Patent Application
20250194702
This invention relates to garments and more particularly to garments with engineered support structures.
Typical athletic garments are designed to provide support and movement management of a tissue, such as breast tissue, by restricting the movement and/or acceleration of breast tissue during activity. For example, typical athletic bras are designed to restrict the movement of breast tissue related to activity by uniformly compressing the breast tissue to the wearer's chest utilizing stiffer fabrics and a large number of components to lock down the breast tissue. While the garment may provide adequate movement management during activity, the compression that the garment exerts against the body can also be uncomfortable for the wearer. For example, tight garments can restrict tidal volume (the amount of air that can move through the wearer's chest in one breathe), thereby increasing the pressure to the ribcage applied by, for example, a bra underband, or pressure around the diaphragm applied by, for example, a pant waistband.
Thus, there exists a need for engineered support structures for garments that can create pressure application for movement management of tissue, while also supporting unrestricted breathing activity.
In various embodiments, the present disclosure provides a garment with a support structure that provides support and movement management of a tissue, such as breast tissue, without unnecessarily restricting the respiratory cycles of a wearer.
In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a garment comprising a front portion covering at least a portion of a wearer's chest, the front portion comprising a front portion lower edge, a front portion upper edge portion, a first side of the front portion and a second side of the front portion; a back portion covering at least a portion of the wearer's back, the back portion comprising a back portion lower edge, a back portion upper edge portion, a first side of the back portion and a second side of the back portion; a first side portion extending between the first side of the front portion and the second side of the back portion, the first side portion having a first lower edge; and a second side portion extending between the second side of the front portion and the first side of the back portion, the second side portion having a second lower edge, wherein at least a part of the first and second side portions comprise two or more stretching module zones, the two or more stretching module zones comprising a low stretching module zone in proximity to a first arm opening and a second arm opening, respectively, of the garment, and a lower edge stretching module zone in proximity to the first lower edge and the second lower edge, respectively.
In various embodiments, the first and second side portions may be engineered such that a stretching level of the two or more stretching module zones increases gradually from the low stretching module zone towards the lower edge stretching module zone.
In various embodiments, the first and second side portions may be engineered such that the two or more stretching module zones extend radially downward pivoting from the low stretching module zone toward the lower edge stretching module zone.
In various embodiments, each of the first and second side portions may comprise a triangular shaped gusset, wherein the triangular shaped gusset is engineered such that the two or more stretching module zones extend radially downward pivoting from the low stretching module zone toward the lower edge stretching module zone.
In various embodiments, the garment further comprises a pair of reinforcing elements extending from the first side portion and the second side portion, respectively, toward the front portion, each of the pair of reinforcing elements being engineered to have varying stretching modules, wherein bottom zones of each of the pair of reinforcing elements closer to a lower edge of the garment have stretching levels greater than top zones of the reinforcing elements closer to an upper edge of the garment.
In various embodiments, each of the pair of reinforcing elements may comprise a first leg extending at least partially in a top part of the front portion in proximity to the front portion upper edge portion and a second leg extending at least partially in a bottom part of the front portion in proximity to the front portion lower edge, wherein at least part of the first and the second leg is shaped to provide lateral support of a breast tissue around a root of each breast. For example, each of the pair of reinforcing elements may be U-shaped, V-shaped, X-shaped or Y-shaped.
In various embodiments, each of the pair of reinforcing elements may comprise a pair of crisscrossing legs configured to extend from the front portion across the respective side portion toward the back portion, the first leg having a first end in proximity to the front portion upper edge portion and a second end in proximity to the back portion lower edge, and the second leg having a first end in proximity to the front portion lower edge and a second end in proximity to the back portion upper edge portion.
In various embodiments, stretching levels of the varying stretching modules of each of the reinforcing elements may increase gradually from the top zones of the reinforcing elements toward the bottom zones of the reinforcing elements.
In various embodiments, the garment may further comprise an underband at the lower edge of the front portion, the back portion and each of the first and second side portions. In various embodiments, the underband may be engineered such that a zone closer to a lower edge of the underband along each of the first and second side portions has a stretching module level greater than a zone further away from the lower edge of the underband.
In various embodiments, the underband is engineered such that a zone closer to a lower edge of the underband has a stretching module level greater than a zone further away from the lower edge of the underband. In various embodiments, stretching levels of the varying zones of the underband may increase gradually towards the zone closer to the lower edge of the underband.
In various embodiments, the underband has a concave shape from a front and a back view of the garment, with a depression of the concave shape at center portions of the underband, such that a stretching level at sides of the underband is greater than at the center portions.
