This application is a U.S. National Stage of International Application No. PCT/FR/2014/051592 filed Jun. 25, 2014 that claims priority to French Patent Application No. 1356135 filed Jun. 26, 2013, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention concerns an elastic knit article of lingerie, consisting of a men's under-garment for the lower part of the body, particularly of the brief, boxer short, or trunk type.
Such an under-garment exhibits a rear side and a front side, which can be achieved in the form of the same, single, knit tube or can be obtained by assembling front and rear panels.
For the comfort of the wearer's genitals, the front side includes a central part exhibiting a curve towards the exterior, advantageously obtained by molding, forming a pouch. This curve provides considerable comfort to the wearer by offering more room for the genitals. Even so, depending on the particular anatomy of the wearer, the space formed by the curve is more or less filled, and an unaesthetic appearance of the under-garment can result when worn. If a thicker textile material is chosen in which to execute this curved part, such as a 3D spacer knit, the visual appearance of the pouch is improved to some extent, at the expense, however, of a natural look, and the degree of opacity is increased. But if the material is thick and heavy, it is detrimental to comfort and yields a protruding curve when the article is laid flat. Briefs are known from patent document FR 2621457, which include elongated, elastic reinforcing elements provided on the front side of the briefs, and particularly over the central part, to reinforce support of the genitals, but these elongated elements are in the form of bands fastened only at their ends onto the front side, and they lead to unsightly deformations. Briefs are known from patent document GB 2474558 which complies with the preamble to Claim 1 hereto attached.
The aim of the invention is to propose a construction alternative for men's under-garments which does not exhibit these drawbacks but which, on the contrary, allows an under-garment to be obtained which is both comfortable and aesthetically pleasing.
The invention achieves its goal thanks to an under-garment exhibiting the characteristics of Claim 1 hereto attached, that is, a men's under-garment for the lower part of the body exhibiting a pant part with a rear side and a front side, which includes an upper belt part and a lower crotch part, the front side including in its middle a vertical, central part intended to accommodate the genitals of the wearer and exhibited in the form of a piece including a relatively wide, lower portion for the crotch part and a relatively narrow, upper portion for the belt part, as well as edges, elongated elastic reinforcing elements being provided on the front side and particularly over the central part to reinforce the support of the genitals, characterized in that the elongated elements are provided in three zones of the front side, that is:
The invention also advantageously exhibits the following characteristics, independently or in combination:
Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will result from the following description of two particular embodiments. Reference will be made to the drawings attached, whereon
The pant 1 is knit in a jersey knit, for example. The proportion of spandex in the knit is about 5%, the density of the knit is 170 g/m2, and its elongation is 130% in the direction corresponding to the width of the pant.
The front 11 of the pant includes, roughly vertical to the middle of the front side, a central part 16 intended to be molded and forming a closed pouch for the genitals. The central part 16 is roughly in the shape of a curvilinear trapezoid with a wide, curved base 17 toward the bottom of the front 11, in the proximity of the crotch, and relatively wide in order to be able to envelope the genitals at the testicles, a small upper base 18 at the bottom of the belt 15, relatively narrow, these bases 17 and 18 being bound together by the symmetrical oblique sides 19. The oblique sides 19 can be achieved by seams if the central part 16 is executed in a material other than that of the rest of the front part 11 or if the central part 16 contains a lining (for reasons of hygiene). Otherwise, they can be achieved by means of false seams or not even executed. The central part 16 is the part which receives an outward curve by molding under heat and pressure. It thus forms a convex zone, whereas the remainder of the front 11 is flat. By way of example illustrating the molding, in a typical example, a mold was used exhibiting the following characteristics: depth 4.5 cm; diameter 85 mm; heating time 40 sec, temperature of the mold (having a male and a female part) about 190° C.
The front 11 of the pant 1 is covered in three zones A, B, C by a network of elongated elements in the form of two sets of roughly parallel lines of silicone rubber.
In the support zone A defined by the bottom of the central part 16, the network of lines is formed of two sets of parallel lines 20 and 20′, which cross each other towards the bottom. The two sets of lines 20, 20′ form a cradle-like network, that is to say, a little like a hanging chain, which allows the genitals to be suitably supported. These lines 20, 20′ are 4 or 5 in number, for example, and are made up of quite a steep part which goes down edges 19, its slope decreasing or disappearing or even being reversed at the end of the line before meeting the bottom of opposite edge 19 or base 17.
Control zone B is formed in the top portion of central part 16. A network of lines is formed of two sets of parallel lines 21 and 21′, which cross one another towards the top. The two sets of lines 21, 21′ form an inverted-cradle-like network. Numbering 4 or 5, said lines constitute relatively short, straight lines, which descend from the small base 18 below belt 15 to meet the top of edges 19. Their action is to adjust and pull the material toward the top of the pouch, which allows a hollow or empty effect to be countered, which would otherwise be pronounced at the pouch.
Finally, in the two lateral reinforcement zones C, a network of parallel lines 22, 22′ allows the sides 19 of the pouch to be “suspended”, as it were, at the base of the belt 13 and at the seams present on the sides. These lines 22, 22′ pull zone A toward the top, which improves the support of the genitals, and toward the sides, which renders the curve more smooth and in parallel allows the under-garment to cling to the body at the groin. Comfort and the sense of support are thereby improved. Comparing the reinforcing structure in zones C of
In the two examples represented in
Lines 20, 20′, 21, 21′, 22, 22′ can have different widths or can be entirely identical in width. Said lines advantageously have a width between 2 mm and 6 mm and they are advantageously spaced 4 mm to 10 mm apart. Said lines can be superposed onto other networks of lines intended to fulfill other functions, such as holding the stomach flat or shaping the buttocks.
In a preferred embodiment, the lines applied in zones A, B, C are executed in silicone rubber with a density between 10 and 40 g/cm3. The silicone is silk-screened onto the front side 11 of the pant when flat (that is, before molding) and thermally polymerized (for instance, at 175° C. for 30 seconds under infrared light, other heating modes being possible, of course). This polymerization is achieved either as a stage independent of the molding, or it can be partially integrated into the subsequent stage of molding the pouch if the mold used also includes a planar heating surface for heating zone C. The thickness of the silicone laid down is about 0.20 to 0.25 mm (a thickness on the order of that of the base knit). The thickness can vary in places so as to render the material more or less rigid or elastic.
If thermoformed bands are used instead of silicone lines in order to form the elongated reinforcing elements, the general architecture remains the same, but the number of bands is naturally lower than the number of lines.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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13 56135 | Jun 2013 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/FR2014/051592 | 6/25/2014 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2014/207379 | 12/31/2014 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20160286867 A1 | Oct 2016 | US |