Abstract:
An underwear construction having a trunk panel, an inner panel with an open edge for providing access through said inner panel, an outer panel having openings along opposed side edges, the outer panel overlying the inner panel, wherein the trunk panel, inner panel, and outer panel are joined to provide a wearer of said underwear selective unencumbered access to the penis through either of the openings in said outer panel and through the open edge of said inner panel.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates generally to male undergarments, and, more particularly, to an undergarment brief or shorts having a double fly construction.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Various forms of male undergarments have been developed over the ages. In particular, in more modern times, two types have become most widely known: underwear briefs, sometimes referred to as “jockey shorts,” and a loosely fitting shorts known as “boxers.” 
           [0003]    Men&#39;s briefs are generally constructed with one or more trunk panels, and overlapping front panels. The overlapping front panels typically define a singular fly opening for access through the outermost panel to the penis for purposes of urination. Many attempts have been made to solve the numerous problems associated with the known brief constructions, such as discomfort, lack of support, and embarrassment due to unsightly bulging or slippage of the male genital organs. As a result, pouches and sacks, cages, and girdles have be incorporated into briefs toward the end of an optimal undergarment construction. Male undergarment construction has also focused on snug-fit and fly arrangements that prevent the male genitalia from falling therethrough.  
           [0004]    The briefs known in the art have commonly been constructed with a single, right-handed fly, the fly being formed by the front panel or panels. Where inner and outer panels are used, each panel has a concave portion formed therealong one side edge, and the two panels are placed one upon the other so that the concave portion on the outer front panel is on the opposite side from the concave portion of the inner front panel. This particular construction has created a tortuous path for gaining access to the penis. Single fly constructions provide relatively convenient access for right-handed persons. Some persons, particularly left-handed persons and/or handicapped persons, require or prefer a left-handed fly. One prior art attempt at solving this problem was implemented in connection with a boxer shorts construction with a centrally-located, vertical, single front fly. A wide vent backing panel on the inside of the shorts is attached at the top and bottom and unattached on both sides. For the wearer, once the vertical front fly has been entered, either a left or right inner opening is available. While such a construction is plausible with loosely fitting boxer shorts, it would not be practical with a man&#39;s brief due to its closely/snugly fitting construction.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    The present invention is directed to a man&#39;s underwear construction that addresses the problems associated with the prior art. As used herein, the term “underwear” is intended to encompass shorts, drawers, skivvies, jockey shorts, boxer shorts, briefs, long underwear, and variations thereof. In a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, the underwear construction includes a trunk panel, and inner and outer panels that are joined together along a plurality of edges, or seams, resulting in a double fly.  
           [0006]    The panels forming the underwear of the present invention are desirably of knitted fabric, however the invention is not limited to fabric of a knitted construction. Nevertheless, the knitted fabric of the preferred embodiment is formed from yarns of 100% or less cotton; the fabric also could well be knitted or woven from blended natural and synthetic yarns.  
           [0007]    In the first embodiment, the trunk panel is the largest single panel forming the underwear and has an upper edge, lower edge, and opposed side edges. The opposed side edges have concave cutouts formed therealong that terminate at the bottom edge. The concave portions, when attached to front panels, define leg openings.  
           [0008]    The present invention uses two uniquely formed front panels. The inner panel has top and bottom edges and opposed side edges, where the bottom edge is joined to the lower edge of the trunk panel and the opposed side edges are joined along their uppermost portions to the opposed side edges of the trunk panel. The top edge of the inner panel does not extend to the top of the outer panel and is unattached so that an opening is formed between the inner and outer panels. The outer front panel overlies the inner front panel and is joined to the lower edge of the trunk panel and to the upper portions of the opposed side edges of the trunk panel. Each of the opposed side edges of the outer front panel are unjoined along at least some portion to form a fly on each of the opposed side edges. A wearer of the underwear so formed can access either fly.  
           [0009]    These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after a reading of the following description of the preferred embodiment when considered with the drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a front view of the men&#39;s underwear brief of the present invention;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is an plan view illustrating the panels that form the brief of FIG. 1;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a front view of the inner and outer panel construction of the present invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is a front view of the men&#39;s boxer shorts of the present invention; and  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is an plan view illustrating the panels that form the boxer shorts of FIG. 4. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0015]    Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be understood that the illustrations are for the purpose of describing a preferred embodiment of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention thereto. FIG. 1 is a front schematic view of a pair of men&#39;s underwear briefs according to the present invention, shown generally as  10 . In one embodiment, the briefs are shaped in conventional fashion for “jockey” type briefs, although the invention is not limited to a brief construction. As best illustrated in FIG. 2, in the preferred embodiment, the briefs  10  are formed from three panels that are joined together along specified seams. The panels are each formed from a single knitted fabric of yarns that are 100 percent cotton; however, the fabric forming the panels are not limited to a 100 percent cotton structure, and are not limited to knitted fabric.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 best illustrates the shapes of the three panels used to form the briefs before they are joined together. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the sequence of joining the panels is not critical and the description which follows regarding joinder along seams should not be construed as a required sequence. Likewise, the number of panels is not critical so long as the front panel includes two flies. Generally, the panels are aligned and a binding is sewn over the panel junctures to securely join the edges of the panels together and to create an aesthetically acceptable appearance and comfortable feel. As used herein, the term “binding” refers to a strip of like material that is placed over the juncture of adjoining panels or along the exposed unfinished edges of a panel.  
