HYGENIC UNDERGARMENT WITH REMOVABLE, REUSABLE, CROTCH PORTION

Abstract

A hygienic undergarment including a removeable crotch portion. The removeable crotch portion may include a pocket configured to receive an absorbent pad or other absorbable material.

Claims

1. An undergarment having a removable crotch portion formed from one or more fabric materials, comprising: a front panel having a width extending from a first side to a second side, and also having an upper edge and a lower edge, and also having fastening means disposed at the lower edge; a rear panel having a second width extending from a first side to a second side, and also having an upper edge and a lower edge, the first and second sides of the front and rear panels joined at their respective upper edges to define a waist opening and a portion of a right leg opening and a portion of a left leg opening, the rear panel also having a lower edge with fastening means disposed on the lower edge; a removeable crotch portion having an upper end and a lower end, the upper and lower ends including fastening means disposed thereon to engage the fastening means disposed on the lower edges of the front and rear panels such that, when fastened to the front rear panels, the removeable crotch portion defines a remaining portion of the right leg opening and a remaining portion of the left leg opening, the removable crotch portion having a pocket defined by an inner layer of fabric and an outer layer of fabric; and an opening in a surface of the removeable crotch portion, the opening in communication with the pocket.

2. The undergarment of claim 1, wherein the pocket is held in a closed position when the removeable crotch portion is removably attached to the front and rear panels by tension applied to the removeable crotch portion when the undergarment is worn by a user.

3. The undergarment of claim 1, wherein the fastening means includes a male snap portion and a female snap portion.

4. The undergarment of claim 1, wherein the fastening means includes a hook portion and a loop portion.

5. The undergarment of claim 1, wherein the pocket is defined by three closed sides and one open side.

6. The undergarment of claim 5, wherein an absorbent material may be inserted into the pocket through the open side of the pocket.

7. The undergarment of claim 1, wherein the opening is disposed on an inner surface of the inner layer, and an absorbent material may be inserted into the pocket through the opening.

8. The undergarment of claim 5, further comprising second fastening means mounted on an edge adjacent the one open side of the pocket.

9. The undergarment of claim 8, wherein the fastening means includes male and female snap portions.

10. The undergarment of claim 8, wherein the fastening means includes a hook portion and a loop portion.

11. The undergarment of claim 1, further comprising a decorative portion disposed on the waist opening defined by the upper edges of the front and rear panels.

12. The undergarment of claim 1, further comprising a first elastic portion and a second elastic portion, the first elastic portion disposed at an edge of the right leg opening and at an edge of the left leg opening.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The following detailed description and examples are provided for the purpose of non-exhaustively describing some, but not necessarily all, examples or embodiments of the disclosed hygienic undergarment with a removable, reusable crotch portion, and shall not limit the scope of the disclosed hygienic undergarment in any way.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an exemplary undergarment in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the undergarment of FIG. 1.

[0022] FIG. 3 is front perspective view of the undergarment of FIG. 1 where a portion of the undergarment has been removed.

[0023] FIG. 4 is bottom view of the removed portion of the undergarment of FIG. 1.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a top view of the removed portion of FIG. 4.

[0025] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the removed portion of the undergarment of FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0026] FIG. 7 is a cross-section view of one example of an end of the removable portion of FIGS. 4 and 5 showing snaps which can be used to fasten the removable portion to the remaining portion of the undergarment of FIG. 1. Also shown in an optional layer of material that can be added to hide the a visible portion of the snap from view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0027] The following detailed description and the accompanying drawings to which it refers are intended to describe some, but not necessarily all, examples or embodiments of the disclosed hygienic undergarment with a removable, reusable crotch portion. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The contents of this detailed description and the accompanying drawings do not limit the scope of the disclosed hygienic undergarment with removable, reusable crotch portion, in any way.

[0028] Referring to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate like or similar parts, FIG. 1 illustrates one exemplary embodiment of a hygienic undergarment 10 in accordance with this disclosure. Hygienic garment 10 includes a front panel 20 and a rear panel 40 (FIG. 2). Front panel 20 and rear panel 40 are connected to each other by a crotch portion 25. When the front and rear panel is assembled with the crotch portion, the assembly includes a waist encircling opening 17, and leg openings 47, 48.

[0029] Crotch portion 25 has a first end and second end, the first and second end having fastening means 30 used to fasten the first end of crotch portion 25 to the front panel 20. Similarly, fastening means 35 are used to fasten the second end of the crotch portion 25 to the rear portion 40 of the hygienic undergarment.

[0030] Also shown in capital FIGS. 1 and 2 is an optional decorative lace banding 15 that surrounds the waist opening 17 of the undergarment. FIGS. 1 and 2 also show elastic banding 45 that may be added to the hygienic undergarment surround each of leg openings 47, 48. In some embodiments, the decorative lace banding may also include an elastic component to facilitate proper fit of the undergarment at the waist of a user. Similarly, the elastic banding surrounding the leg holes assists in maintaining a proper fit of the undergarment to ensure that any leakage from a user is contained within the interior of the undergarment.

