Garment having improved contact areas

• US 20060272071A1
• Filed: 06/06/2005
• Published: 12/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Under Armour Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Under Armour Incorporated
• Inventors: Mickle, Bill
• Granted Patent: US 7,748,056 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 2/69
• CPC Class Codes: A41D 13/0512 Neck or shoulders area
• CPC Class Codes: A41D 13/0518 Chest

Abstract

A garment which resists sliding of protective pads during use includes a fabric with high-friction areas. The high-friction areas include numerous gripping members made of a second material with high-friction and adapted to exert a frictional force on, for example, a protective pad.

Claims

1. A garment, comprising:

a fabric, and

a plurality of bulge shaped gripping members disposed on the fabric, the gripping members comprising a material that exerts a greater frictional force on an object in contact therewith than the frictional force exerted by the fabric when in contact with the same object.

2. The garment according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of gripping members disposed on at least a portion of the fabric comprise discrete elements of material having the greater frictional force, the discrete elements each being attached to the fabric.

3. The garment according to claim 2, wherein each discrete element of material having the higher frictional force is oval-shaped.

4. The garment according to claim 1, wherein the garment is a shirt.

5. The garment according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of gripping members are disposed on a chest area of the shirt.

6. The garment according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of gripping members are grouped into two areas of the chest area of the shirt.

7. The garment according to claim 4, wherein the shirt comprises two sleeves, each sleeve having a plurality of gripping members located thereon.

8. The garment according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of gripping members are disposed on a back area of the shirt.

9. The garment according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of gripping members are disposed on a portion of the fabric that forms an outside of the garment.

10. The garment according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of gripping members respectively comprise a tackifying material.

11. The garment according to claim 10, wherein the tackifying material is a resin.

12. An athletic garment for use in combination with protective padding, comprising,

a fabric, and

a plurality of bulge shaped gripping members disposed on the fabric at a location in contact with at least a portion of the protective padding, the gripping members comprising discrete elements of a material exerting a frictional force on an underside of the protective padding that is greater than the frictional force exerted by the fabric on the protective padding.

13. The athletic garment as claimed in claim 12, wherein the garment is a shirt.

14. The athletic garment as claimed in claim 13, wherein the protective padding is football shoulder pads, and the plurality of gripping members are disposed at locations on the shirt in contact with the football shoulder pads.

15. The athletic garment as claimed in claim 14, wherein the plurality of gripping members are disposed on chest, arm and/or back areas of the athletic shirt in contact with the football shoulder pads.

16. The athletic garment as claimed in claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of gripping members are oval-shaped elements of the material.

17. The athletic garment as claimed in claim 13, wherein the protective padding is hockey pads, and the plurality of gripping members are disposed at locations on the shirt in contact with the hockey pads.