Patent Application
20210337882
This invention relates generally to male garments, and men's and boy's undergarments in particular and methods of manufacture.
Conventional men's undergarments, such a men's briefs, can be uncomfortable for the wearer and exhibit low breathability. An improved male undergarment would be desirable.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a seamless male undergarment including an integral fabric pouch for male genitalia.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a seamless male garment including a front panel and a rear panel joined together forming a the crotch area and legs, and an integrally molded pouch formed in the front panel to enclose male genitals, wherein the breathability of the pouch is greater than the rest of the front panel and the back panel. The garment may be a male undergarment such as male underwear.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method of forming a pouch in male garment made from a synthetic composite fabric, the method including providing a die comprising a cup-shaped male component and a corresponding cup-shaped female component, stretching a front panel of the male garment over the male component to increase the diameter of the holes in the composite fabric and then pressing the stretched front panel with the female component with heat being applied to the front panel. The garment may be a male undergarment such as male underwear.
Various embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which:
Referring to the figures, an undergarment according an embodiment of the present invention are fabricated from a front panel 2 and the rear panel 4 of material. The ends of the front and rear panels are overlapped at the sides and the overlapped region is fused using an adhesive to form suture-less joins. The joins stretch vertically to move with the body unlike seams made with sutures.
The front 2 and rear 4 panels are joined together in the crotch area in indicated generally at 6. The legs 8 and 10 of the undergarment have a hem formed of a band of fabric upturned on the inside of the legs and sealed with an adhesive. The waist includes an elasticized waist band 12. The upper ends of the front and rear panels are folded over the waist band and heat sealed to enclose the waist band. This provides a seamless waist band which mitigates irritation caused by waist band chaffing against the wearer's skin. It also helps to mitigate wear and breakage of the waist band.
The undergarment includes an integrally molded pouch 14 in the front panel to enclose male genitals and to provide comfort to the wearer. The absence of seams between the pouch and the front panel prevents chaffing caused by sutured seams. The breathability of the fabric forming the pouch is greater than that of the rest of the front panel and the back panel. In one embodiment, the fabric is a synthetic composite fabric of approximately 86% Creora® Polyamide and approximately 14% Spandex® or Lyrca®. In one embodiment, the fabric includes elongated nano fibres where the fibres that make up each thread are longer than in conventional materials which allows for greater strength and stretch recovery. In another embodiment, the fabric is made using a conventional polyamide weave that is transformed to a statin weaved and thinned out. The present inventor refers to the satin weave material as Stealthweave™. In another embodiment, the synthetic fabric has a thickness in the range of 0.0045-0.0048 mm. In certain embodiments, the composite fabric forming the pouch has a fabric matrix with approximately 0.25 mm diameter holes, 0.05 mm diameter holes, or in the range of 0.025 mm-0.05 mm diameter holes, in between warp and filament yarn, whereas the rest of the front panel, as well as the rear panel, has a fabric matrix with approximately 0.01 mm diameter holes, 0.1 mm diameter holes, or in the range of 0.01mm to 0.1 mm diameter holes in between warp and filament yarn. The holes serve as aeration holes. A spacing of 0.01 mm for the panels and 0.025 mm for the pouch is suited for sports activities underwear, while a spacing of 0.05 mm in the pouch is suited for recovery underwear. The higher spacing provides greater breathability, airflow, and humidity and heat dissipation from the groin to cool the male genitals to an optimal temperature range, while at the same time providing adequate support for the wearer's genitals. This promotes sperm health.
Prior to assembly, the fabric is heat pressed on steel rollers to improve the softness of the fabric and to reduce the coefficient of friction which reduces chaffing against the wearer's skill.
The pouch is formed in the front panel prior to assembly using a die molding method. The mold is made of brass and includes cup-shaped male and female components in a die press. To mold the pouch, the front panel is stretch over the male component which increases the diameter of the holes, and then pressed with the female component with heat being applied. The pouch is then cooled fixing the size of the aeration holes. The size of the aeration holes can be controlled by the degree of stretching applied to the fabric when stretched over the male component.
In another embodiment, the elastic waistband 12 is omitted and replaced by a polypropylene elastomer. The elastomer is applied in liquid form to the fabric at the waist using double sided tape to the waist of the underwear and allowed to harden on the fabric and the tape is peeled off. In one embodiment, the elastomer forms a waistband ribbon 1.5 cm wide and 0.3 mm thick on the of the waist of the underwear. Such an elastomer waistband is more durable than conventional elastic waistbands. In one embodiment, the elastomer waist is 50% thinner than a conventional elastic waist band and the breakage and warping associated with conventional elastic waist bands is avoided.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63018175 | Apr 2020 | US |