In various embodiments, the garment further comprises one or more openings on the front portion, the back portion, the first side portion, the second side portion, the underband, or a combination thereof, wherein the one or more openings create one or more zones with a higher stretching level compared to zones of the garment without the one or more openings, and wherein the one or more zones with the higher stretching level is controlled by a size and/or density of the one or more openings. The one or more openings may comprise a mesh. In various embodiments, a zone with a lower stretching level may be adjacent the one or more openings. In various embodiments, the one or more openings may be on a central part of the front portion, a central part of the back portion, a central part of the underband, or a combination thereof. In various embodiments, the zone with the lower stretching level adjacent the one or more openings may be on an underband of the garment.
In various embodiments, the garment further comprises one or more zones on a center part of the front portion, a center part of the back portion, a center part of the underband or a combination thereof, having a higher stretching level compared to zones of the front portion, back portion and underband without the one or more zones having the higher stretching level.
In various embodiments, each of the first and second side portions may further comprise a discontinuous overlay, wherein the overlay is coupled to the first or second side portion on an inside surface or on an outside surface of the first or second side portion, respectively. The term “inside surface” refers to the surface of the first and second side portions facing the wearer when the wearer is wearing the garment. The term “outside surface” refers to the surface of the first and second side portions facing away from the wearer when the wearer is wearing the garment.
In various embodiments, the garment further comprises one or more shoulder straps connecting the front portion and the back portion over one or both shoulders of the wearer.
In addition to the aspects and embodiments described above, further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to the drawings
Throughout the drawings, reference numbers may be re-used to indicate correspondence between referenced elements. The drawings are provided to illustrate example embodiments described herein and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the shapes of various elements and angles are not drawn to scale, and some of these elements are arbitrarily enlarged and positioned to improve drawing legibility.
In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one or more exemplary embodiments:
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention is described in conjunction with these embodiments, it will be understood that the descriptions herein are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents that may be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Detailed description of components that are well known in the art may be omitted if that detailed description would confuse or obscure the description of the embodiments of the present invention.
In the context of the present disclosure, various terms are used in accordance with what is understood to be the ordinary meaning of those terms.
Directional terms such as “top”, “bottom”, “front”, “back”, “upper”, “lower”, “outer” and “inner” are used in the following description for the purpose of providing relative reference only, and are not intended to suggest any limitations on how any article or garment is to be positioned during use, or relative to an environment. The use of the word “a” or “an” when used herein in conjunction with the term “comprising” may mean “one”, but it is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more”, “at least one”, and “one or more than one”. Any element expressed in the singular form also encompasses its plural form. Any element expressed in the plural form also encompasses its singular form. The term “plurality” as used herein means more than one, for example, two or more, three or more, for or more, and the like.
The present disclosure provides a garment with a support structure. In various embodiments, the disclosure provides garments that provide support and movement management of a tissue, such as breast tissue, particularly during activity, without unnecessarily restricting the respiratory cycles of a wearer.
During activity, breast tissue has a range of motion. Prior art garments typically manage this motion by compressing the breast tissue against a wearer's chest. These prior art garments also include an underband, which wraps around a ribcage of the wearer (
For example, in order to understand the impact of pressure and/or compression exerted by prior art garments, such as sport bras, on mechanical work performed by the respiratory muscles to breathe during activity, experiments have been conducted in which athletes were asked to exercise while wearing a sport bra which was adapted to fit more tightly or loosely around the rib cage, using the bra fastener, such as a hook and eye fastener, to adjust the pressure exerted by the bra underband against the upper body of the wearer. When fit more tightly, the sport bra exerted more pressure against the wearer's body as compared to when it fit more loosely.
The mechanical work performed by the respiratory muscles to meet ventilation demands during exercise is called “work of breathing” (WOB) and is measured from the volume of air in each breath and the pressure generated by the respiratory muscles, and indicates how much pressure or muscular energy is required to move a given volume of air. WOB can be resistive WOB, such as the work required to overcome the resistance or air flow, or elastic WOB which is the work required to overcome tissue deformation, such as, for example, the chest wall, lungs and/or airways.
Experiments such as those described above have shown that during exercise, increased tightness in the underband of a bra increases the WOB by about 6% compared to a bra with a looser underband, meaning that the pressure exerted by the underband in sport bras can induce greater mechanical work to breathe. This in turn affects breathing patterns during exercise which can lead to respiratory muscle fatigue. However, prior art sport bras have typically been designed to provide greater breast support to reduce breast tissue acceleration during activity, meaning that greater pressures are exerted against the body of the wearer by the sport bra itself and the underband.
