Body support for cyclists' shorts or trousers
A body support for placement within cyclists' shorts or trousers includes an elastic top layer having a back portion arranged to extend beneath a cyclist's buttocks, and a front portion arranged to extend in the region of the cyclist's crotch. An elastic bottom layer has a generally inverted Y-shaped configuration, a back portion of the bottom layer has first and second edges joined to corresponding edges on the back portion of the top layer, and a front portion of the bottom layer has one or more edges joined to corresponding edges on the front portion of the top layer. An intermediate cushion layer is joined to the bottom layer so that a top surface of the cushion layer faces toward but is free from attachment to a bottom surface of the top layer.
This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/651,429 filed Aug. 29, 2003, and entitled “Trousers for Athlete Particularly for Cyclist and Method of Making Same”.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to body support pads or cushions of the kind used in cycling shorts or trousers.
2. Discussion of the Known Art
As a competitive sport, recreational activity or means for daily exercise, cycling remains very popular. Cycling shorts or trousers (hereafter referred to collectively as “shorts”) are available with padding to absorb shocks and vibrations transmitted through the seat or saddle of a bicycle. The shorts may also be manufactured so as to wick moisture away from the body and reduce chafing.
Cycling shorts with padding disposed in the crotch region to prevent or reduce soreness, chafing or blistering, are known. Conventional shorts generally have a four, six, or eight panel construction, elastic ribbing around the bottom of the leg openings and the waist, and padding disposed in the buttocks and crotch regions of the shorts. This padding is sometimes referred to as a “chamois.” The chamois is typically formed from layers of various materials that are stitched or laminated to one another. For example, some cycling shorts have a chamois liner with layers of Ultrasuede™ polyurethane foam, and a polyurethane outer layer. Ultrasuede™ is a synthetic suede material made by Dupont of Wilmington, Del.
Some cycling shorts include a two-ply chamois and have layers of polyurethane foam, terry cloth, or fleece; while others feature an eight panel construction and a three-ply chamois with a zigzag baseball stitching design. The chamois is typically cut to fit between the cyclist's legs. The multi-ply chamois construction is relatively stiff and thus not conducive to obtaining a comfortable, anatomically conforming fit, however.
Cycling shorts available from ASSOS of Switzerland feature an elastic, padded insert at the crotch region. The insert consists of a dynamic memory foam that is positioned inside the crotch area and stitched directly to the shorts. An anti-friction skin contact textile extends over and beyond the perimeter of the foam, and the textile is separately stitched at its periphery to the shorts. According to ASSOS, the foam and the contact textile have similar elastic properties.
Other known cycling shorts have a heat formed chamois made from a laminate of Ultrasuede™ and a knitted polyester fleece, which are bonded together by an adhesive. The laminate is first heated and then molded between shaped dies which correspond to a desired anatomical shape. When cooled, the molded chamois is cut from the fabric piece and sewn into the cycling shorts. Thus, an anatomically conforming chamois is obtained for the one position at which the chamois was molded. When the cyclist moves to other positions, however, the excess material still presents a problem and a less than conforming fit is obtained. The heat molding process used to obtain the shaped chamois also requires additional expense, labor and time for manufacturing. Therefore, there is a need for a cushion support that can be made economically and which provides an anatomically conforming fit for various positions of the cyclist, whether male or female.
Cycling shorts should be cut with a high waist to prevent bunching of the waistband fabric. Current practice in cycling is to use shorts made of a material that may be partially elasticized, so that the shorts will cling snugly to the body and may even be worn without underwear. The problem for the cyclist is that during races or training, the crotch region is subjected to continuous stresses including shocks produced by ground unevenness and vibrations transmitted to the bicycle seat.
As a partial solution to the mentioned drawbacks, cycling shorts have been produced in which a textile padding of suitable thickness is sewn at the crotch. Although the thickness of the padding may offer initial relief, it has been found that the padding tends to overheat the crotch region and continuous slippage between the cyclist's body and the padding occurs due to sweating. Thus, any initial benefits are lost. It is also known to provide cycling shorts having a bottom with multiple chambers sewn at the crotch region, the chambers being arranged laterally to the longitudinal axis of the bicycle seat to form distinct regions of support for the crotch.
