US3683909A

US3683909A - Supporting garment

Info

Publication number: US3683909A
Application number: US106450A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard De Hart Murray
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-01-14
Filing date: 1971-01-14
Publication date: 1972-08-15
Anticipated expiration: 1989-08-15

Abstract

An undergarment formed of knitted fabric comprising a plurality of members cut to pattern and adapted to be sewn together to provide positive support and lift for the male genital organs.

Description

United States Patent 1151 3,683,909 Murray [4 Aug. 15,1972,

2,739,314 3/1956 Friedman........

1541 SUPPORTING GARMENT 2/224 A [72] I Ri h d D H Murray, 17 480 2,505,219 4/1950 ....,...2 /224A 7 h S" New York, 10 1 3,283,545 11/1966 Sunon.......... .........l28/l59 X 3,354,880 11/1967 Coughlin m1. ..........128/159 [22] RM Jan-14,1971 2,661,738 12/1953 Friedman..................128/159 prising pattern and adapted to positive support and lift Primary Examiner-Richard A. Gaudet Assistant Examiner-J. Yasko Attorneylrving Seidman [57] ABSTRACT An undergarment formed of knitted fabric com a plurality of members out to be sewn together to provide for the male genital organs.

7 Clains, 6 Drawing Figures Int. 5/40 [21] Appl.No.: 106,450

[58] FieldofSearch.......

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,493,357 l/l950 Miller.......................

PATENTED M19 15 I97? 3 6 83, 909

F IG. 5. y

ATTORNEY.

SUPPORTING GARMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION dergarment and, more specifically, to mens briefs,

shorts or trunks which engage and encase portions of the body of the wearer and provide positive support and lift for the male genital organs.

2. Description of the Prior Art Heretofore, numerous supporting undergarments have been proposed which cause discomfort when giving support for the male genital organs, or have failed to give such support with adequate tolerances for movements and various postures. Other disadvantages of such known undergarments reside in the predominately double-ply construction thereof, particularly in the crotch portion of such garments, which. construction materially obstructs the penetration and circulation of air so as to inhibit the evaporation of body moisture. In addition, those known undergarments constructed having a front fly or overlapping flap cover portions do not afford sufficient or comfortable expansion of the garment, particularly in the crotch area,in relation to body movement.

The present invention serves to eliminate the above problems and disadvantages in the manner hereinafter described.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The undergarment of the present invention is characterized as being constructed of single ply knit fabric members which are cut and assembled together in a manner offering a gentle, yet firm cupping support to the genitals. The construction of the garment is such as to enable it to readily give or yield with the bending or movements of the body without creating any binding or creeping effect on the wearer.

Stated in general terms, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved supporting undergarment affording positive support and lift for the genital organs.

Another object and feature of the present invention is to provide an improved supporting undergarment formed of a pair of single ply knit fabric members having front sections cut bias to the seam so that the garment gives or yields with the bending or movements of the body without creeping or binding, and which garment is formed without a front central or fly opening.

A further object, feature and advantage of the present invention is to provide an improved supporting undergarment which is relatively easy to assemble and economical to manufacture.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the consideration of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is a front elevational view of the supporting undergarment constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a blank portion constituting one-half of the supporting undergarment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial detail of the front seam area of the garment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along FIG. 1;

FIG. Sis a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, numeral 10 represents the supporting undergarment constructed in accordance with the present invention. Garment 10 is formed of two or more knitted fabric members suitably sewn together to define conventional waist and leg engaging portions 12 and 14 respectively; said members being joined together by means of vertically extending front seam l6 and back seam l8 and a horizontally extending crotch seam 20 located at the juncture of said front and back seams.

