on the surface 202 of the front portion 200 may not include gravel, while the gripping element 214 on the surface 212 of the rear portion 210 may have gravel embedded therein, or vice versa. In yet other cases, every other one of the gripping elements 204, 214 may include gravel therein, while the text gripping element 206 may not include gravel material therein.

[0040] As described herein, gripping elements 204, 206 can be formed on the front portion 100 and gripping elements 214 can be formed on the rear portion 210, and then the front portion 200 can be attached to the rear portion 210, such as by sewing the rear portion 210 of the shirt to the front portion 200. In this way, different parts of the garment can have gripping elements formed thereon separately and then those different parts of the garment can be attached together to form the final garment. The shirt formed by two separate parts is shown here only as an example. Gripping elements can be provided on any various suitable garments, such as pants, hoodies, tights, socks, gloves, sweatshirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, pullovers, jackets, combinations thereof, etc. In addition, garments can be formed using any suitable number of separately manufactured parts. For example, a jacket can be formed by attaching four separate parts including a front portion, a rear portion and two side portions, any of which can include gripping elements as described herein.

[0041] The gripping elements 204, 206, 214 can be formed on the portions 200, 210 of the shirt by any of a variety of suitable mechanisms. In some cases, one or more substrate layers (e.g., silicone, plastisol, etc.) can be patterned, such as by screen printing and / or raster inkjet printing. The substrate can be disposed with a liquid (e.g., pre-cured epoxy) (e.g., liquid silicone) by a screen or inkjet nozzle of a screen printing mechanism, and then the substrate is partially or completely cured. For example, the substrate can be formed into triangular features 204, 214 or text 206, as shown. However, this is an example pattern and the substrate can be applied to the portions 200, 210 in any suitable pattern. Then, a grit material can be disposed on the substrate, and then one or more additional substrate layers can be patterned and formed on the grit material to form the gripping elements 204, 206, 214 in which the grit material is embedded.

[0042] In another example embodiment, the base epoxy and the grit material may be premixed to form an epoxy mixture or a gripping element mixture. The epoxy mixture may be patterned onto the surface 202 of the front portion 200 and the surface 212 of the rear portion 210, for example, in the pattern shown. In other words, the epoxy mixture may be disposed on the surface 202 of the front portion 200 as overlapping triangular features configured in both row and column patterns and text, and separately, the epoxy mixture may be disposed on the surface 212 of the rear portion 210 as overlapping triangular features configured in row and column patterns. However, this is an example pattern and the epoxy mixture may be applied to the front portion 200 and / or the rear portion 210 in any suitable pattern. After depositing the epoxy mixture, the epoxy mixture may be cured to form gripping elements 204, 206, 214 with the grit material embedded therein.

[0043] Figure 3 A flow chart of an example method 300 according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, by which a garment having a gripping element can be manufactured. In an example embodiment, the method 300 can be performed by one or more entities (e.g., different manufacturers) in one or more facilities (e.g., a garment factory).

[0044] At block 302, gripping elements 314, 316 may be formed on a first portion 310 of an apparel. For example, the first portion 310 of an apparel may be the back side of a shirt. This is an example, and the apparel may be any suitable apparel on which gripping elements may be provided. The first portion 310 of the shirt may have a surface 312 on which one or more gripping elements 314, 316 may be formed. As shown, the gripping elements 314, 316 may be in the form of a pattern and / or text. The gripping elements 314, 316 may be formed by any suitable process, such as screen printing, inkjet printing, painting, etc.

[0045] As discussed herein, the gripping elements 314, 316 can be formed by depositing one or more base epoxy resin and / or plasticized emulsion material layers on the surface 312 of the first portion 310 of the garment and curing these base epoxy resin layers to form a base elastic material. As used herein, the elastic material may refer to a cured plasticized emulsion material and / or a rubber-like epoxy resin in some cases, such as plastisol, silicone, rubber, chloroprene rubber, latex, isoprene-containing compounds, other elastic compounds, silicone foam, butyl rubber, ethylene-vinyl acetate, nitrile rubber, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) suspension, combinations thereof, or similar materials. Grit materials such as sand, aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide, silicon carbide, engineering materials, etc. can be deposited on at least a portion of the cured base elastic material. Additional elastic material layers can be formed on the grit material, thereby embedding the grit material in the elastic material.

[0046] As discussed herein, the epoxy resin and / or plasticized emulsion material may be deposited on the surface 312 by any suitable process, including, but not limited to, screen printing, inkjet printing, spraying through a nozzle, extrusion through a stencil, combinations thereof, and the like. The process for forming one or more elastomeric base layers (e.g., formed prior to deposition of the grit material) may be performed by the same process (e.g., screen printing) or a different process relative to forming one or more elastomeric cover layers (formed after deposition of the grit material). The grit material may be deposited on the base elastomeric material by any suitable process, such as screen printing, inkjet printing, spraying through a nozzle, spreading, depositing a slurry including the grit material, combinations thereof, and the like.

[0047] In some cases, gripping elements 314, 316 can be formed on surface 312 by patterning a premixed suspension of grit material and an elastomeric precursor material, such as an epoxy resin and / or a plasticizing emulsion in which grit is mixed. Gripping elements 314, 316 formed with such a premixed suspension can be formed in one layer (e.g., a single-pass deposition and curing) or as multiple stacked layers. For example, the premixed suspension can be deposited on first portion 310 in a patterned manner (e.g., by screen printing) and then cured (e.g., by thermal curing at elevated temperatures).

