Underwear with partitioning liner

An undergarment is provided for wear by men during work or recreation activities in the style of a pair of boxer type shorts. A partitioning liner is secured at the inside of the shorts and includes a cup portion adjacent to the front of the shorts. The cup portion is slotted or open in the front to form first and second partitions for positioning in the clefts on either side of the groin of the wearer to prevent chafing. A first panel of gusset secures the first partition to a first location on one side of the front of the shorts. A second panel or gusset secures the second partition to a second location on the other side of the front of the shorts spaced from the first location. A third panel secures the bottom of the liner to the crotch of the shorts. The independent suspension or coupling of the partitioning liner assures that the partitions remain securely in place without riding up and down with the shorts.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
This invention relates to an undergarment for wear by men and in particular 
to men's underwear particularly useful for wear during working and 
recreational activities to prevent chafing. 
BACKGROUND ART 
A variety of partitioned or partitioning undergarments have been proposed 
for the purpose of preventing chafing contact in the groin or crotch areas 
during work and recreation activities. The Goss U.S. Pat. No. 2,055,973 
describes an undergarment intended "to positively prevent chafing of the 
upper part of the inner side of the thighs of the wearer." To this end, 
Goss provides boxer type undershorts having a waist portion, pants portion 
with crotch, and short leg portions extending below the crotch. Goss also 
provides a pair of partitions as integral portions of the shorts on either 
side of the crotch. These partitions are formed by flaps 31 and 
crescent-shaped pads or guards 32 which together form a shield or 
shielding element which, in the discrete phraseology of the patent, are 
"positively held in the cleft which exists between the upper extremity of 
the inner side of the thigh of the wearer and pendent portions of the body 
which lie between the thighs." 
A disadvantage of the Goss undergarment structure is that the partitions 
are an integral part of the boxer type shorts so that the partitions may 
ride up and down with the shorts. There is no separate independent liner 
or separate garment structure to assure retention of the partitions in the 
clefts. 
The Jackson U.S. Pat. No. 2,854,973 discloses an undergarment in the form 
of a belt with chafing shields on either side of the crotch area. The 
arcuate shields 24 "fit the contour of the inner surface of the upper 
portions of the legs" and may be made of absorbent material. The Jackson 
reference does not describe underwear type undergarment structures but 
rather simply a harness for holding the chafe shields 24 against the upper 
portions of the legs of the wearer. There is no disclosure of an underwear 
garment or a garment with an inner liner. Similarly the Goldstein U.S. 
Pat. No. 2,505,356 describes only external extending panels 17 strapped to 
the legs. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new 
partitioned underwear undergarment for men based upon boxer type shorts 
for use in working or recreational activities which assures retention of 
partitions in the clefts on either side of the groin or crotch to prevent 
chafing, abrasion or rash. 
Another object of the invention is to provide boxer type underwear shorts 
with a novel liner formed to provide partitions to prevent chafing 
contact. 
A further object of the invention is to provide underwear shorts with 
independent partitioning liner joined to the shorts so that the liner 
partitions do not ride up and down with the shorts. 
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
In order to accomplish these results the present invention provides a new 
underwear undergarment for wear by men in the style of a pair of boxer 
type shorts either tight fitting or loose fitting style. Such boxer shorts 
comprise a waist portion, pants portion with crotch, and short leg 
portions extending below the crotch. 
According to the invention a liner is secured at the inside of the shorts 
with a cup portion adjacent to the front of the shorts. The cup portion is 
slotted and open in the front to form first and second side partitions for 
positioning in the clefts on either side of the groin of a wearer to 
prevent chafing. 
In the undergarment structure of the present invention a first cloth panel 
or gusset secures one side of the cup portion on one side of the opening 
comprising the first partition to a first location on one side of the 
front of the shorts. A second cloth panel or gusset secures the other side 
of the cup portion comprising the second partition to a second location on 
the other side of the front of the shorts spaced from the first side. 
Finally, a third cloth panel or gusset secures the bottom of the liner to 
the crotch of the shorts, and prevents thigh contact inside the garment. 
A feature and advantage of this undergarment construction arrangement is 
that the partitioning liner is in effect independently suspended from or 
coupled to the shorts so that the liner partitions do not ride up and down 
with the shorts. The partitioning liner functions in a manner similar for 
example to a bathing suit liner or athletic supporter liner but without 
the support function and is retained securely in the clefts on either side 
of the groin to prevent chafing. 
In the preferred example embodiment the partitioning liner is in fact an 
athletic supporter type liner with the cup portion slotted and open in the 
front to form the first and second partitions. Such an athletic supporter 
type liner is formed with a cup portion secured to the waist portion of 
the shorts at the front of the shorts and extends downward adjacent to the 
crotch area. Typically a pair of straps extends from the cup adjacent to 
the crotch area back up to the waist portion toward the side or the back 
of the shorts. The cup portion is slotted or open in the front to form the 
partitioning liners. The invention also contemplates however using a 
bathing suit type liner having a continuous liner panel secured to the 
waist portion of the shorts and extending at least from the front to the 
back of the shorts. The liner panel forms the cup portion at the front of 
the shorts which is slotted or open to constitute the separate first and 
second panels positioned in the clefts on either side of the groin. 