[0031] FIG. 3 is front perspective view of an embodiment of the invention wherein the crotch portion 25 has been removed from the undergarment. This view also shows an exemplary location of the fastening means 30 on the front panel and fastening means 35 on the rear panel. Fastening means 30, 35 are shown in FIGS. 1-3 as being snaps. Those skilled in the art will understand that the illustrated snaps have both male and female portions. Thus, there are various combinations of the male and female portions mounted on the front and rear panels and the crotch portion.

[0032] In one example, the front panel may include female snap portions mounted on an outer surface of the front panel. In this configuration, male snap portions corresponding to the female snap portions mounted on the top surface of the front panel are mounted on an inner surface of a top end of the crotch panel. When the crotch portion is removably mounted to the front panel, the described male snap portions are engaged with the female snap portions with finger pressure so that the top end of the crotch panel is held in place upon the front panel.

[0033] Similarly, female snap portions of fastening means 35 may be mounted on an outer surface of the rear panel 40 and situated to engage male snap portions mounted on an outer surface of a bottom end of the crotch portion (See also FIG. 7). In another embodiment, where proper orientation of the crotch portion 25 in relation to the front panel 20 and rear panel 40 is important, the female snap portions may be mounted on the outer surface of the top end of the front panel so that they can be engaged with the male snap portions mounted on the inner surface of the top end of the crotch portion, as described above. In this example, however, the arrangement of male and female snap portions may be reversed at the bottom end of the crotch portion, that is, the male snap portion is mounted on the outer surface of the rear panel, and the female snap portions are mounted on the inner surface of the bottom end of the crotch panel. An advantage of this arrangement is that crotch portion will always be attached to the front and rear panels in a desired orientation.

[0034] While fastening means comprising male and female portions have been described, other types of fasteners can be utilized without departing from the scope of the intended invention. For example, instead of using male and female snap portions, fastening means such as Velcro brand fasteners (Velcro Company BVBA) may be used. Other suitable fasteners includes two sided tape, zippers, and the like.

[0035] Referring now to FIG. 4, a rear view of crotch portion 25 is shown having an outer surface 50. Fastening means 30, 35 are also shown.

[0036] FIG. 5 is a frontal view of the crotch portion showing front surface 55. In this exemplary embodiment, the crotch portion is formed of at least two layers of material. The two layers are joined at a left side 90 of the crotch portion, and at the top end 92 and bottom end 94, such as, for example, by sewing or other hemming process, to form a pocket that is accessible from an opening 60 allowing access to the pocket. In use, a wearer of the undergarment may insert an absorbable pad or material into the pocket through opening 60. In one embodiment, tension is applied along a length of the crotch portion 25 when the crotch portion is appropriately attached to the front and rear panels of the undergarment, which tensions the opening in a closed position. In other embodiments, a fastening means such as snaps or Velcro may be mounted to the open edges of the opening to allow the opening to be maintained in the closed position when the fastening means are engaged.

[0037] While FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment wherein the pocket has an opening disposed on a side of the crotch portion, the opening may be disposed in various locations in an inner surface of the front layer of material, ie, the surface facing the skin of the user when the undergarment is worn by the user. In such a case, the opening may take the form of a slot or slit, or be circular or non-circular in shape.

[0038] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the crotch portion 25 showing the arrangement of rear layer 55 and front layer 50 and the pocket 60 defined thereby in one embodiment.

[0039] FIG. 7 is a cross-section of one end of an end of the crotch portion shown being engaged with rear panel 40. In this example, male snap portions 85 are mounted on an outer surface of the end of the rear panel 40, and female snap portions 95 are mounted on the rear xsurface of the end of the crotch portion 25. As is known in the art, the female snap portion will have an outer portion that is visible on the front surface of the crotch portion. As shown in this example, an additional layer of material 100 may be added to the crotch panel to cover the visible portion of the female snap portion. This arrangement is advantageous because hiding the visible part of the female snap portion may be more aesthetically pleasing. Similarly, the visible portion of the snap at the other end of the crotch portion may also hidden in the manner described above.

[0040] Although the disclosed hygienic undergarment has been described hereabove with reference to certain examples or embodiments, various additions, deletions, alterations and modifications may be made to those described examples and embodiments without departing from the intended spirit and scope of the disclosed hygienic undergarment. For example, any elements, steps, members, components, compositions, reactants, parts or portions of one embodiment or example may be incorporated into or used with another embodiment or example, unless otherwise specified or unless doing so would render that embodiment or example unsuitable for its intended use. Also, where the steps of a method or process have been described or listed in a particular order, the order of such steps may be changed unless otherwise specified or unless doing so would render the method or process unsuitable for its intended purpose. Additionally, the elements, steps, members, components, compositions, reactants, parts or portions of any embodiment or example described herein may optionally exist or be utilized in the absence or substantial absence of any other element, step, member, component, composition, reactant, part or portion unless otherwise noted. All reasonable additions, deletions, modifications and alterations are to be considered equivalents of the described examples and embodiments and are to be included within the scope of the following claims. The disclosure is limited only by the scope of the appended claims.