[0048] The first part 310 of clothing can be made of any suitable material or fabric, such as cotton, lycra, wool, rayon, polyester, nylon, spandex, flannel, silk, denim, natural fiber, cellulose fiber, synthetic fiber, woven cloth, knitted cloth, tight fabric, linen, hemp-based fabric, its combination, etc. The fabric of clothing can be further dyed with any suitable dye or dye combination. In some cases, the fabric can be dyed by any suitable mechanism before the gripping elements 314, 316 are formed on the fabric. In other cases, the fabric can be dyed after the gripping elements 314, 316 are formed thereon. The gripping elements 314, 316 can be formed to have different colors. Therefore, the elastomer forming precursor (for example, elastic resin, epoxy resin, plasticized emulsion material, etc.) for forming elastic base features and / or elastic overlay features can include dye therein. The different colors of the gripping elements 314, 316 on the first part 310 can be formed separately on the surface 312. For example, a base elastic feature may be formed, grit may be deposited on the base elastic feature, and an overlying elastic feature may be formed for blue gripping elements 314, 316, wherein the elastomer-forming precursor may include a blue dye. The same process may then be repeated to form red gripping elements 314, 316, wherein the elastomer-forming precursor may include a red dye.

[0049] At frame 304, a gripping element may be formed on a second portion of the garment. As an example, the second portion 320 of the garment may be a front portion of a shirt. The second portion 320 of the shirt may have a surface 322 on which one or more gripping elements 324 may be formed. This process may be optional, because in some cases, only a portion of the garment may have gripping elements disposed thereon. The gripping elements 324 formed on the second portion 320 may be formed in a manner similar to the gripping elements 316, 316 formed on the first portion 310. In some cases, the gripping elements 324 may be formed by a process different from the mechanism used to form the gripping elements 314, 316. For example, some gripping elements 314, 316, 324 may be formed by forming a base elastic feature, depositing a grit material, and then forming an overlying elastic feature, while other gripping elements 314, 316, 324 may be formed by using a premixed suspension of grit in an elastic precursor material.

[0050] At block 306, the first portion of the apparel may be attached to the second portion of the apparel to form the apparel. Any suitable mechanism may be used to attach (e.g., sew, glue) the first portion 310 to the second portion 320, such as by mechanical fasteners, clamps, bolts, zippers, pins, combinations thereof, etc. As an example, the first portion 310 may be sewn to the second portion 320 along the edges of the first and second portions to form a T-shirt-style apparel having a gripping element.

[0051] It should be noted that some operations in method 300 may not be performed in the order presented, with additional elements and / or without some elements. Some operations of method 300 may further occur substantially simultaneously, and thus, may be completed in an order different from the order of operations presented above.

[0052] Figure 4 A flow chart of an example method 400 for forming a gripping element on a portion of an apparel according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In an example embodiment, the method 400 may be performed by one or more entities (e.g., different manufacturers) in one or more facilities (e.g., a garment factory). The method 400 may be used to form a gripping element on a fabric, such as a Figure 3 During the processes of blocks 302 and 304 in the method 300 shown.

[0053] At block 402, one or more gripping element elastic substrate layers may be formed on a portion of an apparel. As an example, in a cross-sectional view, an elastic substrate 412 may be formed on top of a fabric 410 of a portion of an apparel. The elastic substrate 412 may be, for example, a plastisol, silicone, rubber, neoprene, latex, an isoprene-containing compound, other elastic compound, silicone foam, butyl rubber, ethylene-vinyl acetate, nitrile rubber, PVC, combinations thereof, or the like. The number of layers of elastic material deposited to form the substrate 412 may be any suitable number, such as a single layer or three layers.

[0054] According to example embodiments, the elastic substrate 412 can be disposed on any suitable garment material or fabric 410, for example, the first portion 310 of the garment can be made of any suitable material or fabric, such as cotton, lycra, wool, rayon, polyester, nylon, spandex, flannel, silk, denim, natural fibers, cellulosic fibers, synthetic fibers, woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, tight fabrics, linen, hemp-based fabrics, combinations thereof, and the like. Before forming one or more layers of the elastic substrate 412 on the fabric 410 of the garment, the fabric 410 of the garment can be further dyed with any suitable dye or dye combination. In some cases, different fabrics can have various mechanisms for providing gripping elements thereon. For example, different fabrics can have different numbers of elastic base layers (e.g., silicone substrates, plastisol substrates, etc.) disposed thereon to form one or more layers of the elastic substrate 412.

[0055] In some cases, one or more layers of elastic substrate 412 can be deposited by screen printing. For example, a fluid elastic precursor material can be extruded through a patterned screen disposed with fabric 410 and then cured to form an elastic substrate layer. The fluid elastic precursor material can include an elastic resin, an epoxy resin, a plasticized emulsion material, combinations thereof, and the like. In some cases, the fluid elastic precursor material can include a plasticizing material, as well as a volatile material (e.g., a solvent) that can volatilize (e.g., evaporate) during the curing process.

