Aerodynamic Garment With Applied Surface Roughness And Method Of Manufacture
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.
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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 INVENTIONThe 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 INVENTIONAerodynamic 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, flows around an object, forming eddies. Previous attempts to address the issue of drag have focused on the selection of materials used to form an athletic garment so as to minimize the drag on an athlete wearing the garment while engaging in an athletic activity. These garments have generally worked to reduce drag in two ways. First, garments have been designed to be tight-fitting and to present a smooth, unwrinkled fabric surface toward the wind-facing portions of the athlete's body. Second, garments have been made of a particular fabric(s) that offers a particular surface texture known for optimally engaging the wind at the usual speeds in which the athlete will be moving while wearing the garment. In both of these methods, the drag on a garment is based on the selection of the fabric utilized to create the garment.
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. For example, in his published Ph.D. thesis titled “Aerodynamic Characteristics of Sports Apparel” (Author: Leonard W. Brownlie, Simon Fraser University, Apr. 14, 1993, School of Kinesiology, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference), Ph.D. candidate Leonard W. Brownlie documents tests that he performed to determine the drag reducing effects of various stretch fabrics, each with a different surface texture, when draped over a cylinder in a wind tunnel.
Mr. Brownlie concludes that “the surface roughness property of some stretch fabrics allows utilization of these fabrics to reduce [drag forces] on the human form in a variety of athletic endeavors.” (Abstract, page iii). 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.
More recently, inventors have attempted to quantify a system for selecting fabrics having surface roughness for providing optimal aerodynamic drag reduction during a particular sporting event. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,755 to MacDonald et al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, the inventors teach determining and optimizing the Reynolds number of sections of an athletes body based on the size of that section and the speed of the air traveling over that section during the desired athletic activity. Based on the calculated Reynolds number for each section, different fabrics having different surface roughnesses are then selected for each body section. The result is an athletic garment produced with different fabrics joined together, which each different fabric positioned at its optimal location on the suit so as to optimize overall athletic performance of an athlete wearing it.
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. Further, methods of generating aerodynamic garments under MacDonald et al. are based on the selection of fabrics based primarily on their characteristic drag coefficients, independent of whether the chosen fabric(s) possessed other desirable characteristics, such as stretching properties, flexibility, breathability, etc. 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.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, despite the improvements of known athletic garments, there remains a need for cost-effective athletic garments that more effectively allow the aerodynamic drag-reducing effects of selective surface roughnesses to be optimized while taking into account the additional properties of the fabrics worn by athletes. There is also provided a related efficient and economical method of making this garment. By choosing a base fabric that is optimized for comfort and/or non-aerodynamic performance factors, textured surfaces may be selectively applied to the basic fabric to gain desired aerodynamic properties to optimize the overall effectiveness of the aerodynamic garment in aiding an athlete's top performance while wearing the aerodynamic garment. As disclosed more fully in the specification of this application, the present invention fulfills these and other needs.
An athletic garment in accordance with the present invention may be composed of one type of fabric, or even a single piece of fabric, and sections having different surface roughness may be formed by applying textures applied to areas on the garment. As a result, the fabric of a sporting garment may be selected for functional, or even esthetic, reasons other than surface roughness. For example, a fabric with advantageous moisture management characteristics but disadvantageous aerodynamic properties may be used for a garment, with a texture applied to the fabric to produce advantageous aerodynamic property or properties. Accordingly, a garment in accordance with the present invention may possess advantageous aerodynamic properties while also possessing other desirable functional and/or esthetic properties not otherwise attainable.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features. Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONReferring to
Referring to
Moreover, surface roughness patterns may smoothly transition between portions of the garment. For example, as shown in
The surface roughness 112 may be applied toward the windward facing leading edges of the aerodynamic garment associated with the wearer's body, which are also often called the “wet edges.” An athletic activity performed by an athlete wearing the garment may have wet edges that are based on a plurality of positions of the athlete during the athletic activity. Pluralities of positions of the athlete during the athletic activity are further discussed in
Zones of an athletic garment may be defined based on body positions of an athlete engaged in an athletic activity. Additionally and/or alternatively, zones on an athletic garment may be based on size, proportion, and/or body composition of an athlete wearing the athletic garment during an athletic activity. Further, the type and pattern of a texture applied to each zone of an athletic garment may be based on different, shapes, sizes, and/or body compositions of an athlete.