While some cycling shorts are cut specifically to conform with the male anatomy, the same pattern is sometimes used for female sized shorts as well. Cycling shorts preferably should be cut and sized to accommodate the different anatomical features of the two sexes, however. That is, cycling shorts intended for sale to women should conform comfortably with the female anatomy whether the wearer is cycling for pleasure or competition. See generally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,687,917 (Feb. 10, 2004); U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,618 (May 28, 2002); U.S. Pat. No. 5,978,970 (Nov. 9, 1999); U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,101 (Dec. 21, 1993); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,233 (Oct. 9, 1990).
Accordingly, there remains a need for cycling shorts that will allow either male or female cyclists to peddle actively over long periods of time and with a reasonable degree of comfort.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to the invention, a body support suited for placement in the seat of cyclists' shorts or trousers includes an elastic top layer having a back portion for extending beneath a cyclist's buttocks, and a front portion for extending in the region of the cyclist's crotch. The support also includes an elastic bottom layer having a generally inverted Y-shaped configuration. A back portion of the bottom layer has first and second edges that are joined to corresponding edges of the back portion of the top layer, and a front portion of the bottom layer has one or more edges that are joined to corresponding edges of the front portion of the top layer. An intermediate layer of cushion or padding material is joined to the bottom layer so that a top surface of the intermediate layer faces toward but is free from attachment to a bottom surface of the top layer.
For a better understanding of the invention, reference is made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing and the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGIn the drawing:
As seen in
As mentioned, the layer 10 may optionally be imprinted with text and/or graphics, e.g., a trademark or trade dress using, for example, ink sublimation graphics. In such a process, a transfer design is comprised of a carrier paper and inks (typically printed on the paper with an inkjet printer). Imprinted text on the top layer 10 of the inventive body support may also provide size and care information for a pair of shorts in which the support was fastened at the time of manufacture.
When heated and pressed over a certain amount of time, the inks transfer onto the layer material. Some inks may adhere to the surface of the material, while others (namely, sublimation) penetrate a coating on the material. The temperatures, pressures and time used in the transfer process could be determined by a skilled worker considering, for example, the type of fabric, the saturation of the design, and the sublimation penetrable aspects of the fabric. Ink sublimation is a preferred printing technique because the ink is impregnated into the fabric substrate, and the fabric remains breathable. Techniques such as screen printing only coat the fabric and do not allow breathability. Because the top layer 10 extends over the crotch region when worn inside shorts, breathability over most all of the layer area is important for wearer's comfort.
In
The support is assembled by joining the intermediate cushion or padding layer 30 to the bottom layer 20, preferably with stitching that runs at or near the outer periphery of the layer 30 and the edge of the slot 32. The bottom layer 20 is then stitched near the edges 22a, 22b and 24a of its front and back portions, to corresponding edges 12a, 12b and 14a of the top layer 10, with a top surface of the intermediate layer 30 facing toward a bottom surface of the top layer 10 as shown in
Accordingly, the top layer 10 is free to encounter stretching and/or shifts in position in response to peddling motion of the cyclist's legs, without any restraint by the intermediate cushion layer 30 which is kept substantially stationary under the weight of the cyclist's body. Instead, such stretching or other movement of the top layer 10 is complied with by those elastic sections of the bottom layer 20 that extend between the intermediate layer 30 and the edges of the top layer 10 at which the bottom layer 20 is joined. That is, unlike the known body supports or chamois, any inherent stiffness of the cushion layer 30 in the inventive support will not act to limit the cyclist's freedom of movement.
In contrast to the bottom layer 20 of
Similar to the male version of
The inventive cyclist body support, whether male or female version, can be sewn or otherwise fixed in place inside a pair of cycling shorts in a manner that would be apparent to a skilled worker in view of the present disclosure. For example, as depicted in
In the disclosed embodiment, the inventive support is prefabricated separately from the shorts 60, and the top layer 10 of the support may have imprinted desired text and graphics. It will be understood, however, that the support may be integrated with the shorts 60 at the time the shorts are manufactured.