[0056] The elastic precursor material may have a viscosity suitable for deposition on the fabric 410 (e.g., via screen printing and / or nozzle dispensing) and subsequent grading before curing. For example, the elastic precursor material may have a sufficiently low viscosity to be squeezed through a patterned screen or through the holes of a nozzle (e.g., an inkjet nozzle). However, the viscosity of the elastic precursor material may also be large enough so that the elastic precursor material can be properly graded without being dispersed and / or infiltrated into the fabric 410 material before the elastic precursor material is cured to form an elastic substrate layer. In some example embodiments, the viscosity of the elastic precursor material may be in the range of about 500 centipoise (cP) to about 50,000 cP. In further example embodiments, the viscosity of the elastic precursor material may be in the range of about 2000 cP to about 35,000 cP. In further example embodiments, the viscosity of the elastic precursor material may be in the range of about 10,000 cP to about 30,000 cP. In some example embodiments, the elastic precursor material may be a plastisol. In other example embodiments, the elastic precursor material may be a silicone resin.

[0057] In some exemplary embodiments, the elastic precursor material may exhibit thixotropy or other non-Newtonian properties during screen printing and / or nozzle extrusion. Due to its thixotropic properties, the elastic precursor material may temporarily have a reduced viscosity during deposition, but have a greater viscosity during grading on the fabric 410 before curing. In some exemplary embodiments, a thixotropic elastic precursor material may be used in the deposition process due to its preferred rheological properties of reduced viscosity during deposition and increased viscosity during grading. In some cases, the rheological properties of the elastic precursor material can be designed, for example, by controlling the relative concentrations of the elastic material, solvent, etc. within the elastic precursor material. In this way, an elastic precursor material suitable for the screen printing and / or nozzle extrusion properties associated with the deposition process of the elastic precursor material can be used. For example, the elastic precursor material can be designed to be relatively coordinated during the screen printing process for the rheological properties of the desired screen hole size and / or coating rate.

[0058] According to some exemplary embodiments, the van der Waals forces and / or surface wetting properties of the elastomeric precursor material may cause the elastomeric precursor material to adhere to the surface of fabric 410 but not to excessively wick into and / or through fabric 410. Thus, in exemplary embodiments, the elastomeric precursor material may be designed (e.g., by controlling the relative concentrations of the elastomeric material, solvent, etc. within the elastomeric precursor material) to provide a desired contact angle between the elastomeric precursor material and the surface of fabric 410. In some cases, the surface of fabric 410 may be treated (e.g., a surface coating is applied) to achieve a desired contact angle and associated wetting between the elastomeric precursor material and the surface of fabric 410 during staging of the elastomeric precursor material on fabric 410.

[0059] In some exemplary embodiments, the elastic precursor material may include superabsorbent materials, such as superabsorbent polymers, such as hydrogels, acrylonitrile, polyacrylates, polyacrylamides, polyacrylamide copolymers, ethylene maleic anhydride copolymers, cross-linked carboxymethyl cellulose, polyvinyl alcohol copolymers, cross-linked polyethylene oxides, combinations thereof, and the like. These types of superabsorbent materials may be combined with the elastic precursor material so that the gripping element includes the superabsorbent material therein, such as within the elastic substrate 412 of the gripping element or other portions of the gripping element. This may allow the gripping element to absorb liquids, such as sweat from the wearer of the garment. In some exemplary embodiments, the superabsorbent material may be added to the elastic precursor material in a ratio of about 1% to about 50% by weight. In other exemplary embodiments, the superabsorbent material may be added to the elastic precursor material in a ratio of about 4% to about 20% by weight. In yet other exemplary embodiments, the superabsorbent material may be added to the elastic precursor material in a ratio of about 6% to about 15% by weight. As described herein, the elastic precursor material may be deposited on the surface of the fabric 410 by screen printing. In this process, a screen with selective openings corresponding to the pattern to be transferred to the fabric is set on the surface of the fabric 410, and the elastic precursor material is selectively squeezed through the open areas of the screen and blocked by the closed areas of the screen. In this way, the elastic precursor material can be transferred to the surface of the fabric 410 with the pattern on the screen. The squeezing of the elastic precursor material can be carried out by a scraping process, or generally by providing a force on the elastic precursor material on the screen to squeeze the elastic precursor material through the opening of the screen. The opening of the screen can be any suitable size. In an exemplary embodiment, the mesh count of the screen can be in the range of about 40 to about 230. In other exemplary embodiments, the mesh count of the screen can be in the range of about 70 to about 120. In some further exemplary embodiments, the mesh count of the screen can be in the range of about 80 to 100.

[0060] Once the fluid elastic precursor is distributed on the surface of the fabric 410, such as by screen printing and / or nozzle spraying and / or extrusion, the fluid elastic precursor material can be cured. The curing process can be timed by any suitable mechanism, such as thermal curing, radiation curing, ultraviolet (UV) curing, or a combination of thermal and radiation curing. The curing process may cause the solvent in the elastic precursor material to evaporate and / or the resin in the elastic precursor material to crosslink. For example, the curing process may promote the crosslinking of the polymeric compound. In an example embodiment, the curing process may be carried out at a temperature in the range of about 100°C to about 250°C. In some example embodiments, the curing process may be carried out in the range of about 150°C to about 220°C. In a further example embodiment, the curing process may be carried out in the range of about 170°C to about 200°C. The curing process may last for about 15 seconds to about 1 hour. As a non-limiting example, curing may be carried out at 190°C for 1 minute.

