UPPER-BODY PADDED ATHLETIC GARMENT

Abstract

A padded upper-body athletic garment is disclosed. The garment includes a pocket on an inside surface of sleeves. The pocket overlaps an elbow region of the sleeve. A pad is insertable in the pocket.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an upper-body athletic garment. In particular, the present disclosure relates to an upper-body athletic garment including a sleeve with an inner pocket storing a pad.

BACKGROUND

Athletes participating in sports wear pads to prevent injury. Padded activewear has typically included a pad attached to an elastic material that slides onto an athlete's elbows or knees. Some padded activewear includes pads attached to a shirt, such as rugby shirts. However, conventional padded activewear has its drawbacks. For example, pads attached to elastic material tend to slide out of position during strenuous activity, such as when an athlete slides on the ground. This is at best distracting for the athlete but at worst can lean to injury. In addition, pads that are attached to the outside of garments tend to be damaged or fall off, again resulting in distraction or injury for athletes. There exists a long-felt need for an upper-body athletic garment that provides padded protection for athletes that stays in place, even during strenuous physical activity.

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and they mean at least one. In the drawings:

FIGS. 1A-1C illustrate embodiments of an upper-body athletic garment;

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate example embodiments of sleeves of an upper-body athletic garment in accordance with embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a removable/insertable pad for an upper-body athletic garment, according to one or more embodiments;

FIGS. 4A-4D illustrates pockets for storing a pad in an upper-body athletic garment, according to embodiments and

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-section view of a portion of a sleeve of an upper-body athletic garment, including a pocket, in accordance with one or more embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding. One or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. Features described in one embodiment may be combined with features described in a different embodiment. In some examples, well-known structures and devices are described with reference to a block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention.

• • 1. GENERAL OVERVIEW
  • 2. UPPER-BODY ATHLETIC GARMENT

1. General Overview

Athletes engaging in sports often wear pads to prevent injuries. In sports such as volleyball, elbow pads reduce the risk of injury when an athlete dives on the ground. However, conventional elbow pads suffer from sliding on athletes' arms during competition, which can be distracting and increase the likelihood of injury.

One or more embodiments provide an upper-body athletic garment including a main body and sleeves attached to the main body. The garment includes pockets on the inside surface of the sleeves of the garment. The pockets may be located over the elbow of the garment. A pad may be inserted into the pockets to provide protection for athletes' elbows.

In one or more embodiments, the pad is stitched into the pocket to secure the pad within the pocket. Alternatively, the pocket may include a securing piece at one end of the pocket to allow a user to open and close the end of the pocket. A user may detach the securing piece to insert a pad into the pocket. The user may attach the securing piece to close the end of the pocket and to secure the pad within the pocket. For example, one end of the pocket may include a hook and loop material on both an inward-facing surface of the sleeve and on an opposite surface of the pocket fabric. A user may detach one piece of hook and loop material from an opposite piece of hook and loop material to open the pocket and insert the pad. A user may re-attach the pieces of hook and loop material to close and secure the pocket in a closed state.

Since the sleeves are attached to the main body of the garment, the elbow pads maintain in their position, even during an athlete's strenuous activity. According to one example embodiment, an end of the sleeves opposite the shoulder end includes openings for an athlete's fingers and thumb, further securing a position of the pads on the athlete's arm.

In embodiments in which the pocket is openable and closeable, an athlete may select particular pads for comfort during usage and for protection. For example, one type of pad may be preferred for one type of activity, and another type of pad may be preferred for another type of activity. In addition, a pad may be damaged and require replacement. In addition, pads may be removed prior to washing the garment to prolong the life of the pads.

One or more embodiments described in this Specification and/or recited in the claims may not be included in this General Overview section.

2. Upper-Body Athletic Garment

FIGS. 1A-1C illustrate examples of an upper-body athletic garment according to embodiments. In the specification and claims, elements of the upper-body athletic garment may be described with respect to body parts, for purposes of description. For example, when the upper-body athletic garment is worn by an individual such that the garment snugly fits the individual, a neck portion of the garment corresponds to a neck region of the individual, shoulder portions of the garment correspond to shoulders of the individual, a chest portion of the garment corresponds to a chest of the individual, a torso portion of the garment corresponds to a torso of the individual, and an elbow of a sleeve of the garment corresponds to an elbow of the individual. However, these terms should not be interpreted to limit the scope of the invention to an embodiment in which the garment is in a state in which it is being worn by an individual. Embodiments include both a worn garment and an unworn garment.

