This invention relates to sport undergarments, and more particularly to an undergarment that may be worn to provide male anatomical support during various physical activities.
Athletes will often wear sporting apparel that is specialized to the activities in which they are engaged. Particularly, as many sports carry risk of impact injury to an athlete's groin, it has long been advised that athletes wear an athletic cup to protect their genitals against injury during such activities. Unfortunately, prior constructions that have sought to incorporate systems for holding an athletic cup, and for otherwise supporting the wearer's genitalia, have lacked comfort and have not been widely accepted. For instance, a survey of student athletes conducted by the Society for Pediatric Urology indicated that across all sports, 87.5% of those surveyed reported not wearing athletic cups during practices or games, evidencing that despite the need to protect against injury, athletes are typically not inclined to take adequate protection.
An often-cited reason for not wearing a protective athletic cup is the discomfort that an athlete often feels when wearing such equipment. Particularly, movement and shifting of the athletic cup during athletic movements tends to shift the orientation of the cup with respect to the wearer's genitalia, making it uncomfortable at best, and creating a crushing point-impact injury at worst.
In light of the shortcomings of such prior configurations, there remains a need in the art for an undergarment that is comfortable to wear and that provides sufficient support to the male wearer's genitalia during athletic movements, and that particularly can maintain an athletic cup in its intended position throughout even aggressive athletic movements.
Disclosed is an undergarment having a support system configured to comfortably support a male wearer's genitalia while ensuring constant alignment of an athletic cup held in an exterior pocket of the undergarment, even through aggressive athletic movements. In certain configurations, an athletic cup pocket may be provided at the front of the undergarment having an open bottom that allows the bottom of the athletic cup to extend through such pocket. Inside of the undergarment, an internal pocket is formed by a generally H-shaped insert that holds the male wearer's genitalia in a forward position and keeps the wearer's genitalia aligned with the internal portion of the athletic cup positioned at the front of the undergarment. Additionally, the H-shaped insert positions the male wearer's genitalia away from their legs, providing increased support and comfort for the wearer. More particularly, the internal compartment creates a fabric barrier between the top, inside portion of each leg and the central groin, decreasing the risk of chaffing. A cross-wall defining the back of the internal pocket not only holds the wearer's genitalia to prevent it from dropping backward or downward, but also presses against the wearer's perineum at its top edge to further aid in creation of a barrier that even further reduces the risk of chaffing. The side panels of the H-shaped insert are so positioned with respect to the wearer's anatomy so as to pull the back portion of the undergarment forward against the wearer's buttocks, and the bottom portion of the undergarment upward against the bottom of the wearer's torso (and particularly against the wearer's perineum), when worn. Moreover, placement of an athletic cup in the front of the undergarment, in combination with the position of the H-shaped insert, further this effect of pulling the interior of the undergarment against the wearer's body while both preventing chaffing of the wearer's upper thighs and holding the wearer's genitalia in a forward position.
In accordance with certain aspects of an embodiment of the invention, an undergarment is provided having a compression shorts exterior; an H-shaped insert attached to an interior of the compression shorts, the H-shaped insert further comprising a first side panel having a bottom edge affixed to an interior of the shorts, and a top edge opposite the bottom edge of the first side panel;
a second side panel having a bottom edge affixed to the interior of the shorts, and a top edge opposite the bottom edge of the second side panel, the second side panel extending parallel to the first side panel; and a central panel attached to and extending perpendicular to each of the side panels; wherein a front edge of each of the side panels is attached to an interior front side of the compression shorts, and a second edge of each of the side panels opposite the front edges is attached to an interior of the compression shorts at a location such that, when worn, the second edge aligns with a location on a wearer's body that is rearwardly adjacent to the wearer's femur bone socket.
In accordance with further aspects of an embodiment of the invention, an undergarment is provided comprising a compression shorts exterior, the compression shorts exterior further comprising a central shorts panel having a head region having a front top edge and two head region side edges, each head region side edge convexly curving inwardly to a mid-region point, and a tail region having a rear top edge and two tail region side edges, each tail region side edge concavely curving inwardly from the rear top edge to the mid-region point; and two leg panels, each of the leg panels having a leg panel top edge, a leg panel bottom edge, a lower cylindrical portion extending upward from the leg panel bottom edge, and a curved upper seam extending upward from the lower cylindrical portion, the curved upper seam having an upper seam front portion affixed to one of the head region side edges of the shorts central panel, and an upper seam back portion affixed to one of the tail region side edges of the shorts central panel; a curved side panel attached to the intersection of each leg panel curved upper seam with the shorts central panel, each curved side panel extending along the front upper seam of the leg panel and only a portion of the back upper seam of the leg panel so as to terminate at a position adjacent a wearer's perineum when worn; and a central genitalia support panel extending between and affixed to each curved side panel and extending over the central shorts panel at the mid-region point.
