Movement-reactive athletic apparel and methods of making the same
AssigneeReebok International Ltd.
InventorsDanielle Marie Witek, Richard Dombrowski, Norman Joseph Wagner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Articles of athletic garments, particularly sports bra and methods of treating the athletic garments with a shear thickening fluid (STF) are disclosed. The athletic garment comprises a STF treated fabric. The STF treated fabric in contact with the wearer's body part restricts movement of the body part when the shear stress exceeds the shear stress threshold value and stretches and conforms to the wearer's body part when the shear stress is less than the shear stress threshold value. The STF treatment method may include immersing the untreated fabric in a diluted STF bath, metering an amount of the fluid on the fabric, and removing the diluent from the treated fabric.
Claims21
An article of sportswear, the article comprising:
- a fabric treated with a shear thickening fluid having a shear stress threshold value,
- the treated fabric configured to stretch and conform to a wearer's body part when the treated fabric is secured to the body part when a shear stress in the treated fabric is less than or equal to the shear stress threshold value, and
- wherein the treated fabric is configured to restrict movement of the wearer's body part when the shear stress in the treated fabric is greater than the shear stress threshold value.
A sports bra, comprising:
- a fabric treated with a shear thickening fluid having a shear stress threshold value,
- wherein the treated fabric is configured to restrict movement of at least a part of a wearer's body when a shear stress acting on the treated fabric is greater than the shear stress threshold value.
A method of manufacturing an article of sportswear, comprising:
- collecting kinematic data of an individual engaged in a physical activity;
- processing the kinematic data to determine a relative level of motion of at least one body part of the individual versus an anchor point on the individual;
- determining a corresponding level of support needed for the at least one body part based on the level of motion;
- dispersing particles in a fluid medium to form a suspension, wherein the suspension comprises a shear thickening fluid;
- diluting the formed suspension with a diluent to form a diluted shear thickening fluid;
- selectively treating a fabric with the diluted shear thickening fluid, wherein an area of the fabric corresponding to the at least one body part is treated based on the previously determined level of support required;
- removing the diluent from the fabric treated with the diluted shear thickening fluid such that the particles in the shear thickening fluid adhere to the fabric;
- and
- forming the athletic garment with the fabric.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.