Referring to FIG. 1A, an upper-body athletic garment 100 includes a main body 101 including a torso region 102, a chest region 103 above the torso region 102 and a shoulder region 104 above the chest region 103. The main body 101 includes edges defining a neck opening, shoulder openings, and a torso opening. A front neck edge 105a defines a front and front sides of a neck opening. A rear neck edge 105b defines a rear and rear sides of the neck opening. The main body 101 illustrated in FIG. 1A includes shoulder straps 106a and 106b. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1A, the shoulder straps 106a and 106b have widths W1 at a shoulder-end of the straps that are narrower than widths W2 at an end adjacent to the chest region 103 of the main body 101. Edges 107a and 107b of the shoulder straps 106a and 106b define shoulder openings. A sleeve 108 is attached to the edge 107a, such that the shoulder opening opens to an inside of the sleeve 108. A sleeve 109 is attached to the edge 107b, such that the shoulder opening opens to an inside of the sleeve 109. An edge 110 defines the torso opening. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1A, the torso region 102 of the main body 101 includes an elastic band 111 at a base portion. The edge 110 is an edge of the elastic band 111.

A shoulder end of the sleeve 108 is connected to the edge 107a of the shoulder strap 106a. A distal end 112 of the sleeve includes a wrist opening. When a user wears the garment 101a, the user's hand protrudes from the wrist opening at the distal end 112 of the sleeve 108. The sleeve 108 includes a pocket 113 on inside surface of the sleeve 108. Similarly, the sleeve 109 includes a pocket 115 on an inside surface of the sleeve 109. Dashed lines 116 represent an outline of the pocket on the inside of the sleeve 108. According to one embodiment, the inner and outer surfaces of the sleeve 108 are part of a unitary piece of fabric extending from a shoulder end to the distal end 112. The pocket 113 comprises a separate piece of fabric, having a shape corresponding to a shape of the pocket 113, stitched to the main, unitary piece of fabric of the sleeve 108. The pocket 113 is located at an elbow of the sleeve 108. The elbow includes a portion of the sleeve 108 which, when worn, covers the anatomical elbow of the wearer. In an embodiment in which the sleeve 108 extends from a shoulder end to a distal end 112 corresponding to a wrist of a wearer, the elbow of the sleeve is located approximately halfway along a length of the sleeve between the shoulder end and the wrist end. For example, the elbow of the sleeve may include a region including a halfway point of the sleeve and 2-3 centimeters on each side of the halfway point.

According to one embodiment, the pocket 113 is an oval shape. According to another embodiment, the pocket 113 is an oblong shape. For example, the pocket 113 may be a geometric stadium shape, defined as a geometric shape having rounded, semicircular, edges and straight edges extending between the rounded edges.

The upper-body garment 101a of FIG. 1A has a length, from shoulder to torso opening, less than a torso length of a user. For example, the length may correspond to a crop-top length. When worn, the edge 110 defining the torso opening may be located above a lower rib of the wearer. According to one embodiment, the upper-body garment 101a is a sports bra-type main body 101 with sleeves 108 and 109 attached to shoulder straps 106a and 106b of the sports bra-type main body 101.

FIG. 1B illustrates an upper-body athletic garment 120 according to another example embodiment. Similar to the upper-body athletic garment 100, the upper-body athletic garment 120 includes a main body 121 and sleeves 122 and 123. The main body 121 includes edges defining a neck opening, shoulder openings, and a torso opening. Sleeve 122 is attached to edge 124a defining one shoulder opening of the main body 121. Sleeve 123 is attached to edge 124b defining an opposite shoulder opening of the main body 121. Edge 125 defines a neck opening of the main body 121. Compared to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1A, the edge 125 defines a “crew neck” style of neck opening, whereas the edge 105 of FIG. 1A defines a scoop-neck-type opening extending lower toward a chest region of the main body 121 than the crew neck-type opening. Sleeves 122 and 123 include pockets 126 and 127, respectively, an inside surfaces of the sleeves 122 and 123.

