Patent Publication Number: US-2010115681-A1

Title: Wetsuit

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an improved wetsuit. The wetsuit maybe especially suitable for use in surfing or other board sports. However, the wetsuit is generally useful in any water sport activity. 
     BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION 
     Wetsuits are widely used in a variety of water sports. Wetsuits typically are made from neoprene fabric, which is a flexible foam-based material. Wetsuits are used in order to keep the wearer of the wetsuit warm during water-based activities and to provide a degree of protection to the skin of the wearer. Wetsuits are used in, for example, surfing, diving, snorkeling, sailboarding, wake boarding, body boarding and body surfing. 
     Many commercially available wetsuits are provided with knee pads. Such knee pads typically consist of a rectangular pad of a durable material attached to the outside of the wetsuit in the region of the knee of the wearer. These knee pads are provided essentially to improve the durability and wearing characteristics of the wetsuit, it being appreciated that the knee region of wetsuits can be subject to high wear. 
     Proprioception is the ability to know where part of the body is positioned without having to look at that part of the body. To give an example, proprioception allows a person to scratch their foot without watching their hand move to their foot. Proprioception is an innate human ability, although it will be understood that some people (especially elite sportsmen) have higher levels of proprioception than others. 
     Throughout the specification, the term “comprising” and its grammatical equivalents shall be taken to have an inclusive meaning unless the context of use indicates otherwise. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a wetsuit that may provide enhanced proprioception to the wearer of the wetsuit around the knee region. 
     In a first aspect, the present invention provides a wetsuit having knee pads, each knee pad comprising a ring of relatively stiffer elastic material, the ring extending around the kneecap of the wearer to provide compression around the kneecap of the wearer, and a central region of relatively less stiff elastic material, the central region resting on the kneecap of the wearer. 
     The wetsuit of the present invention, in having a ring of relatively stiffer elastic material extending around the kneecap of the wearer and providing compression around the kneecap of the wearer, may provide enhanced proprioception feedback to the wearer from around the knee region. The central region of relatively less stiff elastic material that rests on the kneecap of the wearer, provides enhanced flexibility of material over the kneecap, thereby enhancing wearer comfort. 
     In one embodiment, the wetsuit of the present invention further comprises a compression strip extending along a region corresponding to the medial collateral ligament (MCL) of the wearer. This compression strip may comprise a strip of additional material joined to the wetsuit on the inner side of the knee. The compression strip may comprise a strip of additional material joined to the inside of the wetsuit and extending at a slight angle along the leg of the wetsuit. The compression strip may be joined to the wetsuit at a position located laterally to the ring of relatively stiffer elastic material. The compression strip may be, for example, an additional strip of neoprene attached to the inside surface of the material from which the wetsuit is made. The compression strip may also be made from other flexible or elastic material. The compression strip may enhance proprioception feedback in the region of the MCL. 
     In some embodiments, a strip of enhanced stiffness may be formed as or in conjunction with the strip of further material. For example, the outer surface of the wetsuit may be provided with a printed region that increases the stiffness of the material of the wetsuit above the strip of additional material. Alternatively, the strip of material may be made from a material that is relatively stiffer than the material from which the wetsuit is made. 
     In order to manufacture a wetsuit in accordance with the present invention, in one embodiment a leg of the wetsuit has a cutout made in it, the cutout corresponding to the general shape of the knee pad, and the knee pad subsequently joined to the wetsuit by attaching the knee pad to the cutout region. The knee pad may be attached to the cutout region by sewing, gluing or any other technique known to be suitable to the person skilled in the art. In this fashion, the ring of relatively stiffer material directly contacts the knee of the wearer. 
