Sports garment for cycling

A sports garment (10) for cycling includes a sleeve-shaped part (20) in the inner side of the crotch area, facing the body of the user when the garment is worn, the sleeve-shaped member being arranged to provide room (27) for accommodation of the male genitals and in particular the penis of the user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application claims priority to European Patent Application No. 11163254, filed Apr. 20, 2011, entitled “A SPORTS GARMENT FOR CYCLING,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates a sports garment, in particular for cycling. The invention relates in particular to a sports garment such as cycling trousers.

PRIOR ART

Cycling trousers are usually equipped with a seat pad made of a soft material for protection of perineal and/or ischiatic parts of the body, which are in contact with the saddle of the bicycle and may cause discomfort or pain during intensive use. Said seat pad usually comprise a plurality of layers of soft materials, capable of damping bumps and fatigue stresses, and fabric layers in contact with the skin.

EP-A-1269873 discloses trousers for cyclists with a seat pad in the form of an insert which is composed of a base layer of expanded material and an elastic fabric in contact with the body of the user.

A particular care is dedicated to protect the genitals of the user. EP-A-1972216 discloses a cycling suit with anatomically shaped seat pad to shield and support the male genitals, in particular the scrotal area.

There is a continuous effort to improve the performance and comfort of the seat pad, especially for intensive use. In particular, adaptation and close fit to the body as well as proper support of the crotch area and genitals are some of the most important requirements of a cycling suit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The applicant has realized that the need to use an underwear introduces a limitation to the performance of a cycling outfit. In fact, a common underwear has inferior performance of skin-tightness, adherence and ability to follow the movement of the body, compared to a specific cycling garment. Underwear may have for example seams that cause a discomfort to the user under intensive use. More in general, the use of two piece of garment, namely the underwear and the cycling outfit, has been recognized as less efficient in terms of adaptation to the body. Since a cycling garment must perform like a second skin, this disadvantage is not negligible. On the other hand, cycling without any underwear is unfit because of lack of accommodation for the genitals and for this reason the use of underwear has been deemed essential so far, especially for a male user, despite the related drawbacks. This problem has not been solved or even recognized in the prior art.

The invention proposes an accommodation and containment member for male genitals, in particular for the penis of the user, which is incorporated in the cycling garment. The above problem is solved with a sports garment for cycling comprising a padding in a crotch area and characterized by comprising a sleeve member in the inner side of the crotch area, facing the body of the user when the garment is worn, and arranged to accommodate the male genitals and in particular the penis of the user during the use.

Preferably said sleeve member is made with an open front section and an open end section, thus forming a passing-through accommodation for the penis of the user during the use.

The garment may comprise a seat pad to provide said padding in the crotch area. In this case the sleeve member can be associated to the seat pad of the garment according to some embodiments of the invention. According to other embodiments, the function of the seat pad is performed by soft protection pads associated to or incorporated into selected portions of the garment. In an exemplificative pad-less embodiment the garment comprises a plurality of fabric portions reciprocally associated, perimetrically and at a crotch median line, where two of said fabric portions are reciprocally associated at said crotch median line and comprise at least one shaped protection pad each, so that at least two shaped protection pads are positioned at the saddle area of the garment symmetrically as to said crotch median line, the assembly of said two fabric portions acting as a seat pad. An example of a padless garment is further disclosed in patent EP 1 834 532 of the same applicant.

According to a preferred embodiment, the sleeve member for accommodation of the penis is associated with a central loose part of a seat pad. More in detail, the garment has a seat pad in the crotch area and said seat pad comprises a front attachment region to the garment, a rear attachment region to the garment and a central portion free from attachments to the garment. Said central portion constitutes a loose bridge portion of the seat pad in the inner crotch area of the garment and the sleeve member for accommodation of the penis is associated to said central loose portion. An advantage of this embodiment is that the sleeve member is free to move in the inner crotch area of the garment and substantially unaffected by the pedaling action.

In a preferred embodiment said sleeve member is formed with a fabric patch attached to a seat pad of the garment or, in even more preferred embodiments, said sleeve member is attached to said loose portion of the seat pad. Preferably said fabric patch has side edges attached to said seat pad or to said loose portion of seat pad. More preferably said fabric patch has a shaped cut at least in correspondence of a front section facing the user's body. Said cut can be a substantially arc-shaped cut or a V-shaped cut or a U-shaped cut according to some embodiments.

