Abstract:
A garment usable for extreme sports is made of a tough fabric that is not easily damaged in falls and high speed contact with surfaces such as roads and sidewalks. The garment has elastic seams placed at points where an athlete may flex muscles and bend body parts. The seams enable bending tensile forces to be distributed between several layers of strips that are secured within the seams and having different elastic properties such as elastic limit, elastic cycle duration, and restoration force so that together these strips are able to exhibit plural properties that one material is unable to achieve.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The industrial field of this disclosure relates to garments and methods of their operation and application. This disclosure is more particularly directed to a garments for sporting activities. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an example front elevation view of a garment according to the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is an example rear elevation view thereof; and 
         FIG. 3  is an example section taken at line  3 - 3  in  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     Like reference symbols in the drawing figures indicate like elements. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The presently described apparatus is a garment exemplified by the pants  10  shown in  FIGS. 1-3 . The garment is designed to achieve the objective of providing an extreme toughness while also being able to accommodate the needs of an extreme sport such as known in skiing and skateboarding where body and legs are typically twisted and contorted into highly flexible positions where restraint by an outer garment must be voided. Pants  10  is made of a tough fabric  12  such as polyester, a blend of polyester and KEVLAR®, or other highly scuff and tear resistance material. However, beside the general fabric  12  of which pant  10  is made, pant  10  has elastic strips incorporated which form seams as will be described in detail. In normal use pants  10 , is oriented as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , and in this disclosure we refer to the top of pants  10 , see arrow “A,” which may have a waist band  20 , and to the bottom of pants  10  at cuffs  47   a  and  47   b  which terminate pant legs  40   a  and  40   b . Also, we refer to the front ( FIG. 1 ), which includes portions of sides of pants  10  as a proximal aspect of the garment, and to the back or rear side ( FIG. 2 ), which also includes portions of sides of pants  10  as a distal aspect of the garment. As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  and as is well known in the art, waist band  20  may have loops (not shown) for engaging a belt or may have suspenders attached (not shown). Waist band  20  may define an open entry to pants  10  from the top direction. In an embodiment, pants  10  may have a fly  70 . Pants  10  may have a crotch area  30  wherein legs  40   a  and  40   b  are joined to a trunk portion  60  which extends vertically from belt  20  to crotch area  30 , and in embodiments may have one or two side pockets  80  and, or back pockets  90  as shown. In embodiments, legs  40   a  and  40   b  may be “long” as shown or may be “short” (not shown). Legs  40   a  and  40   b  as well as trunk portion  60  represent hollow aspects of the garment as is exemplified at reference numeral  47   a  in  FIG. 2 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1  which shows a proximal aspect of pants  10 , legs  40   a  and  40   b  are shown to be “long,” and each may have a knee area  45  at the proximal face of the garment positioned medially between crotch area  30  and cuffs  47   a  and  47   b . In an embodiment pads  180  may be sewn or otherwise attached on the inside of knee area  45  and may be fabricated of a shock absorbing material such as rubber or similar fabric or material. In an embodiment (not shown), pads  180  may have a complimentary additionally layer sewn or otherwise attached to the exterior of the leg fabric and such layer may be a tough, scuff resistant, material such as leather. Pants  10  as defined and described herein is distinguished from general and well-known pants garments as it has certain elastically expandable seams which are sewn into the fabric construction that makes up the garment and these seams are clearly shown in the figures. A proximal central seam  100   a  may extend from waist band  20  or from the fly  70  vertically downward into the crotch area  30 . Long proximal diagonal seams  110   a  and  110   b  may extend from the crotch area  30  upwardly, diverging across the front of pants  10  to each side, terminating just above pockets  80  at waist band  20 . A pair of short proximal diagonal seams  120   a  and  120   b  extend divergently upward from the crotch area  30  in positions below seams  110   a  and  110   b  respectively and terminate at leg seams  130   a  and  130   b  which extend downwardly on legs  40   a  and  40   b  respectively to upper knee seams  140   a  and  140   b . Upper knee seams  140   a  and  140   b  may respectively extend in horizontal directions partially around the front of legs  40   a  and  40   b  in positions above pads  180 . Y-shaped seams  160   a  and  160   b  are respectively positioned on legs  40   a  and  40   b  as shown, below pads  180  and centered on the proximal aspect of legs  40   a  and  40   b.    
