Abstract:
An undergarment having a dark-colored strip that can help conceal fecal stains. The dark-colored strip is attached onto an inside surface of the undergarment. Having this dark-colored strip on the inside, the undergarment can be made of a lighter-color fabric while being able to provide a dark background to help conceal fecal stains. Examples of the undergarments include briefs and boxers. The dark-colored strip could be sewn onto a conventional undergarment.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    My invention relates to undergarments. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The inside of mens&#39; underwear will often have fecal stains (popularly referred to as “skid marks”) that can cause embarrassment to the wearer. Because of this problem, dark-colored underwear (e.g. black or navy blue) are popular among men. These darker colors can help to conceal these fecal stains. But relying only on dark-colored underwear limits the color choices for underwear. There is a need to solve the problem of visible fecal stains on mens&#39; underwear while having a wider variety of color choices for underwear, including white and other lighter-colored underwear. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    In one embodiment, my invention is a male (men or boys) undergarment. Examples of male undergarments include briefs, boxers, long johns, and any other garment worn by men or boys as the first layer of clothing over his pelvis. Additionally, my invention can also be applied in women&#39;s or girls&#39; undergarments. The undergarment comprises an anterior section and a posterior section. The anterior section comprises a first light-colored fabric. The posterior section comprises a second light-colored fabric. The colors for the first and second light-colored fabrics may be the same or different. The anterior and posterior sections may be parts of a single piece of fabric or parts defined on multiple (two or more) pieces of fabric. The anterior and posterior sections as defined herein do not necessarily correspond with the fabric pieces that are joined together to make the undergarment. The anterior section may be made of one fabric piece, two or more fabric pieces, or be included as part of a fabric piece used to make a different part of the underwear; likewise for the posterior section. 
         [0004]    The undergarment further comprises a dark-colored strip on the inside surface of the undergarment. The dark-colored strip is positioned over a sagittal midline of the undergarment and encompasses at least a portion of the posterior section. The dark-colored strip may extend all the way across the posterior section along the midline or only partially. In some cases, the dark-colored strip also encompasses at least a portion of the anterior section as well. This dark-colored strip can help conceal fecal stains that develop on the inside of the undergarment. 
         [0005]    The terms “light-colored” and “dark-colored” are not intended to indicate specific colors or specific amount of lightness/darkness, but rather the relative lightness/darkness of the colors in comparison to each other. The “dark-colored” color is darker than the “light-colored” color. Being “light-colored” does not necessarily mean completely white; and likewise, being “dark-colored” does not necessarily mean completely black. Generally, my invention is more effective at concealing fecal stains when the dark-color is substantially darker than the light-color. 
         [0006]    The lightness of the color can be defined according to the HSL color scale (hue, saturation, and lightness). In some embodiments, the light-color is a color with a lightness value (L) of at least 75 (on a 0-100 scale); and in some cases, at least 85. In some embodiments, the dark-color is a color with a lightness value (L) of less than 75; and in some cases, less than 60. In some embodiments, the difference between the lightness value of the dark-color and the light-color is at least 15; and in some cases, at least 25. Any suitable hue (H) or saturation (S) may be used in combination with the lightness values. 
         [0007]    In some embodiments, the dark-colored strip comprises a moisture-wicking material such as polyester, nylon, or other various micro fiber blends treated with Max-Dri™, Coolmax° or other quick dry treatments. In some embodiments, the dark-colored strip comprises an antimicrobial agent such as Microban®, Ultra-Fresh, or Trevira®. In some embodiments, the dark-colored strip comprises an odor reducing agent, which can be treated with technologies such as Agiene® Micro Silver Crystal, CLEANCOOL®, or PureTex™. 
         [0008]    In another embodiment, my invention is a method of constructing a male undergarment. The method comprises attaching a dark-colored strip onto an inside surface of a base undergarment that comprises a light-colored fabric. The base undergarment comprises an anterior section and a posterior section. The dark-colored strip is attached at a position that is over a sagittal midline of the undergarment and encompassing at least a portion of the posterior section. 