The numerous advantages of the present invention may be better understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
The invention summarized above may be better understood by referring to the following description, claims, and accompanying drawings. This description of an embodiment, set out below to enable one to practice an implementation of the invention, is not intended to limit the preferred embodiment, but to serve as a particular example thereof. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the conception and specific embodiments disclosed as a basis for modifying or designing other methods and systems for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent assemblies do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form.
Disclosed is an athletic undergarment configured to provide comfortable support to a male wearer during athletic activities. In certain configurations, such undergarment is configured to ensure that the wearer's genitalia are protected from impact during such activities. More particularly, the undergarment described herein includes an internal structure that creates a compartment to support male genitalia, and to optionally position the male genitalia with respect to an athletic cup held in an exterior pocket so as to at all times keep the wearer's genitalia within the perimeter of the athletic cup, even during aggressive athletic movements.
As shown in the top-down view of
Additionally, a jock strap assembly (shown generally at 200) may be provided, the jock strap assembly being configured to hold an athletic cup of traditional configuration. Jock strap 200 includes a front, external pocket 202 on an exterior, front side of compression shorts 100, which in certain configurations is sewn to the front of compression shorts 100 along a seam 204 at the top edge 206 of pocket 202. In this configuration, the sides of pocket 202 are not sewn to the front of compression shorts 100 so that an athletic cup may be inserted into pocket 202, and so as to have the cup-holding pocket 202 attached to the shorts only along seam 204. Jock strap 200 narrows from top edge 206 towards its back edge 208, and forms a generally triangularly-shaped pocket 209 at its base configured to receive the narrow, bottom end of a traditional athletic cup (not shown). A connecting member is provided, which may include straps 210a and 210b extending outward from the back edge 208 of jock strap 200, and passing through an opening 106 in the bottom, back center of compression shorts 100. Further, the free ends of each of straps 210a and 210b are sewn to the back ends of first side 110a and second side 110b of the H-shaped insert, respectively, where those first and second sides 110a and 110b are attached to the interior of compression shorts 100. Thus, while external pocket 202 configured as shown in
Moreover, anchoring the top, front edge of the jock strap 200 to the front, exterior of compression shorts 100, and anchoring the rear portion of straps 210a and 210b of jock strap 200 to the back, interior of compression shorts 100, aids in pulling the bottom of the cup upwards so that it sits tighter against the wearer's body than it would in typical jock strap configurations. More particularly, the configuration of the instant invention creates and takes advantage of open space behind the wearer's genitals, with straps 210a and 210b extending through such open space, providing a more upwardly and rearwardly directed pull on back edge 208 of external pocket 202. Further, as straps 210a and 210b pull the back edge 208 of external pocket 202 inward towards the wearer's groin, the back edge 208 of external pocket 202 (and thus the bottom-most portion of an athletic cup positioned within external pocket 202) extends rearward of central panel 112 as it is pulled toward the wearer's groin. In this position, the athletic cup held in external pocket 202 overlaps internal pocket 120, such that the male wearer's genitalia is automatically positioned within the athletic cup. Further, the pulling force exerted on the back edge 208 of external pocket 202 by straps 210a and 210b when the shorts are worn ensures that the athletic cup is continuously pulled against the wearer's groin to ensure that the wearer's genitalia is both comfortably contained in internal pocket 120 and protected by the athletic cup positioned in external pocket 202, and remains within the perimeter of an athletic cup positioned in external pocket 202 even during athletic exercises and movements.
While not shown in the Figures, a single fabric member may be provided in the general form of a triangle, joining back edge 208 of external pocket 202 to the back, interior of compression shorts 100, instead of separate straps 210a and 210b, with the triangular fabric member being sewn across the back, interior of compression shorts 100. In this optional configuration, straps 210a and 210b become the outline of the triangular fabric member, with the seam for such member running from the location of one strap to the other strap.
It is not necessary that pocket 202 be formed with open sides and a closed top, or that straps 210a and 210b attach such pocket 202 to compression shorts 100. Rather, in certain configurations, pocket 202 may be provided on the interior or exterior of compression shorts 100 with sewn sides and an open top to receive an athletic cup, and straps 210a and 210b eliminated from the undergarment. In this configuration, the specific placement of side panels 110a and 110b, and particularly the points at which side panels 110a and 100b attach to the interior of compression shorts 100, will pull the back section of the compression shorts 100 forward against the wearer's buttocks and the bottom section of the compression shorts 100 upward against the wearer's perineum, such that the top portions of side panels 110a and 110b sit flush against the bottom of the wearer's torso, and the top of central panel 112 sits flush against the bottom of the wearer's torso and behind their genitalia, thus protecting the wearer's upper thighs against chaffing and holding the wearer's genitalia in a forward position. Moreover, placing an athletic cup into pocket 202 in this configuration further tightens the compression shorts 100 against the wearer's body, even further improving the protection against chaffing and holding the wearer's genitalia in a forward position and fully in alignment with the interior portion of such athletic cup.
