UNDERPANTS GARMENT
An underpants garment to be worn by a user has a waist opening and two leg openings. A first portion of the underpants faces a crotch region of the user, and a second portion faces a buttocks, sides, and front hip regions of the user. A first attachment region extends from the waist opening to a first of the two leg openings. The first attachment region releasably couples the first portion to the second portion along a first side of the user's crotch region. A second attachment region extends from the waist opening to a second of the two leg openings. The second attachment region releasably couples the first portion to the second portion along a second side of the user's crotch region.
Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119, the benefit of priority from provisional application 62/702,447, with a filing date of Jul. 24, 2018, is claimed for this non-provisional application.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe invention relates generally to undergarments, and more particularly to an underpants garment that can be put on or taken off without completely disrobing the lower portion of one's body.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONUnderpants worn by women and men are traditionally pulled on over one's feet and then legs, and finally to one's waist. The garment stays in place by means of an elasticized waistband and, in some cases, elasticized leg openings. These types of underpants garments are taken off in reverse. That is, underpants must be pulled down from one's waist and all the way down one's legs and finally, over one's feet. While the traditional robing and disrobing of underpants is fine for most people and start-of-day or end-of-day situations, the process of changing one's underpants can also be a challenge for some people and/or situations. For example, if an underpants change was needed in the middle of work day, one would have to remove shoes, pants, and/or tights to do so. This can be very difficult or embarrassing to do in a workplace environment. In another example, people with disabilities can have difficulty in manipulating their body to put on or take off traditional underpants. In such cases, a caretaker must often be summoned for help leading to feelings of helplessness and embarrassment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an underpants garment that can be changed without the need to remove shoes, pants, panty hose, etc., from the lower half of one's body.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an underpants garment that give a user options for putting them on and taking them off.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an underpants garment having a traditional look while giving users options for putting them on and taking them off.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious hereinafter in the specification and drawings.
In accordance with the present invention, an underpants garment to be worn by a user has a waist opening and two leg openings. The underpants have a first portion adapted to face a crotch region of the user, and a second portion adapted to face a buttocks, sides, and front hip regions of the user. The underpants include a first attachment region extending from the waist opening to a first of the two leg openings. The first attachment region releasably couples the first portion to the second portion along a first side of the user's crotch region. The underpants also include a second attachment region extending from the waist opening to a second of the two leg openings. The second attachment region releasably couples the first portion to the second portion along a second side of the user's crotch region.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reference to the following description of the preferred embodiments and to the drawings, wherein corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings and wherein:
Referring now to the drawings, simultaneous reference will be made to
To provide a full understanding of the present invention, underpants garment 10 is shown in its completely unfolded and flat pre-use configuration in
Underpants garment 10 presents a generally T-shaped structure (
The sides 12S of T-region 12 and the sides 16S of bottom region 16 define attachment regions of releasable couplings that allow underpants garment 10 to be put on or taken off without being pulled over one's feet and legs. For example and in the illustrated embodiment, the releasable couplings include a snap tape 20 and a snap tape 30. Snap tape 20 (
Elasticity for underpants garment 10 is provided by, for example, elastic tape (e.g., a decorative elastic tape, an elastic tape integrated with the fabric of underpants garment 10, etc.) coupled to one or more edge regions of underpants garment 10. For example and in the illustrated embodiment, elastic tape 40 is coupled to a top edge 12T of T-region 12, a bottom edge 12B of T-region 12, along both sides 14S of top region 14, and a top edge 16T of bottom region 16. When underpants garment 10 is fully assembled with each of snap studs 32 engaging a corresponding snap receptacle 22 (
The above-described construction of underpants garment 10 provides greatly enhanced functionality while presenting an undergarment design that maintains a traditional appearance as illustrated in
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above as it can include one or more additional features that will now be described with reference to
Referring now to
The advantages of the present invention are numerous. The underpants garment provides a user and/or caregiver with the ability to change the user's underpants without removing clothes (e.g., pants, panty hose, etc.) from the user's legs. The underpants' attachment regions are easily accessed on both sides of a user's crotch to simplify putting them on and taking them off for both the self-sufficient user as well as users requiring dressing/undressing aid. When assembled/worn, the underpants garment looks and feels like a conventional undergarment thereby allowing the user to look and feel like they are wearing conventional underwear. This is particularly beneficial to the psyche of people that are wheelchair-bound or bedridden. The underpants garment can include additional comfort features (e.g., wide front and soft elastic, back pocket to hold cushion) and/or convenience features (e.g., concealed and secure front pocket) not currently available.
