EP2055203A1

EP2055203A1 - Protection pad for cyclist trousers and relative method of realization

Info

Publication number: EP2055203A1
Application number: EP07021407A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Roger Maier
Original assignee: Assos of Switzerland GmbH
Current assignee: Assos of Switzerland GmbH
Priority date: 2007-11-02
Filing date: 2007-11-02
Publication date: 2009-05-06

Abstract

A protection seat (110) for the crotch area (14) of cyclist trousers (12), having a front portion (116) and a rear portion (118) with an anatomical concave shell shape. A method of manufacture is also described in which said shell shape is obtained by joining the flaps of respective V notches made on the front and rear portion of the seat.

Description

Field of application

The present invention refers, in its most general aspect, to the technical field of skin-tight sports clothing or trousers for cycling. The invention refers in particular to a protection seat for cyclist trousers and to a method for making such a seat.
In the rest of the description and in the subsequent claims, the term cyclist trousers is directed to any clothing used in the sport of cycling, like for example shorts or long trousers, overalls, tights body suit and similar; the term seat, on the other hand, is used to identify the variously shaped "pad" that is associated with the trousers or formed in the trousers themselves, to protect the perineal area of the body, in contact with the bicycle saddle.

Prior art

In the manufacture of cyclist trousers, it is well known that special and almost sartorial care is taken with the structuring and crafting of the seat, which is there to protect the perineal and/or ischiatic parts of the body, which are in contact with the bicycle saddle during cycling and subject to painful symptomology.
According to the prior art, the seat generally consists of a plurality of layers of soft materials, capable of damping bumps and fatigue stresses, and layers of fabric intended to make contact with the skin.
Although advantageous from various points of view, the seats currently used are unable to offer, on the one hand, sufficient protection to some particularly delicate body parts and, on the other hand, a satisfactory degree of general comfort, since the movements and the muscular stresses are not symmetrical during physical effort, but are 180° out of phase in accordance with the pedalling movement.

Summary of the invention

The problem forming the basis of the present invention is to devise and provide a protection seat for cyclist trousers, having structural and functional characteristics such as to completely overcome the quoted drawbacks with reference to the prior art.
This problem is solved with a protection seat for cyclist trousers, intended to be arranged at the so-called crotch area of the trousers themselves, and characterised in that it comprises, in a single piece, a front portion for protecting the pubic area and a rear portion for protecting the perineal and ischiatic area of the cyclist, in which both said front portion and said rear portion of the seat have a concave shell-shaped configuration.
According to a preferred aspect of the invention, the concave shell-shaped configuration of the front portion and of the rear portion of the seat are obtained, respectively, with joints of respective longitudinal median V-shaped notches of the seat. More preferably, said joints each extend for a length between about one quarter and about one third of the length of the seat itself.
According to an aspect of the invention, the front portion of the seat is concave shell-shaped, shaped and sized to receive at least a part of the male genital organs of the cyclist wearing the trousers.
Preferably, said front portion of the seat is anatomically shaped suitable so as to shield, and therefore also to protect and possibly to support, the male genitals, in particular the scrotal area, and is sized and limited to front areas of the seat that are not subject to the tensions due to the pedalling movement.
The rear part of the seat is concave shell-shaped, suitable for making the garment more anatomical and wearable as a whole, and for making it more comfortable to sit on the saddle.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the rear portion of the seat is equipped with at least a pair of shaped pads, equally spaced apart and mirroring one another with respect to a median longitudinal line of the seat.
Also forming the object of the invention is a method for manufacturing a protection seat for cyclist trousers, characterised in that it comprises at least the steps of:

shaping the seat with a front portion and a rear portion;
making on said front portion a first longitudinal, median, substantially V-shaped notch, open at the end, obtaining two opposite flaps, and making on the rear portion a second longitudinal, median, substantially V-shaped notch open at the end, obtaining two further opposite flaps;
joining at least a portion of the respective opposite flaps of each notch, obtaining respective front and rear longitudinal joints and consequently forming a shell-shaped concavity in said front portion and in said rear portion of the seat.

