Strapless underwear

Abstract

The present invention is underwear that is secured to the inside of an article of clothing by mechanical attachment means and does not produce any visible panty lines. The underwear is made almost entirely of soft woven material and is washable so it may be used multiple times.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of undergarments and more particularly to the area of waistless and seamless underwear for women.

2. Description of Related Art

For women who wear tight pants, or low waist pants such as hip huggers, conventional women's underwear with waistbands and seams around the leg openings is unsuitable because the waist bands and seams are openly visible. The visible waist bands and seams are commonly referred to as panty lines.

One solution to avoid panty lines is to not wear underwear. However, in many women there is a natural fear of bacterial infection or exposure of sensitive body tissues to clothing dyes or irritating stitching.

Several attempts have been made to provide the protection of underwear without the visible panty lines, however none have adequately provided a solution. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,407 to Christine Martz discloses a women's waistless and seamless clothing adherable underwear that includes an oval pad made of a soft absorbent material. The pad has strips of adhesive tape to attach to the inside crotch area of low slung clothing pants or tight pants. The problem with Martz is that the adhesive can pull away from the clothing if not secured properly. Also, proper placement of the adherable underwear may be difficult if the user is in a hurry. In addition, some women find that disposable underwear is itself unsanitary.

Other prior art U.S. patents reveal similar adherable underwear except the adherable underwear is secured to the user and not the article of clothing. One major disadvantage of securing the adherable underwear to the user is that when the user requires use of a restroom, the user must remove the adherable underwear and reposition when finished. This can cause irritation to the skin if the adherable underwear is removed several times in one day. It also provides undesirable delays when using the restroom.

What is needed is an article of clothing that can be secured to tight pants, or low waist pants and will not show any panty lines. The article of clothing must be easily secured in proper alignment and provide the necessary protection a woman wants. It would be beneficial if the article of clothing was not disposable and was washable for reuse.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is underwear that is secured to the inside of an article of clothing by mechanical attachment means and does not produce any visible panty lines.

The underwear is made of a soft woven material and can be secured to tight or low waist pants. Because the underwear is secured with a mechanical attachment means, the underwear is easily positioned in proper alignment and provides the necessary protection a woman wants. Also, because the underwear is made almost entirely of soft woven material, it is washable and able to be used multiple times.

In addition, because the underwear is positioned to be in contact with the vaginal area, it prevents infections that can arise from abrasion or irritation caused by rubbing against clothing materials when underpants are not worn. The underwear also provides a clean bacteria-free barrier from garment fabric which prevents irritation, exposure to bacteria and other pathogens, or irritating dyes found in some garment fabrics. The underwear can also absorb small amounts of moisture and allow for the attachment of sanitary napkins during menstruation periods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of the undergarment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the attachment means in an article of clothing in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the present invention in use; and

FIG. 4 is a top view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the descriptions that follow, like parts are marked throughout the specification and drawings with the same numerals, respectively. The drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale and certain figures may be shown in exaggerated or generalized form in the interest of clarity and conciseness.

FIG. 1 shows underwear 102 made of a single layer of material 104. Material 104 is any type of fabric such as silk, nylon, or rayon but is preferably a woven material such as cotton or some type of cotton blend. The material is washable and therefore can be reused multiple times. The thickness of material 104 is less than approximately 2 mm thick. Preferably, underwear 102 has the general shape of a triangle but may have any shape that allows it to be secured to an article of clothing. Underwear 102 is partially bordered by band 108.

Band 108 can be made of lace, elastic, cotton, or any other material typically used to make waistbands for underwear. Band 108 creates a clean look to underwear 102 and prevents material 104 from becoming frayed and tattered. If band 108 is made of elastic material, the elastic will stretch to allow underwear 108 to fit a variety of pants. Band 108 may fully or only partially border underwear 102 or may not even border underwear 102 at all.

Underwear 102 contains fasteners 106a, 106b, and 106c. Fasteners 106a, 106b, and 106c may be one piece of any mechanical attachment means such as a snap, hook-and-loop, Velcro®, magnet, or any other mechanical fastener that requires the mating of two pieces. Fasteners 106a, 106b, and 106c may be attached to material 104 or band 108.

The second pieces of the mechanical attachment means are fasteners 108a, 108b, and 108c. As shown in FIG. 2, fasteners 108a, 108b, and 108c are attached to article of clothing 202. Article of clothing 202 is any article of clothing but is preferably one that may produce visible panty lines such as tight or low waist pants.