[0061] In an example embodiment, the elastic substrate 412 can be formed by depositing different types of elastic materials. For example, a three-step process can involve forming a patterned layer of a first elastic material, a patterned layer of a second elastic material, and then forming a patterned layer of a third elastic material. In other words, this multi-layer (e.g., three-layer) process can be used to manufacture an elastic substrate 412 with different materials. This multi-step process using different elastic materials can provide an elastic substrate 412 with a high level of grip (e.g., stickiness) with an object while providing a reliable, non-layered interface with the fabric 410. In this process, the first layer can be a silicone transparent base epoxy layer, the second layer can be a smooth jelly layer and / or a smooth polymer / elastic layer, and the third layer can be a plastisol ink layer. The number and order of these layers are examples, and it should be understood that there can be any suitable number of layers, material types, and / or layer order.

[0062] As disclosed herein, embodiments contemplate the use of multiple different layers of elastic substrate 412 such that an initial layer in contact with fabric 410 can have a relatively high adhesion strength to fabric 410 compared to other elastic materials within the elastic material stack. Additionally, in some cases, the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the initial layer can more closely match the CTE of fabric 410 than subsequent elastic material layers. The low CTE mismatch between the initial layer of elastic substrate 412 and fabric 410 can reduce the likelihood of delamination or peeling between the gripping element and fabric 410, particularly during temperature changes, such as when drying a garment in a warm clothes dryer.

[0063] At block 404, an embedded material of a gripping element may be applied to the portion of the garment. The embedded material of the gripping element may be grit 414. Such grit 414 material may be sand, ceramic particles, engineered particles, metal oxides, or similar materials. Grit 414 may be deposited on a portion or all of one or more layers of elastic substrate 412. Grit 414 may be deposited by spreading on fabric 410 or by a similar mechanism as used to deposit an elastic precursor material. As discussed herein, grit 414 may be deposited such that there is an edge removal, wherein grit 414 is not provided within a predetermined distance from an edge of one or more layers of elastomeric substrate 412.

[0064] For example, screen printing can be used to deposit grit 414 on at least a portion of one or more layers of elastic substrate 412. When a screen printing process is used, grit 414 can be disposed on one or more layers of elastic substrate 412 using a patterned screen. In some cases, the patterned screen used to deposit grit 414 can have a lower mesh count than the screen used to deposit the elastic precursor material. For example, the mesh count of the screen used to deposit grit 414 can be in the range of about 30 to about 80.

[0065] It should be understood that in some cases, grit 414 may not be applied to some or all of the gripping elements to be formed. For example, for some garments, there may be some gripping elements with grit 414 embedded therein, but there may also be some gripping elements without any grit therein. In other example garments, none of the gripping elements may have grit 414 therein. In other words, in some cases, all of the gripping elements of a garment may have only an elastic substrate 412 as provided by the process of frame 402. For example, the gripping elements may be formed by a first silicone transparent base epoxy layer formed on fabric 410, then a second layer having a smooth jelly layer and / or a smooth polymer / elastic layer is formed on at least a portion of the first layer, and then a third layer of plastisol ink layer is formed on at least a portion of the first layer and / or the second layer.

[0066] At block 406, one or more elastic overlay material layers of a gripping element may be formed on a portion of the garment. As an example, one or more overlay elastic material layers may be deposited on grit 414 to form elastic material 416 of the gripping element. Elastic material 416 may have grit 414 embedded therein. In this manner, grit 414 is embedded and retained within the elastic material, thereby protruding from the surface of the formed gripping element disposed on fabric 410.

[0067] In some cases, one or more layers of elastic laminate material may be formed in a manner similar to the formation of one or more layers of elastic substrate 412. In other cases, there may be process and / or material differences between the processes used to form one or more layers of elastic laminate material and one or more layers of elastic substrate 412. For example, one or more layers of elastic laminate material may be formed by disposing and screen printing a liquid elastic precursor material on grit and elastic substrate 412, followed by a curing process. This process may be repeated for any number of desired layers of elastic laminate material to form a final elastic material 416 having grit 414 embedded therein.

[0068] In some cases, one or more layers of elastic overlay material may cover, rather than surround, grit 414 at the surface of elastic substrate 412. Thus, the surface of the resulting gripping element may have an elastic material 416 texture on its surface. In some cases, some grit 414 may be exposed at the surface, while other grit 414 may be covered by elastic material 416. In example embodiments, where at least some of grit 414 is covered by elastic material 416, the covered portion above grit 414 may be relatively thin, and during use of the apparel and due to the forces associated therewith, grit 414 may break through the surface of any elastic material 416 covering grit 414.

[0069] In some cases, one or more elastic overlays may be formed using a different type and / or formulation of liquid elastic precursor than one or more elastic base layers 412 to prevent covering the gravel with the elastic material. For example, a lower viscosity formulation of the liquid elastic precursor may be used to form the elastic overlay. For example, a lower viscosity formulation of the liquid elastic precursor may be formed by increasing the ratio of solvent to elastomeric resin. As another example, one or more elastic base layers 412 may be formed using plastisol, while one or more elastic overlays may be formed using silicone.

