WO2009029709A1

WO2009029709A1 - Underwear with sweat absorbing waistband

Info

Publication number: WO2009029709A1
Application number: PCT/US2008/074613
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stacey I. Blumenfeld
Original assignee: Blume Forever, Llc
Priority date: 2007-08-31
Filing date: 2008-08-28
Publication date: 2009-03-05
Also published as: US20090055998A1

Abstract

An underwear garment having a sweat absorbing waistband is provided. The underwear garment includes a body portion having apertures for the torso of the user, as well as apertures for the legs of the user. The underwear garment also including the waistband connected to the body portion. The waistband is formed of a sweat-absorbing material, such as an elastic terry cloth that allows stretch in one direction but limits stretch in a perpendicular direction. The body portion may comprise a boxer short, brief, boxer-brief, thong, or long pants style arrangement.

Description

UNDERWEAR WITH SWEAT ABSORBING WAISTBAND

TECHNICAL FIELD

[01] This application deals with undergarments, such as underwear. More specifically, this application deals underwear including a sweat absorbing waistband, such as a terry cloth waistband.

BACKGROUND

[02] Since the days of the loincloth, some form of undergarment has often been worn by people in society. Both men and women in most civilized societies wear some form of undergarment or underwear underneath the clothing exposed to others. The size, shape, structure and methods of manufacture of underwear has developed through the ages and, in modern society, men's and women's underwear are available in a variety of shapes and sizes.

[03] Often, a user selects a pair of underwear to be worn on a given day based on the activities the wearer will be undertaking that day, or the clothing a user will be wearing over the underwear. The user may select underwear not only for the shape of the garment but also for the material from which it is made. For instance, a user may be going to a formal function in close fitting clothes would select form fitting underwear so as not to disrupt the hang of the clothing. Alternatively, a user may be lounging about the house for a day and would choose the most comfortable, loose fitting underwear possible. In still another example, a user may be going to the gym and may select underwear that will provide comfort and will limit chafing.

SUMMARY

[04] In accordance with the present disclosure, an underwear garment having a sweat absorbing waistband is provided. The underwear garment may include a body portion, configured to accommodate the gluteal region of a user. The garment may also include a waistband. The waistband may be formed of an elastic terry cloth, or other sweat absorbing material, to provide comfort for the wearer. The elastic terry cloth may allow stretch in one direction and may limit stretch in a perpendicular direction. The body portion of the underwear garment may comprise various arrangements, including boxer short style, brief style, boxer- brief style, thong style and long pants. In one arrangement, the body portion and the sweatband waistband may be formed of elastic material. Additionally or alternatively, the waistband may be void of an elastic band.

[05] These and additional features and advantages of the invention disclosed here will be further understood from the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[06] The foregoing summary of the invention, as well as the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are included by way of example, and not by way of limitation with regard to the claimed invention.

[07] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an underwear garment having a sweat-absorbing waistband according to one arrangement described herein.

[08] Figures 2A-2E illustrate various types of garments having a sweat-absorbing waistband that may be used according to the arrangements described herein.

[09] Figure 3 is a side view of the underwear garment of Figure 1.

[10] Figure 4 is front view of another arrangement of an underwear garment having a sweat-absorbing waistband in accordance with this description.

[11] Figure 5 is a close-up front view of the sweat-absorbing waistband of the underwear garments shown in Figures 1-5.

[12] Figure 6 is a top view of the sweat-absorbing waistband shown in Figure 6. [13] Figure 7 A is a cross-sectional view of one portion of the underwear garment of Figure 1 and Figure 7B is a cross section of one portion of the underwear garment of Figure 1 showing a cross section of the sweatband waistband and a portion of the body portion of the underwear garment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[14] The following discussion and accompanying figures disclose an article of apparel, such as an underwear garment, according to aspects described herein. The underwear arrangement described may be used in any type of underwear garment, for instance, men's or ladies underwear, briefs, bikinis, boxers, boxer briefs, long pants, and the like.