FIG. 3 shows underwear 102 attached to article of clothing 202 such that fasteners 106a, 106b, and 106c are mated with fasteners 108a, 108b, and 108c respectively to provide a secure connection. In one embodiment, fasteners 108a, 108b, and 108c are attached to article of clothing 202 in an area that does not allow fasteners 108a, 108b, and 108c to be easily seen from the outside of article of clothing 202. For example, fasteners 108a and 108b may be located on the inside pocket lining, along a seam in article of clothing 202, or on a flap of cloth attached to the inside of article of clothing 202. Fastener 108c may be located in the bottom seam and is only visible when looking into article of clothing 202.

In a second embodiment, fasteners 108a, 108b, and 108c are attached to article of clothing 202 in such a manner as to blend in with the design of article of clothing 202. For example, fasteners 108a, 108b, and 108c may be a part of a studded or beaded pattern on article of clothing 202.

FIG. 4 shows an alternate embodiment where underwear 402 is made of two or more materials. Material 404 is cotton or some type of cotton blend and is the functional part of underwear 102. Material 404 is at least approximately 1.0 inches long and at least approximately 0.5 inches wide at the narrowest part. This allows for some protection against infections, bacteria, pathogens, irritating dyes, and small amounts of moisture or other liquids. Material 404 is attached to aesthetic material 406 and/or band 108.

Aesthetic material 406 may be a woven material, silk, satin, lace, or any aesthetically pleasing material and may be attached to band 108. Fasteners 106a, 106b, and 106c may be attached to material 404, band 108, or aesthetic material 406.

Although the invention has been described with reference to one or more preferred embodiments, this description is not to be construed in a limiting sense. There is modification of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments of this invention, which will be apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art, and the invention shall be viewed as limited only by reference to the following claims. For example, the underwear described above could be easily modified for men and such a modification would be apparent to one skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A washable, waistless, and seamless underwear for protection against infections, bacteria, pathogens, irritating dyes, and small amounts of moisture or other liquids, the underwear comprising:

an article of clothing with a first mechanical attachment means; and

a piece of woven material wherein the woven material contains a second mechanical attachment means that can be attached to the first mechanical attachment means such that the woven material covers the vaginal area of the user.

2. The seamless underwear of claim 1 wherein the firsts mechanical attachment means and the second mechanical attachment means are mating parts of a snap.

3. The seamless underwear of claim 1 wherein the first mechanical attachment means and the second mechanical attachment means are mating parts of a hook and loop.

4. The seamless underwear of claim 1 wherein the first mechanical attachment means and the second mechanical attachment means are mating parts of a button and button hole.

5. The seamless underwear of claim 1 wherein the first mechanical attachment means and the second mechanical attachment means are mating parts of hook and loop fastener such as Velcro®.

6. The seamless underwear of claim 1 wherein the first mechanical attachment means is not easily visible from the outside of the article of clothing.

7. The seamless underwear of claim 1 wherein the woven material is cotton.

8. The seamless underwear of claim 1 wherein the woven material is a cotton blend.

9. The seamless underwear of claim 1 wherein the thickness of the woven material is not greater than approximately 2 mm.

10. The seamless underwear of claim 1 wherein an elastic band surrounds at least a portion of the woven material.

11. The seamless underwear of claim 10 wherein the second mechanical attachment means is attached to the elastic band.

12. A washable and waistless underwear to be worn for protection against infections, bacteria, pathogens, irritating dyes, and small amounts of moisture or other liquids, the underwear comprising:

an article of clothing with a first mechanical attachment means;

a first piece of woven material; and at least one other piece of material attached to the first piece of woven material wherein the at least one other piece contains a second mechanical attachment means that can be attached to the first mechanical attachment means such that the woven material covers the vaginal area of the user.

13. The waistless underwear of claim 12 wherein the first piece of woven material is at least approximately 1 inch long and approximately at least 0.5 inches wide.

14. The waistless underwear of claim 12 wherein the first mechanical attachment means and the second mechanical attachment means are mating parts of a snap.

15. The waistless underwear of claim 1 wherein the first mechanical attachment means and the second mechanical attachment means are mating parts of a hook and loop fastener such as Velcro®

16. The waistless underwear of claim 1 wherein the first mechanical attachment means is not easily visible from the outside of the article of clothing.

17. The waistless underwear of claim 1 wherein the woven material is cotton.

18. The waistless underwear of claim 1 wherein the woven material is a cotton blend.

19. A method for wearing underwear for protection against infections, bacteria, pathogens, irritating dyes, and small amounts of moisture or other liquids, without showing panty line, the method comprising the steps of:

locating an article of clothing with a first mechanical attachment means; locating a piece of material wherein the woven material contains a second mechanical attachment means that can be attached to the first mechanical attachment means, and attaching the second mechanical attachment means to the fist mechanical attachment means such that the piece of material covers the vaginal area of the user.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the first mechanical attachment means and the second mechanical attachment means are mating parts of a snap.