FIG. 1C illustrates an upper-body athletic garment 130 according to another example embodiment. Similar to the upper-body athletic garment 100, the upper-body athletic garment 120 includes a main body 131 and sleeves 132 and 133. The main body 131 includes edges defining a neck opening, shoulder openings, and a torso opening. Sleeve 132 is attached to edge 134a defining one shoulder opening of the main body 131. Sleeve 133 is attached to edge 134b defining an opposite shoulder opening of the main body 131. Edge 135 defines a neck opening of the main body 131. Sleeves 122 and 123 include pockets 126 and 127, respectively, an inside surfaces of the sleeves 122 and 123.

Compared to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1A, the edge 135 defines a “crew neck” style of neck opening, whereas the edge 105 of FIG. 1A defines a scoop-neck-type opening extending lower toward a chest region of the main body 131 than the crew neck-type opening. In addition, compared to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1A, a length of the main body 131, from a shoulder region to the edge 138 defining the torso opening is longer than a length of the main body 101 illustrated in FIG. 1A. For example, while a length of the main body 101 of FIG. 1A is such that the edge 110 of FIG. 1A is located above a lower rib of a wearer, a length of the main body 131 illustrated in FIG. 1C is such that the edge 138 defining a torso opening is located at a waist region of a wearer. According to one example, embodiment, a length of the main body 131 of the upper-body athletic garment 130, from a shoulder end to the torso end, illustrated in FIG. 1C is at least twice the length of the main body 101 of the upper-body athletic garment 100 illustrated in FIG. 1A.

According to one or more embodiments, the upper-body athletic garments 100, 120, and 130 are made of an elastic fabric, such as spandex or microfiber.

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate example embodiments of sleeves of an athletic upper-body garment. Referring to FIG. 2A, a sleeve 201a extends from a shoulder end 202 to a wrist end 203. The sleeve 201a includes a pocket 205 on an inside surface of the sleeve 201a, represented as dashed lines in FIGS. 2A-2C. The pocket 205 is located in an elbow region of the sleeve 201a. The elbow region includes a midpoint M between the shoulder end 202 and the wrist end 203 of the sleeve 201a. FIG. 2A illustrates a distance L1 between the wrist end 203 and the midpoint M as being the same as the distance L2 between the shoulder end 202 and the midpoint M. The elbow region further includes a distance within approximately 3 centimeters on each side of the midpoint M. The elbow region is displayed in FIG. 2A as being bounded on one end by dashed line 206a and on an opposite end by dashed line 206b. In one or more embodiments, at least a portion of the pocket 205 overlaps the midpoint M of the sleeve 201a. For example, the pocket 205 may be 10 centimeters long, and 6 centimeters of the pocket 205 may overlap the elbow region.

FIG. 2B illustrates a sleeve 201b, including a palm strap 207. The palm strap 207 includes an edge 208 defining a thumb opening and an edge 209 defining an opening for fingers. A strip 210 of fabric rests in the palm between the thumb and the fingers, preventing the wrist end 211 of the sleeve 201b from sliding up toward the shoulder end 202.

FIG. 2C illustrates a sleeve 201c having a length less than a length (L1+L2) extending from a shoulder end 202 to a wrist end 203 of the sleeve 201a illustrated in FIG. 1A. Instead, the sleeve 201c includes an edge 212 defining a forearm opening. The edge 212 may be located between a wrist and an elbow of a user wearing the sleeve 201c. According to one embodiment, the edge 212 is located approximately halfway between the wrist and the elbow of a user wearing the sleeve 201c. According to one or more embodiments, where L1 is equal to L2, and L2 is a length between a midpoint M of the sleeve 201 and a shoulder of the sleeve 201, a length L3 between the midpoint M and the edge 212 is a length between ⅖*L1 and ⅗*L1.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cutaway view of an inside surface 302 of a sleeve 301 according to an embodiment. A pocket 303 is located on the inside surface 302 of the sleeve 301. The pocket 303 includes a piece of fabric 304 covering a portion 305 of the inside surface of the sleeve 301. A portion of the piece of fabric 304 is cut away in FIG. 3 to show the covered portion 305 of the inside surface of the sleeve 301 for purposes of illustration. The piece of fabric 304 is attached to the inside surface 302 of the sleeve 301 by stitching 306. A pad 307 is inserted into the pocket 303. The pad 307 provides elbow protection to an athlete when wearing the upper-body athletic garment. The pad 307 has a shape corresponding to the shape of the pocket 303. For example, in an embodiment in which the pocket 303 has an oval shape, the pad 307 has an oval shape. In an embodiment in which the pocket 303 has a rectangular shape, the pad 307 has a rectangular shape. In an embodiment in which the pocket 303 has a geometric stadium shape, the pad 307 has a geometric stadium shape.