An athletic garment worn by a wearer during an athletic activity may have a first zone and a second zone. The first zone may have a first applied texture having a first property that gives rise to a first aerodynamic characteristic. Further, the first zone may cover a portion(s) of an extremity of the wearer. The second zone may have a second applied texture having a second property that gives rise to a second aerodynamic characteristic. The second zone may substantially cover the torso of the wearer. Further, an intermediate zone may extend between the first zone and the second zone. The intermediate zone may have a texture that gradually varies from the first applied texture to the second applied texture.
Texture may be applied to a garment by identifying a zone of a garment based on the air flow resulting from the body position and movement relative to ambient air of an athlete wearing the garment during an athletic activity. An indentified zone may correspond to at least one extremity of the wearer. A texture having a property to decrease drag generated from air flow around the at least one extremity may be determined. One example of an applied texture is smooth, thin silicon discs that are applied to a portion of a garment. Silicon discs or other shapes may be applied by printing silicon on a garment and/or fabric for forming into a garment. Any printing process may be used to apply silicon to the surface of a garment. Another example of an applied texture is flocked nodules. Flocked nodules may be formed by applying liquid adhesive to a garment, such as liquid silicon as discussed above, and then applying fibers to the liquid adhesive. The liquid adhesive may be applied across at least a portion of the garment. After the adhesive has dried or sufficiently bonded to the fibers, excess fibers that did not contact the adhesive may be removed by shaking, blowing, etc. The fibers of the nodule may be oriented in any number of ways, including uniform orientation and randomized orientation. For example, nylon fibers may be aligned electrostatically to produce a uniform orientation of the fibers in a flocked nodule. Both flocked and unflocked nodules may be shaped in various ways, such as circles, squares, ovals, diamonds, various polygons, etc. Various shapes may be used on the same garment and/or portion of a garment. Further, both flocked and unflocked nodules may be used on the same garment and/or portion of a garment.
Further, in addition to the varied magnitudes of acceleration and/or deceleration at different point on the body of athlete 705, ranges 700 illustrate the differences in orientation of athlete 705 during running. For instance, across knee range 740, the knee of athlete 705 is flexing from approximately 90 degrees to approximately 180 degrees (not drawn to scale). This flex of the knee of athlete 705 affects the length and orientation of muscles in the thigh and lower leg of athlete 705, which in turn influences air flow around these areas. As such, air profiles of air flowing around body portions of athlete 705 is not only affected by the difference in speed, acceleration, and/or deceleration of body portions, but is also affected by the different orientation of body portions of athlete 705 during the performance of an activity(ies).
One or more of zones 810, 820, and 830 may be textured so as to minimize aerodynamic drag during one or more stage of athletic competition, such as one of the exemplary positions illustrated in
The selection of an appropriate texture to apply to an area of the athletic garment may be based on properties, such as a Reynolds number, associated with the area of the athletic garment associated with a characteristic of an air profile. As such, each area influenced by a particular air profile may be associated with a unique applied texture to optimize drag associated with the athletic garment. Aerodynamic analysis methods, such as wind tunnel analysis, may be used to measure a Reynolds number or other desired aerodynamic properly of a texture under the aerodynamic conditions likely to be experienced during an athletic activity.