In the preferred undergarment structure, the boxer type shorts are formed 
with first and second front seams spaced apart on either side down the 
front of the shorts and the first and second panels are joined 
respectively to the first and second front seams. As a result the first 
and second partitions are joined by the first and second panels to spaced 
apart locations on either side of the front of the shorts. Furthermore the 
boxer shorts are formed with a fly in the front of the shorts between the 
first and second front seams. A feature and advantage of this arrangement 
is that the opening in the front of the cup portion of the partitioning 
liner is aligned with the fly. 
According to an alternative embodiment the first and second panels may be 
merged at the top and bottom to form a continuous collar around the 
opening of the cup portion of the partitioning liner. In either 
embodiment, a feature and advantage of the panel construction of the 
undergarment is that the partitioning liner is an integral part of the 
boxer style underwear shorts and yet is independently suspended or coupled 
for secure positioning of the partitions to prevent chafing. 
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention are apparent in the 
following specification and accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS & BEST MODE OF THE INVENTION 
In the men's underwear according to the present invention illustrated in 
FIGS. 1-3 there is shown a pair of boxer style underwear shorts 10 formed 
with a waist portion 12, pants portion 14 with crotch 15, and a pair of 
short leg portions 16 and 18 extending below the crotch 15. An independent 
liner 20 is suspended within the shorts 10 with a cup portion 22 in the 
front, slotted or open in the front with opening 24 forming first and 
second partitions 25 and 26 for positioning in the clefts on either side 
of the groin of a wearer to prevent chafing, abrasion and rash. 
A first flexible cloth panel 30 secures one side of the cup portion 22, 
namely partition 25 to seam 32 on one side of the front of the shorts 10. 
A second flexible cloth panel 34 secures the other side of cup portion 22, 
namely partition 26 to seam 35 on the other side of the front of the 
shorts 10. Finally, a third flexible cloth panel 36 secures the bottom of 
the liner 20 to the crotch 25 of shorts 10. The partitioning liner 20 is 
therefore effectively independently suspended from the shorts so that the 
liner partitions 25 and 26 do not ride up and down with movement of the 
bottom of the shorts. 
In the example of FIGS. 1-3, the liner is similar to an athletic supporter 
type liner but performs a partitioning function rather than a supporter 
function. The cup portion 22 is secured to the waist portion 12 at the 
front of the shorts 10 and extends downward to the vicinity of crotch 15. 
A pair of straps 40 and 42 extend from the bottom of the cup portion 22 
adjacent to the crotch 15 toward the side or back of the waist portion 12 
of the shorts 10. 
As an alternative embodiment in FIGS. 1-3, the cloth panels 30 and 34 may 
be extended and joined to form a collar around the opening 24 at the front 
of cup portion 22 for example similar to the collar configuration shown in 
FIG. 4. 
In FIGS. 4-6 another similar embodiment of the invention is shown using a 
bathing suit type liner. Elements of the boxer style underwear shorts 10a 
shown in FIG. 4 similar to the shorts 10 of FIG. 1 are designated by the 
same reference numerals. In FIGS. 4-6, however, the liner is provided by a 
continuous liner panel 50 secured to the waist portion 12 of the shorts 
10a and extending from the front to the back of the shorts. 
The liner panel 50 forms the cup portion 52 at the front of the shorts 
where the cup portion 52 of liner panel 50 is slotted or open with opening 
54 forming first and second partitions 55 and 56 for positioning in the 
clefts on either side of the groin of a wearer to prevent chafing abrasion 
or rash. 
In this example a soft cloth collar 58 is joined to or extends from the 
perimeter of opening 54 terminating in first flexible cloth panel 60 
joining the collar 58 and partition 55 to seam 62 on one side of the front 
of shorts 10a. Soft, flexible cloth collar 58 also terminates in the 
second flexible cloth panel 64 joining collar 58 and partition 56 to seam 
65 on the other side of the front of shorts 10a. A third flexible cloth 
panel 66 joins the bottom of liner 50 to the crotch 15 of shorts 10a. 
In the examples of both FIGS. 1 and 4, a fly is provided at seams 28 and 68 
respectively in alignment with respective openings 24 and 54. In both 
examples, the panels 36 and 66 may be selected with sufficient length 
below the internal lines to prevent contact between the opposite leg walls 
or thighs inside the shorts. As another feature of the invention, the 
construction or configuration of the collar 58 as shown in FIGS. 4-6 may 
also be used on the athletic supporter liner of FIGS. 1-3. 
While the invention has been described with reference to particular example 
embodiments it is intended to cover all variations and equivalents within 
the scope of the following claims.