Underwear abstract
In combination an item of underwear (10) including a front part
(11), a back part (12), a waist part (13) and a crotch part (14)
which in use extends front to back between the legs of a wearer
and a sanitary pad (30) of the kind having side wings (34) which
carry an adhesive, characterised in that the item of underwear includes
an inside lining part (20) which extends over at least a substantial
portion of the crotch part (14) and has sides (25,26) which are
unattached to the crotch part (14) over at least part of the front
to back extent of the crotch part (14), and the side wings (34)
of the pad are foldable into a position between the crotch part
(14) of the item (10) and the inside lining part (20) with the adhesive
adhered to the inside lining part (20).
Underwear claims
What is claimed is:
1. In combination an item of underwear including a front part,
a back part, a waist part and a crotch part which in use extends
front to back between a right leg and a left leg of a wearer and
a sanitary pad of a kind having side wings which carry an adhesive,
wherein the item of underwear includes an inside lining part which
extends over at least a substantial portion of the crotch part and
has sides which are unattached to the crotch part over at least
part of a front to back extent of the crotch part and the inside
lining part further including a first end adjacent the front part
and a second end adjacent the back part, said sides being attached
to the underwear only at locations adjacent at least one of said
first end and said second end, and the side wings of the sanitary
pad are folded into a position between the crotch part of the item
of underwear and the inside lining part with the adhesive adhered
to the inside lining part.
2. A combination according to claim 1 wherein the inside lining
part extends over an entirety of the crotch part of the underwear
from front to back.
3. A combination according to claim 1 wherein the crotch part includes
crotch part sides, and the inside lining part includes ends in addition
to the sides, the sides being shaped to conform generally to the
crotch part sides but not outwardly beyond the crotch part sides,
the inside lining part being attached to the item of underwear along
the ends of the inside lining part.
4. A combination according to claim 3 wherein the inside lining
part is attached to the item of underwear along parts of the sides
of the inside lining part adjacent to one or both of the ends so
that the inside lining part is unattached to the crotch part over
at least a mid portion of the crotch part.
5. A combination according to claim 1 wherein the inside lining
part is made of a looped material or a material presenting a plurality
of hooks, with which loops or hooks, provided on the sanitary pad,
in use, engage.
6. A combination according to claim 1 wherein the inside lining
part is made of a brushed material which presents a mass of fibers
with which a plurality of hooks provided on the sanitary pad, in
use, engage.
7. A combination according to claim 5 wherein the plurality of
hooks or loops are provided by a carrier material adhered to the
sanitary pad intermediate the side wings thereof.
8. A combination according to claim 7 wherein the carrier material
is biodegradable.
9. A combination according to claim 8 wherein the carrier material
is flexible.
10. An item of underwear including a front part, a back part, a
waist part, and a crotch part which in use extends front to back
between the legs of a wearer, and an inside lining part which extends
over at least a substantial portion of the crotch part and has sides
which are unattached to the crotch part over at least part of the
front to back extent of the crotch part and the inside lining part
further including a first end adjacent the front part and a second
end adjacent the back part, said sides being attached to the underwear
only at locations adjacent at least one of said first end and said
second end, a position between the crotch part and the inside lining
part being adapted to receive side wings of a sanitary pad adhered
to the inside lining part.
Underwear description
DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
This invention relates to an item of underwear worn in combination
with a sanitary pad of the kind which extends between the legs of
a wearer over at least a pail of the crotch.
Such sanitary pads are, for example, used by women during menstruation.
Conventionally such sanitary pads are maintained in position by
virtue of being adhered to the wearer's underwear by an adhesive
which is applied to the sanitary pad and exposed by the removal
of a protective sheet. However because such adhesive cannot be so
strong that the sanitary pad when soiled cannot be readily removed,
such means for retaining the sanitary pad in use are not reliable.
To assist in retaining the sanitary pad in position, it is known
to provide sides which conventionally are folded under the crotch
part of the item of underwear and attached by an adhesive to the
underside of the crotch part, but the wings can make the sanitary
pad uncomfortable to wear.