         [0017]    Referring now to FIG. 2, the construction of the briefs  10  will be described in detail. Trunk panel  12  covers the trunk, or buttocks, of the wearer of the brief and extends around the waist to the front of the briefs. Trunk panel  12 , inner panel  16 , and outer panel  14  are sewn together along their bottom edges  12   c ,  14   c , and  16   c  to form a lower seam. Trunk panel  12  wraps around the front of the briefs for attachment to inner panel  16 . Specifically, edges  12   a  and  12   d  of trunk panel  12  are attached to edges  16   a  and  16   d , respectively, of inner panel  16 . Similarly, edges  12   b  and  12   e  of trunk panel  12  are attached to edges  16   b  and  16   e , respectively, of inner panel  16 . As will be understood, the attachment of edges  12   d  to  16   d  and  12   e  to  16   e  also create leg openings  23   a ,  23   b  for the briefs as shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0018]    Returning to FIG. 2, trunk panel  12  is joined to outer panel  14  so that outer panel  14  overlies inner panel  16 . The overlying front panel construction is best seen in FIG. 3. Returning to FIG. 2, inner panel  16  is attached along its lower edge  16   c  to the bottom edge  12   c  of trunk panel  12 , as described above. Likewise, outer panel  14  is attached along its lower edge  14   c  to bottom edge  12   c  of trunk panel  12 . Alternatively, edge  16   c  of inner panel  16  may not extend completely down to to edge  12   c  and may be left unjoined so that a lower opening between outer panel  14  and inner panel  16  is formed therebetween. Edges  14   a  and  14   b  of outer panel  14  are attached to edges  16   a  and  16   b , respectively, of inner panel  16 , and outer edges  14   aa  and  14   bb  of outer panel  14  are attached to the lower portions of edges  16   d  and  16   e,  respectively, of inner panel  16 , so that the outer panel  14  and inner panel  16  are securely overlapping.  
         [0019]    As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, outer panel  14  has cutout portions  24  and  25 , which when the outer and inner panels are securely overlapped, form opposing flies on either side of outer panel  14  for openings between the outer and inner panels. Preferably, inner panel  16  is shorter than outer panel  14 , so that, when overlapping, upper edge  16   f  does not extend to the top of the briefs as does edge  14   f  of outer panel  14 , and is not joined to outer panel  14 . This creates an opening  22  between the outer and inner panels for upper access to the penis. While edges  16   f  and  16   c ′ are shown as horizontally configured openings between the inner and outer panels, they are not limited thereto. Similarly, the opposing flies  25   a,    25   b  may be positioned higher or lower on the briefs and do not necessarily have to be aligned at the same height on the front panels.  
         [0020]    Returning to FIG. 1, a waistband  32  of elastic fabric is sewn around the upper periphery of the briefs to aid in holding the briefs in proper alignment about the torso. Additionally, bindings  34  and  35 , and  28  and  29 , are secured over the seams between the trunk panel  12  and the inner and outer panels  14 ,  16 , as well as around the leg openings.  
         [0021]    A second embodiment of the present invention provides a men&#39;s underwear formed as boxer shorts, shown generally as  40  in FIG. 4, also with a double fly. The overlying arrangement of the inner panel  46  and the outer panel  44  is the same as that of the briefs  10 , with opposed flies and at least one opening formed by the unattached upper  46   f  or lower edges  46   c ′ of inner panel  46 . The principal differences between the construction of the briefs and the construction of the boxer shorts are the number and shape of panels and the joinder or attachment thereof.  
         [0022]    Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, it can be seen that the boxer shorts  40  are formed from five panels, consisting of four different shapes. There are two leg panels  42  that are identically formed to form the left and right leg portions of the boxer shorts  40 . A can be seen in FIG. 5, and as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, the trunk portion of the boxer shorts  40  is formed by a rear panel  43  that is joined along edge  43   a  to an edge  42   d  of one leg portion and along edge  43   b  to an edge  42   e  on the opposed leg portion. Edges  42   a  and  42   b  on each leg portion  42  are joined together to complete the leg construction.  
         [0023]    Bottom edges  46   c  of inner panel  46 , bottom edge  44   c  of outer panel  44 , and edge  43   c  of the rear panel  43  are joined together to form the bottom seam of the boxer shorts seat portion. Edge  46   a  of inner panel  46  is joined to edge  42   d  on one leg portion and edge  46   b  of inner panel  46  is joined to edge  42   e  on the opposed leg portion. Similarly, edges  44   a  and  44   aa  of the outer panel  44  are attached along the upper and lower portions of edge  42   d  on one leg portion and edges  44   b  and  44   bb  are joined along the upper and lower portions of edge  42   e  on the opposed leg portion.  
         [0024]    Cutouts  44   d  and  44   e  are unjoined so as to form opposed fly openings between the outer panel  44  and inner panel  46 . Similar to the first embodiment, edge  46   f  of inner panel  46  is unjoined, creating and inner opening between inner panel  46  and outer panel  44 . As in the first embodiment, the bottom edge of inner panel  46  need not extend downward for joinder at the bottom seam. A shorter inner panel may terminate at a lower edge  46   c ′ to create a second inner opening between inner panel  46  and outer panel  44 .  
         [0025]    Referring again to FIG. 4, bindings  57  and  58  may be applied along edges  42   c  (FIG. 5) of each leg opening bottom. Similarly, bindings  54 ,  55 ,  56  and  57  may be attached along fly openings edges  44   d  and  44   e  and the seams between the edges joining the inner, outer, leg, and rear portions of briefs  40 . An elastic waistband  52  is desirably also attached around the upper periphery of the boxer shorts.  
         [0026]    Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the foregoing description. It should be understood that all such modifications and improvements have been deleted herein for the sake of conciseness and readability but are properly within the scope of the following claims.