Although the invention has been described relative to several specific embodiments thereof, there are also numerous variations and modifications that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. For example, the present invention can be incorporated into other women's traditional underpants designs such as briefs, thongs, boy shorts, etc., as well as a variety of men's underpants designs to include briefs and boxers that can incorporate the traditional front flap found in men's underpants. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described.
What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:
Claims
1. A garment comprising underpants adapted to be worn by a user,
- said underpants having a waist opening and two leg openings,
- said underpants having a first portion adapted to face a crotch region of the user,
- said underpants having a second portion adapted to face a buttocks, sides, and front hip regions of the user,
- said underpants having a first attachment region extending from said waist opening to a first of said two leg openings, said first attachment region releasably coupling said first portion to said second portion along a first side of the crotch region, and
- said underpants having a second attachment region extending from said waist opening to a second of said two leg openings, said second attachment region releasably coupling said first portion to said second portion along a second side of the crotch region.
2. A garment as in claim 1, further comprising an elastic material coupled to said first portion along said waist opening.
3. A garment as in claim 2, wherein said elastic material extends between said first attachment region and said second attachment region.
4. A garment as in claim 3, wherein said elastic material is at least partially encased by said first portion.
5. A garment as in claim 1, further comprising elastic material coupled to said first portion and said second portion, wherein said elastic material elasticizes said waist opening.
6. A garment as in claim 1, further comprising elastic material coupled to said first portion and said second portion, wherein said elastic material elasticizes said waist opening and said two leg openings.
7. A garment as in claim 1, further comprising at least one pocket coupled to at least one of said first portion and said second portion, said at least one pocket adapted to face at least one of the crotch region and the buttocks of the user when said underpants are worn by the user.
8. A garment as in claim 1, wherein snaps are disposed along said first attachment region and said second attachment region.
9. A garment comprising underpants adapted to be worn by a user,
- said underpants having a waist opening and two leg openings,
- said underpants having a first portion adapted to face a crotch region of the user,
- said underpants having a second portion adapted to face a buttocks, sides, and front hip regions of the user,
- said underpants having a first attachment region extending from said waist opening to a first of said two leg openings, said first attachment region having first releasable couplings cooperating between said first portion to said second portion along a first side of the crotch region, and
- said underpants having a second attachment region extending from said waist opening to a second of said two leg openings, said second attachment region having second releasable couplings cooperating between said first portion to said second portion along a second side of the crotch region.
10. A garment as in claim 9, further comprising an elastic material coupled to said first portion along said waist opening.
11. A garment as in claim 10, wherein said elastic material extends between said first attachment region and said second attachment region.
12. A garment as in claim 11, wherein said elastic material is at least partially encased by said first portion.
13. A garment as in claim 9, further comprising elastic material coupled to said first portion and said second portion, wherein said elastic material elasticizes said waist opening.
14. A garment as in claim 9, further comprising elastic material coupled to said first portion and said second portion, wherein said elastic material elasticizes said waist opening and said two leg openings.
15. A garment as in claim 9, further comprising at least one pocket coupled to at least one of said first portion and said second portion, said at least one pocket adapted to face at least one of the crotch region and the buttocks of the user when said underpants are worn by the user.
16. A garment as in claim 9, wherein said first releasable couplings and said second reliable couplings comprise snap couplings.
17. A garment comprising underpants adapted to be worn by a user,
- said underpants having a waist opening and two leg openings,
- said underpants having a first portion adapted to face a crotch region of the user,
- said underpants having a second portion adapted to face a buttocks, sides, and front hip regions of the user, elastic material coupled to said first portion and said second portion, wherein
- said elastic material elasticizes said waist opening, said underpants having a first attachment region extending from said waist opening to a first of said two leg openings, said first attachment region having a first set of snap couplings cooperating between said first portion and said second portion along a first side of the crotch region, and
- said underpants having a second attachment region extending from said waist opening to a second of said two leg openings, said second attachment region having a second set of snap couplings cooperating between said first portion and said second portion along a second side of the crotch region.
18. A garment as in claim 17, wherein said elastic material coupled to said first portion is at least partially covered by said first portion.
19. A garment as in claim 17, wherein said elastic material further elasticizes said two leg openings.
20. A garment as in claim 17, further comprising at least one pocket coupled to at least one of said first portion and said second portion, said at least one pocket adapted to face at least one of the crotch region and the buttocks of the user when said underpants are worn by the user.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 8, 2019
Publication Date: Jan 30, 2020
Inventor: Rose M. Jarvis (Hayes, VA)
Application Number: 16/504,650