[0070] It should be noted that some operations of method 400 may be performed out of the order presented, with additional elements and / or without some elements. Some operations of method 400 may further occur substantially simultaneously and thus may be completed in an order different from the order of operations described above.

[0071] Figure 5 A flow chart of an example method 500 for forming a gripping element on a portion of an apparel by screen printing a curable substrate according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In an example embodiment, the method 500 may be performed by one or more entities (e.g., different manufacturers) in one or more facilities (e.g., a garment factory). The method 500 may be performed in Figure 3 and Figure 4 Specific embodiments of method 300 and method 400 described in .

[0072] At block 502, liquid silicone may be screen printed on a portion of a garment. The screen printing process may pattern the silicone into a desired pattern on a fabric surface. Any suitable screen opening and / or squeegee speed may be used in the process.

[0073] At block 504, the liquid silicone may be cured to form a silicone layer of the gripping element. The curing process may be performed at any suitable temperature and time, such as 1 minute at 200° C. After curing, the silicone may harden (e.g., by polymer cross-linking) to form a substrate layer on the fabric.

[0074] At block 506, it may be determined whether N silicone layers have been deposited. In this case, N may be the number of silicone layers to be deposited before providing the grit material thereon. If N silicone layers have not yet been deposited, the method may return to block 502 to deposit additional silicone layers. On the other hand, if N silicone layers have been deposited on the portion of the garment, the method may proceed to block 508, where grit may be applied to the surface of the silicone. As discussed herein, grit may be deposited by non-selective dispersal, deposited by patterning and / or selective placement (e.g., screen printing, nozzle dispensing, etc.), deposited in dry and / or powder form, and / or deposited in slurry form.

[0075] At block 510, liquid silicone may be screen printed over the applied grit. As discussed herein, the liquid silicone may be the same formulation as the liquid silicone used to form the silicone base prior to grit application, or may be a different formulation. In some exemplary embodiments, a diluted (i.e., lower viscosity) formulation of the liquid silicone may be used in this process to prevent and / or reduce silicone from forming on the grit.

[0076] At block 512, the liquid silicone may be cured to form a silicone layer on a portion of the grit. The curing process may be any suitable process, such as thermal curing. The curing process may be the same or different process conditions as used to cure the silicone layer deposited prior to applying the grit.

[0077] At block 514, it may be determined whether M silicone layers have been deposited on the grit. In this case, M may correspond to the number of silicone layers to be formed after the grit is applied. If M silicone layers have not yet been formed, method 500 may return to block 510 to form additional silicone layers. On the other hand, M silicone layers have been formed, and method 500 may proceed to block 516. At block 516, a portion of the garment having a gripping element may be provided.

[0078] It should be noted that some operations of method 500 may be performed out of the order presented, with additional elements and / or without some elements. Some operations of method 500 may further occur substantially simultaneously, and thus, may be completed in an order different from the order of operations described above.

[0079] Figures 6A-6C Cross-sectional views 610, 630, 660 of gripping elements 614, 634, 664 formed on a portion 622, 642, 672 of a garment are shown, wherein the gripping elements 612, 632, 662 include various types of grit material 616, 636, 666, according to example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0080] Fig. 6A A cross-sectional view 610 is shown in which a gripping element 612 may include grit 616 having various shapes and sizes and embedded in an elastic material 614. The gripping element 612 may be disposed on a fabric 622 of an apparel. A first portion 618 of the grit 616 may be embedded within the elastic material 614 of the gripping element 612, while a second portion 620 of the grit 616 may protrude from the surface of the elastic material 614. In this case, the grit 616 may be any suitable grit material, such as sand, that has a relatively large variation in size and / or shape. This type of grit 616 may be advantageous for providing enhanced grip for certain materials and / or types of objects relative to grit that may be more uniform and of controlled shape.

[0081] Figure 6B A cross-sectional view 630 is shown in which a gripping element 632 may include grit 636 having a relatively uniform shape and size and embedded in an elastic material 634. In addition, the grit 636 may have a rounded and / or smooth surface. For example, in some cases, the grit 636 may have a substantially spherical shape. The gripping element 632 may be disposed on a fabric 642 of a garment. A first portion 638 of the grit 636 may be embedded in the elastic material 634 of the gripping element 632, while a second portion 640 of the grit 636 may protrude from the surface of the elastic material 634. In this case, the grit 636 may be any suitable grit material that may have a relatively high uniformity of size and / or shape and a rounded surface. Examples of such grit 636 may be engineered particles, polishing particles, aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, silicon dioxide, and the like. This type of grit 636 may be advantageously provided for providing enhanced gripping of certain materials and / or types of objects relative to grit that may be more uneven, less controlled in shape, and / or less rounded.

[0082] Figure 6C A cross-sectional view 660 is shown in which a gripping element 662 may include gravel 666 having a relatively uniform shape and size and embedded in an elastic material 664. In addition, the gravel 666 may have a sharp surface and / or a sharp edge surface. For example, in some cases, the gravel 666 may have a substantially spherical shape. The gripping element 662 may be disposed on a fabric 672 of clothing. A first portion 668 of the gravel 666 may be embedded in the elastomeric material 664 of the gripping element 662, and a second portion 670 of the gravel 666 may protrude from the surface of the elastic material 664. In this case, the gravel 666 may be any suitable gravel material, which may have a relatively high uniformity of size and / or shape and may have a sharp edge. This type of gravel 666 may advantageously provide enhanced gripping for certain materials and / or types of objects relative to gravel that may be more uneven, less controlled in shape and / or more rounded.