[15] Figure 1 illustrates one illustrative underwear garment 100 according to aspects described herein. The underwear garment 100 includes a body portion, shown generally as 102, and a waistband 104. Each portion of the underwear garment 100 may be formed of a textile element, as will be discussed below. The body portion 102 and waistband 104 may be joined by any known method of joining multiple textile elements, such as stitching, adhesives, and the like.

[16] The body portion 102 generally includes a main portion 106, configured to fit around the gluteal region of the wearer, and two legging portions 108 that extend from the main portion 106, through which a wearer's legs may extend. In alternate arrangements discussed below, the legging portions 108 may be longer or shorter than the legging portions 108 shown in Figure 1. Additionally or alternatively, the legging portions 108 may not extend from the main portion 106 but rather may be apertures in the body portion 102, as discussed below.

[17] The body portion 102 includes a plurality of apertures 110, 112. A first, torso aperture 110 is arranged at a top of the body portion 102 and is sized to accommodate the torso of the wearer. This torso aperture 110 may be sized to fit a variety of persons. In addition, the body portion 102 of the underwear garment 100 may include an elastic strands such that the garment 100 may stretch to fit a variety of users. The waistband 104 may also be formed of an elastic material, allowing the torso aperture 110 to stretch, as needed, to accommodate larger users.

[18] Two leg apertures 112 are generally included in the legging portion 108 of the underwear garment 100. The legging portion 108 may also be formed of an elastic material to allow the leg apertures 112 to stretch, as needed, to accommodate various leg sizes.

[19] The body portion 102 may be formed of any suitable material to provide comfort to the wearer. In some arrangements, the body portion 102 may be formed of natural fabrics, such as cotton, or synthetic materials, such as NYLON or SPANDEX.

[20] As shown in Figures 2A-2D, the body portion may comprise a variety of styles of underwear or undergarment. For instance, the body portion may be a boxer-brief style, such as 102A in Figure 2A, a brief style, such as 102B in Figure 2B, a thong style, such as 102C in Figure 2C, or a boxer short style, such as 102D in Figure 2D. In addition, the body portion may be long pants, such as those used in athletic activities such as running, yoga, etc. One example of such an arrangement is shown as 102E in Figure 2E. In each of these arrangements, the waistband 104 may be the same, regardless of the type or shape of the body portion.

[21] With further reference to Figure 1, the waistband 104 may be a generally annular textile element that is attached to the body portion 102 by various known means of attachment to form a waistband. The waistband 104 is generally arranged at the top of the underwear garment 100 and, in the arrangements shown, is formed of a sweat absorbing material having loops, such as terry cloth. Such an arrangement provides sweat protection for the wearer in the midriff region. In one arrangement, the sweatband waistband 104 itself may be elastic to allow the underwear to stretch to fit the user. For example, the sweatband waistband 104 may be formed of terry that is elastic. For instance, terry is generally woven having two beams of longitudinal warp through which the filler is fired. These beams may be elastic strands, thereby providing a terry material that can stretch without requiring an additional elastic band. The elastic beams may allow stretch of the material in a first direction, such as a longitudinal direction, but may provide considerably less stretch in the direction perpendicular to the first direction. This sweatband waistband arrangement may provide a softer, more comfortable feel to the user since an elastic band can be stiff and rough to the touch. In the arrangement described, the elastic beams may have sufficient elasticity to hold the underwear garment up on the body of the user.

[22] In some arrangements, the waistband 104 may be permanently attached to the body portion 102 via stitching, adhesives, and the like above or about the torso aperture 110. As shown in Figure 7A, the waistband 104 is generally arranged so that the terry material is both in contact with the user on a body side 130 of the waistband and visible from a non-body side 132 of the waistband. For instance, the waistband 104 is connected to the body portion 102 such that a portion of the terry material of the waistband forms an interior portion 130 of the waistband and is in contact with the body of the user, while a portion of the terry material of the waistband forms an outer portion 132 of the waistband that is not in contact with the body of the user and is generally visible. The body portion 102 of the underwear garment 100 may be arranged between these two portions such that the body portion 102 is held away from the body of the user a distance d equal to the thickness of the interior portion of the waistband, as shown in Figure 7B. Such a gap may add to the comfort of the wearer and may allow ease of movement in the garment and improved breathability. In addition, the terry material forming both the interior and exterior portion of the waistband may provide a seamless appearance for the underwear garment.

