Rugby jersey

Abstract

The invention presents a rugby jersey characterized in that it comprises on each side an extra-thickness zone extending vertically below the connection line of the sleeve, and horizontally on the side of the jersey, between the ventral panel and the back panel. Figure in the abstract: Not defined

Description

Title of the invention: Rugby jersey Field of invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of rugby jerseys. Rugby is an extremely popular game in many parts of the world. The game requires a lot of physical contact and involves many phases of play, some of which put the jerseys under severe strain. These are in particular the scrums, during which the players bond with each other.

[0002] When a player links up with a teammate, he must use the entire arm, from the shoulder to the hand, to grab a teammate's body at or below the armpit. The rules of rugby state that the loose head prop must bind himself to his opponent's caught head prop by placing his left arm inside his opponent's right arm and holding his jersey by the back or side.

[0003] A headlocked prop must bind to his opponent's freehead prop by placing his right arm outside his opponent's left arm. The headlocked prop must hold onto the freehead prop's jersey only with his right hand on the back or side of his direct opponent.

[0004] The group of players known as forwards, usually wearing the numbers 1 to 8, are particularly involved in areas of play known as scrums, lineouts, mauls and rucks, as well as in running forms of play.

[0005] The scrum (melee) is a facet of set play in which the forwards, the "tight" 8s in particular, must close together in a formation, facing the opposing forwards in the same formation, with both packs of forwards joining together in an effort to push the other off the ball and gain possession.

[0006] The nature of the scrum is such that the player's body positions are very low in the crouching position, with the head and back horizontal. As is the current practice, the first tight line, i.e. the two props, the hooker and the two props, bind themselves together by securing a section of their teammate's rugby shirt with their hands in a convenient place and tightening it.

[0007] In today's game with the amended rules, the wing backs, namely the number 6 and number 7 shirts, are more involved in the pushing force of the scrum. This is because previously the wing backs simply had to be in contact with the scrum, which meant they simply kept their hands on the scrum, waiting for the ball to come out of the side. Since it is now necessary for the ball to come out of the scrum behind the feet of the number 8, it is more advantageous that The third-row center wings link up well and help push the scrum. Therefore, their grip must also be firm.

[0008] Players sometimes lose control of the shirt when it becomes too difficult for their hands and wrists to hold a section of shirt while the scrum is moving. This may be due to the players' grip strength range, the playing conditions, it being more difficult to grip the shirt when it is cold or wet or both, or the shirt being too tight to achieve a good fit.

[0009] It has therefore been proposed to modify rugby jerseys to improve grip. State of the art

[0010] Known in the prior art is patent US3014219A describing a tightly fitting undershirt which is adapted to extend from the neckline to below the waist. This undershirt has on the front panel of the body portion a pair of vertically arranged and laterally spaced support straps. These straps extend from the upper chest-covering portion of the front panel to a point adjacent the waist of the front panel.

[0011] Patent FR2951911 relates to a sports jersey, particularly for rugby, comprising, at the level of each shoulder, a protective element placed in a pocket and formed by the assembly of panels of at least two types of elastic textile pieces, the piece

[0012] Of the first type having a high restoring force, greater than the restoring force of the part of the second type. The pocket is formed internally by an inner panel of a part of the second or possibly of the first type and externally by a part of a retaining band, which is formed of at least one panel of a part of the first type. Said retaining band extends substantially vertically, passing over the top of the shoulder, to at least the underside of the pectoral zone on the front and rear faces of the jersey.

[0013] US patent US6240564 discloses another example of a reinforced rugby jersey. It is intended for use in rugby union, primarily for the needs of the five players in the forward pack. It has handles, oriented at points where scrum partners can find a grip, which makes it easier to put on when entering the scrum. Disadvantages of the prior art

[0014] The solutions of the prior art do not allow to fully meet the objective of improving the connection between the first lines, the hooker and right or left pillars on the opponents, in particular for sportsmen of large sizes for whom the correct, rapid and easy connection during the scrum obtained by securing a teammate's jersey, to help push the other team's attackers closer to their goal line. Solution provided by the invention

[0015] In order to overcome these drawbacks, the present invention relates, in its most general sense, to a rugby jersey characterized in that it comprises on one side at least one thickened zone extending vertically below the connection line of the sleeve, and horizontally on the side of the jersey, between the ventral panel (4) and the back panel.

[0016] Preferably, said thickened zones form a rectilinear strip.

[0017] According to a first variant, said thickened zones form a broken band with a vertical lower segment and an upper segment inclined in the dorsal direction with an angle of between 120° and 160°.

[0018] According to a second variant, it comprises a second extra-thickness zone doubling an upper segment of the rectilinear extra-thickness zone.

[0019] Advantageously, said vertical lower segment has a length of between 1.5 and 1.9 times the length of said upper segment.

[0020] According to a particular embodiment, said thickened zones are made of foam strips with a thickness of between 10 and 25 millimeters, and preferably between 15 and 20 millimeters.

[0021] According to a particular variant, said thickened areas are formed by a pocket formed inside the jersey and filled with a material with a thickness of between 10 and 25 millimeters, and preferably between 15 and 20 millimeters.