As shown in
Thus, the garments of the present disclosure are directed to allowing for natural expansion of the rib cage during respiration along the sides of the garment, while maintaining movement management of the breast tissue. In various embodiments, the garment expands and has reduced stiffness, or an increased level of stretching, in areas overlaying the side of the rib cage of the wearer, to allow for less pressure against the rib cage of the wearer during respiratory cycles.
The terms “stretching level”, “stretching module level” or “levels of stretching” refer to the ability of the fibers of a cloth or fabric to be made or be capable of being made longer and/or wider without breaking or tearing the fibers. Upon release of the stretch, the fibers then return to their original length and/or width. The cloth or fabric may be either two-way stretching or four-way stretching, two-way stretching being a cloth or fabric that can stretch and recover lengthwise or in width, and be rigid in the other direction, and four-way stretching being a cloth or fabric that can stretch and recover both lengthwise and in width.
Referring to
In various embodiments, the garment 10 may also comprises one or more shoulder straps 65 connecting the front portion 15 and the back portion 40 over one or both shoulders of the wearer. In various embodiments, the one or more shoulder straps 65 may be continuous with or connected seamlessly with the front portion 15 and the back portion 40.
The garment 10 further comprises a first side portion 70 extending between the first side 30 of the front portion 15 and the second side 60 of the back portion 40, the first side portion 70 comprising a first lower edge 85.
The garment 10 also comprises a second side portion 90 extending between the second side 35 of the front portion 15 and the first side 55 of the back portion 40, the second side portion 90 comprising a second lower edge 105.
In various embodiments, the first and second side portions 70 and 90, respectively, may be connected seamlessly to the front portion 15, the back portion 40, both the front and back portions 15 and 40, respectively, the one or more shoulder straps 65, or any combination thereof. For example, the front portion 15 and the first and second side portions 70 and 90, respectively, may be cut or knit as one piece, or the front portion 15, the back portion 40, and the first and second side portions 70 and 90, respectively, may be cut or knit as one continuous piece. The different levels of stretching for different modules and/or zones of the garment 10 can be engineered by, for example, using different coatings on a surface of the garment 10, or adding inner panels and/or middle layers between panels to the garment 10, or by using different yarn combinations or knitting stitches or techniques. In various embodiments, different modules and/or zones of the garment 10 can be achieved by applying adhesive between inner and outer panels of the garment 10. The adhesive can be applied as a pattern, such as a dotted pattern, and by changing the density and/or size of the adhesive pattern, such as the density and/or size of adhesive dots, the direction and stretching level of the garment 10 can be modified. In alternative embodiments, the fabric of the garment 10 and/or the yarn in the fabric may have non-linear properties that allow different gradients of stretching, depending on the level and/or direction of force applied to the garment 10. For example, such fabrics can have higher stretch when the force applied thereto is lower, such as during a low intensity activity when the WOB is lower, and then become more rigid with lower stretch when the force applied thereto is higher, such as during a high intensity activity when the WOB is higher. In further embodiments, the direction of the level of stretch between different portions of the garment 10 can be modified, such that, for example, some portions of the garment 10 have a two-way stretching level and other portions of the garment 10 have a four-way stretching level.
At least part of the first and second side portions 70 and 90, respectively, comprise two or more stretching module zones, the two or more stretching module zones comprising a low stretching module zone 75 and 95 in proximity to the first arm opening and the second arm opening 80 and 100, respectively, and a lower edge stretching module zone in proximity to the first lower edge 85 and the second lower edge 105, respectively. The low stretching module zone has a lower stretching level than the lower edge stretching module zone. In various embodiments, the two or more stretching module zones have a higher stretching level than the front portion 15, the back portion 40 and the one or more shoulder straps 65. By having the two or more stretching module zones in the first and second side portions 70 and 90, respectively, the rib cage of the wearer may expand more easily against the pressure of the garment 10 as compared to garments that do not comprise the engineered first and second side portions 70 and 90. Thus, the garment 10 provides support and movement management for the breast tissue of the wearer, while also allowing the wearer to breath comfortably. The garment 10 has increased stretching levels in areas corresponding to the rib cage of the wearer that move the most during respiratory cycles.
