Aerodynamic Garment With Applied Surface Roughness And Method Of Manufacture

Abstract

An aerodynamic garment may comprise zones with applied textures. Each zone may be associated with properties and characteristics based on the movement of the garment associated with each zone through air during an athletic activity. The texture in each zone may be applied using a variety of methods such as printing. The resulting aerodynamic garment improves the performance of an athlete wearing the aerodynamic garment by reducing the aerodynamic drag experienced during the performance of the athletic activity.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This Application Claims Benefit To U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 220,184, Filed Jun. 24, 2009, Entitled “Aerodynamic Garment with Applied Surface Roughness and Method of Manufacture.”FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present disclosure relates to an aerodynamic garment, such as a full-body suit, for improving athletic performance, and its method of manufacture. More particularly, the aerodynamic garment has surface roughness applied to the garment at key locations so as to more effectively optimize the air flow around an athlete wearing it, and thereby reduce the drag on the athlete.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Aerodynamic garments, such as tight fitting shirts, pants, and full body suits, are gaining in popularity as a means to improve athletic performance. In general, these garments improve athletic performance by reducing the aerodynamic drag acting on the athlete wearing it. Drag is produced when a fluid, such as air, f...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]The surface roughness and / or surface roughnesses may be applied with one or more conventional transfer techniques such as inkjet or other printing, silk screening, heat transfer, over-molding and / or the like. The surface roughness may be selected to provide the most appropriate texture at each body location for the air velocity likely to be experienced at that body location for the given athletic event. If a garment in accordance with the present invention is constructed of multiple pieces of fabric, either of the same or different types, the application of surface roughness to fabrics at the seams joining the fabric pieces allows for the minimization of air resistance at the seams. For example, a texture may be placed on top of seams and / or areas surrounding seams to reduce, the impact of seams on an air profile. Further, silicon or other material may be used to form hems and / or treat edges of fabric, such as may be encountered at hems near wrists, ankles, and / or necks. The use of silicon or other material at such a hem may add elasticity while reducing the weight and / or bulk of other types of hem, while also preventing fraying of the fabric. Yet a further option of using silicon or other material for a hem of a garment in accordance with the present invention is that flocking may be applied to all or part of the hem to reduce aerodynamic drag at the hem.

[0011]A garment in accordance with the present invention may comprise a unitary body suit. A unitary body suit may be constructed from a single type of fabric or multiple types of fabric. Any seams used to construct such a unitary body suit may be positioned to minimize drag during one or more athletic activity. A unitary body suit in accordance with the present invention may be donned through an opening positioned anywhere in the garment. An opening through which a unitary body suit is donned may optionally be closed using any type of fastener, such as zipper(s), a hook and loop system, buttons, snaps, etc. If a closure mechanism is used, a surface roughness may be applied to the garment as described herein to minimize the aerodynamic drag of the closure mechanism. One example of a unitary body suit in accordance with the present invention may provide an opening for the neck and optionally a portion of the back of an athlete while being constructed of a fabric with sufficient elasticity to permit the athlete to don the garment through that opening. In such an example, the aerodynamic drag associated with the opening may be reduced for forward facing movement by eliminating the need for a closure mechanism. The closure mechanism may be avoided by using the elasticity of the fabric to maintain an acceptable fit, and ventilation may be provided to the athlete for cooling and comfort during exertion.

[0012]The application of a texture on a garment influences the drag properties of the garment when it is worn by an athlete during an athletic activity. As stated above, drag is produced when a fluid, such as air, flows around an object. The air flowing around the object separates at a location on the object, forming eddies. The location on an object at which the air flow breaks into eddies depends upon the shape of the object and the speed at which the air moves relative to the object. For instance, air flowing around a slow-moving cylinder may produce relatively small eddies. However, air flowing around a fast-moving cylinder of the same size as the slow-moving cylinder may produce relatively large eddies.

[0013]One way to lessen the drag of an object, such as a fast-moving cylinder, is to promote tripping of the air flowing around the object. Tripping of an air flow involves changing the texture on the outside of an object to induce laminar flow. For instance, air flowing around a smooth cylinder may be tripped by adding a texture to the surface of the cylinder. The texture may hold the air near the surface of the cylinder, allowing air to flow around a larger area(s) of a cylinder than if the cylinder lacked the added texture. By increasing the amount of time the air flows in a laminar flow around a cylinder, the intensity of eddies may be smaller when the air flow around the cylinder breaks. In this way, the application of textures to the surface area of an object may influence the amount of drag produced by air flowing around the object. The object may be an aerodynamic garment being worn by an athlete. As different parts of an athlete's body move at different speeds during an activity, different textures may need to be applied across the aerodynamic garment to account for such variances. As such, by selectively applying textures to areas of an aerodynamic garment, the drag on the garment may be controlled. Additionally, the application of different textures may be used to control the drag on items other than athletic clothing. For instance, drag resulting from air flow around a ball, sports equipment, a vehicle, a structure, etc. may be reduced through the use of applied textures.

Problems solved by technology

Efforts by engineers and designers to quantify and select the optimal surface texture of an aerodynamic garment for a particular sporting event have had limited success.

However, his tests were limited to fabrics from commercial, off-the-shelf athletic garments without giving much guidance for determining how to select the optimal surface textures for a particular athletic event.

While MacDonald et al. offers a significant advancement in aerodynamic garment designs, it also requires a plurality of different fabrics to be secured together, which increases production costs and, depending of the fabrics selected, may decrease wearer comfort and the like.

Accordingly, while garments produced under MacDonald et al. may be aerodynamically favorable, the resulting garments likely will not be optimized for comfort, thermodynamics, perspiration management, weight, and other comfort and / or performance characteristics across the garment.

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