Compression garments are pieces of clothing that are formed of woven, knitted, or other textile fabric in construction adapted to fit tightly around the skin of the wearer. In a sports related use, such form-fitting compression sportswear is conventionally formed to include elastic material such as elastane is widely used in garments under various names such as as SPANDEX and other branded products. Such compression garments are conventionally worn by athletes and in exercise to prevent chafing and rashes. The exceptional elasticity of elastane type fibers increases the clothing pressure comfort upon wearers, enhancing the ease of body movements. Pressure comfort is the response towards clothing by the human body pressure receptors (mechanoreceptors present in skin sensory cells). The sensation response is affected mainly by the stretch, snug, loose, heavy, lightweight, soft, and stiff structure of the material. Such compression fabrics are also widely employed in medical uses to provide support for people who have to stand for long periods or have poor circulation. Compression garments worn on the legs, for example, can help prevent deep vein thrombosis and reduce swelling, especially while traveling.
Compression garments are conventionally woven or knitted from elastic yarns in combination with natural or synthetic yarns such as cotton or nylon. To that end, depending on the percentage of elastic yarns used, such compression garments conventionally are available in varying degrees of compression depending on the intended use.
With respect to the above, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the compression garment weighting system herein, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of employment and to the arrangement of the components or the steps set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The various components and construction of the weighting system apparatus and methods and steps of employment thereof, are capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. All of which will be obvious to those skilled in the art once the information herein is reviewed and thus are considered within the scope of this invention.
Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for other weighted compression garment systems. It is important, therefore, that the embodiments, objects, and claims herein, be regarded as including such equivalent construction, operation and methodology, insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The disclosed weighted compression garment system herein provides a significant advance in the utility of compression garments which may be employed for sports users and medical users and others who may wear compression garments. In addition to providing the comfort and function noted above, they also provide the user with weighted areas which may be customized as to position and weight amounts to the intended requirements of individual users.
The system herein allows for the positioning of one or a plurality of weights, in one or various multiple positions upon compression shirt type garments and/or compression pant type garments. Conventionally garments formed of elastic and other yarns for compression shirts and pants, are woven or knitted in a configuration to include elastic yarns or threads in the woven or knitted or otherwise formed fabrics. Such a construction using knitted or woven textile fabrics provides gaps for the fabric to breathe. Additionally such a configuration allows the shirt and pants garments to assume a compressed engagement against the portion of the body of the user on which they are worn in a form fitting manner. As noted above, garments formed of textiles including elastic yarns to enable such a compressed engagement have uses in both the medical and sports area.
In one mode of the system herein, flexible weights in permanent engagements may be operatively positioned to one or a plurality of locations on a compression shirt garment and/or a compression pants garment. By compression garment, compression shirt, or compression pants herein is meant, such a garment which is formed of woven or knitted textile fabric which contains a percentage of elastic yarns such as elastane, SPANDEX, or similar highly elastic yarns from manufacturers of such, where the garment will stretch and expand when pulled onto the body and thereafter impart a compressive force against it in substantially all areas of contact thereof against the body of the user.
In another mode of the system herein, the compression garments include weight engageable garment mounts operatively positioned thereon in one or multiple positions. Each such mount is configured for removable engagement with weights with a cooperative separable connector which will removably engage with a weight having a mating cooperative separable connector thereon. By separable connector and mating cooperative connector is herein meant, for example, a pocket sized to hold the inserted weight, hook and loop fabric, reusable adhesive, magnets, or mechanical engagements, such as buttons and button holes, snaps and engageable snap caps, or any cooperative connector as would occur to those skilled in the art subsequent to their reviewing this specification which can be employed for the cooperative removable connection between weights and the garment mounts positioned upon the shirt or pants garments. Such separable connectors are well known in the art and not in need of depiction or detailed explanation herein.
The weights, as in all modes of the system herein, are preferably configured to be substantially flexible and substantially elastic in nature. In this fashion, where a weight is engaged to the elastic woven or knitted fabric forming a compression garment, the weights or their respective garment mounts will preferably stretch and contract sufficiently to move in conjunction with the stretch and contraction of the underlying garment on the wearer.
In modes of the system herein wherein garment mounts are positioned upon the compression garments, such garment mounts should be sufficiently flexible and elastic such that they will bend and stretch and contract and re-expand along with the underlying garment fabric to which they are connected. For example, forming the garment mounts from a polymeric flexible and elastic material will allow the mount, once engaged to a garment, to stretch, contract, and bend along with the underlying garment as the user moves.
