My invention relates to undergarments.
The inside of mens' underwear will often have fecal stains (popularly referred to as “skid marks”) that can cause embarrassment to the wearer. Because of this problem, dark-colored underwear (e.g. black or navy blue) are popular among men. These darker colors can help to conceal these fecal stains. But relying only on dark-colored underwear limits the color choices for underwear. There is a need to solve the problem of visible fecal stains on mens' underwear while having a wider variety of color choices for underwear, including white and other lighter-colored underwear.
In one embodiment, my invention is a male (men or boys) undergarment. Examples of male undergarments include briefs, boxers, long johns, and any other garment worn by men or boys as the first layer of clothing over his pelvis. Additionally, my invention can also be applied in women's or girls' undergarments. The undergarment comprises an anterior section and a posterior section. The anterior section comprises a first light-colored fabric. The posterior section comprises a second light-colored fabric. The colors for the first and second light-colored fabrics may be the same or different. The anterior and posterior sections may be parts of a single piece of fabric or parts defined on multiple (two or more) pieces of fabric. The anterior and posterior sections as defined herein do not necessarily correspond with the fabric pieces that are joined together to make the undergarment. The anterior section may be made of one fabric piece, two or more fabric pieces, or be included as part of a fabric piece used to make a different part of the underwear; likewise for the posterior section.
The undergarment further comprises a dark-colored strip on the inside surface of the undergarment. The dark-colored strip is positioned over a sagittal midline of the undergarment and encompasses at least a portion of the posterior section. The dark-colored strip may extend all the way across the posterior section along the midline or only partially. In some cases, the dark-colored strip also encompasses at least a portion of the anterior section as well. This dark-colored strip can help conceal fecal stains that develop on the inside of the undergarment.
The terms “light-colored” and “dark-colored” are not intended to indicate specific colors or specific amount of lightness/darkness, but rather the relative lightness/darkness of the colors in comparison to each other. The “dark-colored” color is darker than the “light-colored” color. Being “light-colored” does not necessarily mean completely white; and likewise, being “dark-colored” does not necessarily mean completely black. Generally, my invention is more effective at concealing fecal stains when the dark-color is substantially darker than the light-color.
The lightness of the color can be defined according to the HSL color scale (hue, saturation, and lightness). In some embodiments, the light-color is a color with a lightness value (L) of at least 75 (on a 0-100 scale); and in some cases, at least 85. In some embodiments, the dark-color is a color with a lightness value (L) of less than 75; and in some cases, less than 60. In some embodiments, the difference between the lightness value of the dark-color and the light-color is at least 15; and in some cases, at least 25. Any suitable hue (H) or saturation (S) may be used in combination with the lightness values.
In some embodiments, the dark-colored strip comprises a moisture-wicking material such as polyester, nylon, or other various micro fiber blends treated with Max-Dri™, Coolmax° or other quick dry treatments. In some embodiments, the dark-colored strip comprises an antimicrobial agent such as Microban®, Ultra-Fresh, or Trevira®. In some embodiments, the dark-colored strip comprises an odor reducing agent, which can be treated with technologies such as Agiene® Micro Silver Crystal, CLEANCOOL®, or PureTex™.
In another embodiment, my invention is a method of constructing a male undergarment. The method comprises attaching a dark-colored strip onto an inside surface of a base undergarment that comprises a light-colored fabric. The base undergarment comprises an anterior section and a posterior section. The dark-colored strip is attached at a position that is over a sagittal midline of the undergarment and encompassing at least a portion of the posterior section.
In another embodiment, my invention is a method of wearing an undergarment of my invention. The user wears the undergarment on a person's pelvis with the anterior section covering the front of said person's pelvis and the posterior section covering the back of said person's pelvis.
To assist in understanding of my invention, particular embodiments will now be described in detail with references to the figures.
Because the underwear is designed to be worn by a person, the sections of the underwear can be defined according to anatomical planes. To assist in understanding the positioning of the dark-colored strip 20,
As seen in
The user wears the undergarment of my invention with the anterior section covering the front of his pelvis and the posterior section covering the back of his pelvis. The dark background provided by the dark-colored strip helps to conceal fecal stains on the underwear.