Underwear abstract
A man's garment, particularly a man's underwear garment, providing
a codpiece compartment secured to a front of a trunk panel of the
garment, the trunk panel providing an opening for communicating
a man's genitals therethrough into the codpiece compartment, the
compartment loosely holding the man's genitals, the trunk panel
providing separation and heat insulation to reduce the thermal influence
of the man's torso on the man's reproductive organs, to safeguard
the potency of the man's sperm. The undergarment provides an access
out of the codpiece compartment for removing the man's penis in
order to urinate. The invention provides for an easily assembled
undergarment with an attractive uncluttered appearance.
Underwear claims
We claim as our invention:
1. In a man's underwear shorts having a torso encircling waistband,
a pair of spaced apart leg-engaging fabric sleeves arranged below
said waistband, and a trunk encircling fabric panel connecting said
waistband and said leg-engaging fabric sleeves, said fabric panel
providing a genital egress opening on a front side, and a codpiece
pouch covering said opening, attached to said fabric panel on an
outward facing side of said fabric panel, the improvement comprising:
said codpiece pouch fashioned attached at a first end to said waistband
and extending downwardly, loosely spanning the height of said fabric
panel, and attached at a second end to said fabric panel at a seam
located at a backside of said fabric panel, said codpiece pouch
having a frontal fabric length substantially greater than the distance
between the waistband and the seam along said fabric panel, said
codpiece pouch thus forming an enclosed volume with said fabric
panel, a portion of said closed volume overlying a downward facing
surface of said fabric panel; and
said opening is fashioned as a slot extending from nearto said
waistband to a lowest point of said fabric panel between said leg-engaging
sleeves, said seam located rearwardly of said lowest point on said
fabric panel.
2. The improvement of claim 1 further comprising:
said codpiece pouch being secured along a first side to said fabric
panel and partially secured along a second side of said fabric panel,
said second side left partially unsecured to form a fly.
3. The improvement of claim 1 further comprising:
said codpiece pouch being fashioned with a front panel with flared
ends, having arcuate edges, the front panel thus forming a tapered
frontal area along the length of said front panel with a minimum
width located along said length of said front panel at a position
on the front side of said fabric panel; and
two side panels each having a straight edge and an outwardly curving
edge, each straight side abutting said fabric panel and each curved
side secured along one arcuate edge of said front panel.
4. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said opening comprises a
reinforced slot.
5. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said opening comprises an
elastically resilient opening.
6. The improvement of claim 3, wherein said straight edge of one
of said side panels is arranged partially unsecured to said fabric
panel providing a fly opening, and providing a reinforcing welt
along said straight edge along said fly opening.
7. The improvement of claim 3, wherein said fabric panel comprises:
a wrap-around panel secured to said waistband and to said leg engaging
sleeves and forming a back and sides of said shorts;
a trunk panel secured to said wrap around panel at two free side
ends of said wrap-around panel and secured to said waistband, and
secured to said wrap-around panel at a bottom end of said wrap-around
panel, at said seam, said trunk panel providing said opening overlain
by said codpiece pouch; and one of said flared ends of said front
panel is secured to said trunk panel at said waistband, and said
respective other flared end of said front panel is secured to said
trunk panel at said seam.
8. The improvement of claim 3, wherein said shorts are composed
of cotton.
9. The improvement of claim 3, wherein said shorts are composed
of a man made fiber fabric.
10. The improvement of claim 3, wherein said front panel further
comprises an inside panel means for increasing absorbing ability
of the codpiece panel means.
11. The improvement of claim 3, wherein said arcuate edges of said
front panel have a selected curvature to limit the front lateral
profile of said pouch between said leg-engaging fabric sleeves.