[0022] Advantageously, said thickened zones have a width of between 60 and 100 millimeters.

[0023] According to a variant, said thickened zones have on the outer surface of the jersey a marking of a first type in the lower part and a marking of a second type in the upper part.

[0024] Optionally, said thickened areas have a housing for the insertion of an accessory.

[0025] Detailed description of a non-limiting example of embodiment

[0026] The present invention will be better understood on reading the following description, concerning a non-limiting example of embodiment illustrated by the appended drawings where:

[0027] [Fig-1] [Fig.l] represents a front view of an example of a jersey according to the invention

[0028] [Fig.2] [Fig.2] represents a profile view of an example of a jersey according to the invention

[0029] [Fig.3] [Fig.3] represents a profile view of a variant of jersey according to the invention.

[0030] Detailed description of non-limiting examples of embodiments of the invention

[0031] The jersey according to the invention is made in the usual way, generally in polyester or 100% sublimated material. The material of the jersey is of little importance for the implementation of the invention.

[0032] The invention relates to a modification of a rugby jersey to form one or two lateral zones of extra thickness (10, 20) which extend between the lower connection line of the sleeve (1, 2), below the armpit when the jersey is worn by a player, and the waistband (3). These zones of extra thickness (10, 20) extend laterally on the side, between the ventral panel (4) and the back panel (5).

[0033] For the right pillar, the jersey has an extra thick area on the right flank, under the right armpit, and for the left pillar, the jersey has an extra thick area on the left flank, under the left armpit.

[0034] Of course, it is also possible to provide jerseys with two extra-thick side zones, one on the right side, the other on the left side, symmetrically.

[0035] From the outside, these areas (10, 20) have a distinctive marking, for example a color different from that of the jersey. According to a particular variant, this distinctive marking is divided into two parts, a lower part (11, 22) and an upper part (12, 22).

[0036] The extra thicknesses (10, 20) are for example made by sewing pockets inside the jersey into which strips of foam with a thickness of 15 millimeters for example are inserted.

[0037] The length of these pockets allows for the creation of a gripping zone during binding, extending from below the armpits to the top of the hips of the player wearing this jersey.

[0038] For a standard jersey, the height of this area is 380 mm. The lower part (11, 21) extends over 240 millimeters and the upper part (12, 22) extends over approximately 140 millimeters. The lower part indicates the location of the connection of the right and left pillars during the scrum, and the upper part indicates the location of the connection of the hooker.

[0039] The differentiating marking of the two parts facilitates arbitration for verifying the correct execution of the connections.

[0040] The pockets forming the overthicknesses (10, 20) may be rectilinear, over a length extending downwards from the lower edge of the sleeve connection.

[0041] It can also have, as shown in [Fig.2], a vertical lower part (11, 21) (i.e. parallel to the axis of symmetry of the jersey), located in the middle of the side, and an upper part (12, 22) inclined at an angle of approximately 150° in the dorsal direction, both parts having a width of approximately 80 millimeters. This variant is particularly suitable for pillars with broad shoulders.

[0042] According to another variant shown in [Fig.3], the jersey has a second pocket (13) extending from the dorsal side behind the connection line of the sleeve (1), over a length corresponding to the upper part (11). This second pocket (13) also has a width of approximately 80 and 100 millimeters.

[0043] According to a variant, the pocket can form a housing for an accessory such as a GPS geolocation module, or a module comprising an accelerometer and a remote transmission circuit.

Claims

Claims

1. Rugby jersey characterized in that it comprises on one side at least one thickened zone (10, 20) consisting of a straight or broken support strip, extending vertically below the connection line of the sleeve, and horizontally on the side of the jersey, between the ventral panel (4) and the back panel (5).

2. Rugby jersey according to claim 1 characterized in that said thickened areas form a rectilinear band.

3. Rugby jersey according to claim 1 characterized in that said thickened zones form a broken band with a vertical lower segment (12, 22) and an upper segment (11, 21) inclined in the dorsal direction with an angle between 120° and 160°.

4. Rugby jersey according to claim 2 characterized in that it comprises a second thickened zone (13) doubling an upper segment of the rectilinear thickened zone (11).

5. Rugby jersey according to the preceding claim 3 or 4 in that said vertical lower segment has a length of between 1.5 and 1.9 times the length of said upper segment.

6. Rugby jersey according to claim 1 characterized in that said thickened areas are made of foam strips with a thickness of between 10 and 25 millimeters, and preferably between 15 and 20 millimeters.

7. Rugby jersey according to claim 1 characterized in that said thickened areas are formed by a pocket formed inside the jersey and filled with a material with a thickness of between 10 and 25 millimeters, and preferably between 15 and 20 millimeters.

8. Rugby jersey according to claim 1 characterized in that said thickened areas have a width of between 60 and 100 millimeters.

9. Rugby jersey according to claim 1 characterized in that said thickened areas have on the outer surface of the jersey a marking of a first type in the lower part and a marking of a second type in the upper part.

10. Rugby jersey according to claim 1 characterized in that said thickened areas have a housing for the insertion of an accessory.

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