     In one embodiment, the ring of relatively stiffer material includes a relatively flat outer land extending around an outer periphery of the ring and a relatively flat inner land extending around the inner periphery of the ring. The relatively flat outer and inner lands provide regions at which the ring can be conveniently joined to the wetsuit material and the central region of the knee pad, respectively. The ring of material may have a thickness that increases in an inwardly radial direction from the outer part of the ring towards and inner part of the ring. The ring of material may have a maximum thickness positioned at a distance closer to the inner periphery of the ring than the outer periphery of the ring. The thickness of the ring of material may decrease from its maximum thickness in a direction moving from its maximum thickness to the inner periphery of the ring. In some embodiments, when viewed in cross section, the thickness of the material making up the ring can be seen to gradually increase from the thickness at the outer periphery towards a maximum thickness, with a relatively steep decline in thickness from the maximum thickness to the thickness at the inner periphery. In describing the thickness of the material, in the regions of relatively flat landscape the inner and outer periphery of the ring are ignored in providing that description. 
     Wetsuits in accordance with the present invention may provide enhanced proprioception feedback to a wearer in the subject region of the wearer. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a pictorial representation of a leg of a wetsuit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows a front view of a knee pad for the right knee suitable for use in the present invention; 
         FIG. 2A  shows a front view of a knee pad for the left knee suitable for use in the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  shows a cross sectional view through one side of the ring of material to demonstrate the thickness of the ring of material; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view showing the MCL compression strip suitable for use in embodiments of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 5  shows a cross sectional view of the wetsuit in the region of the MCL compression strip. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     It will be appreciated that the drawings attached to the specification show preferred embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, the person skilled in the art will understand that the present invention should not be considered to be limited solely to the features as shown in the drawings. 
       FIG. 1  shows a pictorial representation of a part of a wetsuit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In particular,  FIG. 1  shows a pictorial representation of the right leg of the wetsuit. In  FIG. 1 , the wetsuit  10  has a leg portion  12  made from a neoprene material. The leg portion  12  extends below the knee of the wearer. Suitably, the leg portion  12  will extend to the ankle or foot of the wearer. The leg portion  12  includes a knee pad  14 . The knee pad  14  includes a ring  16  made from a relatively stiffer material and a central region  18  made from a relatively less stiff material. In one embodiment, the ring  16  may comprise a durable, heavy gauge nylon outer material laminated to a stiff high-density foam. An example of such a material is that sold under the brand name Supratex™. As can be seen from  FIG. 1 , the ring  16  is wider at its upper portion then at its lower portion. 
     The central region  18  of the knee pad comprises a material of relatively lower stiffness than the material of the ring. The central region of relatively lower stiffness material increases flexibility and comfort of the knee pad. The central region may be made from a low-density, lightweight and very flexible material. An example of a suitable material is that material sold under the trade name Airlite G3 Superflex. 
     As can be seen from  FIG. 1 , the wetsuit  10  is also provided with a medial compression strip  20 . The medial compression strip may be formed by a combination of a high-density internal panel that is joined to the inside of the wetsuit and an outer printed strip positioned above the internal panel. The printed strip may be printed from HDR (high density resin) ink or other ink. The medial compression strip may also include a different layer positioned on the outside of the wetsuit. The medial compression strip is positioned on the inner side of the leg and lies adjacent to the medial collateral ligament of wearer during use of the wetsuit. The strip may be from 130 to 200 mm in length, with a length of from 150 to 180 mm being suitable. 
     The knee pad  14  may provide enhanced proprioception feedback to the wearer by virtue of the outer ring  16  providing a degree of compression around the kneecap of the wearer. Further, the medial compression strip  20  provides slight resistance in the region of the MCL of the wearer, which may enhance sensory feedback. 
       FIG. 2  shows a schematic view of the knee pad shown in  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 2A  shows a similar schematic view as that shown in  FIG. 2 , except that  FIG. 2A  shows a schematic view of the left knee pad. For convenience, the features of  FIG. 2A  that are common to the features shown in  FIG. 2  are denoted by the same reference numerals. 