FIGS. 4A-4D illustrate different attachment enclosures of pockets according to example embodiments. FIG. 4A illustrates a pocket 400a in which a piece of fabric 401 is stitched, with stitching 402, to a sleeve (not shown in FIG. 4A), around an entire circumference of the pocket 400a. For example, a pad is inserted into the pocket 400a during a manufacturing process and stitched into the pocket 400a during the manufacturing process prior to a retail sale of an upper-body athletic garment. FIG. 4B illustrates a pocket 400b in which a piece of fabric 403 is stitched, with stitching 404, to a sleeve (not shown in FIG. 4B), along three of four sides. As illustrated in FIG. 4B, the piece of fabric 403 is stitched to a sleeve along a left side, a right side, and a bottom side of the pocket 400b. A top side of the pocket is open to receive a pad. An edge 405 of the piece of fabric 403 is not stitched to a sleeve. The un-stitched edge 405 forms a flap to allow a user to slide a pad between the piece of fabric 403 and an inward-facing surface 406 of the sleeve beneath the piece of fabric 403.

FIG. 4C illustrates a pocket 400c including two sub-pockets 407 and 408. Sub-pocket 407 is formed of a piece of fabric 409 stitched, by stitching 410, to an inward-facing surface of a sleeve (not shown in FIG. 4C). Sub-pocket 408 is formed of a piece of fabric 411 stitched, by stitching 412, to an inward-facing surface of a sleeve (not shown in FIG. 4C). An edge 413 of the piece 409 is liftable to allow a user to insert a pad between the piece 411 and an inward-facing surface of a sleeve, and between the piece 411 and the inward-facing surface of the sleeve. According to one or more embodiments, a portion of the piece 409 may overlap a portion of the piece 411. According to an alternative embodiment, a gap may separate the edge 413 from an edge (not shown in FIG. 4C) of the piece 411 to thereby expose a portion of the inward-facing surface of the sleeve between the edge 413 of the piece 409 and the edge of the piece 411. According to yet another embodiment, the pieces 409 and 411 are arranged edge-to-edge, such that the edge 413 of the piece 409 contacts an edge (not shown in FIG. 4C) of the piece 411.

FIG. 4D illustrates a pocket 400d in which a piece of fabric 414 is stitched, with stitching 415, to a sleeve (not shown in FIG. 4D), along three of four sides. As illustrated in FIG. 4D, the piece of fabric 414 is stitched, with stitching 415, to a sleeve along a left side, a right side, and a bottom side of the pocket 400d. A top end of the piece of fabric 414 is not stitched to a sleeve. Instead, the top end of the piece 414 may be secured to an inward-facing surface 416 of a sleeve at a top end of the pocket 400d via a securing piece 417. As illustrated in FIG. 4D, the securing piece 417 is a piece of VELCRO. A user may secure the pocket 400d in a closed position by pressing a piece of VELCRO (not shown) attached to the piece of fabric 414 to the piece of VELCRO 417 attached to the inward-facing surface 416 of the sleeve. In FIG. 4D, a portion of the piece of fabric 414 is shown as cut away 418 for purposes of illustration only. The portion which is omitted by the cutaway 418 includes a piece of VELCRO facing the piece 417 to facilitate securing the pocket 400d in a closed state and opening the pocket 400d to facilitate inserting and removing a pad. When the facing pieces of VELCRO are unattached from each other, the upper end of the piece of fabric 414 forms a flap to allow a user to slide a pad between the piece of fabric 414 and an inward-facing surface 416 of the sleeve beneath the piece of fabric 414. While the securing piece 417 is illustrated in FIG. 4D as a piece of VELCRO, embodiments include any mechanism that is openable and securable without breaking the fabric 414 or stitching 415. Examples of securing pieces include snaps, buttons, hook and loop fabric, and a zipper.

FIG. 5 illustrates a cutaway view of an inward-facing surface 502 of a sleeve 500 according to an embodiment. The sleeve 500 includes an outward-facing surface 501 (outer surface) and an inward-facing surface 502 (inner surface). The sleeve has a thickness corresponding to a thickness of woven threads of fabric. For example, an upper-body athletic garment may be made by woven threads of elastic material. Reference numeral 503 shows a cross-section representation of a thickness of the sleeve 500.