12. In a man's underwear shorts having a torso encircling waistband,
a pair of spaced apart leg-engaging fabric sleeves arranged below
said waistband, and a trunk encircling fabric panel connecting said
waistband and said leg-engaging fabric sleeves, said fabric panel
providing a genital egress opening on a front side, and a codpiece
pouch covering said opening, attached to said fabric panel on an
outward facing side of said fabric panel, the improvement comprising:
said codpiece pouch fashioned attached at a first end to a high
seam on said fabric panel and extending downwardly, and attached
at a second end to said fabric panel at a low seam, said codpiece
pouch having a frontal fabric length substantially greater than
the distance between the high seam and the low seam along said fabric
panel, for forming an enclosed volume with said fabric panel, said
enclosed volume sized to receive in a loose fitting manner a man's
genitals passed through said opening when said man wears said shorts;
and
said codpiece pouch being fashioned with a front panel with flared
ends, having arcuate edges, the front panel thus forming a tapered
frontal area along the length of said front panel with a minimum
width located along said length of said front panel at a position
on the front side of said fabric panel; and
two side panels each having a straight edge and an outwardly curving
edge, each straight side abutting said fabric panel and each curved
side secured along one arcuate edge of said front panel.
13. The improvement of claim 12, wherein said codpiece pouch comprises
an access fly on one side, exterior of said fabric panel and communicating
exterior of said codpiece pouch, for the wearer to selectively position
his penis therethrough.
14. The improvement of claim 12, wherein said fabric panel comprises:
a wrap-around panel forming a back and sides of said shorts;
a trunk panel secured to said wrap-around panel at two free side
ends of said wrap-around panel, and secured to said wrap-around
panel at a bottom end of said wrap-around panel at a backside of
said shorts at said seam, said trunk panel providing said opening
for communicating with said codpiece compartment;
and said waistband is secured to said wrap-around panel and to
said trunk panel;
said two leg engaging sleeves secured to said wrap-around panel
and to said trunk panel;
said codpiece pouch secured at a top end to said trunk panel near
a top of said trunk panel, and secured at a bottom end to said trunk
panel at said seam, said codpiece compartment secured on one straight
side to said trunk panel, and left partially unsecured on an opposite
straight side, forming an access fly.
15. The improvement of claim 14, wherein said partially unsecured
straight side of said codpiece pouch compartment comprises a reinforcing
welt.
16. The improvement of claim 12, wherein said front panel comprises
a fabric of double thickness to increase absorbency.
17. The improvement of claim 12, wherein said opening is a slot
reinforced around its periphery by a layer of fabric.
18. The improvement of claim 12, wherein said shorts are composed
of a cotton-like material.
19. The improvement of claim 12, wherein said genital egress opening
is arranged through said fabric panel beginning near to said waistband,
extending substantially above the male's penis and scrotum when
worn, and terminating at a bottom of said fabric panel.
Underwear description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One very popular, comfortable, and well-known style of a man's
underwear shorts, or brief, known in the prior art, provides a snug
fitting garment that is usually woven of cotton, or similar material,
and which cotton garment is constructed and arranged to provide
stretchable, band-like sections, for encircling, and resiliently
engaging, waist and upper leg portions of a wearer's lower torso,
with the garment being further shaped so as to provide a pocket-shaped,
or bulged, section defined by the garment, that is adapted to snugly
engage, or hug the wearer's body, defined forwardly of the crotch
of the garment adapted to receive the male's genitals and to hold
same against the body of the person wearing such underwear shorts.
Said pocket, or bulge-shaped garment section, usually includes a
pair of abutting, and selectively separable, panel sections that
together cooperate to provide a selectively, manually-openable,
front-opening fly, that affords, in a well-known manner, manual
access to the wearer's penis, for effecting selective manual movement
of the penis, forwardly and outwardly of the undergarment, as is
required to urinate.
An inventor, one Seun Y. Chung, of the Rep. of Korea, in his U.S.
Pat. No. 4,345,337 dated Aug. 24, 1982, disclosed a construction
wherein a wearer of a brief-type underpants is encouraged to use
structures that will deliberately space the user's penis and seminal
vesicle both from each other and from adjacent body parts. However,
the structure as described in said U.S. Patent can be dangerous
to the user, and appears to encourage or stimulate a risk of injury,
in that U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,337 discloses use of a structure of
a band-type ring, upon which a user is encouraged to, unnaturally,
hang his penis, so that (a) the penis and scrotum will be, unnaturally,
separated from each other and from the wearer's body, and (b) with
a suggestion by the inventor, to provide use of a "coarse rubbing
cloth" to rub the penis to dull the senses of the penis, a
practice that Applicants herein submit to be unnatural, possibly
dangerous and hence undesirable, because of a danger of injury:
(a) from deliberately dulling the ability of the penis to sense
naturally, or (b) by putting the penis at a position of risk of
injury in the event of an unforeseeable relative movement between
the ring and penis that puts that male organ at risk of injury from
inadvertent, or unintended movement between the ring and penis,
or between the penis and the scrotum.
