Article of clothing

Abstract

An article of clothing for a body of a person includes: a stretchable fabric defining a form-fitting body portion for closely covering a portion of the person's body when the article of clothing is worn; a plurality of gripping areas located on an exterior surface of the body portion, each of the gripping areas having a higher relative coefficient of friction than a relative coefficient of friction of the fabric defining the body portion; and a plurality of impact-absorbing pad members attached to the body portion. A method of manufacturing an article of clothing and a method of protecting ones' body by donning an article of clothing are also included.

1 . An article of clothing for a body of a person, comprising:
 (a) a stretchable fabric defining a form-fitting body portion for closely covering a portion of the person's body when the article of clothing is worn;   (b) a plurality of gripping areas located on an exterior surface of the body portion, each of the gripping areas having a higher relative coefficient of friction than a relative coefficient of friction of the fabric defining the body portion; and   (c) a plurality of impact-absorbing pad members attached to the body portion.   
   
   
       2 . The article of clothing of  claim 1 , wherein the body portion defines a raised collar for at least partially encircling the area of the neck when the article is worn, and wherein an impact-absorbing padding member is located in the raised collar. 
   
   
       3 . The article of clothing of  claim 1 , wherein each of the gripping areas comprises an area that is dimensioned and configured to facilitate the nonslip gripping by hand of the person's body at the gripping area for lifting, catching, and throwing of the person. 
   
   
       4 . The article of clothing of  claim 3 , wherein each of the gripping areas comprises silicone rubber. 
   
   
       5 . The article of clothing of  claim 3 , wherein each of the gripping areas comprises a cluster of a plurality of generally oval-shaped surfaces. 
   
   
       6 . The article of clothing of  claim 5 , wherein the plurality of generally oval-shaped surfaces of a gripping area are located in close proximity to one another so as to define a triangular periphery of the gripping area. 
   
   
       7 . The article of clothing of  claim 3 , wherein a first gripping area is located on the body portion so as to at least partially cover one of the impact-absorbing padding members. 
   
   
       8 . The article of clothing of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one impact-absorbing pad member is sewn to a layer of the fabric of the body portion. 
   
   
       9 . The article of clothing of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one impact-absorbing pad member is retained between inner and outer layers of the fabric. 
   
   
       10 . The article of clothing of  claim 9 , wherein the inner and outer layers of the fabric are sewn together about a periphery of the at least one impact-absorbing pad member. 
   
   
       11 . A method of manufacturing an article of clothing, comprising the steps of:
 (a) screen printing silicone rubber onto a stretchable fabric in preselected areas of the fabric;   (b) attaching pads to the fabric in preselected areas of the fabric; and   (c) fabricating an article of clothing using the fabric such that the article of clothing comprises a form-fitting body portion for closely covering a portion of a person's body when the article of clothing is worn;   (d) wherein the screen printed silicone rubber defines a plurality of gripping areas located on an exterior surface of the body portion, each of the gripping areas having a higher coefficient of friction than a coefficient of friction of the fabric defining the body portion; and   (e) wherein the pads are covered by the exterior surface of the body portion.   
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein said screen printing step is performed before said pads are attached. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the pads are attached before said screen printing step is performed. 
   
   
       14 . The article of clothing of  claim 13 , wherein each of the gripping areas comprises an area that is dimensioned and configured to facilitate the nonslip gripping by hand of the person's body at the gripping area for lifting, catching, and throwing of the person. 
   
   
       15 . The article of clothing of  claim 14 , wherein each of the gripping areas comprises a cluster of a plurality of generally oval-shaped surfaces, the plurality of generally oval-shaped surfaces of a gripping area being located in close proximity to one another so as to define a triangular periphery of the gripping area. 
   
   
       16 . A method of protecting a person's body during gymnastics, cheering, or physical exercise, comprising the step of donning an article of clothing that comprises a stretchable fabric such that the article of clothing defines a form-fitting body portion for closely covering a portion of the person's body, the article of clothing further comprising a plurality of gripping areas located on an exterior surface of the body portion, each of the gripping areas having a higher coefficient of friction than a coefficient of friction of the fabric defining the body portion, and a plurality of impact-absorbing pad members, wherein said donning includes:
 (a) positioning the article of clothing such that the gripping areas collectively at least partially cover areas including,
 (i) the shoulders, 
 (ii) the sides of the torso below the arm, 
 (iii) the elbows, and 
   (b) positioning the article of clothing such that the impact-absorbing pad members collectively at least partially cover,
 (i) inner and outer portions of the forearm, 
 (ii) the elbows, 
 (iii) the biceps, and 
 (iv) the shoulders. 
   
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the impact-absorbing pad members further collectively at least partially cover areas of the neck and the knee, and wherein the gripping areas further collectively at least partially cover areas proximate the knee. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising lifting the person who has donned the article of clothing off of the ground by gripping the person's body at one of the gripping areas with a hand. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising throwing the person who has donned the article of clothing by gripping with a hand the person's body at one of the gripping areas with a hand. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising catching the person who has donned the article of clothing by gripping the person's body at one of the gripping areas with a hand.