The loose bridging portion of seat pad is delimited by ends of a front attachment region and of a rear attachment region, either realized as continuous attachment line or plurality of attachment points. Preferably, the distance between a left or right end of the front attachment region and a corresponding left or right end of the rear attachment region is at least 5 cm to allow the loose-fitting effect of the bridging portion of the seat pad. Said distance is measured on the projection of the seat pad on a line parallel to a longitudinal median axis of the seat pad, as above. Any attachment technique which is per se known could be used to realize said attachment lines or points, for example stitching, gluing or other techniques such as thermal welding.

The front part and/or the rear part of the seat pad may have a concave shell shape. A concave shell shape is preferred for making the sports trousers more anatomical and wearable.

Details of the seat pad can be realized according to several techniques which are known per se. The seat pad is realized with a soft material and may comprise for example one or more soft sponge elements inserted in a fabric pocket.

A garment according to the invention is preferably an integral garment having a top part covering at least partly the torso of the user, and a lower part forming short or long trousers. Different embodiments of the invention include a garment for winter or summer use.

The garment of the invention can be used by a male user without underwear, thanks to the safe accommodation for genitals and in particular for the penis. The invention provides a stable accommodation of the penis which is substantially unaffected by alternate movement of pedaling even under an intensive use.

The preferred embodiment with a loose portion of the seat pad has the further advantage that the seat pad remains adherent to the garment in the crucial front/rear crotch regions where the body needs the maximum of padding effect while the central loose region provides enhanced comfort and ability to precisely follow the movements of the body. The seat pad can freely twist under the pedaling action while the central loose portion remains substantially free and hence the soft pad is able to offer better adaptation to the body and especially a better support for male genitals.

It should be noted that the term of sports garment as used in this description may encompass a garment consisting of shorts or long trousers, or a garment comprising a trousers portion, e.g. an integral body. More in detail, the term of cycling garment is directed to a wear item suitable for use in the sport of cycling, like for example shorts or long trousers, overalls, tights body suit and similar. The term seat pad is used to identify the shaped pad that is associated with the trousers or formed in the trousers themselves, to protect the perineal area of the body, which during the use is in contact with the bicycle saddle.

The advantages of the invention will be elucidated with the following detailed description of indicative and not limiting examples.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1is a view of a cycling garment10which, in this embodiment, has an upper part11with shoulder straps covering a part of the torso, and a lower part12acting as trousers. The garment10has a crotch area13which is padded for example with a seat pad attached to the inner side of the garment and comprising soft pads.

FIG. 2is a view of the garment10reversed (inside out) showing internal seams14. As seen in this figure, the garment10has a sleeve member20located in the inner side of the crotch area and facing the user's body when the garment10is worn. Said sleeve member20provides accommodation for the penis of the user when the garment10is worn.

In the embodiment of the figures, said sleeve member20is realized with a fabric patch21which is attached for example to a seat pad of the garment along side edges22. The sleeve member20has an open front section23for introduction of the penis, while the garment is worn without underwear, and an open end section24. Preferably said fabric patch21has a front shaped cut25and a rear shaped cut26at the front section23and at the end section24, as seen in the detail ofFIG. 3. Said shaped cuts25,26are preferably arc-shaped or V-shaped or U-shaped.

A preferred embodiment is disclosed in the sectional view ofFIG. 4. Numeral15denotes a fabric portion of the garment10, located in the crotch area; a seat pad generally denoted with30is associated to the garment10and the sleeve member20for accommodation of the penis is in turn associated to said seat pad30. More in detail, in a preferred embodiment the seat pad30is attached to the portion15of garment10by means of attachments31,32which may be made of continuous attachment lines (e.g. seam lines) or several attachment points. A central portion of the seat pad30is free from attachments to the garment10, so that said central portion remain loose and leaves an air gap33. The side edges22of the patch21are attached to said seat pad30in the central loose portion of the same.FIG. 4shows that the member20defines a passing-through channel27between the seat pad30and the patch21, which channel27provides room for accommodating the penis of the user when the garment is worn.

It should be noted that any references to attachments may include any known technique including stitching, gluing, thermal welding, etc.

FIG. 5shows another embodiment of a garment10Aformed as a pair of cycling trousers and comprising the sleeve member20as above described.

The use is the following: the garment10or10Ais worn by a male user with no underwear introducing the penis in the channel27formed by the sleeve member20(FIG. 4). Then, the genitals and in particular the penis are contained and held in a stable position during intensive use.