Where such garment mounts are engaged to the underlying garments, it will allow the user to choose and position one or a plurality of weights in operative engagement with a mount positioned upon a location on the garment. In this removable engagement mode, the weights may be chosen from a kit of weights where each has a differing actual weight or mass, and where it is configured in dimension and connected to provide for removable engagement on the intended garment mount.
This removable engagement of one or a plurality of weights from a kit of weights having differing mass or weight will allow the user to position such weights in one or more positions where garment mounts are connected to the garment. It will also allow the user to choose individual weights, by their weight or mass, from the kit having such weights with differing weights and mass thereof. Where such garment mounts are formed to flex and bend with the garment to which they are attached, the engageable weights may not need to be flexible or elastic themselves since the garment mount will accommodate the movement of the user and the stretch and contraction of the fabric of a garment to which it is attached.
The weights herein employed can be formed of polymeric material in a layer which includes metal or other heavy material therein which will provide weight or mass to each weight. Where formed of polymeric material, they may be molded or otherwise formed to a unitary structure consisting of weight components and a surrounding polymeric material. They may also be shaped to fit onto or into individual garment weight garment mounts.
In another mode, the weights can be formed of a woven or knitted or other formed textile material which has metallic or other mass providing components operatively engaged with the textile fabric. Such may be, for example, a positioning of small weights in between the knit or weaving of yarn or thread forming a weight thereby adhering them thereto. Alternatively, the weave or knit of the textile material using yarn may be woven with yarn included in the finished textile fabric which is metal or otherwise weighted.
Another mode of the weights envisioned for use herein, especially where the separable connector is a pocket sized to hold the weight, are a weight body formed of flexible material which has an internal cavity to hold metal or a heavy material. Such can have an exterior body formed of textile fabric or coated vinyl material which surrounds an internal cavity filled with metal beads or the like. The body of the weight will slide into an appropriate sized pocket to hold it securely.
Still further, indicia such as logos or pictures or lettering can be placed on the surface of the weights where the weights are permanently engaged or more preferably when the weights will be removably engaged.
With respect to the disclosed weighted compression garment system and method herein, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the disclosed invention is not limited in its application to the details of operation nor the arrangement of the components or the steps set forth in the following description or illustrations in the drawings. The various structural configurations and implementation of the weighted compression system herein are capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways which will be obvious to those skilled in the art once they review this disclosure. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
Therefore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other weighted garment systems, methods, device configurations for carrying out the several purposes of the disclosed device and system herein. Therefore, the objects and claims herein should be regarded as including any and all such equivalent construction, components, steps, and methodology insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is an object of this invention to provide a compression garment which imparts a compressed contact against the body of the user which has one or a plurality of weights positioned thereon.
It is another object of this invention to provide such a weighted compression garment system wherein the compression garments can be provided either with weights already engaged thereon or in a configuration wherein a user can choose and mount weights thereon in locations best suited to use and exercise by the user.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a weighted compression garment system having flexible garment mounts operatively positioned on the garments which are configured to removably engage with weights therein or thereon.
Another object of this invention is the provision of weights and/or weights and garment mounts therefor, which can be engaged to existing compression garments lacking such.
These, together with other objects and advantages which become subsequently apparent, reside in the details of the construction and configurations of the weighted compression garment system herein as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.
Also, further objectives of this weighted garment system invention will be ascertained by those skilled in the art as brought out in the following part of the specification wherein the detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.
As used in the claims to describe the various inventive aspects and embodiments, “comprising” means including, but not limited to, whatever follows the word “comprising”. Thus, use of the term “comprising” indicates that the listed elements are required or mandatory, but that other elements are optional and may or may not be present. By “consisting of” is meant including, and limited to, whatever follows the phrase “consisting of”. Thus, the phrase “consisting of” indicates that the listed elements are required or mandatory, and that no other elements may be present. By “consisting essentially of” is meant including any elements listed after the phrase, and limited to other elements that do not interfere with or contribute to the activity or action specified in the disclosure for the listed elements. Thus, the phrase “consisting essentially of” indicates that the listed elements are required or mandatory, but that other elements are optional and may or may not be present depending upon whether or not they affect the activity or action of the listed elements. Finally, by the term “substantially” with regard to size or volume or mass, is meant plus or minus five percent, unless respectively otherwise defined, and by the term “substantially” with regard to alignment and positioning is meant plus or minus five percent.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate some, but not the only or exclusive examples of embodiments and/or features of the disclosed weighted compression garment system herein. It is intended that the embodiments and FIGURES disclosed herein are to be considered illustrative of the invention herein—rather than limiting in any fashion.