The instant invention relates to a new and improved form of construction
of a man's underwear garment, known as underwear shorts, which improved
form of shorts provides advantages over prior art constructions
as will be described hereinafter, while avoiding the physical dangers
and risks that could stem from use of a prior art construction of
the type that is referred to hereinabove.
It has been known, or at least an established belief, based upon
observations, that the heat of a man's body, when communicated directly
and continuously, to the sperm in his testes, may, or could, adversely
affect the virility of the man's sperm, and may produce a condition
of reduced potency of the sperm, resulting in apparent sterility,
or inability to fertilize a female ovum.
A known commercialized style of a man's underwear shorts sold under
the popular Registered Mark "Jockey", is known to be constructed
to provide underwear shorts formed of woven, cotton-like material
or its equivalent, and being constructed to provide one or more
of the following features: an elastic waistband for the garment,
and stretchable, or elastic bands, or other body-encircling parts,
secured to lower edge portions of an underwear garment that surrounds
leg openings defined for the garment. It has also been known in
the prior art, to provide an expandable, or stretchable knit pocket,
such as is similar to and generally shown and described in prior
art U.S. Pat. No. 3,283,545 issued Nov. 8, 1966 to E. Simon.
The instant invention relates to a new, and improved, underwear
shorts garment for men. More particularly, this invention relates
to a man's underwear shorts construction that is constructed and
arranged in a novel manner, namely with an integral codpiece type
structure, so that when the improved underwear shorts are worn,
the male's scrotum can be desirably spaced from the lower trunk
of the wearer's body, held inside the codpiece type structure in
a loose fitting manner, and thereby insulating the scrotum, by structure
provided and included in the underwear shorts, from the body temperature
and heat of adjacent body parts, so that the virility of the male's
sperm will be maintained at its optimum level.
The definition of the term "codpiece", which will be
used herein, may be found in a Webster's Third New International
Dictionary copyright 1986, p 438 as: "an often ornamental flap
or bag concealing an opening in the front of men's breeches esp.
in the 15th and 16th centuries". It is now the 20th century,
and a codpiece appears to be a concept from a long distant past,
established by the definition quoted above, and it is not presently,
an apt description of any structure, or concept, presently known
to be in use with respect to modern men's shorts or briefs having
the features described herein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a underwear
garment, particularly a man's shorts which provides:
a codpiece structure to hold and support a male's genitals away
from his body;
a codpiece structure which acts to insulate the male's genitals
from the heat of the adjacent body portions;
a codpiece structure which holds the male's genitals without compressing
the genitals against the male's trunk;
a codpiece structure providing a convenient opening for the male
wearer to remove his penis in order to urinate;
a simple fabric structure of the man's shorts, easily and cost
effectively fabricated;
a man's underwear shorts comfortable for the wearer;
a man's underwear shorts of durable and long lasting construction;
a codpiece structure constructed to provide for absorbency of accidental
urine; and
a man's underwear shorts having a neat and uncluttered appearance.
