MALE UNDERWEAR GARMENT

Abstract

A male underwear garment having an inner portion constructed as a brief with leg openings, a waist opening and an operable fly is attached at the waist opening to the waist opening of an outer portion constructed as a boxer short with leg openings, a waist opening and an operable fly so that the operable flies are aligned.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Applicant claims the benefit of provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 60/812,436 filed Jun. 9, 2006 for men's underwear.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to improvements in men's underwear and more particularly, pertains to new and improved male boxer-short underwear.

2. Description of Related Art

In the field of men's underwear, it has been the practice to employ one of three designs, briefs, boxer shorts or a hybrid boxer brief. Each one of these styles are extensively used and serve their purpose. Although the briefs provide the support sought by some men, the appearance can be less than satisfactory. The boxer shorts, provide a much better appearance but without the support of a brief. The hybrid boxer briefs provide support, but are long and tight in the leg, once again, being less than adequate in appearance.

Attempts have been made to overcome these shortcomings, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,462 granted Jan. 10, 1995 for male pant-type garments with internal suspensory support structure. This patent describes a “genitor-supportive structure” built into a boxer short.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The general purpose of the present invention is to provide a man's underwear garment that has the advantages of both a boxer short and a brief in a single garment, providing the appearance of a boxer short and the full support of a brief. This is accomplished by having an outer portion constructed as a boxer short with conventional leg openings, a waist opening and an operable fly with overlapping flaps. An inner portion constructed as a brief having conventional leg openings, a waist opening and an operable fly with overlapping flaps is located inside the outer portion. The inner portion and outer portion are attached at the respect waist openings so that the respective operable flies are aligned.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The exact nature of this invention, as well as the objects and advantages thereof, will become readily apparent from consideration of the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the figures thereof and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a male underwear garment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front exploded view of the garment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front view in partial section showing the garment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross section of the garment of FIG. 4 taken along lines 4-4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a man's underwear garment 100 according to the present invention, showing how an inner brief 200 is integrated with an outer boxer short 250. The inner brief 200 and outer boxer short 250 are fastened at the waistband. The preferred fastening method is lining up the brief waist hem 220 (FIG. 2) with the boxer short waist hem 272, using a ¾″ turn down and setting a ¾″ width elastic waistband 106 inside. A single needle stitch is used to sew the top and bottom edges 108 and 110 of the elastic waistband 106 to both the brief waist hem 220 and boxer short waist hem 272. In a preferred embodiment, the brief fly flaps 214 and 216 and the boxer short fly flaps 266 and 268 are joined by seams 112 and 114. Alternatively, brief fly and the boxer short fly may be left unconnected, but aligned, in order to better hide the existence of the briefs.

FIG. 2 shows the inner brief 200 before it is integrated into the boxer short 200. The brief will typically be made out of cotton. But other types of fabric such as polyester/microfiber blends are also contemplated. The inner brief is composed of a top piece 202 and a bottom piece 204, sewn together in the front with a seam 206 and in the back with a seam 208, with a five thread reverse cover stitch. The left and right thigh hems 210 and 212 are sewn with a ⅛″ double needle cover stitch, with a ⅜″ single fold binding, using a shoulder tape machine to cover the seam. The fly has a left fly flap 214 overlaying a right fly flap 216. The left flap 214 has a hem 218.

FIG. 2 also shows an outer boxer short 250 before it is integrated with the brief 200 to form the male underwear garment 100. The boxer shorts are preferably made out of cotton, a cotton/polyester blend, silk, or any other similar fabric. The boxer short 250 has both a left leg component 252 and a right leg component 254. The left and right leg components 252 and 254 are sewn together in the front and back by a seam 256. The left bottom leg hem 258 and right bottom leg hem 260 are sewn with a ¾″ double turn in, single needle stitch for a clean finish. The left inseam 262 and right inseam 264 are sewn together with a ½″ seam, with a four thread topstitch ¼″ apart. The fly is made of a left fly flap 266 overlaying a right fly flap 268. The overlaying left fly flap 266 has a hem 270. A waist hem 272 has a ¾″ turn in, with a single needle cover stitch at the top edge, then another single needle stitch ¾″ down.

FIG. 3 shows the front of the male underwear garment 100, with the left side cut-away to show the position of the inner brief 200.

FIG. 4 shows a cross section of the male underwear garment 100 of FIG. 4 along line 4-4, looking in the direction of across, providing a side view of the brief thigh component and its relative position inside the outer boxer short 250.