Advantageously, a step of associating shaped pads with the rear part of the seat is also provided.
Preferably, the V-shaped cut is made by removing a triangular piece of the front or rear portion, respectively, of the seat, and obtaining rectilinear flaps.
It should be noted that the invention allows to obtain a seat having itself the anatomical shell-shape of the front and rear part, thanks to the described process of making V-notches and joining the flaps. From the point of view of production, advantages are achieved in associating the seat with different models of trousers, since the seat itself has the desired characteristics of anatomical design.
According to an aspect of the invention, padded cyclist trousers are made through the preparation of a seat as described above, obtaining a concave shell shape both in the front part and in the rear part of the seat, and then through the joining (for example stitching) of the seat to the trousers.
Further characteristics and advantages of the invention shall become clearer from the following description with reference to the drawings given for indicating and not limiting purposes.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 schematically represents a perspective view of a protection seat for cyclist trousers according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.
Figs. 2, 3 and 4 schematically represent plan views from above of the protection seat of Fig. 1, in successive steps of its manufacture, in which the seat of Fig. 4 corresponds to the completed seat of Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 schematically represents a front view of cyclist trousers equipped with the seat of Fig. 1.
Fig. 6 schematically represents a rear view of the cyclist trousers of Fig. 5.

Detailed description of a preferred embodiment

With reference to Fig. 1, a protection seat 110 for the crotch area of cyclist trousers is shown. The seat 110 essentially comprises a top layer 111 and a top layer 112, both made from elastic fabric, natural or synthetic, with an intermediate layer 113 of soft material.
Said seat 110 has a front portion 116 and a rear portion 118 to respectively protect the front pubic area and perineal-ischiatic area of the cyclist. Said front and rear portions 116, 118 both have a substantially concave and shell-shaped configuration.
As can be understood from the figure, the seat 110 as a whole tends to take up a shell-shaped configuration, in which two depressions 130 and 131 meet, respectively for the front and rear area, aligned along the median line 122 of the seat, with side walls that progressively rise with respect to said depressions.
The concave shell-shaped configuration of the portions 116 and 118 is preferably obtained with longitudinal median joints 128, 129 between the flaps of respective V notches made at the front and rear, as shall be made clearer hereafter with reference to an example.
The front portion 116 is preferably made with an anatomical shape suitable for shielding the male genitals, in particular the scrotal area, and is sized and limited to front areas of the seat 110 that are not subject to the tensions that can derive from the pedalling movement.
The rear portion 118 is equipped with at least a pair of shaped pads 120. Said pads 120 are preferably enantiomorphous, i.e. equally spaced and mirroring one another with respect to said median longitudinal line 122 of the seat 110.
Figs. 2 to 4 schematically represent a method for manufacturing the seat 110. The manufacturing method essentially comprises the steps of:

shaping the seat 110 with said front portion 116 and said rear portion 118 (Fig. 2);
making a first longitudinal median notch 124, open a the end, substantially V-shaped, on said front portion 116, obtained two opposite flaps 126, and making a second longitudinal median notch 125 open at the end, substantially V-shaped, on the rear portion 118, obtaining two further opposite flaps 127;
joining at least a portion of the respective opposite flaps 126 and 127, obtaining respective front and rear longitudinal joints 128 129.