The objects are inventively achieved in that a man's underwear
shorts are disclosed which:
provides on a fabric panel, adjacent to the male's trunk or lower
torso, an opening which communicates into a codpiece compartment,
providing a comfortable access into the codpiece enclosure for the
male's genitals, and acts to hold and support a male's genitals
away from his body;
provides a fabric panel which insulates the wearer's genitals from
heat generated by the wearer's lower torso;
provides between the codpiece enclosure and the fabric panel of
the man's shorts a side access for removal of the man's penis to
urinate when desired;
provides a codpiece compartment which loosely holds the male's
genitals to prevent compressing the male's genitals against the
male's trunk;
comprises a minimum of panels to be sewn together to construct
the shorts;
provides a codpiece structure comprised of only three panels sewn
together to form a compartment;
provides elastic bands or sleeves to comfortably encircle the wearer's
legs and trunk to securely fit the man's shorts to the wearer;
provides as an alternative construction the front panel of the
codpiece enclosure with a double thickness of material for absorbency;
provides a codpiece which covers the front of the man's shorts
in a neat and uncluttered appearance.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a partially fragmentary front perspective view of a man's
underwear shorts, portions shown broken away to illustrate body-engaging
portions of the shorts and of a codpiece like enclosure.
FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the man's shorts, illustrated
in FIG. 1, but showing the man's shorts in a flattened condition,
such as when ironed, or pressed, for purposes of flattened storage,
or packaging prior to sale or use.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the man's shorts viewed generally
along line 3--3 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the interior of the man's
shorts shown in FIG. 1, such as would be seen when the garment of
FIG. 1 is turned inside-out.
FIG. 5 is an exploded view of fabric pieces used to construct the
codpiece of FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the man's shorts viewed
generally along line 6--6 of FIG. 3.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIGS. 1-6 illustrates one form of a man's garment or underwear
shorts 10 that embodies the invention disclosed herein. Although
in the preferred embodiment the invention relates particularly to
underwear shorts, the spirit and scope of the invention is also
applicable to other garments. The invention could just as readily
be applied to "long johns" or "long underwear",
or even bathing wear or pajamas. Such garments and any other appropriate
garments are encompassed by the present invention.
The man's underwear shorts 10 shown in FIGS. 1-4, includes some
elements and features that are known in the prior art, and also
some new elements. Generally, the waist and back side of the shorts
10 are known in the prior art. What is new is located principally
at the front of the garment.
Referring now to the drawings, each of FIGS. 1-6 show certain elements
of a new, useful, and not-obvious construction of a man's underwear
garment. The garment 10 includes a stretchable, continuous, elastic
waist band 12 at the upper end thereof. The garment 10 includes
a generally frustroconical, back-and-side-encircling, fabric panel
14, which secures at its upper end to the waist band 12, with the
fabric panel 14 extending downwardly from the waist band 12 to attach
to two leg-surrounding, resilient, leg-gripping bands, or welts
16a and 16b. Said leg-gripping bands, or welts comprise any desired
construction that will function to help hold the fabric panel 14
in its desired attitude, and position, as illustrated in the Figures
of this Application. The waist band 12 is secured to the fabric
panel 14 by a waist seam 18, which encircles the shorts 10. A trunk
panel 19 is secured to the waist band 12 at the waist seam 18 and
secured to the fabric panel 14 at three seams: a bottom seam 20,
a first lateral seam 22a, and a second lateral seam 22b. A slot
24 is provided through the trunk panel 19.
A codpiece for the garment that has been thus far described is
shown in perspective in FIG. 1 and in cross-sectional view in FIG.
3. The codpiece is labeled 30 in FIG. 1, and it is shown secured
at its upper end to the waist band 12 of the garment, at the waist
seam 18.
The codpiece 30 has a channel shaped cross-section created from
three fabric pieces: (shown separately in FIG. 5) a front panel
32, a left-side panel 36, and a right-side panel 38. The front panel
32 is an elongated strip of fabric having flaring ends 32a and 32b.
In order to provide space in which a man's penis and scrotum may
be lodged, the ends 32a and 32b of the front panel 32 are secured
to the waist seam 18 and the bottom seam 20 exterior of the trunk
panel 19. By selecting the proper spacing between the ends 32a and
32b of the front panel 32 shown in FIG. 5, a puffed up compartment
40 is created, such as seen in cross-section in FIG. 3. By sewing
arcuate edges 36a, 38a of left side panel 36 and right side panel
38 to concave edges 36b, 38b of front panel 32, a sub-assembly is
created which, in cross-section, appears as seen in FIG. 3. In other
words, the three fabric parts shown in FIG. 5 may be assembled to
provide a compartment 40 which is shown, in side elevation in FIG.