A pocket 510 is formed by stitching a piece of fabric 511 to the inner surface 502 of the sleeve 500. A pad 512 is located in the pocket 510 between the piece of fabric 511 and the inner surface 502 of the sleeve 500. In FIG. 5, a portion of the piece of fabric 511 is shown as cut away to expose the pad 512, for purposes of illustration only. The piece of fabric 511 is stitched to the inner surface of the sleeve 520 on at least three sides of the piece of fabric 511.

Claims

1. An article of clothing, comprising:

an upper-body garment including a main body made of fabric, the main body including a neck opening, a torso opening, a first arm opening, and a second arm opening,

wherein the upper-body garment further includes a first sleeve fixedly attached to the main body at the first arm opening,

wherein the upper-body garment further includes a second sleeve fixedly attached to the main body at the second arm opening, and

wherein the first sleeve includes (a) a shoulder end fixedly attached to the main body at the first arm opening, (b) a distal end at an opposite end of the first sleeve from the shoulder end, and (c) a pocket on an inward-facing surface of the first sleeve, at least a portion of the pocket covering a midpoint between the shoulder end and the distal end of the first sleeve.

2. The article of clothing of claim 1, wherein the second sleeve includes (a) a shoulder end fixedly attached to the main body at the second arm opening, (b) a distal end at an opposite end of the second sleeve from the shoulder end, and (c) a pocket on an inward-facing surface of the second sleeve, at least a portion of the pocket covering a midpoint between the shoulder end and the distal end of the second sleeve.

3. The article of clothing of claim 1, wherein the garment is a sports bra with sleeves.

4. The article of clothing of claim 1, further comprising a pad removably inserted in the pocket.

5. The article of clothing of claim 4, wherein the pocket includes an opening at one end to allow insertion and removal of the pad.

6. The article of clothing of claim 1, wherein the pocket includes a detachable fixing element at one end to facilitate closing the pocket at the one end and opening the pocket at the one end.

7. The article of clothing of claim 6, wherein the detachable fixing element includes at least one of: a hook and loop fabric and a snap.

8. The article of clothing of claim 1, wherein the pocket is defined by a piece of fabric stitched, around outer edges of the piece of fabric, to the inward-facing surface of the sleeve, and

wherein the garment further comprises a pad located in the pocket between the piece of fabric and the inward-facing surface of the sleeve.

9. The article of clothing of claim 8, wherein an entire circumference of the piece of fabric is stitched to the inward-facing surface of the sleeve.

10. The article of clothing of claim 1, wherein the pocket is a geometric stadium shape comprising two rounded ends and two straight sides connecting the two rounded ends.

11. The article of clothing of claim 1, wherein the first sleeve includes a palm strap at the distal end of the first sleeve,

wherein edges of the palm strap define a first opening for receiving a thumb of a wearer and a second opening for receiving fingers of the wearer.

12. The article of clothing of claim 1, wherein the fabric is an elastic fabric.

13. The article of clothing of claim 1, wherein the second sleeve includes (a) a shoulder end fixedly attached to the main body at the second arm opening, (b) a distal end at an opposite end of the second sleeve from the shoulder end, and (c) a pocket on an inward-facing surface of the second sleeve, at least a portion of the pocket covering a midpoint between the shoulder end and the distal end of the second sleeve,

wherein the garment is a sports bra with sleeves,

wherein the article of clothing further comprises a pad removably inserted in the pocket,

wherein the pocket includes an opening at one end to allow insertion and removal of the pad,

wherein the pocket includes a detachable fixing element at the one end to facilitate closing the pocket at the one end and opening the pocket at the one end,

wherein the detachable fixing element includes at least one of: a hook and loop fabric and a snap,

wherein the pocket is defined by a piece of fabric stitched, around outer edges of the piece of fabric, to the inward-facing surface of the sleeve,

wherein the pocket is one of an oval shape and a geometric stadium shape comprising two rounded ends and two straight sides connecting the two rounded ends,

wherein the first sleeve includes a palm strap at the distal end of the first sleeve,

wherein edges of the palm strap define a first opening for receiving a thumb of a wearer and a second opening for receiving fingers of the wearer, and

wherein the fabric is an elastic fabric.