[23] Figure 3 illustrates one arrangement of a side view of the underwear garment 100 having a sweatband waistband 104 shown in Figure 1. The body portion 102 includes an aperture (not shown in Figure 3) formed at the top of the body portion 102 to accommodate the torso of the user. The body portion 102 also includes two leg portions 108 extending downward from the main portion of the body portion 102. The waistband 104 is arranged about the torso aperture (not shown in Figure 3) of the body portion 102 and, as described, is generally formed of terry cloth or other sweat absorbing material. In the arrangement shown in Figure 3, the terry cloth waistband 104 is relatively short compared to the body portion 102. In one arrangement, the width (w in Figure 5) of the waistband 104 may be less than 15% of the length of the body portion 102. In another arrangement, the width of the waistband 104 may be less than 10% of the length of the body portion 102. In some arrangements, the terry cloth waistband may be between 1.0 and 3.0 inches. In another arrangement, the waistband 104 may be between 1.5 and 2.5 inches.

[24] With further reference to Figure 3, the waistband 104 is generally thicker than the body portion 102. Some of this additional thickness may be due to the loop type arrangement of the terry cloth material used. However, thicker or thinner types of terry cloth may be used. In some arrangements, the thickness of the terry material forming the body side of the waistband 104 may be substantially equal to the thickness of the terry material forming the exterior or non-body side of the waistband 104. In one arrangement, the thickness of the waistband, shown as t in Figure 6, may be between 0.2 and 1.0 inches.

[25] Figure 4 illustrates an alternate arrangement of the underwear garment IOOB having a sweatband waistband 104 shown as it may be worn by a user 420. In this arrangement, the underwear garment IOOB is a brief style garment. The underwear garment 400 includes a torso aperture 410 to accommodate the torso 422 of the user 420. In addition, the body portion 102C includes two leg apertures 412 through which the legs 424 of the user 420 extend. The waistband 104 includes the sweatband waistband that extends around the torso 422 of the user 420 to absorb sweat.

[26] Figures 5 and 6 are close-up views of the waistband 104 of the underwear garments shown in Figures 1-4. Figure 5 shows a front view of the waistband 104 that forms the sweatband waistband. The waistband 104 is shown having a width, w. This width may vary based on the size of the underwear, the style of underwear, etc. For instance, in a brief style underwear, the width of the waistband 104 may vary from 1 to 3 inches. In one arrangement, the width of the waistband 104 may be 2.0 inches. In other styles of garment, the width may be greater or smaller. For instance, when included in long pants, such as yoga pants, the waistband 104 may be larger to provide a thicker waistband and more secure feel. In such an arrangement, the waistband 104 may be between 1 and 3.5 inches wide. In yet another example, on a thong style garment, the waistband 104 may be thinner to accommodate more close fitting clothes that a user may wear with a thong. In such an arrangement, the waistband 104 may be 0.05 to 2.25 inches wide. However, it should be noted that in some arrangements, the waistband may be the same width regardless of the style of the body portion 102.

[27] Figure 6 is a top view of one illustrative sweatband waistband 104. Figure 6 shows the thickness, t, of the waistband 104. The thickness of the waistband 104 may also vary based on the style of underwear, size of the garment, etc. For example, on a thong style garment, the thickness of the waistband 104 may be 0.1 to 0.75 inches wide. This thin sweatband waistband 104 arrangement may be provided to accommodate close fitting clothing that may be worn with a thong. In another example, the thickness of the waistband 104 on a pants style garment may be 0.2 to 1.25 inches, to provide a more secure feel and fit for the wearer. It should be noted that, in some arrangements, the waistband 104 may be the same thickness regardless of the style of the body portion 102.