As mentioned above, compression shorts 100 need not be formed with straps 110a and 110b, and may instead be provided with an athletic cup compartment sewn at both sides to either the interior or exterior of the front portion of compression shorts 100, forming pocket 120 with an open top for receiving an athletic cup. In such configuration, pocket 120 is preferably open at the bottom so that the bottom portion of an athletic cup may extend through the bottom of pocket 120 so that it is positioned, when worn, behind central panel 112.
In order to maximize the benefits of protecting against chaffing of the wearer's upper thighs and groin, and positioning the wearer's genitalia in a forward position throughout athletic movements, proper placement of side panels 110a and 110b and central panel 112 (and of their attachment to the interior of compression shorts 100) is an important aspect.
Such positioning of both the central panel 112 and side panels 110a and 110b of H-shaped insert 108 causes the back end of each of side panels 110a and 110b to be positioned just rearward of the wearer's femur bone socket in the pubic bone, with central panel 112 positioned just forward of the wearer's femur bone socket. More particularly, in such configuration, the back end of each of side panels 110a and 110b is positioned adjacent the portion of the wearer's pubis to which the adductor magnus muscle attaches, with central panel 112 being positioned forward of both the adductor magnus muscle and the femur bone socket, and aligned with the region of the wearer's pubis to which the wearer's gracilis muscle attaches. Moreover, each side panel 110a and 110b extends forward from such rear attachment point, so that the top edge of at least a portion of each side panel 110a and 110b maintains contact with the wearer's skin that covers the intersection of the wearer's gracilis muscle, adductor magnus muscle, and ischiocavernous muscle with the inferior ramus of the pubis. Likewise, the upper edge of central panel 112 is positioned to maintain contact with a region of bottom of the torso of the wearer's body that is both forward of the femur bone socket and that is in-line with the region in which the wearer's gracilis muscle attaches to the wearer's pubis. Such alignment between the upper edge of central panel 112 and this region of the wearer's body is maintained throughout even aggressive athletic movements, including for example during squatting and returning to a standing position.
It has been found that such positioning of side panels 110a and 110b and of central panel 112 results in forwardly positioning the male wearer's genitalia forward of and in contact with (and supported from behind by) central panel 112, with side panels 110a and 110b sitting between the wearer's upper thighs at the intersection with the wearer's groin so as to maximize comfort in both standing and squatting positions while protecting against chaffing in all positions between the standing and squatting positions. Moreover, such positioning of side panels 110a and 110b has been found to pull the interior material of compression shorts 100 against the rear and bottom of the wearer's torso to maintain a tight fit and proper positioning of the side panels 110a and 110b and central panel 112 throughout such movements. It has been found that if the back end of side panels 110a and 110b are positioned too far rearward, the anchor point will perform poorly in both pulling the compression shorts 100 and H-shaped insert 108 tightly against the wearer's skin. Likewise, it has been found that if the back end of side panels 110a and 110b are positioned too far forward, the anchor point will perform poorly in ensuring constant and continuous contact of side panels 110a and 110b throughout their full length with the skin of the wearer's crotch, thus leaving that skin prone to chaffing. Furthermore, positioning central panel 112 too far forward will prevent central panel 112 from contacting the perineum as intended, and positioning central panel 112 too far rearward will result in improper positioning and support of the wearer's genitalia in a sufficiently forward position so as to provide comfortable support while avoiding chaffing of the wearer's perineum.
Still further, when provided with cup pocket 120, placement of an athletic cup in such cup pocket 120 results in side panels 110a and 110b pulling the athletic cup snug against the wearer's body, with the bottom of the athletic cup extending rearward of central panel 112 to ensure that the male wearer's genitalia at all times is aligned with the interior of the athletic cup.
In still other configurations of compression shorts 100, the undergarment may be provided without any pocket 120. In this configuration, in the event that the wearer wishes to use the undergarment when engaging in sports activities, the compression shorts may be worn with a jock strap and still provide the benefits of protection against chaffing of the wearer's upper thighs and forward positioning of the wearer's genitalia as discussed in detail above.
Having now fully set forth the preferred embodiments and certain modifications of the concept underlying the present invention, various other embodiments as well as certain variations and modifications of the embodiments herein shown and described will obviously occur to those skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with said underlying concept. It should be understood, therefore, that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically set forth herein.
This application is based upon co-pending and co-owned U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/088,969 entitled “Undergarment with Support Structure,” filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Dec. 8, 2014, the specification of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62088969 | Dec 2014 | US |