Seat pad for a cyclist garment

Abstract

A seat pad (10) for a cycling garment designed for the male comprising a cover and two cushioning pads, each of said cushioning pads (12, 13) having a rear lobe (121, 131) and a front lobe (122, 132) and fixed to the cover by a perimeter attachment and also by an additional line of connection (124, 134) attaching the centre of the front lobe (122, 132) to the cover.

Claims

1. A seat pad for a cycling garment designed for the male anatomy wherein the seat pad comprises: a cover which provides a base layer of the seat pad; a left cushioning pad and a right cushioning pad; said cushioning pads are arranged symmetrically relative to a median longitudinal axis of the seat pad, and extend in a centre rear portion of the seat pad; each of said cushioning pads has a shape which includes a rear lobe located in a rear portion of the seat pad and a front lobe located in a central portion of the seat pad; each of said cushioning pads is fixed to the cover by a perimeter attachment made along the perimeter of the cushioning pad or a portion thereof and by an individual front lobe linear attachment which is located entirely in the front lobe of the cushioning pad, so that a first individual linear attachment connects the front lobe of the left cushioning pad to the cover, and a second individual linear attachment connects the front lobe of the right cushioning pad to the cover.

2. A seat pad according to claim 1, wherein the front lobe linear attachments are arranged to maintain a uniform thickness of an assembly including the cover and the cushioning pad.

3. A seat pad according to claim 1 wherein for each cushioning pad, said front lobe linear attachment is located in a centre of the front lobe of the cushioning pad.

4. A seat pad according to claim 1 wherein said front lobe linear attachment of each cushioning pad is a continuous and straight line of attachment.

5. A seat pad according to claim 1 wherein the front lobe linear attachments are inclined relative to the longitudinal axis and converge towards the front of the seat pad.

6. A seat pad according to claim 1, wherein the front lobe linear attachments are made by stitching.

7. A seat pad according to claim 6 wherein the cover includes one or more layers and each front lobe linear attachment is made by a stitching which is performed through the respective front lobe of the cushioning pad and through all layers of the one or more layers of the cover.

8. A seat pad according to claim 1 wherein the front lobe linear attachments are made by gluing or another technique.

9. A cycling garment (1) for a male user, including the seat pad according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 illustrates a cycling bib with a seat pad.

(2) FIG. 2 is a top view of the seat pad of the bib of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the invention.

(3) FIG. 3 is a schematic cross section of the seat pad of FIG. 2 in a vertical plane containing the axis.

(4) FIG. 4 is a schematic cross section of the seat pad in the region of the front lobes of the cushioning pads.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(5) FIG. 1 illustrates a cycling bib 1 including a seat pad 10 in the crotch area. The cycling bib 10 includes a pair of shorts 2 and suspenders 3. The shorts 2 are made of various fabric panels, connected together. The seat pad 10 is located in the crotch area of the shorts 2.

(6) The structure of the seat pad 10 is described with the help of FIG. 2. The seat pad 10 includes a cover 11 with a left cushioning pad 12 and a right cushioning pad 13. The cushioning pads 12, 13 are arranged symmetrically relative to a median longitudinal axis 14 of the seat pad 10.

(7) The seat pad 10 has a front region 101 and a rear region 102. The cushioning pads 12, 13 are located substantially in the centre-rear portion of the seat pad 10.

(8) Each of said cushioning pads 12, 13 includes a rear lobe 121, 131 located in the rear portion of the seat pad 10 and a front lobe 122, 132 located in the central portion of the seat pad 10. The rear lobes 121, 131 have a rounded shape whilst the front lobes 122, 132 have a slim, elongated shape.

(9) Each cushioning pad 12, 13 is fixed to the cover 11 by a perimeter stitching which follows the contour of the pad. Therefore a stitching line 123 or 133 forms a contour attachment of the cushioning pad 12 or 13 to the cover 11. In addition, each cushioning pad 12, 13 is also attached to the cover 11 by means of a stitching 124, 134 located in the front lobe. The stitching 124 or 134 constitutes a front lobe attachment of the cushioning pad 12 or 13, in addition to the perimeter attachment described above.

(10) The FIG. 2 illustrates a preferred embodiment wherein the front lobe stitching line 124, 134 is located in the centre or about in the centre of the front lobe 122, 132. Each front lobe stitching line is a continuous and straight line which is inclined relative to the longitudinal axis 14. As a result of this, the stitching lines 124, 134 converge towards the front region 101 of the seat pad 10. In the shown embodiment, also the front lobes 122 and 132 converge in a similar manner towards the front of the seat pad 10. An angle of inclination of the stitching lines 124, 134 relative to said axis 14 is preferably 30° or around 30°.

(11) The cover 11 may comprises a single layer or two or more superimposed layers.

(12) FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary cross section of the seat pad 10 showing the multilayer structure of the cover 11. The cover 11 includes an inner layer 21, a centre layer 22, and an outer layer 23. The inner layer 21, in use, faces the body of the user and forms the inner surface 24. One or more of the layers 21, 22 and 23 may be perforated.

(13) A cover 11 with multiple layers may have a single-layer portion for accommodation of the male genitals. FIG. 1 illustrates this embodiment where the seat pad 10 includes a single-layer front window 15.

(14) The cover 11 is fixed to the inner side of the trousers 2 with a known technique. The cover 11 may be fixed perimetrally and with a further stitching line 16 between the rear lobes of the cushioning pads 12, 13, as shown in FIG. 2.

(15) Back to FIG. 3, the inner layer 21 is made for example of a fabric suitable for direct contact with the skin (so called inner layer); the centre layer 22 can be made of an open cell foam material to provide also the cover itself with a certain cushioning feature; the outer layer 23 is another fabric layer. A suitable fabric for the layers is for example Elastane fibre.

(16) FIG. 4 is a cross section showing the stitching line 124 including a first thread 124a and a second thread 124b which form interconnected loops 124c.

(17) FIG. 4 illustrates that the stitching 124 is performed through all the layers 21, 22 and 23 of the cover 11 and the cushioning pad 12. It can be appreciated that in the stitched region 125 around the stitching 124, the width of the assembly including the cover 11 and the cushioning pad 12 is adjusted by the tightening action of the threads 124a, 124b of the stitching 124.

(18) The cushioning pad 12 is anchored to the cover 11 in a more stable manner without affecting the overall elasticity in the longitudinal direction of the axis 14. The stitching 124 does not intersect with panels of the garment 1, particularly of the trousers 2 (FIG. 1).

(19) The stitching 134 of the other cushioning pad 13 can be made similar to FIG. 4.

(20) The invention achieves the above mentioned purpose of delivering enhanced riding comfort and increased performance to male users.