In various embodiments, the garment 10 may further comprise an opening, such as the zipper opening 108 in the front portion 15 as shown in the Figures. In other embodiments, the garment 10 may not comprise an opening (the garment 10 is pulled on over the wearer's head, for example), or the opening may be located in the back portion 40, the first side portion 70 or the second side portion 90. The opening 108 may comprise any other fastening mechanism in addition to a zipper, as would be known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
In various embodiments, and in order to further enhance the stretching level of the garment 10 in areas overlaying the portions of the rib cage that expand up and out during respiratory cycles while maintaining tissue support and movement management, the first and second side portions 70 and 90, respectively, may be engineered such that a stretching level of the two or more stretching module zones increases gradually from the low stretching module zone towards the lower edge stretching module zone. Alternatively, the first and second side portions 70 and 90, respectively, may be engineered such that the two or more stretching module zones extend radially downward pivoting from the low stretching module zone toward the lower edge stretching module zone.
In various embodiments, and as shown in
In various embodiments, and as shown in
In various embodiments, each of the pair of reinforcing elements 110 may comprise a first leg 130 extending at least partially into a top part of the front portion 15 in proximity to the front portion upper edge portion 25 and a second leg 135 extending at least partially into a bottom part of the front portion 15, in proximity to the front portion lower edge 20, wherein at least part of the first and second leg 130 and 135, respectively, is shaped to provide lateral support of a breast tissue around a root of each breast. For example, each of the pair of reinforcing elements 110 comprises a pair of crisscrossing legs 130 and 135 (
In various embodiments, the stretching levels of the varying stretching modules of each of the reinforcing elements 110 increases gradually from the top zones of each of the pair of reinforcing elements 110 toward the bottom zone of each of the pair of reinforcing elements 110.
In various embodiments, the garment 10 further comprises an underband joined at the front portion lower edge 20, the back portion lower edge 45, the first lower edge 85 and the second lower edge 105. The underband may be continuous with or connected seamlessly with the front portion lower edge 20, the back portion lower edge 45, the first lower edge 85 and the second lower edge 105. The underband may be engineered such that parts of the underband along the first lower edge 85 and the second lower edge 105 have a stretching level greater than the remainder of the underband, while parts of the underband along the front portion 15 and back portion 40 are not stretchable or have a low stretching level. The underband may also be engineered such that a zone closer to a lower edge of the underband has a stretching module level greater than a zone further away from the lower edge of the underband.
In some embodiments, the front portion 15 and back portion 40 may also be engineered to have varying stretching modules, such that modules closer to and/or part of the front portion upper edge portion 25 and/or the back portion upper edge portion 50 have a higher level of stretching compared to modules closer to and/or adjacent to the front portion lower edge 20 and/or the back portion lower edge 45. The transitions between the varying stretching modules may be gradual, defined, or a combination thereof. Further embodiments are described below.
In various embodiments, different zones of stretching may be defined by creating one or more openings in portions of the garment where a higher stretching level is desired. Different stretching levels can be formed by controlling the size of the openings and/or controlling the density of the openings. The one or more openings can be designed such that portions of the garment may be two-way stretching or four-way stretching. The openings also provide for ventilation to aid in temperature management during activity. For example,
A further example is shown in
While particular elements, embodiments and applications of the present application have been shown and described, it will be understood, that the scope of the application is not limited thereto, since modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present application, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings. Thus, for example, in any method or process disclosed herein, the acts or operations making up the method/process may be performed in any suitable sequence and are not necessarily limited to any particular disclosed sequence. Elements and components can be configured or arranged differently, combined, and/or eliminated in various embodiments. The various features and processes described above may be used independently of one another, or may be combined in various ways. All possible combinations and subcombinations are intended to fall within the scope of this application. Reference throughout this disclosure to “some embodiments,” “an embodiment,” or the like, means that a particular feature, structure, step, process, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in some embodiments,” “in an embodiment,” or the like, throughout this disclosure are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment and may refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, additions, substitutions, equivalents, rearrangements, and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the application.
Various aspects and advantages of the embodiments have been described where appropriate. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such aspects or advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment. Thus, for example, it should be recognized that the various embodiments may be carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other aspects or advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.
Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without operator input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment. No single feature or group of features is required for or indispensable to any particular embodiment. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and the like are synonymous and are used inclusively, in an open-ended fashion, and do not exclude additional elements, features, acts, operations, and so forth. Also, the term “or” is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so that when used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the term “or” means one, some, or all of the elements in the list.
The example calculations, simulations, results, graphs, values, and parameters of the embodiments described herein are intended to illustrate and not to limit the disclosed embodiments. Other embodiments can be configured and/or operated differently than the illustrative examples described herein.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CA2023/050357 | 3/17/2023 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63321628 | Mar 2022 | US |