[0083] Figure 7 A flow chart of an example method 700 for forming a gripping element using a premixed gripping epoxy according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The method 700 can be used in place of or in addition to the method 400 and / or the method 500 to form a gripping element on a fabric surface of an apparel. The premixed gripping epoxy can include grit therein.

[0084] At block 702, a grit material may be mixed with a liquid elastomeric material to form a gripping epoxy. The gripping epoxy 710 may have grit 714 suspended within a liquid elastomeric material 712 and may require mixing and / or stirring prior to use. In an example embodiment, the gripping epoxy 710 may have various types of grit 714 mixed therein, such as sand, dust, engineered particles, silica particles, aluminum oxide particles, other metal oxide particles, ceramic particles, silicon carbide particles, combinations thereof, and the like. The liquid elastomeric material may be formulated to have a viscosity that is advantageous for keeping the grit 714 suspended and also advantageous for application to the fabric.

[0085] At block 704, a gripping epoxy may be applied to a portion of the garment. The application of the gripping epoxy 710 may be accomplished by any suitable mechanism as described herein. For example, the gripping epoxy 710 may be applied to a portion of the garment 720 using screen printing to form a graded gripping element 722 having an elastic portion 724 and grit 726 embedded therein. A screen of suitable mesh size may be used to allow for patterned application of the gripping epoxy 710 as it passes through the screen without separating the grit 714 from the liquid elastic material 712.

[0086] At block 706, the gripping epoxy can be cured to form a gripping element on the portion of the garment. Curing 728 can be in any suitable form, such as heat curing, or any type of radiation curing (e.g., UV curing), or any combination of heat and radiation curing. After curing, the gripping element 722 can be attached to the portion 720 of the garment with the cured elastic portion and grit 726 embedded therein.

[0087] It will be appreciated that in some cases a hybrid process of forming the gripping element may be used, wherein Figure 4 Aspects of method 400 may be combined with aspects of method 700. For example, an underlying elastomeric material without grit may be formed on a fabric, and then an elastic material having grit embedded therein may be formed on the underlying elastic material using a premixed gripping epoxy by the process described herein.

[0088] It should be noted that some operations of method 700 may be performed out of the order presented, with additional elements and / or without some elements. Some operations of method 700 may further occur substantially simultaneously, and thus, may be completed in an order different from the order of operations described above.

[0089] Figures 8A-8CCross-sectional views 800, 810, 820 of various placements of gripping elements 804, 806, 814, 816, 824, 826 with and without grit are shown in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure. Although various combinations and types of gripping elements 804, 806, 814, 816, 824, 826 are discussed herein, there may be other suitable combinations and / or types of gripping elements disposed on an apparel.

[0090] Fig. 8A A cross-sectional view 800 is shown having a fabric 802 on which is disposed a first gripping element 804 without any grit therein and a second gripping element 806 with grit embedded therein. Although two gripping elements 804, 806 are shown, there may be any number of gripping elements, some of which may have grit embedded therein and others of which may not have grit embedded therein. Furthermore, while gripping elements 804, 806 are depicted as having substantially similar heights and / or similar protrusions from fabric 802, it should be understood that gripping elements 804 without grit and gripping elements 806 with grit may have different protrusions from fabric 802. For example, in some cases, gripping elements 804 without grit may have a greater protrusion from fabric 802 than gripping elements 806 with grit embedded therein. Furthermore, while gripping elements 806 appear to be protruding from fabric 802 through the cross-sectional view 800 of FIG. 8 , gripping elements 804, 806 may have a greater protrusion from fabric 802 than gripping elements 806 with grit embedded therein. Figure 7 The method 700 is formed by using a pre-mixed gripping epoxy, but it should be understood that the gripping element 806 can be formed using any suitable mechanism, such as but not limited to Figure 4 Method 400 and / or Figure 5 In addition, it should be understood that the configuration of the gripping elements 804, 806 can be combined with any other configuration of gripping elements, such as Figure 8B or those configurations shown in 8C.

[0091] Figure 8B A cross-sectional view 810 is shown having a fabric 812 on which is disposed a first gripping element 814 without any grit therein and a second gripping element 816 having grit embedded therein and disposed on the first gripping element 814. Although two gripping elements 814, 816 are shown, any number of gripping elements may be present, some of which may have grit embedded therein and others of which may not have grit embedded therein. Furthermore, it should be understood that the configuration of the gripping elements 814, 816 may be combined with any other configuration of gripping elements, such as Fig. 8A or those structures depicted in 8C. In addition, although the gripping element 816 appears to be Figure 7The method 700 is formed by using a pre-mixed gripping epoxy resin, but it should be understood that any suitable mechanism can be used to form the gripping element 816, such as but not limited to Figure 4 Method 400 and / or Figure 5 Method 500.