       FIG. 3  shows a cross section (taken along line A-A in  FIG. 1 ) through one side of the ring  16  of material. In  FIG. 3 , the inner periphery of the ring  16  is denoted by reference numeral  30  and the outer periphery of the ring of material is denoted by the reference numeral  32 . The inner periphery  30  is surrounded by a flat land  34  of material. Similarly, the outer periphery  30  is adjacent to a flat land  36  of material. The flat lands  34  and  36  facilitate joining of the ring of material to the central panel and the material of the wetsuit, respectively. 
     As can also be seen from  FIG. 3 , the thickness of the ring of material gradually increases from a thickness adjacent the outer periphery (as denoted at reference numeral  38 ) to a maximum thickness (as denoted at reference numeral  40 ), with the maximum thickness of the ring of material  16  being located adjacent to the inner periphery. As can also be seen from  FIG. 3 , the thickness of the ring of material quickly decreases from its region of maximum thickness  40  to the thickness at the flat land  34  that surrounds the inner periphery  30 . Indicative dimensions of the thickness of material may include the flat lands  34 ,  36  having a thickness of approximately 3 mm, while the maximum thickness at  40  may be approximately 8 mm. 
       FIG. 4  shows a schematic representation of the medial compression strip  20  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The medial compression strip  20  may comprise a strip  50  that is joined to the inside surface of the wetsuit. The strip  50  may, for example, comprise a strip of neoprene material, and having a thickness of between 0.5 min and 2 mm, for example approximately 1 mm, sewn or glued to the inside surface of the leg of the wetsuit. The strip of material  50  may include an S seal dot pattern  52 . The S dot pattern may provide enhanced sensory feedback. The S dot pattern may be formed by joining the dots onto the strip or by printing the dots onto the strip. 
     A printed strip  54  may be printed on to the outer surface of the wetsuit above the strip of material  50 . The printed strip  54  may, for example, comprise a HDR ink printed strip or a Tatex layer. Tatex is a vulcanized rubber that can be heat applied. Other materials may be used in place of the printed strip or the Tatex strip. The printed strip (or outer strip, if printing is not used to form this strip) may have a thickness of between 0.1 and 0.5 mm, suitably around 0.3 mm. The printed strip  54  generally follows the shape of the strip  50 , although as shown in  FIG. 4 , it is not essential that the shape of the printed strip  54  be identical to the shape of the strip of material  50 . Indeed, printed strip  54  may, in addition to increasing the stiffness of the MCL compression strip, also enhance the aesthetics of the wetsuit. 
       FIG. 5  shows the relative juxtaposition between the strip of material  50  and the printed strip  54 . In particular, in  FIG. 5 , the strip of material  50  is joined to the inner side of the neoprene material  60  from which the wetsuit is made. The printed strip  54  is printed to the outer surface of the neoprene material  60 . 
     In order to manufacture a wetsuit in accordance with the present invention, the leg portion of the wetsuit has a cutout formed on the leg in the knee region thereof, which cut out generally conforms to the outer shape of the ring  16 . The ring  16  is formed and the centre panel  18  is joined to the ring  16 . In this regard, centre panel  18  is joined to flat land  34 . The ring  16  is positioned in the cutout of the leg portion and is joined to the neoprene material at the periphery of the cutout. In particular, the neoprene material is joined to the ring  16  at flat land  36 . Conventional joining techniques, such as sewing or gluing (or a combination of both) may be used. The MCL compression strip is formed by joining (such as by sewing or gluing) the strip of material  50  to the inner surface of the wetsuit material and printing the printed strip  54  on the outer surface of the wetsuit material. 
     It will be appreciated that the steps used in the manufacture of the wetsuit may take place in any convenient order. 
     The wetsuit of the present invention may provide enhanced proprioception feedback to the wearer of the wetsuit. In addition, the wetsuit is comfortable to wear and does not restrict the movement of the wearer of the wetsuit. In contrast, in other wetsuits having knee pads or knee supports, comfort and flexibility of the wetsuit can be significantly decreased. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. It would be understood that the present invention encompasses all such variations and modifications that fall within its spirit and scope.