The male underwear garment of the present invention provides the advantages of a boxer short and a brief in a single garment. It has the appearance of a boxer short and the support of a brief. Many men prefer the appearance of a boxer short over a brief even though they wear briefs. Many men wear a brief because they prefer the support provided by a brief to the depending male body portion.

The underwear of the present invention provides the support and feel of a typical brief while looking like a boxer short. A user simply places his legs through the left and right leg components 102 and 104 and pulls the underwear up until the elastic waistband 106 is around his waist.

This is a surprising and unexpected result. The male underwear garment of the present invention is an improvement over male pant-type garments having a built-in genitor-supportive structure as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,462, and even an improvement over simply wearing a brief underneath the pair of boxer shorts.

The present invention provides a male undergarment that reduces the amount of laundry, prevents the boxer shorts from shifting and contorting into awkward positions while being worn, and keeps the boxer shorts and briefs correctly aligned, so that both flies remain immediately aligned and accessible.

Preferably, the fly for the boxer short and the brief are sewn together, so that the two function as one. Alternatively, the boxer short fly and the brief fly are not attached, but only aligned, in order to better conceal the presence of the briefs.

Boxer briefs are an existing hybrid of boxer shorts and briefs. Like boxer shorts, boxer briefs cover part of the leg. Like briefs, boxer briefs provide support for the male depending body portion. However, unlike boxer shorts, boxer briefs are tight in the leg region, snugly hugging the leg. Moreover, the overall appearance is still that of a brief with legs.

The male underwear garment of the present invention is an improvement over boxer briefs because it provides the appearance of a boxer short with the full support of a brief, and is readily available in different colors, patterns, and fabrics.

The male underwear garment of the present invention is an improvement over briefs because many men prefer the look of boxer shorts, which extend down the leg, are loose in the leg, and are available in a variety of colors and patterns. Briefs, on the other hand, are more revealing, tight, and usually made of plain white cotton. Some men find it fashionable to wear their pants in a manner that exposes their multicolored underwear in the posterior region. Briefs also have the negative stigma of being known as “tighty whities.”

The male underwear garment of the present invention is an improvement over boxer shorts because many men seek the full support provided by briefs over the lack of support provided by boxer shorts. Briefs keep the male depending body portions in a relatively controlled position. Moreover, the double garment construction of the male underwear garment of the present invention will absorb any accidental leakage that may occur.

The male underwear garment of the present invention is an improvement over the male pant-type garment of U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,462 because it provides the full support of a brief, rather than just a loose fitting suspensory support for depending male body portions. Men who prefer the full support of a brief but do not like its look, will not switch to the pant-type garment of U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,462. The full support provided by a brief is missing. However, they will switch to the male underwear garment of the present invention which provides the full support of a brief.

Claims

1. A male underwear garment, comprising:

an outer portion constructed as a boxer short having conventional leg openings, a waist opening and an operable fly with overlapping flaps; and

an inner portion constructed as a brief having conventional leg openings, a waist opening and an operable fly with overlapping flaps;

whereby the inner portion and outer portion are attached at the respective waist openings so that the respective operable flies are aligned.

2. The male underwear garment of claim 1 wherein the overlapping flaps of the operable fly of the inner portion are attached to the overlapping flaps of the operable fly of the outer portion.

3. The male underwear garment of claim 1 wherein the brief has a waist hem and the boxer short has a waist hem, both waist hems being aligned so that the respective flies are aligned; and further comprising an elastic waist band of predetermined width on the inside of the brief waist hem; both hems being turned down creating a single hem with a top and bottom, the hem being stitched to the elastic waist band and the brief and short at the waist openings.

4. The male underwear garment of claim 3 wherein the overlapping flaps of the operable fly of the brief are stitched to the overlapping flaps of the operable fly of the short.

5. The male underwear garment of claim 4 wherein the predetermined width of the elastic waist band is about three-quarters of an inch.

6. The male underwear garment of claim 5 wherein the waist hem of the brief and the waist hem of the short are turned down about three-quarters of an inch.

7. The male underwear garment of claim 6 wherein the stitching for the turned-down hem is single needle at the top and bottom edges of the turned-down single hem.

8. The male underwear garment of claim 7 wherein the boxer short has a left bottom leg hem at a left leg opening and a right bottom leg hem, at the right leg opening, each leg hem being sewn by a single stitch.

9. The male underwear garment of claim 8 wherein the left bottom leg hem and right bottom leg hem are about three-quarters of an inch wide and have a double turn in.

10. The male underwear garment of claim 9 wherein the brief leg openings have a three-eighth inch single fold hem sewn with a one-eighth double needle cover stitch.