Patent Application
20240389680
The present invention is directed to men's underwear, and more particularly to undergarment shorts having a molded pouch in which to position a wearer's genitalia.
Underwear in the form of shorts have been worn by men for centuries. Originally, undergarment shorts were loose fitting formed of linen or cotton thread. In more recent times shorts have been developed from cotton to be more form fitting with elasticity in the material itself for a snug fit. This snug fit design unnaturally pushes the genitals in a way that they are constrained and does not allow for the natural way that they should be supported. In either embodiment, the scrotum would tend to stick to the inner thigh, leading to sweating in the area, friction, chaffing and overall discomfort, particularly while sitting. The prior art solution was constant manual readjusting of the positioning of the genitalia within the underwear
The problem becomes particularly acute with boxer briefs where often the scrotum is pushed against an inner leg. One proposed solution, as known from U.S. Pat. No. 7,958,571, is to construct a pouch in which to receive the genitalia and position it away from the user's legs. However, this solution required a complex structure, including a pouch and side panels within the pouch, to directly contact the scrotum, while providing a gap through which the penis lies. While satisfactory, it required additional material, and the scrotum in direct contact with a sling like structure potentially causing discomfort in its own right. Additionally, this structure must be sized to match the user because the side panels cannot accommodate a large variety of different sized scrotums. The briefs must be constructed to match the wearer.
Another prior art solution, as known for U.S. Pat. No. 11,272,744, provides a male garment having a body including a front portion and leg openings. A resiliently elastic stretch panel is attached to an interior of the body and includes an opening for receiving therethrough the wearer's genitalia. A pouch is defined between the stretch panel and the front portion for receiving therein the wearer's genitalia. This solution has been satisfactory; however it suffers from the disadvantage that the access to the pouch is by way of stretching material which pinches the genitalia or pull upon the scrotum during use, causing discomfort over time. This solution like the one above lifts the genitalia, pushing it up, making it uncomfortable after only a few hours of use.
Accordingly, a man's undergarment short which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art is desired.
Undergarment shorts have a body. The body extends from an elastic waistband to a left leg opening for receiving a left leg of the user therethrough and a right leg opening for receiving the right leg of the user therethrough. The body includes a front panel. A back panel extends from the elastic band to the front panel to form the body. A portion of the front panel is molded as a tear drop for receiving the genitalia of a wearer therein. The tear drop portion being more flexible than a remaining area of the front panel.
In a preferred non limiting embodiment, the tear drop portion is a double ply construction at least the inner facing material of the tear drop portion is a breathable wicking material.
In another embodiment of the invention both the first ply and second ply of the double ply material may be made of the same material. The material may be a mesh material.
The features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention in which like elements are labeled similarly and in which:
Aspects and embodiments of the present invention will now be discussed with reference to the accompanying drawings. Further aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Reference is now made to
Undergarment short 10 includes a body 12 extending from an opening formed by elastic waist band 14 to a left leg opening 16 L, for receiving a left leg of the user therethrough and to a right leg opening 16R for receiving a right leg of the use therethrough. Body 12 includes a rear panel 22 extending from waistband 14 to leg openings 16 L, 16R. Body 12 includes a front panel 18 extending from elastic waist band 14, along and between each of leg openings 16L, 16R to rear panel 22. Front panel 18 includes a teardrop shaped section 20a, as also seen in profile in (
Tear drop shaped section 20a, as seen in
As seen from the figures, the preferred embodiment is a boxer brief, but the teardrop innovation would also work in a non-boxer embodiment where right leg opening 16R and left leg opening 16L did not extend beyond front panel 18. Additionally, while front panel 18 may be formed from a single ply of molded material, as seen in
To create the pouch of front panel 18 a rectangular piece of the breathable material with a stretch composition is cut and is placed on a molding machine. A tear drop shaped mold is placed in the molding machine. The metal teardrop is heated to a predetermined temperature and lowered on the fabric. This activates the shape of the teardrop onto the material and allows for it to not reduce in shape when later washed. This is done to each of the separate plies of the fabric material. The two pieces are cut down to a “U” pattern as best seen in
By utilizing a tear drop shape, front panel 18 is able to receive and support a wide range of different sized individuals, providing room for the genitals to be comfortably kept in place and away from the legs, increasing comfort, preventing sticking and the associated sweating no matter the size of the genitalia. A cradle is formed merely by the force of the genitalia coming into contact with teardrop portion 20a; the shape that avoids a bunching effect. Because panel 18 forms the entire scrotum receiving structure, the size of the user genitalia shapes the front panel teardrop automatically forming front panel 18 to accommodate the wearer; self-adjusting. Additionally, by using the molded construction, the amount of material required is reduced and the construction is simplified. Additionally by removing the prior art structure, enabled by the described patentable approach, the brief lets the scrotum be held in a natural orientation, without a lift, by creating a place for the scrotum to rest comfortably regardless of size.
The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. The description is intended to enable the skilled person to make the invention, not to limit the scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is determined by the claims.
The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or in the following claims, or in the accompanying examples and figures, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for obtaining the disclosed results, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.
While the invention has been described in conjunction with the exemplary embodiments described above, many equivalent modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art when given this disclosure. For example the structure may be used in non-boxer brief structures capable of having a front panel as described above. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of the invention set forth above are considered to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
For the avoidance of any doubt, any theoretical explanations provided herein are provided for the purposes of improving the understanding of a reader. The inventors do not wish to be bound by any of these theoretical explanations.
Any section headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not to be construed as limiting the subject matter described.
Throughout this specification, including the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word “comprise” and “include”, and variations such as “comprises”, “comprising”, and “including” will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.
It must be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from “about” one particular value, and/or to “about” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by the use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. The term “about” in relation to a numerical value is optional and means for example +/−10%.
While this invention has been particularly shown and described to reference the preferred embodiments thereof, it would be understood by those skilled in the art that various derivatives and changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention, by the appended claims.