3, arcuate in cross-section.
A length of the front panel 32 for the man's shorts 10 is selected
for a desired length of the compartment 40 to be provided. The compartment
40, as illustrated in FIG. 3, is located between the front panel
32 and the trunk panel 19. The length of the compartment 40 is chosen
to allow for comfortable room for the male genitals whether flaccid
or erect.
It is an additional feature of the preferred embodiment that the
compartment 40 comprises a loose fitting compartment around the
genitals. Such a loose fitting compartment prevents compression
of the genitals against the male's lower trunk, such as occurs in
shorts known to the art. By properly selecting the lengths of the
front panel 32, the right-side panel 38, and the left-side panel
36 a suitably loose compartment 40 is formed. By reducing compression
of the genitals against the trunk, the thermal influence of the
trunk to the genitals is reduced, pressure on the genitals is reduced,
and comfort to the wearer is increased.
The codpiece 30 is secured to the trunk panel 19 at the waist seam
18. Alternatively (not shown) the front panel 32 could be attached
to the trunk panel 19 somewhere below the seam 18. The left-side
panel 36 is secured along its length on an opposite side 41 to its
arcuate edge 36a, to the trunk panel 19 and portions of the fabric
panel 14. The right-side panel 38 is secured on a second edge 39
opposite its arcuate edge 38a, to the fabric panel 14 up to the
seam 18. A fly welt 38c is sewn to the right-side panel 38 between
the first lateral seam 22a and the leg-gripping band 16a to reinforce
the second edge 39 of right-side panel 38. The right-side panel
38 is not secured to the trunk panel 19 between the first lateral
seam 22a and the leg-gripping band 16a. Thus, an access opening
44 is formed between the right side panel 38 and the trunk panel
19. The access opening 44 is for removal of the man's penis from
the codpiece 30 in order to urinate. The man's shorts 10 of the
preferred embodiment have the access opening 44 adjacent to the
right-side panel 38. However, the access opening 44 could just as
well be located adjacent to the left side panel 36 in a "mirror
image" construction of the shorts 10, and such shorts are encompassed
by the present invention.
The codpiece 30, when secured to a man's underwear garment, thus
provides what is necessary to receive a man's penis and scrotum
after they are moved through the slot 24 formed in the trunk panel
19 of the underwear shorts.
FIG. 2 shows the man's shorts 10 in a rearward view with the shorts
10 in a flattened condition. This view shows the fabric panel 14
to be a back-and-sides encircling fabric secured to the waist band
12 at the waist seam 18 and extending downwardly from the waist
band 12 to attach to the two leg-gripping bands 16a and 16b. The
bottom seam 20 is shown forming a juncture between the fabric panel
14 and the front panel 32 of the codpiece 30. It should be noted
that the fabric panel 14 can be made of a plurality of panels adequately
sewn together, depending on the size of the man's shorts.
FIG. 3 shows that the trunk panel 19 extends from the waist seam
18, which is located inwardly of waist band 12 and extends downwardly
to the bottom seam 20.
FIG. 4 shows an inside out view of the shorts shown in FIG. 1.
In this view details of the slot 24 can be seen. The slot 24 is
a reinforced opening. A rectangular fabric reinforcement 46 is secured
to the trunk panel 19 at lateral slot seams 48a, 48b, and at waist
seam 18 and bottom seam 20. The slot reinforcement 46 can be an
extra thickness of material or sewn on welts, and the slot reinforcement
can extend from the waist seam 18 to the bottom seam 20. The function
of the slot reinforcement 46 is to give structural strength to the
opening, to prevent fraying or ripping of the opening, and to give
some structural rigidity to the slot to help retain the relative
shape of the slot in a resilient fashion to closely form around
the man's genitals once inserted therethrough, and to provide a
structure for gripping by the wearer when manipulating the slot
to put on or take off the shorts. The reinforcement 46 can also
be an elastic material to help the slot closely form around the
genitals. The slot 24 comprises a fly-like opening 24a which extends
nearly the length of the slot reinforcement 46 terminating at reinforcing
seams 48c, 48d, the reinforcing seams prevent ripping at opposite
ends of the fly-like opening 24a.