[0092] Figure 8C A cross-sectional view 820 with a fabric 822 is shown on which a first gripping element 824 without any embedded gravel is provided on the inner side of the fabric 820 and a second gripping element 826 with embedded gravel is provided on the outer side of the fabric 820. In this case, when the garment is worn, the first gripping element 824 can contact the wearer's body, and the second gripping element 824 can functionally increase the contact friction of any object that the garment contacts. Although two gripping elements 814, 816 are shown, any number of gripping elements may exist, some of which may have embedded gravel and others may not have embedded gravel. In addition, although the gripping elements 824 and 826 are depicted as being provided on either side of the fabric 822, the gripping elements 824, 826 may be provided at any suitable relative position to each other. In some cases, having gripping elements 824, 826 disposed on either side of fabric 820 can increase the relative amount of uncovered fabric (e.g., areas of fabric on which gripping elements are not disposed), thereby increasing the breathability of the garment and increasing the comfort of the wearer of the garment. It should be understood that the configuration of gripping elements 824, 826 can be combined with any other configuration of gripping elements, such as Figure 8B or those structures depicted in 8C. In addition, although the gripping element 826 appears to be Figure 7 The method 700 is formed, wherein a pre-mixed gripping epoxy is used, but it should be understood that any suitable mechanism can be used to form the gripping element 826, such as but not limited to Figure 4 Method 400 and / or Figure 5 Method 500.

[0093] Figures 9A-9G Schematic diagrams of various patterns 900, 910, 920, 930, 940, 950, 960 of gripping elements that may be provided on a garment according to example embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. It should be noted that these patterns 900, 910, 920, 930, 940, 950, 960 are examples and the disclosure herein contemplates any variety of patterns of gripping elements with and / or without grit provided on a garment or apparel.

[0094] Fig.9AA diagram of a pattern 900 of gripping elements similar to macaroni, spaghetti and / or noodles according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Any portion of the pattern 900 can be any suitable color (e.g., yellow, white, etc.), and any portion of the pattern 900 can include any combination of gripping elements with and / or without grit therein. The pattern 900 can be disposed on any suitable portion of any type of apparel, such as the back / shoulder area of ​​a shirt and / or the legs of pants. The aerial density of the pattern 900 can be the percentage of area that the pattern 900 is covered by gripping elements and can be within the scope disclosed herein.

[0095] Fig. 9B A diagram of a pattern 910 of gripping elements including a honeycomb pattern according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Any portion of pattern 910 may be any suitable color (e.g., yellow, green, blue, etc.), and any portion of pattern 910 may include any combination of gripping elements with and / or without grit therein. Pattern 910 may be disposed on any suitable portion of any type of apparel, such as the back / shoulder area of ​​a shirt and / or the legs of pants. The aerial density of pattern 910 may be the percentage of area of ​​the pattern 910 covered by gripping elements and may be within the range disclosed herein.

[0096] Fig. 9C A schematic diagram of a pattern 920 of gripping elements including a multi-shaped pattern according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Any portion of the pattern 920 can be any suitable color (e.g., red, green, magenta, etc.), and any portion of the pattern 920 can include any combination of gripping elements with and / or without grit therein. The pattern 920 can be disposed on any suitable portion of any type of apparel, such as the back / shoulder area of ​​a shirt and / or the legs of pants. The aerial density of the pattern 920 can be the percentage of the area of ​​the pattern 920 covered by the gripping elements and can be within the range disclosed herein.

[0097] Fig.9D A diagram of a pattern 930 of gripping elements including a star and an open hexagonal pattern according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Any portion of pattern 930 may be any suitable color (e.g., fuchsia, indigo, orange, etc.), and any portion of pattern 930 may include any combination of gripping elements with and / or without grit therein. Pattern 930 may be disposed on any suitable portion of any type of apparel, such as the back / shoulder area of ​​a shirt and / or the legs of pants. The aerial density of pattern 930 may be the percentage of area of ​​the pattern 930 covered by gripping elements and may be within the range disclosed herein.

[0098] Fig.9EA schematic diagram of a pattern 940 of gripping elements including a maple leaf and an open hexagonal pattern according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Any portion of pattern 940 can be any suitable color (e.g., red, green, magenta, etc.), and any portion of pattern 940 can include any combination of gripping elements with and / or without grit therein. Pattern 940 can be disposed on any suitable portion of any type of apparel, such as the back / shoulder area of ​​a shirt and / or the legs of pants. The aerial density of pattern 940 can be the percentage of area of ​​the pattern 940 covered by gripping elements and can be within the range disclosed herein.

[0099] Fig.9F A diagram of a pattern 950 of gripping elements similar to the Commonwealth flag (i.e., the Union Jack) according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Any portion of the pattern 950 may be any suitable color (e.g., red, white, blue, etc.), and any portion of the pattern 950 may include any combination of gripping elements with and / or without grit therein. The pattern 950 may be disposed on any suitable portion of any type of apparel, such as the back / shoulder area of ​​a shirt and / or the legs of pants. The aerial density of the pattern 950 may be the percentage of area that the pattern 950 is covered by gripping elements and may be within the range disclosed herein.