The median longitudinal notches 124 and 125 are passing-through notches, i.e. made on the entire seat. In the example, both the layers 111 and 112 and the intermediate layer 113 are cut, with removal of a triangular fragment of material corresponding to the V of the notch, and obtaining substantially rectilinear flaps 126, 127. Preferably, the joints 128 and 129 are made along the entire extension of the respective notch, joining the flaps for their entire length.
It should be noted that the joints 128, 129 are made on the seat before being stitched on to the trousers. In other words, the seat in itself, as a finished product, has the anatomical shell shape of the front and rear portions 116, 118.
The joints 128 and 129, as can be understood, have the effect of defining a concave shell shape of the front part 116 and of the rear part 118 of the seat 110. Said joints 128 and 129 are made with conventional techniques, e.g. stitching, heat sealing or gluing.
According to a preferred aspect, each of the notches 124 and 125, and therefore the respective joints 128, 129 of the flaps 126 and 127, extend for a length between about one quarter and about one third of the initial length of the shaped seat. For example, if the longitudinal size of the seat, along the line 122 (Fig. 2), is about 40 cm, preferably the front V notch 124 is about 10-12 cm and similarly the rear V notch 125 is about 10-12 cm. Clearly, such indications are not limiting.
Preferably, the method comprises a further step of associating the shaped pads 120 with the rear portion 118 of the seat 110, with conventional techniques, for example with stitching, heat sealing or gluing. The pads 120 can be stitched or associated in another way to the seat 110 irrespectively before or after making the notches 124, 125 and the joints 128, 129.
Figs. 5 and 6 show an example of a skin-tight sports garment or cyclist trousers, wholly indicated with 12, equipped with the described protection seat 110.
The protection seat 110 is placed at the so-called crotch area 14 of said trousers 12. The seat 110 is associated with the trousers 12, or is formed in the trousers 12 themselves, and is intended to protect the perineal and ischiatic area of the cyclist's body, which is in contact with the bicycle saddle during use.
From the previous description it can clearly be seen that the protection seat for cyclist trousers according to the invention solves the technical problem and achieves numerous advantages, including an uncustomary good fit.
In detail, the shell-shaped configuration of the front part 116 gives an improved fit in particular for male cyclists. Said shell-shaped front portion, limited to the front areas of the seat that are not subject to the tensions deriving from the pedalling movement, remains substantially still during use, and consequently does not compress the scrotal area, so that the trousers are particularly comfortable. A further advantage, for male cyclists, is represented by the fact that the front portion of the shell-shaped seat protects and also supports the genitals.
During the pedalling movement, the compression of the seat on the scrotal area is greatly reduced, which means absolute comfort. In practice, this is obtained by making the front portion of the seat "independent" from the rear portion, i.e. by making the portion that is in contact with the genital independent from the portion that is in contact with the buttocks: in this way, the maximum freedom of movement is ensured during pedalling.
The concave shell-shaped configuration of the rear shape further improves the characteristics of skin-tightness and fit.
Of course, a man skilled in the art can bring numerous modifications and variants, in order to satisfy specific and contingent requirements, all of which are also covered by the scope of protection of the present invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims

Protection seat (110) for cyclist trousers (12), intended to be arranged at the so-called crotch area (14) of said trousers, said seat being characterised in that it comprises, in a single piece, a front portion (116) for protecting the pubic area and a rear portion (118) for protecting the perineal and ischiatic area of the cyclist, wherein both said front portion (116) and said rear portion (118) of the seat (110) have a concave shell-shaped configuration.
Seat according to claim 1, characterised by joints (128, 129) of respective V notches made in a median and longitudinal position in the front portion (116) and in the rear portion (118), obtaining said concave shell-shaped configuration.
Seat according to claim 2, wherein each of said joints (128, 129) extends for a length between about one quarter and about one third of the length of the seat itself.
Seat according to any one of the previous claims, wherein said front portion (116) is shell-shaped to receive at least a part of the made genital organs of the cyclist, having an anatomical shape suitable for shielding, protecting and supporting the made genitals.
Seat according to any one of the previous claims, wherein said front portion (116) has a concave shell-shaped configuration that is limited to portions of the seat that are not subject to the tensions due to the pedalling movement.
Seat according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the rear portion (118) is equipped with at least a pair of shaped pads (20), equally spaced apart and mirroring each other with respect to a median longitudinal line (122).
Cyclist trousers (12) characterised in that it comprises a protection seat (110) according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
Method for manufacturing a protection seat (110) for cyclist trousers (12), characterised in that it comprises at least the steps of:
- shaping the seat (110) with a front portion (116) and a rear portion (118);

- making on said front portion (116) a first longitudinal, median, substantially V-shaped notch (124), open at the end, obtaining two opposite flaps (126), and making on the rear portion (118) a second longitudinal, median, substantially V-shaped notch (125) open at the end, obtaining two further opposite flaps (127);

- joining at least a portion of the respective opposite flaps (126 and 127), obtaining respective front and rear longitudinal joints (128, 129) and consequently forming a shell-shaped concavity in said front portion (116) and in said rear portion (118) of the seat itself.
Method according to claim 8, characterised in that said first and said second V-notches are made by removing a triangular piece of material from said seat, and obtaining rectilinear flaps (126, 127).
Method according to claim 8 or 9, characterised in that said first and second V-notches are each made for a length of between about one quarter and about one third of the length of the seat itself.