[28] The underwear garment shown above having a sweatband waistband provides several advantages. For instance, as discussed above, the sweatband waistband provides moisture absorption in the midriff region when a user in working out or doing other strenuous activities. In addition, the sweatband waistband provides a soft, comfortable waistband for the user. [29] Yet another advantage of the underwear garment with sweatband waistband is that may provide a visual indicator to the user. For example, if a user is trying to identify the underwear garment they want to wear to the gym, the sweatband waistband provides a visual indicator that may allow a user to more quickly identify the desired garment. In addition, the sweatband waistband may aid in identification of a particular underwear garment in low light situations, such as at the back of a drawer in a dimly lit room, because the user can identify the garment by the feel of the waistband.

[30] In light of the foregoing disclosure and description of various arrangements, those skilled in this area of technology will readily understand that various modifications and adaptations can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. All such modifications and adaptations are intended to be covered by the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An article of apparel, comprising: a first textile portion including a plurality of apertures to accommodate body parts of a wearer; a waistband connected to the first textile portion and arranged at the top of the first textile portion; wherein the waistband is formed of terry cloth material having elastic strands as a base for the terry cloth.

2. The article of apparel of claim 1, wherein the elastic strands allow stretch of the material in a first direction but limit stretch of the material in a second direction, the second direction being perpendicular to the first direction.

3. The article of apparel of claim 2, wherein the first textile portion is formed of an elastic material.

4. The article of apparel of claim 3, wherein the first textile portion is formed of one of cotton, NYLON and SPANDEX.

5. The article of apparel of claim 4, wherein the first textile element is an underwear garment.

6. The article of apparel of claim 5, wherein the underwear garment is one of boxer- brief, brief, and boxer style underwear.

7. The underwear garment of claim 4, wherein the first textile portion a pants style garment.

8. The underwear garment of claim 7, wherein the pants style garment further includes two legging portions that hang below a knee of a user.

9. An underwear garment, comprising: a waistband formed of a first textile element, the first textile element being an elastic terry cloth material and the waistband being in contact with a body of a user; a body portion formed of a second textile element and including apertures for the legs of a user, the second textile element being a non-terry cloth elastic material; wherein the body portion is connected to the waistband at a central point of the waistband forming a gap between the body of the user and the body portion of the underwear garment.

10. The underwear garment of claim 9, wherein the waistband is between 1.0 and 3.0 inches wide.

11. The underwear garment of claim 9, wherein the waistband is between 0.2 and 1.0 inches thick.

12. The underwear garment of claim 10, wherein the gap between the body of the user and the body portion of the underwear garment is between 0.1 and 0.3 inches.

13. The underwear garment of claim 9, wherein the body portion is configured in a boxer short style.

14. The underwear garment of claim 9, wherein the body portion is configured in brief style.

15. The underwear garment of claim 9, wherein the body portion is configured in a boxer-brief style.

16. The underwear garment of claim 9, wherein the body portion is configured in a thong style.

17. The underwear garment of claim 9, wherein the body portion is configured in a long pants style.

18. An underwear garment, comprising: a waistband formed of an elastic terry cloth material and being void of an elastic band, the waistband including: a first side, wherein the first side is in contact with a body of a user; and a second side, wherein the second side is not in contact with the body of the user and wherein the second side is visible on an exterior portion of the underwear garment; and a body portion formed of an elastic non-terry cloth material and including apertures through which the legs of the user pass, wherein the body portion has a first side that faces the body of the user and a second side that faces away from the body of the user; wherein the waistband is connected to a top region of the body portion and wherein the waistband is in contact with both the first and second sides of the body portion.

19. The underwear garment of claim 18, wherein the body portion is a boxer-brief style garment.

20. The underwear garment of claim 18, wherein the body portion is a thong style garment.