[0100] Figure 9G A diagram of a pattern 960 of gripping elements similar to the flag of the United States of America (i.e., the Stars and Stripes) according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Any portion of pattern 960 may be any suitable color (e.g., red, white, blue, etc.), and any portion of pattern 960 may include any combination of gripping elements with and / or without grit therein. Pattern 960 may be disposed on any suitable portion of any type of apparel, such as the back / shoulder area of ​​a shirt and / or the legs of pants. The aerial density of pattern 960 may be the percentage of area that the pattern 960 is covered by gripping elements and may be within the range disclosed herein.

[0101] Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as illustrative forms of implementing the claims.

[0102] The present disclosure is described above with reference to block diagrams and flow charts of systems, methods, devices and / or garments according to example embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood that one or more blocks in the block diagrams and flow charts, as well as combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flow charts, may be implemented by one or more different entities on one or more different devices, respectively. Likewise, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, some blocks of the block diagrams and flow charts may not necessarily need to be executed in the order presented, or may not need to be executed at all.

[0103] Many modifications and other embodiments of the disclosure set forth herein will be apparent with the benefit of the foregoing description and the teachings presented in the associated drawings. Therefore, it should be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are used herein, they are used in a general and descriptive sense only and not for the purpose of limitation.

Claims

1. A garment comprising: A fabric having a surface; A first gripping element is disposed on the surface, the first gripping element comprising: a first elastomeric material in contact with the surface, wherein the first elastomeric material comprises at least one of a plastisol or a silicone; and a grit material at least partially embedded in the first elastomeric material such that at least some of the grit material at least partially protrudes from a surface of the first elastomeric material while at least a portion of the grit material is surrounded by the first elastomeric material, wherein the first gripping element defines at least one opening within an outer boundary of the first gripping element at which the fabric is not covered by the first gripping element, and wherein the first gripping element has a thickness of at least 0.1 millimeters; and A second gripping element is disposed on the surface, the second gripping element comprising a second elastomeric material and lacking any gritty material.

2. The garment according to claim 1, wherein: The grit material includes at least one of sand, silicon dioxide, silicon carbide or aluminum oxide.

3. The garment according to claim 1, wherein: The garment also includes: A pattern defined by a plurality of gripping elements, wherein the first gripping element is one of the plurality of gripping elements, and wherein the pattern has an aerial density of less than 75%.

4. The garment according to claim 1, wherein: The first gripping element is a first color and the second gripping element is a second color.

5. The garment according to claim 1, wherein: The first gripping element is arranged to overlap the second gripping element.

6. The garment according to claim 1, wherein: The surface is a first surface, and the garment further comprises: a second surface of the fabric, the second surface being opposite to the first surface; Wherein, the second gripping element is arranged on the second surface.

7. The garment according to claim 1, wherein: The surface is a first surface associated with a first portion of the garment, the garment further comprising: a second surface associated with a second portion of the garment; Wherein, the second gripping element is arranged on the second portion of the garment.

8. The garment according to claim 1, wherein: The fabric includes at least one of cotton, rayon, polyester or spandex.

9. The garment according to claim 1, wherein: The garment is a shirt, and wherein the first gripping element is disposed on a shoulder portion of the shirt.

10. A method of forming a garment, comprising: providing a portion of the garment having a surface; A first gripping element is formed by: forming a first one or more layers of elastomeric material on the surface by using screen printing, wherein the first one or more layers of elastomeric material include at least one of plastisol or silicone; at least partially curing the first one or more layers of elastomeric material; depositing grit on at least a portion of the first one or more layers of elastomeric material on the surface; as well as A second one or more layers of elastomeric material are formed on at least a portion of the grit such that the at least a portion of the grit is at least partially embedded in the second one or more layers of elastomeric material and partially protrudes from a surface of the second one or more layers of elastomeric material.

11. The method of forming a garment according to claim 10, wherein: The portion of the garment is a first portion of the garment, the method further comprising: The first portion of the garment is attached to the second portion of the garment.

12. The method of forming a garment according to claim 11, further comprising: A third one or more layers of elastomeric material are formed on a second surface of the second portion of the garment.

13. The method of forming a garment according to claim 10, wherein: Forming the first one or more layers of elastomeric material further comprises: depositing a liquid elastomeric material onto the surface through a patterned screen; and The liquid elastomeric material is cured by heating the liquid elastomeric material.

14. The method of forming a garment according to claim 13, wherein: The liquid elastomeric material is at least one of a liquid plastisol or a liquid silicone.

15. A method of forming a garment, comprising: mixing grit into a liquid elastomeric material to form a gripping epoxy, wherein the liquid elastomeric material comprises at least one of a plastisol or a silicone; placing a first patterned screen on a first surface of a first portion of the garment; depositing a first portion of the gripping epoxy onto the first surface of the first portion of the garment through the first patterned screen; curing the first portion of the gripping epoxy to form one or more first gripping elements such that at least a portion of the grit is at least partially embedded in and partially protrudes from a cured elastomeric material, wherein the one or more first gripping elements have a thickness of at least 0.1 millimeters; and The first portion of the garment is attached to the second portion of the garment.

16. The method of forming a garment according to claim 15, further comprising: placing a second patterned screen on a second surface of the second portion of the garment; depositing a second portion of the gripping epoxy onto the second surface of the second portion of the garment through the second patterned screen; as well as The second portion of the gripping epoxy is cured to form one or more second gripping elements.

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