MENS UNDERGARMENT SHORT WITH MOLDED POUCH

Abstract

A men's undergarment short includes an elastic waist band. A body extends from the waist band to a left leg opening for receiving a left leg of the user therethrough and a right leg opening for receiving the right leg of the user there through. The body includes a front panel. A portion of the front panel is molded as a tear drop for receiving the genitalia of a wearer therein. The tear drop portion is more flexible than a remaining area of the front panel.

Claims

1. A men's undergarment short comprising; an elastic waist band; and a body; the body extending from the waist band to a left leg opening for receiving a left leg of the user therethrough and a right leg opening for receiving the right leg of the user therethrough; the body includes a front panel; a portion of the front panel being molded as a tear drop for receiving the genitalia of a wearer therein; the tear drop portion being more flexible than a remaining area of the front panel.

2. The undergarment short of claim 1, wherein the front panel is formed of a two-ply construction.

3. The undergarment short of claim 2, wherein least an inner facing material of the two-ply construction is a breathable wicking material.

4. The undergarment short of claim 1, wherein the undergarment is a brief.

5. The undergarment short of claim 2, wherein the brief is a boxer brief.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention in which like elements are labeled similarly and in which:

[0010] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the men's undergarment constructed in accordance with the invention;

[0011] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the front panel constructed in accordance with the invention;

[0012] FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the men's undergarment constructed in accordance with the invention; and

[0013] FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the men's undergarment constructed in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Aspects and embodiments of the present invention will now be discussed with reference to the accompanying drawings. Further aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Reference is now made to FIGS. 1-4 in which an undergarment short, generally indicated as 10, and constructed in accordance with the invention is provided.

[0015] Undergarment short 10 includes a body 12 extending from an opening formed by elastic waist band 14 to a left leg opening 16 L, for receiving a left leg of the user therethrough and to a right leg opening 16R for receiving a right leg of the use therethrough. Body 12 includes a rear panel 22 extending from waistband 14 to leg openings 16 L, 16R. Body 12 includes a front panel 18 extending from elastic waist band 14, along and between each of leg openings 16L, 16R to rear panel 22. Front panel 18 includes a teardrop shaped section 20a, as also seen in profile in (FIG. 4), forms a pouch, extending in a direction away from the remaining portion 20b of front panel 18.

[0016] Tear drop shaped section 20a, as seen in FIG. 4, exhibits a curved structure, formed of extra material, and forms a pouch, for receiving the genitalia of the wearer away from the legs and maintains separation of the scrotum from the legs of the wearer during use. Section 20a, as a result of molding as described below, is formed of a material more flexible than remaining portion 20b, so as to be sufficient to change and then hold its form as pressure is applied to it as the undergarment is worn. Section 20a is malleable but will not fall in upon itself unless pressure is applied to it. In a preferred non limiting embodiment, the pouch formed by tear drop section 20a is formed of a soft to the touch, breathable mesh fabric, capable of stretching. The tear drop section 20a is sized and positioned to wrap around and under the scrotum as the scrotum is place against front panel 18 when put on.

[0017] As seen from the figures, the preferred embodiment is a boxer brief, but the teardrop innovation would also work in a non-boxer embodiment where right leg opening 16R and left leg opening 16L did not extend beyond front panel 18. Additionally, while front panel 18 may be formed from a single ply of molded material, as seen in FIG. 2, in a preferred non limiting embodiment at least portion 20a of front panel 18 is formed as a two-ply material 120a, 120b. In a preferred non limiting embodiment, at least one layer of the pouch formed by portion 20a is made of a breathable wicking material.

[0018] To create the pouch of front panel 18 a rectangular piece of the breathable material with a stretch composition is cut and is placed on a molding machine. A tear drop shaped mold is placed in the molding machine. The metal teardrop is heated to a predetermined temperature and lowered on the fabric. This activates the shape of the teardrop onto the material and allows for it to not reduce in shape when later washed. This is done to each of the separate plies of the fabric material. The two pieces are cut down to a U pattern as best seen in FIGS. 1 and 3 and are stitched onto the panels of the boxer forming the legs.

[0019] By utilizing a tear drop shape, front panel 18 is able to receive and support a wide range of different sized individuals, providing room for the genitals to be comfortably kept in place and away from the legs, increasing comfort, preventing sticking and the associated sweating no matter the size of the genitalia. A cradle is formed merely by the force of the genitalia coming into contact with teardrop portion 20a; the shape that avoids a bunching effect. Because panel 18 forms the entire scrotum receiving structure, the size of the user genitalia shapes the front panel teardrop automatically forming front panel 18 to accommodate the wearer; self-adjusting. Additionally, by using the molded construction, the amount of material required is reduced and the construction is simplified. Additionally by removing the prior art structure, enabled by the described patentable approach, the brief lets the scrotum be held in a natural orientation, without a lift, by creating a place for the scrotum to rest comfortably regardless of size.

[0020] The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. The description is intended to enable the skilled person to make the invention, not to limit the scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is determined by the claims.

[0021] The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or in the following claims, or in the accompanying examples and figures, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for obtaining the disclosed results, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

[0022] While the invention has been described in conjunction with the exemplary embodiments described above, many equivalent modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art when given this disclosure. For example the structure may be used in non-boxer brief structures capable of having a front panel as described above. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of the invention set forth above are considered to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0023] For the avoidance of any doubt, any theoretical explanations provided herein are provided for the purposes of improving the understanding of a reader. The inventors do not wish to be bound by any of these theoretical explanations.

[0024] Any section headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not to be construed as limiting the subject matter described.

[0025] Throughout this specification, including the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word comprise and include, and variations such as comprises, comprising, and including will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

[0026] It must be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms a, an, and the include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from about one particular value, and/or to about another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by the use of the antecedent about, it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. The term about in relation to a numerical value is optional and means for example +/10%.

[0027] While this invention has been particularly shown and described to reference the preferred embodiments thereof, it would be understood by those skilled in the art that various derivatives and changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention, by the appended claims.