Active enhancement apparel

Abstract

An article of clothing adapted to be worn by a wearer, including: a shirt body, wherein the shirt body includes an inner surface and an outer surface, wherein the shirt body includes apertures for the wearer's head, arms, and torso, and wherein the shirt body is adapted to compressively fit the wearer in a non-restrictive manner, and a tactile cueing member, wherein the tactile cueing member is associated with the inner surface of the shirt body, and wherein the tactile cueing member contacts a portion of the wearer's skin during normal use.

Claims

1. An article of clothing adapted to be worn by a wearer, comprising: a shirt body fabricated from a material comprising 85% polyester and 15% spandex, wherein the shirt body includes an inner surface configured to contact the wearer's skin and an outer surface opposite to the inner surface, wherein the inner surface and the outer surface define opposing sides of the shirt body, wherein the shirt body includes apertures for the wearer's head, arms, and torso, wherein the shirt body is adapted to compressively fit the wearer, and wherein the shirt body extends from a neck region to a waist region; exactly thirteen tactile cueing members secured to the inner surface of the shirt body, wherein the thirteen tactile cueing members are arranged in a bilateral symmetrical pattern across the inner surface, wherein each tactile cueing member comprises a thermoplastic elastomer, wherein each tactile cueing member has an inner contact surface configured to engage the wearer's skin and an outer attachment surface secured to the inner surface of the shirt body, wherein the inner contact surface and the outer attachment surface define opposing surfaces of each tactile cueing member, wherein portions of the inner surface of the shirt body positioned between adjacent tactile cueing members are configured to directly contact the wearer's skin; wherein ten tactile cueing members are positioned on a front portion of the inner surface of the shirt body and comprise elongated rectangular elements each having a length greater than a width; wherein three tactile cueing members are positioned on a back portion of the inner surface of the shirt body, wherein the three tactile cueing members comprise a first diagonal element, a second diagonal element, and an X-shaped element positioned below the first and second diagonal elements; and wherein each of the thirteen tactile cueing members is positioned entirely between the neck region and the waist region of the shirt body.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Certain embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by the accompanying figures. It will be understood that the figures are not necessarily to scale and that details not necessary for an understanding of the invention or that render other details difficult to perceive may be omitted.

(2) It will be further understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.

(3) The invention will now be described with reference to the drawings wherein:

(4) FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of active enhancement apparel of the present invention;

(5) FIG. 2 is a left side view of the apparel of FIG. 1. The right side view is a mirror image of the left side view;

(6) FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the apparel of FIG. 1, a portion of which is shown in phantom depicting the environment of the apparel (e.g., adorned by a human);

(7) FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the apparel taken along line IV of FIG. 2;

(8) FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the apparel taken along line V of FIG. 2;

(9) FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the apparel taken along line VI of FIG. 3;

(10) FIG. 7 is a two-dimensional schematic diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention, showing tactile cueing members associated with the front of the apparel;

(11) FIG. 8 is a two-dimensional schematic diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention, showing tactile cueing members associated with the back of the apparel;

(12) FIG. 9 is a two-dimensional schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention, showing tactile cueing members associated with the front of the apparel; and

(13) FIG. 10 is a two-dimensional schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention, showing tactile cueing members associated with the back of the apparel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(14) While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms and applications, there are shown in the drawings and described herein in detail several specific embodiments with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments illustrated.

(15) It will be understood that like or analogous elements and/or components, referred to herein, may be identified throughout the drawings by like reference characters. In addition, it will be understood that the drawings are merely schematic representations of one or more embodiments of the invention, and some of the components may have been distorted from their actual scale for purposes of pictorial clarity.

(16) Referring now to the drawings, and to FIGS. 1-6 in particular, a first embodiment of article of clothing 10 adapted to be worn by a wearer (e.g., a human) is shown as generally comprising shirt body 12 and one or more tactile cueing member(s) 14.

(17) Shirt body 12 includes inner surface 16, outer surface 18, and apertures 20 for the wearer's head, arms, and torso. Shirt body 12 is adapted to compressively fit the wearer in a non-restrictive manner. In one embodiment, the shirt body is made from a combination of 85% polyester and 15% spandex. In another embodiment, the shirt body is made from a combination of 80% cotton and 20% elastane. These configurations enable shirt body 12 to compressively fit the wearer in a non-restrictive manner, such that it is non-shape wear and/or a brace that restricts range of motion of the wearer.