If flocking is desired, the nodules may be formed by a liquid adhesive and/or a liquid appliqué with fibers applied to the liquid. The fibers of fabric may be uniformly oriented, but may also have other orientations. For example, nylon fibers may be electrostatically aligned into a uniform direction. Alternatively, fibers may have a random alignment. Fibers other than nylon may also be used, and more than one type of fiber may be used at the same time. The length of fibers used may be uniform or varied, and may be equal to the length and/or width of the nodules used, longer than the length and/or width of the nodules used, or shorter than the length and/or width of the nodules used. Fibers of varying lengths may be used at the same time.
The applied texture may have a tripping property that gives rise to an aerodynamic characteristic of reducing drag on a garment by prompting eddy formation based on tripping air flow around an extremity of a wearer of the garment. Further, a texture such as that illustrated in textured portion 900 may be applied to seams to allow for the minimization of drag at the seams. For example, a texture such as that illustrated in textured portion 900 may be placed on top of seams and/or areas surrounding seams. Additionally, textured portion 900 may be applied to items other than athletic clothing to control the drag on those items. For instance, drag resulting from air flow around sporting equipment and other structures may be reduced through the use of applied textures.
The surface roughness may be applied to the desired portions of the garment using conventional processes and materials such as silk screening, printing, heat sealing, over-molding, or the like. Examples of processes for applying a transfer object to a fabric substrate are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,544,581 and 5,939,004, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. These processes have been used to transfer a two-dimensional graphical image onto fabric. The transfer in the present invention has a desired three-dimensional shape (thickness), pattern, and density so as to form a desired aerodynamic array pattern, similar to riblets on an airplane wing, on the outer surface of the garment.
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A cutout ventilation portion, one example of which is illustrated and described in conjunction with
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The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. For example, the surface roughness 12 is described as patterns of protrusions extending from the surface of the fabric. However, heat searing or other methods may be used to form patterns of recesses and/or combinations of recesses and protrusions within the fabric without compromising the scope of the invention. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the invention, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.
Claims
1. An athletic garment worn by a wearer during an athletic activity, the garment comprising: a first zone having a first applied texture having a first property that gives rise to a first aerodynamic characteristic, the first zone covering a portion of an extremity of the wearer; and a second zone having a second applied texture having a second property that gives rise to a second aerodynamic characteristic, the second zone substantially covering the torso of the wearer.
2. The athletic garment of claim 1, wherein the first property of the first applied texture comprises a plurality of three-dimensional shaped nodules that give rise to a first aerodynamic property of tripping air flow around the extremity of the wearer to prompt eddy formation.
3. The athletic garment of claim 1, wherein the first property of the first texture comprises a plurality of three-dimensional nodules applied to the garment in a first density range.
4. The athletic garment of claim 3, wherein the plurality of three-dimensional nodules are flocked.
5. The athletic garment of claim 1, wherein the first applied texture comprises a plurality of nodules that have a first property of having a three-dimensional shape.
6. The athletic garment of claim 5, wherein the three-dimensional shape of the plurality of nodules comprise an elongated circular shape.
7. The athletic garment of claim 5, wherein the three-dimensional shape of the plurality of nodules comprise a doughnut shape.
8. The athletic garment of claim 1, wherein the second applied texture comprises a plurality of nodules that have a second property of having a disc shape.
9. The athletic garment of claim 2, wherein the nodules comprise silicon printed on the athletic garment.
10. The athletic garment of claim 9, wherein the nodules are flocked.
11. The athletic garment of claim 1, wherein the first applied texture comprises a plurality of nodules that have a first property of having a density range.
12. The athletic garment of claim 11, wherein the density of the plurality of nodules increases across the extremity of the wearer.
13. The athletic garment of claim 12, wherein the first property gives rise to a first aerodynamic characteristic of increased tripping of air flow around the extremity of the wearer as the density of the plurality of nodules increases across the extremity of the wearer.
14. The athletic garment of claim 1, wherein the first zone and second zone are located on the garment based on exposure of each zone to air profiles associated with the athletic activity when the garment is worn. An intermediate zone extending between the first zone and the second zone, the intermediate zone having a texture that gradually varies from the first applied texture to the second applied texture.