According to a first aspect of the invention we provide in combination
an item of underwear including a front part, a back part, a waist
part and a crotch part which in use extends front to back between
the legs of a wearer, and a sanitary pad of the kind having side
wings which carry an adhesive, characterized in that the item of
underwear includes an inside lining part which extends over at least
a substantial portion of the crotch part had has sides which are
unattached to the crotch part over at least part of the front to
back extent of the crotch part, and the side wings of the sanitary
pad are foldable into a position between the crotch part of the
item and the inside lining part with the adhesive adhered to the
inside lining part.
Thus the side wings are contained between the crotch part and the
lining part, making a more comfortable arrangement. Additionally,
the side wings, being located between the inside lining pail and
the crotch pail, do not present unsightly lines visible through
outer clothing.
Preferably the inside lining part extends over the entire crotch
part from front to back and perhaps too, at least some of at least
one of the front and backparts of the item.
For example, an item of underwear conventionally comprises a gusset
provided by overlapping front and back pails, wvhich gusset forms
the crotch part of the garment. Thus the inside lining pail may
extend from front to back over a greater extent than such conventional
gusset pail so that a sanitaly pad may be attached to the inside
lining part over a substantial portion of its front to back length.
The inside lining part may comprise ends as well as sides. The
sides may be shaped to conform generally to sides of the crotch
part and preferably each extend outwardly beyond the sides of the
crotch part but may be arranged not to extend outwardly beyond the
sides of the crotch part if desired. The inside lining part may
be attached to tlhe remainder of the item along the ends preferably
by stitching. Additionally, tlhe inside lining pail may be attached
to the remainder of the item, along pails only of the sides adjacent
one or both of the ends so that the lining part is unattached to
the crotch pail over at least a mid portion of the crotch part.
Such additional attachment may provide for greater support for a
sanitary pad attached to the inside lining pail.
Instead of or in addition to relying on adhesive to secure the
sanitary pad to the item of underwear, if desired the inside lining
part may be made of a looped material or a material presenting a
plurality of hooks, with which loops or hooks, hooks or loops provided
on the sanitary pad, in use, engage. mass of fibres with which a
plurality of hooks provided on the sanitary pad, in use, engage.
Conveniently the plurality of hooks or loops are provided by a
carrier material adhered to the sanitary pad, intermediate the side
wings thereof.
For environmental reasons, preferably the carrier material or other
means which present the plurality of hooks or loops is bio-degradable,
so that a soiled sanitary pad may be disposed of by flushing.
For comfort, preferably the carrier material is flexible although
it will be appreciated that a wearer would be isolated from the
carrier material through the sanitary pad.
According to the second aspect of the invention we provide an item
of underwear for use in the combination of the first aspect of the
invention.
The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is an illustrative view of an item of underwear for use
in a combination in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 is an illustrative view showing the item of FIG. 1 in combination
with a sanitary pad:
FIG. 3 is a more detailed plan view of the combination of FIG.
2.
FIG. 4 is an illustrative view of a sanitaly pad which may be used
with the item of FIG. 1 to provide the combination of FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is a plan view inside a modified item of underwear for use
in a combination of the invention.
Referring to the drawings there is shown an item of underwear 10
comprising a front part 11, a back part 12, which are connected
to provide a waist part 13 and a crotch part 14, the crotch part
14 extending from front to back in use between a wearer's legs.
The front 11 and back 12 parts provide openings 15, 16 for the wearer's
legs and the crotch part 14 is provided by a elongate gusset of
overlapping material of the front and back palrs 11, 12.
In accordance with the invention there is provided an inside lining
part 20 which completely or substantially covers the crotch part
14 and extends to the front 11 and back 12 parts, where ends 21,22
of the inside lining part are each connected by a line of stitching,
to the front 11 and back parts 12. The inside lining part 20 has
sides 25,26 which extend front to back and which are configured
generally to conform to the shapes of the usually elasticated, sides
of the crotch part 14 but do not extend outwardly beyond the sides
of the crotch part 14. In this example, portions 27 of the sides
25,26 of the inside lining part 20 are also connected by stitching
to the crotch part 14 of the item 10, but the sides 25,26 of the
inside lining part 20 are unattached along at least parts of the
front to back extent for a purpose hereinafter explained.