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , which shows distal aspects of pants  10  including a distal trunk seam  150  which may extend horizontally around the distal aspect of pants  10  medially between band  20  and crotch  30  and may be positioned above pockets  90 . A distal central seam  100   b  may extend from distal trunk seam  150  vertically and centrally downwardly to the crotch area  30  and may join, as a continuous single seam, with proximal central seam  100   a  fully splitting the crotch area  30 . Distal diagonal seams  170   a  and  170   b  may extend from the crotch area  30  upwardly terminating near pockets  80  below trunk seam  150  and includes not only extension across pockets  90  but also parallel portions in the fabric  12 . 
     It should be recognized that all of the seams defined above are approximately linear in the direction in which they travel on the garment. Seams  100   a  and  100   b  curve around the trunk and crotch areas against which they lie or extend and this curvature is in the direction of travel of these seams. Likewise seams  110   a  and  110   b , seams  120   a  and  120   b , seams  140   a  and  140   b , seam  150 , the V-portions of seams  160   a  and  160   b , and seams  170   a  and  170   b  all curve in accordance with the garment&#39;s contour as it hubs the wearer&#39;s body, but such curvature is in the general direction of travel of each said seam. This is critically important to the successful achievement of pants  10  in meeting its objectives because all of said seams are able to expand elastically, that is, spread apart laterally and such spreading is attained without bunching. Bunching will, in fact, occur if said seams were to curve laterally from their general direction of travel on the garment and this will generally result in discomfort and resistance to body movements during extreme sport exercises. 
     Referring now to the section view of  FIG. 3 , it is shown that three layers  200 ,  210 , and  220 , make up the strips that form the above defined seams that are clearly shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . These three layers are elastically expansive fabrics which may be sewn in place as illustrated by the “X” marks in  FIG. 3 . However, joining may be accomplished as bonding, clipping, zipping or otherwise. Whatever form of attachment is used the three layers are securely fastened in place under cuts or splits in fabric  12  of pants  10  as described above, and, in fact, the layers when in place make up an integral part of the seams. The materials of which strips  200 ,  210 , and  220  are fabricated are able to elastically extend under tensile forces and relax to their original shape when the forces are removed. This extension and relaxation process may occur over many cycles. As examples, pants  10  is forced to change shape during extreme sporting activities wherein the legs may be brought up to the chest in a jackknife position, (seams  110   a  and  110   b , seams  120   a  and  120   b , seams  170   a  and  170   b  and seam  150 ) are placed in tension, when a squatting position is assumed, (seams  130   a  and  130   b , seams  140   a  and  140 ) are placed in tension, when the athletes legs assume the “split” position (seams  100   a  and  100   b ) are placed in tension, and when the athlete&#39;s trunk and legs are twisted into extreme positions various of the seams may be placed into tension in one degree or another. Tension may be applied to layers  200 ,  210 , and  220  in different ways. For instance, as shown in  FIG. 3 , simple tensile force couples may be applied to the seams as shown by arrows “B.” However, because of the curvature of the surface of the human body upon which the seams lie and changes in the contour of this surface as for instance when muscles are flexed, bending tensile force couples such as shown by arrows “C” are applied to layers  200 ,  210 , and  220 . In the first case, arrows “A,” all three layers are stretched equally and the tensile forces are shared by the layers. In the second case, arrows “B,” the elastic limit of layer  200  is greater than that of layer  210 , and  210  is greater than in layer  220 . It is known in the art that fabrics with a greater elastic limit also generally will sustain a greater number of operating cycles. However, a greater elastic limit in fabrics also means a relatively lower restoring force. Layer  210  has a higher restoring force and layer  220  a higher still restoring force. By combining layers  200 ,  210  and  220  the seams acquire an adequate strain while maintaining a significant restoring force over a generally acceptable number of cycle which may be in the range of 500 to 1,000. There is no one ideal fabric strip combination that meets the requirements for strain, cycle, and restorative force for all of the seams described herein. Each seam experiences a different tensile force degree of bending and repetition. Also, these variables differ from athlete to athlete depending on body conformation. 
     However, experience with extreme skateboarding sports has taught that we require a garment having seams that can experience more than 500 cycles with between 1.5 to 2 times elastic extension of the seam material and with a restoring force that will bring the seam back to 98% of its relaxed state within 25 milliseconds of withdrawal of its applied tensile force. Fabric combinations that can achieve this result may include: nylon spandex net, polymer sheeting, and tricot nylon cotton. Other fabrics and fabric combinations in various thicknesses may alternately be employed. 
     Embodiments of the subject apparatus and method have been described herein. Nevertheless, it will be understood that modifications by those of skill in the art may be made without departing from the spirit and understanding of this disclosure. Accordingly, other embodiments and approaches are within the scope of the following claims.