15. The athletic garment of claim 1, further comprising: an intermediate zone extending between the first zone and the second zone, the intermediate zone having a texture that gradually varies from the first applied texture to the second applied texture.
16. An athletic garment worn by a wearer during an athletic activity, the garment comprising: a first zone having a first applied texture having a first property that gives rise to a first aerodynamic characteristic, the boundaries of the first zone defined based on exposure of the first zone to a first air profile of the athletic activity; a second zone having a second applied texture having a second property that gives rise to a second aerodynamic characteristic, the boundaries of the second zone defined based on exposure of the second zone to a second air profile of the athletic activity; and an intermediate zone having a third applied texture, the intermediate zone comprising a portion of the garment between the first zone and the second zone.
17. The athletic garment of claim 16, further comprising a ventilation portion.
18. The athletic garment of claim 16, wherein the first applied texture, the second applied texture, and the third applied texture comprise pluralities of nodules printed on the athletic garment, a property of the printed nodules varying between the first zone, the second zone, and the third zone.
19. The athletic garment of claim 17, wherein the plurality of nodules comprise flocked nodules.
20. The athletic garment of claim 19, wherein the arrangement of the plurality of flocked nodules is based on the first air profile.
21. The athletic garment of claim 20, wherein the plurality of flocked nodules is arranged in a density range that is proportional to the first air profile.
22. The athletic garment of claim 16, wherein the second applied texture comprises a second plurality of nodules that have a second property of having a disc shape.
23. The athletic garment of claim 22, wherein the size of each of the second plurality of nodules varies across the second zone.
24. The athletic garment of claim 23, wherein the size of each of the second plurality of nodules is based on the second air profile.
25. A method to improve aerodynamic characteristics of an athletic garment worn by a wearer during an athletic activity, the method comprising: determining boundaries of a zone of a garment based on exposure of the garment to an air profile of the athletic activity; determining a texture having a property that gives rise to an aerodynamic characteristic to decrease drag generated from air flow around the at least one extremity of the wearer, the texture comprising a plurality of three-dimensional nodules; and applying the texture to at least a portion of the first zone of the garment.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein the plurality of three-dimensional nodules is applied to the garment in a density range based on the air flow around the extremity of the wearer during the athletic activity.
27. The method of claim 25, wherein the plurality of three-dimensional nodules are flocked.
28. A method of improving aerodynamic characteristics of an athletic garment worn by a wearer during an athletic activity, the method comprising: identifying a zone of a garment based on at least one extremity of the wearer; determining a texture having a property to decrease drag generated from air flow around the at least one extremity, the property of the texture comprising a flocked shape; applying a liquid adhesive across at least a portion of the garment; and applying fibers of a fabric to at least a portion of the liquid base on the garment to produce a flocked three-dimensional shape.
29. The method of claim 28, wherein the fibers of fabric are uniformly oriented.
30. The method of claim 28, wherein the fibers of fabric comprise nylon.
31. The method of claim 28, wherein the liquid adhesive comprises silicon.
32. The method of claim 28, wherein the garment comprises one type of fabric.
33. A garment comprising: fabric having elasticity that covers a substantial portion of the torso and extremities of a wearer; and a ventilation portion affixed to the fabric, the ventilation portion comprising: a piece of fabric having a plurality of threads; and cutouts that remove at least one portion of the piece of fabric, the cutouts positioned such that a subset of the plurality of threads are not cut.
34. The garment of claim 33, further comprising an edge treatment applied to the edges of the cutouts to prevent fraying.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 24, 2010
Publication Date: May 31, 2012
Applicant: NIKE,INC. (Beaverton, OR)
Inventors: Matthew D. Nordstrom (Portland, OR), Jorge E. Carbo (Aloha, OR), Leonard W. Brownlie (West Vancouver, OR)
Application Number: 13/380,289