         [0009]    In another embodiment, my invention is a method of wearing an undergarment of my invention. The user wears the undergarment on a person&#39;s pelvis with the anterior section covering the front of said person&#39;s pelvis and the posterior section covering the back of said person&#39;s pelvis. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIGS. 1A to 1D  show an example of a brief-style underwear.  FIG. 1A  shows a top view of the inside of the underwear;  FIG. 1B  shows a perspective view;  FIG. 1C  shows a back-side view; and  FIG. 1D  shows a left-side view. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a top view of an underwear showing how the dark-colored strip could be stitched onto a base underwear garment. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a cross-section view of a portion of an underwear showing an alternate way of incorporating the dark-colored strip into underwear. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  shows a back-side view of a boxer-style underwear. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    To assist in understanding of my invention, particular embodiments will now be described in detail with references to the figures.  FIG. 1A  shows (top view) an example of a brief-style underwear  10  of my invention. The underwear  10  is constructed of a front fabric panel  12  and a back fabric panel  14  that are sewn together at seam  24 . Both the front panel  12  and the back panel  14  are white in color. On the front panel  12 , there is a flap  22  for a fly opening. As conventional, there are also left and right leg holes  16 . On the sides, there are hip-covering areas  18 . A dark-colored strip  20  is stitched onto the inside of the back panel  14  of the underwear  10 . 
         [0015]    Because the underwear is designed to be worn by a person, the sections of the underwear can be defined according to anatomical planes. To assist in understanding the positioning of the dark-colored strip  20 ,  FIG. 1B  shows (perspective view) the underwear  10  with a hypothetical mid-coronal plane  70  that divides the underwear  10  into an anterior section  72  and a posterior section  74 . Also, a hypothetical mid-sagittal plane  60  divides the underwear  10  into a right half  62  and a left half  64 . As shown  FIG. 1C  (back-side view), the dark-colored strip  20  is positioned over the sagittal midline  68  of the underwear  10 .  FIG. 1D  (left-side view) shows the coronal midline  76  that divides the underwear  10  into the anterior section  72  and the posterior section  74 . As seen here, the dark-colored strip  20  extends over the posterior section  74  and also a small part of the anterior section  72  at the bottom of the underwear  10 . 
         [0016]    As seen in  FIG. 1A , the underwear  10  is made from several pieces of fabric that are sewn together. The undergarment of my invention can be constructed using any suitable manufacturing technique, including appropriate selection of fabric pieces to use, how to join the fabric pieces together, the sequence in which the fabric pieces are joined, the number of fabric pieces involved, and the type of fabric material. The terms “anterior section” and “posterior section” as used herein may correspond with the front and back fabric panels conventionally used in making an undergarment. However, that is not necessarily the case. The terms “anterior section” and “posterior section” are in reference to the shape and dimensions of the underwear, whereas the front and back fabric panels refer to the pieces of fabric used to make the underwear. These are two distinct sets of terminology as used herein. 
         [0017]      FIG. 2  shows how the dark-colored strip can be stitched onto a base underwear  30 , which could be a conventional underwear. The base underwear  30  has a front fabric panel  32  and a back fabric panel  34  that are sewn together at seam  44 . On the front panel  32 , there is a flap  42  for a fly opening. As conventional, there are also left and right leg holes  36 . On the sides, there are hip-covering areas  38 . The back panel  34  includes a middle section  46  onto which an extra layer of heavier fabric of the same color is sewn on. A dark-colored strip  40  is stitched onto the inside of this middle section  46  of the base underwear  30 . 
         [0018]      FIG. 3  shows (cross-section view) an alternate way to incorporate the dark-colored strip into the underwear. As shown here, the dark-colored strip  54  is stitched in between an external fabric layer  50  and an internal fabric layer  52 . 
         [0019]      FIG. 4  shows (back-side view) an example of a boxer-style underwear  80  of my invention. This boxer underwear  80  is colored white and has a waistband  82 . As shown in this back-side view, the boxer underwear  80  is constructed of a left-side fabric panel  84  made to cover the wearer&#39;s left leg and pelvis, and a right-side fabric panel  86  made to cover the wearer&#39;s right leg and pelvis. In between is a middle panel  88  made of a heaver fabric of the same white color. A dark-colored strip is sewn onto the inside surface of this middle panel  88 . Because the dark-colored strip is on the inside and not visible in this external view, from an external view, the boxer underwear  80  has a white color. 
         [0020]    The user wears the undergarment of my invention with the anterior section covering the front of his pelvis and the posterior section covering the back of his pelvis. The dark background provided by the dark-colored strip helps to conceal fecal stains on the underwear.