FIG. 5 shows the codpiece 30 in an exploded view. The front panel
32 is shown being generally rectangular but having concave edges
36b, 38b which form the flared ends 32a and 32b. The right side
panel is shown comprising the arcuate edge 38a and the second edge
39, generally straight edge. The left side panel 36, similar to
the right side panel in shape, comprises the arcuate edge 36a and
the opposite side 41, a generally straight side. Additionally, as
an added feature of the present invention a double thickness of
fabric is utilized for the front panel 32 of the codpiece 30. An
inside panel 32c as shown dashed in FIG. 5, can be sewn into the
shorts 10 to provide an extra layer of absorbency, useful after
urination, to absorb accidental urine. Alternatively, the inside
panel 32c or the front panel 32 can be constructed of an extra absorbent
material, different from the material of the shorts. The inside
panel 32c can be sewn along the seams joining left-side panel 36
and right-side panel 38 to the front panel 32 and along the bottom
seam 20 joining the front panel 32 to the fabric panel 14, and at
attachment seam 32d onto the front panel 32. Alternatively, attachment
seam 32d can be eliminated and the inside panel 32c made congruent
with the front panel 32 and attached to the waist seam 18.
FIG. 6 shows details of construction near a bottom of the man's
shorts 10, showing the various seams. The slot 24 is shown with
reinforcing seams 48a, 48b, and 48d. The bottom seam 20 is shown
attaching the trunk panel 19, the fabric panel 14, and the slot
reinforcement 46.
FIG. 1, 4 and 6 show the fly-like opening 24a comprising a slit-like
opening. Once the male's genitals are passed through the opening
24a, the reinforcing 46 and stretching of the trunk panel 19 between
the leg-gripping bands 16a, 16b and the waist band 12 caused by
the bulk of the man's torso, will cause the slot 24 to relatively
resiliently form around the genitals adjacent to the male's torso.
By so doing, the trunk panel 19 forms a layer of insulation between
the male's genitals and the rest of the male's body. Additionally,
the slot 24 and the trunk panel 19 help to separate and distance
the males genitals from the rest of the male's body. Thus the invention
helps to reduce the thermal influence of the male's trunk or torso
on the reproductive organs. Although in the preferred embodiment
the shape of the fly-like slot opening 24a is a linear slit, other
shaped openings can be readily visualized. An elliptical opening,
a pear-shaped opening, a rectangular opening or a round opening
could just as well be utilized to pass the male's genitals from
the trunk panel 19 into the codpiece 30. All shapes for the opening
are encompassed by the present invention.
FIG. 1 and 2 illustrate the neat and orderly appearance of the
man's shorts. A minimum of visible seams are utilized. FIG. 1 also
illustrates a symmetrical appearance of the front of the man's shorts
with a smooth uncluttered look, no special fly arrangement is readily
noticeable.
The present invention minimizes the amount of seams required to
construct the man's shorts. Thus, the fabric panel 14 the trunk
panel 19 and the front panel 32 are joined together at common seams,
such as the waist seam 18 and the bottom seam 20. It is understood
that in connection with the construction of this garment and the
illustration of such a maximum use of junction lines, where multiple
parts are to be secured together by seams or stitching, is utilized
to simplify and make cost efficient the construction of the garment.
Varying the location or complexity of seams is within the spirit
of the present invention. It is further understood that the man's
shorts depicted in a preferred embodiment would be fabricated of
cotton-like materials. However, all fabrics which are appropriate
for such man's shorts or garments are encompassed by the present
invention, including man-made fiber fabrics.
While one particular embodiment of this invention has been disclosed
herein, and is shown and described, it will be obvious to those
skilled in the art, that various changes and modifications may be
made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention and, therefore, it is intended in the appended claims
to cover all such changes and modifications which fall within the
true spirit and scope of the invention.
Although other modifications and changes may be suggested by those
skilled in the art, it is the intention of the inventors to embody
within the patent warranted hereon all changes and modifications
as reasonably and properly come within the scope of their contribution
to the art. |