Because the intermediate cushion layer 30 is not fastened directly to the shorts 60, bunching of the support and cyclist discomfort are reduced or eliminated. It should be noted that while the top layer 10 is shown in the drawing as one continuous piece of material, the layer 10 may alternatively be formed from several pieces of material that are joined to one another. An advantage of this alternate embodiment is that different fabrics may be used, some of which may feature desired imprinting while others provide desired breathability and/or stretchability.
While the present invention has been disclosed and described with reference to various embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, which is pointed out by the following claims.
Claims
1. A body support for placement within cyclists' shorts or trousers, comprising:
- an elastic top layer having a back portion dimensioned and arranged to extend beneath a cyclist's buttocks, and a front portion dimensioned and arranged to extend in the region of the cyclist's crotch;
- an elastic bottom layer having a generally inverted Y-shaped configuration, and edges of the bottom layer are joined to corresponding edges of the top layer; and
- an intermediate layer of cushion or padding material joined to the bottom layer so that a top surface of the intermediate layer faces toward but is free from attachment to a bottom surface of the top layer.
2. A body support according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate layer has a generally inverted Y-shaped configuration.
3. A body support according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate layer has one or more elongated slots configured to reduce bunching of the cushion or padding material.
4. A body support according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate layer has an elasticity that is less than the elasticity of either the top or the bottom layer.
5. A body support according to claim 1, wherein a front portion of the bottom layer is configured to support a male cyclist's lower anatomy.
6. A body support according to claim 1, wherein a front portion of the bottom layer is configured to reduce pressure exerted by the support against a female cyclist's lower anatomy.
7. A body support according to claim 1, wherein the top layer comprises an elastic fabric blend suitable for imprinting of ink sublimated text or graphics.
8. A body support according to claim 7, wherein imprinted text on the top layer provides size and care information.
9. Cyclist's shorts or trousers, comprising:
- a pair of shorts or trousers constructed and arranged for use by a cyclist;
- a body support fastened inside the shorts or trousers so as to extend over the seat and the crotch region of a cyclist, wherein the body support comprises:
- an elastic top layer having a back portion dimensioned and arranged to extend beneath the cyclist's buttocks, and a front portion dimensioned and arranged to extend in the region of the cyclist's crotch;
- an elastic bottom layer having a generally inverted Y-shaped configuration, and edges of the bottom layer are joined to corresponding edges of the top layer; and
- an intermediate layer of cushion or padding material joined to the bottom layer so that a top surface of the intermediate layer faces toward but is free from attachment to a bottom surface of the top layer.
10. Cyclist's shorts or trousers according to claim 9, wherein the intermediate layer of the body support has a generally inverted Y-shaped configuration.
11. Cyclist's shorts or trousers according to claim 9, wherein the intermediate layer of the body support has one or more elongated slots configured to reduce bunching of the cushion or padding material.
12. Cyclist's shorts or trousers according to claim 9, wherein the intermediate layer of the body support has an elasticity that is less than the elasticity of either the top or the bottom layer.
13. Cyclist's shorts or trousers according to claim 9, wherein a front portion of the bottom layer of the body support is configured to support a male cyclist's lower anatomy.
14. Cyclist's shorts or trousers according to claim 9, wherein a front portion of the bottom layer of the body support is configured to reduce pressure exerted by the support against a female cyclist's lower anatomy.
15. Cyclist's shorts or trousers according to claim 9, wherein the top layer of the body support comprises an elastic fabric blend suitable for imprinting of ink sublimated text or graphics.
16. Cyclist's shorts or trousers according to claim 15, wherein imprinted text on the top layer of the body support provides size and care information for the shorts.
17. A body support according to claim 1, wherein a back portion of the bottom layer has first and second edges that are joined to corresponding edges on the back portion of the top layer, and a front portion of the bottom layer has one or more edges that are joined to corresponding edges on the front portion of the top layer.
18. Cyclists' shorts or trousers according to claim 9, wherein a back portion of the bottom layer of the support has first and second edges that are joined to corresponding edges on the back portion of the top layer of the support, and a front portion of the bottom layer has one or more edges that are joined to corresponding edges on the front portion of the top layer.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 9, 2005
Publication Date: Oct 13, 2005
Inventor: Thomas Hogan (Fishkill, NY)
Application Number: 11/148,881