(18) One or more (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 75, 100, etcetera) tactile cueing members 14 are associated with inner surface 16 of shirt body 12. As is best shown in FIG. 6, tactile cueing members 14 contact a portion of wearer's skin 22 during normal use. The tactile cueing members help to improve the wearer's posture and/or the wearer's core strength. In one embodiment, the tactile cueing members remind the wearer to engage/tighten a predetermined muscle and/or muscle region. Such as, but not limited to, the wearer's abdomen, scapular region, and/or lumbar region. Preferably, the tactile cueing members use touch of/to the wearer's skin to remind the wearer to engage/contract a muscle and/or muscle region in the absence of applying pressure, vibration, a stretch, or tension to a muscle of the wearer. Preferred configurations for tactile cueing members 14 are schematically shown in FIGS. 7-10. Tactile cueing members 14 can self-adhere, be glued, stitched and/or otherwise secured to shirt body 12. In one embodiment, tactile cueing members 14 are elastic and impregnated into, onto and/or form part of the material of shirt body 12.

(19) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, tactile cueing member(s) 14 comprises a thermoplastic elastomer. In this embodiment, the thermoplastic elastomer is selected from the group consisting of a styrenic block copolymer, a thermoplastic olefin, an elastomeric alloy, a thermoplastic polyurethane, a thermoplastic copolyester, a thermoplastic polyamide, and combinations thereof.

(20) In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, tactile cueing member(s) 14 comprises an elastomer. In this embodiment, the elastomer is selected from the group consisting of a natural polyisoprene, a synthetic polyisoprene, a polybutadiene, a chloroprene rubber, a butyl rubber, a halogenated butyl rubber, a styrene-butadiene rubber, a nitrile rubber, a hydrogenated nitrile rubber, an ethylene propylene rubber, an ethylene propylene diene rubber, an epichlorohydrin rubber, a polyacrylic rubber, a silicone rubber, a fluorosilicone rubber, a fluoroelastomer, a perfluoroelastomer, a polyether block amide, a chlorosulfonated, ethylene-vinyl acetate, a resilin, an elastin, a polysulfide rubber, an elastolefin, latex, and combinations thereof.

(21) In accordance with the present invention, shirt body 12 and/or tactile cueing member(s) 14 is optionally associated with an anti-microbial agent and/or an anti-fungal agent. Suitable examples include those disclosed in United States Patent Application Publication Number 2019/0142087 entitled Friction Enhancing Athletic Apparelwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety including all references cited therein.

(22) The foregoing description merely explains and illustrates the invention and the invention is not limited thereto except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, as those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications without departing from the scope of the invention.

(23) While certain embodiments have been illustrated and described, it should be understood that changes and modifications can be made therein in accordance with ordinary skill in the art without departing from the technology in its broader aspects as defined in the following claims.

(24) The embodiments, illustratively described herein may suitably be practiced in the absence of any element or elements, limitation or limitations, not specifically disclosed herein. Thus, for example, the terms comprising, including, containing, etcetera shall be read expansively and without limitation. Additionally, the terms and expressions employed herein have been used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the claimed technology. Additionally, the phrase consisting essentially of will be understood to include those elements specifically recited and those additional elements that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed technology. The phrase consisting of excludes any element not specified.

(25) The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodiments described in this application. Many modifications and variations can be made without departing from its spirit and scope, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Functionally equivalent methods and compositions within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to particular methods, reagents, compounds compositions or biological systems, which can of course vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting.

(26) In addition, where features or aspects of the disclosure are described in terms of Markush groups, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the Markush group.

(27) As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and all purposes, particularly in terms of providing a written description, all ranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etcetera. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein can be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third, etcetera. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all language such as up to, at least, greater than, less than, and the like, include the number recited and refer to ranges which can be subsequently broken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, as will be understood by one skilled in the art, a range includes each individual member.

(28) All publications, patent applications, issued patents, and other documents referred to in this specification are herein incorporated by reference as if each individual publication, patent application, issued patent, or other document was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference in its entirety. Definitions that are contained in text incorporated by reference are excluded to the extent that they contradict definitions in this disclosure.

(29) Other embodiments are set forth in the following claims.