Referring now to the weighted garment system 10 herein, shown in simple format by the depictions of
The positioning, shown with weights 14 on both shoulders as shoulder weights and located on the forearm area of the arm portions of the shirt compression garment 12 as arm weights, is preferred in the current mode of the system. This configuration provides the weights 14 in positions that experimentation has shown to work well for exercise of the user. Other positions may be employed on a shirt or pants compression garment and may be determined by the sports or medical or other purpose for wearing the shirt compression garment 12. As shown in
As such, one or a plurality of weights 14, their mass, and their respective locations on both shoulders and the forearm area of the sleeve are preferred at present to provide weight resistance when walking or running or swaying arms, and atop both the shoulders where movement by the user will not cause the weight 14 to pull the shirt downward since it will be imparted atop the shoulder.
The weights 14 can be permanently positioned on any portion of the garments herein, by sewing, adhesive, mechanical connections between the garment and weight, or other means so long as the underlying stretch fabric is accommodated and not damaged during use. Such may, for example, employ elastic fabric mounts which engage with the weights 14 whereby the fabric mount stretches with the garment while still operatively holding the weight 14 in place.
As shown in the rear view of
In
As shown in
Currently, where leg muscle exercise is desirable during movement of the user wearing the pants compression garment 16 in the as-used position, the permanent or removable positioning of the weights 14 or thigh weights should be in locations on the compression garment 12 or 16, shown in
Another weight configuration for a pants compression garment 16 is shown in the rear side view in
This positioning is preferred alone or in combination with the weights 14 or thigh weights adjacent the thigh muscles and will thus increase the exercise imparted to the calf muscles of the user wearing the pants during use. For very specific muscle exercise and rehabilitation, other positions on the shirt or pants may be used, but the depicted positions are the current preferred positions to provide exercise to muscles of the user walking or running and to increase their overall exercise due to movements carrying weight.
In
The weight material in
Such a configuration will work well for weights 14 configured to removably engage with or within garment-engaged garment mounts 24, such as in
Alternatively and preferred, where maximum flex and stretch of the weight 14 and mount is desired, a slot 25 running under a shoulder along the perimeter edge of the weight mount 24 or a similar tongue and groove or slotted engagement to the weight mount 24 can form a removable engagement to and over the perimeter of the weight mount 24. Thus, the perimeter of the weight 14 would mirror that of the interior edge of the weight mount 24 and would slip into the slot 25 running under a perimeter shoulder of the weight mount 24 for a removable engagement.
The weights 14, while not shown herein, may also be a simple mode of enclosing weight components 22, such as ball bearings or metal shot or metal pieces within a fabric housing. The exterior of such a housing would be formed of flexible material, such as a woven or laminated exterior layer which will surround an interior cavity holding the weight components 22. Such would have the exterior and sectional appearances of a conventional bean-bag used, for example, for throwing games.
Another example of the system 10 herein employing garment mounts 24 operatively positioned on compression garments of the system 10 herein is also shown in
The removable engagement of weights 14 can be accomplished suing the slot 24 noted above for a tongue and groove engagement of weight 14 to garment mount 24 or using separable fasteners such as hook and loop fabric, magnets, or releasable engagements such as adhesive or the like.
It should be noted that the garment mounts 24 of
In
Shown in
As shown in
While all of the fundamental characteristics and features of the disclosed weighted compression garment system herein have been shown and described herein, with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure and it will be apparent that in some instances, some features of the weighted compression garment system may be employed without a corresponding use of other features thereof, without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth. It should also be understood that various substitutions, modifications, and variations may be made by those skilled in the art upon their review of this specification, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Consequently, all such modifications and variations and substitutions are included within the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/397,213, filed on Aug. 11, 2022, which is incorporated herein in its entirety. The invention herein disclosed relates generally to compression garments. More particularly, it relates to a compression garment weighting system wherein one or a plurality of weights may be positioned thereon.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
63397213 | Aug 2022 | US |