In this example, the inside lining part 20 is made of a light brushed
Nylon material, but may be made of another material which is adapted
to co-operate with material presenting a plurality of hooks or loops
such as felt, whereby the materials may become attached to one another.
In this example, where the inside lining part 20 is made of brushed
Nylon, the material carrying the plurality of hooks may comprise
Velcro (Registered Trade Mark) type material or at least the hooked
material of Velcro fastenings.
Referring particularly to FIG. 4, a sanitary pad 30 of the kind
used by women during menstruation is shown. The sanitary pad 30
comprises an absorbent surface 31 and a backing 32. The sanitary
pad 30 is of the kind having side wings 34 which carry adhesive
and conventionally are adapted to be folded beneath a crotch part
of an item of underwear.
The backing 32 too comprises adhesive, the adhesive of the side
wings 34 and the adhesive of the backing 32 being protected by protective
sheets 37. 38 respectively, until required.
In this example, there is attached to the sanitary pad 30 a carrier
material 40 in the form of a strip. The carrier material 40 preferably
has its own adhesive, considerably stronger than the adhesive conventionally
provided on the sanitary pad 30, the adhesive of the carrier material
40 strongly adhering the carrier material 40 to the backing 32 of
the sanitary pad 30 once the protective sheet 38 of the sanitary
pad 30 has been removed.
If desired the carrier material 40 may be provided to a consumer
separately from the pad 30, with the adhesive of the carrier material
40 protected by a protective sheet 41 which is removed for use.
The carrier material 40 carries in this example a plurality of
hooks and preferably is of (hooked) Velcro (Registered Trade Mark)
type material. However the carrier material 40 is preferably flexible
for comfort's sake, and is preferably a bio-degradable material
so that the sanitary pad 30 with the carrier material 40 attached,
is flushable.
Thus the pad 30 may be primarily attached to the item of underwear
10 shown in FIG. 1 with the plurality of hooks of the carrier material
40 engaging the brushed Nylon or other material of the inside lining
part 20 so that the pad 30 becomes firmly attached to the inside
lining part 20.
By virtue of the unattached side portions of the inside lining
part 20, the side wings 34 may be folded between the inside lining
part 20 and the crotch part 14 of the item of underwear (with the
protective sheets 37 removed), and the adhesive thereon may adhere
the side wings 34 to the underside of the inside lining part 20
for added security, and additionally, the wings 34 thus concealed,
do not present unsightly lines in any outer garment, and are comfortably
accommodated.
Various modifications may be made without departing from the scope
of the invention.
For example, instead of the inside lining part 20 being made of
brushed Nylon, or similar material, the part 20 may be made of another
material which may co-operate with a plurality of hooks or loops
provided by a sanitary pad 30. Thus the sanitaly pad 30, and/or
carrier material 40 thereof may provide either a plurality of hooks
or loops although hooks are preferred.
If desired, the sanitary pad 30 may be primarily secured to the
lining part 20 by the adhesive usually provided on the sanitary
pad 30, with the side wings 34 tucked under.
Referring to FIG. 5, part of a modified item of underwear 10' is
illustrated. Similar parts to these in the preceding figures are
labelled with the same reference numbers, with a prime sign added.
In this arrangement the sides 25', 26' of the inside lining part
20' again conform generally to the sides of the crotch part 14,
but overlap the sides of the crotch part 14' slightly. Again portions
27' of the sides 25', 26' of the lining part 20' are connected by
stitching the crotch part 14', with further potions between the
stitched portions 27' being unattached to enable side wing 34 of
the sanitaly pad to be fold under.
The sides of the crotch part 14' are generally elasticated, and
the elasticated sides are less prone to soiling with the sides 25',
26' of the lining part 20' overlapping as shown.
Although the invention has been described particularly for use
by women during menstruation, the invention may be used by an incontinent
invalid for example. In any event, the item of underwear 10 may
be worn with or without the sanitary pad 30, at least where the
material of the inside lining part 20 is of brushed Nylon or similar
comfortable material, when a sanitary pad is not required. |