Men's anatomical underwear/swimwear and athletic support garment

Abstract

A circular knit male brief is provided. The brief is a single pouch supporting the male genitals without straps, waistband or buttocks cover, retained by an integrated adjustable collar closure around the base of the genitals. specifically underwear, sun-wear, swimwear, supporter, or enhancement device designed to be worn under—or instead of—men's usual underwear and swimwear. The brief's form follows the anatomical design of the genitals—the penis and scrotum—as a single, integrated entity. Its one piece, seamless single-pouch construction has an entrance opening with a closure that encircles the base of the genitals. To achieve superior support and comfort the brief is designed as a single pouch using circular knit technology to create separate contours for each testicle and the penis, to allow for the changing shapes, movements and precise positions that the genitals make of their own accord to maintain comfort and health. The brief's construction contains the male genitalia as a single unit—which prevents them from separating, misaligning, sticking and disappearing between the legs—and repositions both the penis and the scrotum to a more prominent anterior position. The brief is configured to reflect the genitals as a mass, allowing for the authentic expression of masculine style without reflecting the exact contours of the penis and testicles. A fly system built into the pouch allows for the release of the penis for urinating without having to remove the brief.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to male wearing apparel, specifically to circular knit wearing apparel for men as either underwear or swimwear and methods of making same.

2. Description of the Related Art

Male underwear, swimwear, sports, or medical protective devices are well known and commonly comprise briefs, boxer shorts, bikini briefs, thongs, various forms of athletic supporters, and cups, and what are referred to in the medical art as bandages. Most styles of briefs, supporters, underwear, and swimwear garments share the common characteristics of either a front pouch or panel, plus an integrated waistband, a buttocks cover, or straps running underneath the perineum that connect the front of the garment to the back. Some styles of male underwear are engineered as a single garment with a dual-pouch construction; one pouch to cover the penis and one pouch to cover the scrotum, each following the precise anatomical design of the penis and scrotum to allow them each to appear in their exact image.

No prior-art underwear or swimwear, whether conventional or alternative, is designed to house the genitalia in a single-pouch circular-knit construction without waistband, buttocks cover or straps.

PRIOR ART

First Category

The first category includes all forms of conventional, traditional, and trendy underwear, whether they are briefs, bikinis, designer briefs, boxers, fitted boxers, athletic supporters, thongs, and all styles of swimwear. Their primary design characteristic is that they all have a front panel that either covers and/or provides a small amount of material to act as a support for holding the genitals. These front genital covers are integrated into the underwear and held to the body by including a waistband. Usually, but not necessarily, the designs of this category include a covering for the buttocks. Alternatively, the rear portion can employ straps that extend from the perineum to the back-center or the back-sides of the waistband.

Examples of the first category can be found in the U.S. Pat. No. 1,119,944 to Fritsch (1914), U.S. Pat. No. 3,504,671 to Nelkin (1970), U.S. Pat. No. 3,517,666 to Atlee (1970), Des. 304,775 to Eckrode (1989), U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,234 to Searcy (1992), U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,793 to Michels (1992), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,974 to Allen (1993). Almost all underwear and swimwear found throughout the marketplace and in catalogs fall into this first category. The most common differences in these designs are various waistband widths, how large the brand names are imprinted on the waistbands, and whether or not they have extended material around the back to cover the behind.

Second Category

The second category is nearly a sub category of the first category. Most garments in this category possess an integrated waistband; many have a buttocks cover; some have underneath perineum straps connecting the front to the back. The design element that distinguishes this category from the first is variations in the front genital panel. Each of these underwear garments creates front panel mechanisms that attempt to separate the penis from the scrotum.

Examples of the second category are shown in U.K. Patent 264,690 to Sarasow (1927), and U.S. Pat. No. 860,584 to Teufel (1907), U.S. Pat. No. 1,477,187 to Rayne (1923), U.S. Pat. No. 2,700,971 to Mestel (1955), U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,630 to Connery (1980), Des. 268,964 to Riedell (1983), U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,167 to Ebenal (1985), U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,239 to Ichikawa (1987), U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,869 to Zhang (1991), U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,706, to Nalbandian (1993), U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,592 to Grizzaffi (1994), U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,283,912 and 5,429,622 to Chung (1994 and 1995), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,840 to Alligator (2000). Most of these contraptions are designed for surgical or medical applications and are not intended to provide comfort or support, using either straps, flaps, channels, loops, yokes, pockets, bags, holes, or slots for hanging, suspending or entering the penis into, or containing the scrotum. Riedell's and Alligator's underwear are designed to reveal the true contours of the penis and scrotum separately and are for when one wishes to express the precise forms of one's genitals.

Third Category

The third category includes protective devices structured to cover only the male genitalia. These devices are held in place by wearing conventional briefs or athletic supporters over them; that is, they have no integral retaining means. Representative designs in this category are the U.S. Pat. No. 3,229,692 to Creed (1966), U.S. Pat. No. 3,314,422 to Phillips (1967), Des. 294,075 to Bernstein (1988), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,063 to Newkirk (1988). All items in this category are cumbersome in that they are retained by an extra piece of clothing.

Fourth Category

The fourth category includes decorative and protective devices which are designed to cover only the crotch area of the wearer, whether it is the scrotum or the penis or both for men, or the vaginal and pubic areas for women. Representative designs in this category are U.S. Pat. No. 2,534,934 to Viniegra (1950), U.S. Pat. No. 3,339,208 to Marbach (1967), U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,931 to Kidwell, Jr. (1986), U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,839 to Weiss et al. (1991), U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,447 to Papurt (1994), U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,367,715 and 5,396,662 to Leonard et al. (1994 and 1995), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,482 to Crawford (1995).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved and versatile underwear garment for men.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a seamless circular knit single-pouch male brief for providing support for and shaping the male genitalia.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

See: FIG. 1

Claims

1. A circular knit male brief, said male individual having a penis and a scrotum, said garment comprising:

a. a pouch shaped to cover and enclose said penis and scrotum,

b. said pouch is a constructed garment with a common entrance opening that provides an adjustable retaining closure around the base of the genitals,

c. said garment is constructed of cloth, whereby said garment clothes said genitalia in a covering that conforms to said penis, said scrotum and said genital base, and holds and supports said genitalia in a comfortable, supportive and stylish way.

2. A circular knit male brief, said male individual having a penis and a scrotum, said garment comprising:

a. a pouch shaped to cover and enclose said penis and scrotum;

b. said garment being formed of a seamless single piece of stretch-knit material; whereby said garment clothes said genitalia in a covering that conforms to said penis and said scrotum and holds and supports said genitalia in a comfortable and stylish way.

c. said garment featuring a rib-knit collar and integrated fly portion connected to said common opening, whereby said garment allows the wearer to urinate without removing the entire garment.

3. A circular knit male brief, said male individual having a penis and a scrotum, said garment comprising:

a. a pouch shaped to cover and enclose said penis and scrotum;

b. said pouch a single constructed garment with a common opening; and

c. a pair of male briefs, said common opening of said garment being attached to an aperture on a front portion of said male briefs; whereby said garment clothes said genitalia in a covering that conforms to said penis, said scrotum and holds and supports said genitalia in a comfortable and stylish way.