Referring more specifically to FIG. 2, there is illustrated in plan view a blank portion 22 constituting onehalf of the garment shown in FIG. 1. Stated otherwise, blank 22 constitutes one of the fabric members used in constructing garment 10. Although another fabric member identical in size and contour to that of blank 22 is required to complete the garment, it will only be necessary to describe one of such members to acquire a meaningful appreciation of the present invention. Furthermore, while garment 10 is preferably formed of two fabric members, it will be understood that it is possible to attain the general objects of the invention by employing varied numbers of pieces in excess of the number shown in the drawing. Accordingly, blank or member 22 may, itself, be formed of two sections joined together along a vertical seam 24, such as shown in FIG. 2.

Member 22 is cut from a suitable pattern and is preferably formed of single ply knit fabric having a waist forming edge portion 26 and a leg forming edge portion 28, defining therebetween a section 30 which constitutes a side portion of the garment. Extending laterally from opposite sides of side portion 30, is a partial back section 32 and a partial front section 34. The manner of cut and angular displacement, with respect to the vertical, of the rearwardly extending edge 36 of back section 32 and the forwardly extending edge 38 of front section 34, together with the manner in which the front section 34 is cut with relation to the grain of the fabric, are essential parts of the invention as more fully described below.

For example, partial back section 32 is out having a rearwardly extending compound curved edge including spaced concave edge portions 441) and 42 and convex edge portion 44 interconnecting said concave portions. Crotch forming edge portion 46 serves to connect edge portion 42 with leg forming edge portion 28. The angular displacement of the compound curved edge of back section 32 is conveniently defined with respect to a ver tical reference line Y--Y as being measured by a tangent T to the outermost point T, of convex edge porline 4-4 of tion 44 and passing through a point T defined by the juncture of concave edge portion 42 and crotch forming edge 46. In practice, it has been found that the objectives of the present invention are satisfactorily obtained where tangent T lies in a plane at an angle between 4 and 20 with respect to the vertical reference line.

Referring now, in similar detail, to the partial front section 34 of garment member 22, the front section is out having a forwardly extending convex edge 48 which is connected to leg forming edge portion 28 by means of crotch forming edge portion 50. The angular displacement of edge 48 is defined with respect to vertical reference line YY as being measured by a tangent T to the outermost point T, of convex edge 48 and passing through a point T defined by the juncture of convex edge 48 and crotch forming edge 50. It has been found that favorable results are obtained in practicing the present invention where tangent T lies in a plane at an angle between and 35 with respect to the vertical reference line.

Another important feature of the present invention resides in the construction thereof wherein the fabric of front section 34 is preferably cut on a bias angle from and .in relation to the grain thereof, represented by the arrow in FIG. 2. This bias cut, together with the angular displacement of the edges of the back and front sections of the garment members serve to enhance the comfort to the wearer of the garment while achieving the objectives heretofore described.

In assembling the garment, two fabric members, each having the configuration illustrated by blank 22, are joined together by means of stitching, such as that represented by numeral 52, to define a garment having front seam 16, back seam 18 and crotch seam 20. The leg forming edge portions 28 which define leg portions 14 are then reversely folded, or turned inwardly upon itself, and receive an elastic member 54 positioned between the opposed surfaces of the reversely folded leg forming edge portions. The elastic member 54 is positioned in a slightly tensioned condition whereupon the reversely folded leg forming edge portions are then closed or secured together by means of stitching 56. In a similar fashion, the waist forming edge portions 26 are reversely folded and receive elastic member 58 therebetween in a slightly tensioned condition, whereupon the reversely folded waist edge portions are closed or secured together by means of stitching 60. The

elastic members

54 and 58 of leg portion 14 and waist portion 12, respectively, render the garment essentially fomi fitting in these body regions, and yet, act independently of each other according to body movement without creating any binding or creeping effect on the wearer.

The garment as thus formed readily gives or yields with the bending or movements of the body, while yet offering a gentle and sustaining cupping support to the genitals. The garment is essentially form-fitting and will snugly and smoothly engage the body parts, and yet will not interfere with changes in posture or position. Because of the single thickness of fabric, especially in the crotch portion, penetration of air and moisture is uninhibited to allow healthful evaporation of body moisture.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it will be readily understood and appreciated that various changes or modifications thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A supporting undergarment comprising:

a. a pair of fabric members;

b. each member including an intermediate side section, a partial back section and a partial front section; said back and front sections extending laterally from said intermediate side section;

0. said partial back section having a rearwardly extending compound curved edge angularly displaced with respect to the vertical and extending between the top to the bottom thereof;

d. said edge having a pair of spaced concave edge portions and a convex edge portion interconnecting said concave edge portions;

. the angular displacement of said edge being measured by a tangent to the outermost point of the convex edge portion thereof and which lies in a plane at an angle between 4 and 20 with respect to the vertical;

f. said partial front section having a forwardly extending convex edge angularly displaced with respect to the vertical and extending between the top and bottom thereof;

g. the angular displacement of said forwardly extending edge being measured by a tangent to the outermost point of said edge and which lies in a plane at an angle between 15 and 35 with respect to the vertical;

h. means for securing the forwardly extending edges of the partial front sections of said members together;

it means for securing the rearwardly extending edges of the partial back sections of said members together;

j. each of said partial front and back sections having crotch forming edge portions; and

k. means for securing together the associated crotch forming edge portions of the respective front and back sections.

2. The supporting undergarment as recited in claim I, wherein the fabric of said partial front section is cut on a bias angle from 20 to 30.

3. The supporting undergarment as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said pair of members is formed of single ply knit fabric.

4. The supporting undergarment as recited in claim 1, whereby the outermost point of the convex edge portion of the partial back section lies on the tangent when said tangent passes through a point defined by the juncture of the lower end of the rearwardly extending edge of the partial back section and the crotch forming edge thereof.

5. The supporting undergarment as recited in claim 1, whereby the outermost point of the convex edge of the partial front section lies on the tangent when said tangent passes through a point defined by the juncture of the lower end of the forwardly extending edge of the partial from section and the crotch forming edge thereof.

6. The supporting undergarment as recited in claim 1,

- wherein each of said members includes leg forming edge portions; and elastic means associated with said leg forming edge portions.

7. The supporting undergarment as recited in claim 5 1, wherein each of said members includes waist forming edge portions; and elastic means associated with said waist forming edge portions.

* In a: a

Claims

1. A supporting undergarment comprising: a. a pair of fabric members; b. each member including an intermediate side section, a partial back section and a partial front section; said back and front sections extending laterally from said intermediate side section; c. said partial back section having a rearwardly extending compound curved edge angularly displaced with respect to the vertical and extending between the top to the bottom thereof; d. said edge having a pair of spaced concave edge portions and a convex edge portion interconnecting said concave edge portions; e. the angular displacement of said edge being measured by a tangent to the outermost point of the convex edge portion thereof and which lies in a plane at an angle between 4* and 20* with respect to the vertical; f. said partial front section having a forwardly extending convex edge angularly displaced with respect to the vertical and extending between the top and bottom thereof; g. the angular displacement of said forwardly extending edge being measured by a tangent to the outermost point of said edge and which lies in a plane at an angle between 15* and 35* with respect to the vertical; h. means for securing the forwardly extending edges of the partial front sections of said members together; i. means for securing the rearwardly extending edges of the partial back sections of said members together; j. each of said partial front and back sections having crotch forming edge portions; and k. means for securing together the associateD crotch forming edge portions of the respective front and back sections.

2. The supporting undergarment as recited in claim l, wherein the fabric of said partial front section is cut on a bias angle from 20* to 30*.

5. The supporting undergarment as recited in claim 1, whereby the outermost point of the convex edge of the partial front section lies on the tangent when said tangent passes through a point defined by the juncture of the lower end of the forwardly extending edge of the partial front section and the crotch forming edge thereof.

6. The supporting undergarment as recited in claim l, wherein each of said members includes leg forming edge portions; and elastic means associated with said leg forming edge portions.

7. The supporting undergarment as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said members includes waist forming edge portions; and elastic means associated with said waist forming edge portions.