Abstract:
Temperature-sensitive mood stones or beads are incorporated into lingerie at positions that indicate sexual arousal to indicate by observation the state of arousal of the individual wearing the lingerie. In one embodiment, the mood beads are located adjacent the groin area for women&#39;s panties and at various erogenous zones of a brassiere, including cups and straps.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to human arousal indicators and more particularly to a lingerie-attached mood stone or bead for indicating human arousal.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     So-called mood stones or mood beads have been provided in rings and jewelry as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,766, and in a dog collar as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,744. These mood beads or stones change color in accordance with sensed temperature and are said to provide a measure of the health of the dog or some emotional status of the individual wearing, for instance, a mood ring.  
         [0003]     It will be appreciated that the region of the human anatomy that carries jewelry measures skin temperature, at least for finger rings, a portion of the human anatomy not normally associated with sexual arousal.  
         [0004]     With respect to animals and more particularly dogs, there is no apparent correlation between the color of the mood stones in the dog collar and the arousal of the animal.  
         [0005]     It is known that health of a human or animal is implicated by skin temperature, which for instance can indicate whether the animal or individual is experiencing a higher-than-normal temperature that would indicate a fever.  
         [0006]     However, in the past there has been no reported correlation between skin temperature at an erogenous zone and sexual arousal, much less a visible indicator of increased temperature at the erogenous zone.  
         [0007]     In short, so-called mood rings and mood stones have heretofore not been utilized to sense a human physiologic arousal condition that can be made readily visible to a participant in sex play. While in the past, medical sensing devices have included skin-carried temperature sensing devices, these devices are coupled to monitoring apparatus, which have displays remote from the sensing site. Thus, such temperature-sensing systems are not conveniently worn and do not display changes in temperature directly at the sensing site, much less at an erogenous zone.  
         [0008]     In terms of human physiology, female sexual arousal has been found to manifest through a color change in the labia. However, such color change is not readily observable from a distance. Moreover, while vaginal moistness is a sign of female sexual arousal, this, too, is not readily viewable.  
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
       [0009]     It is the purpose of the subject invention to provide a visual indication of human sexual arousal at a distance from those parts of the human anatomy that respond to sexual stimulation. More particularly, lingerie is provided with mood beads or stones that change color upon detected skin temperature, with the mood beads or stones being incorporated into women&#39;s panties, especially in the crotch area, or in brassieres, either in the cup or within the straps.  
         [0010]     It has been found that arousal causes a change in color in these beads that corresponds to changes in temperature at erogenous zones, thus to indicate to a woman&#39;s partner her state of arousal at a distance.  
         [0011]     In so doing, a woman wearing such undergarments can telegraph her state of readiness for sexual activities to give her partner an advance indication of her readiness.  
         [0012]     The subject lingerie can be provided not only for recreational purposes, but can also be used for sexual training as well as a measurement of human sexual response.  
         [0013]     In summary, temperature-sensitive mood stones or beads are incorporated into lingerie at positions that indicate sexual arousal to indicate by observation the state of arousal of the individual wearing the lingerie. In one embodiment, the mood beads are located adjacent the groin area for women&#39;s panties and on a brassiere, most notably at a cup or on a strap. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     These and other features of the subject invention will be better understood in connection with the Detailed Description, in conjunction with the Drawings, of which:  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic illustration of lingerie-attached arousal indicators affixed to undergarments that overlie erogenous zones, with mood stones or beads being affixed to the undergarment at those locations at which arousal can be sensed;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic illustration of arousal zones on a female torso indicating arousal zones at the crotch area, at the breasts and along the neck of the individual;  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  is a diagrammatic illustration of a mood stone or bead in the form of an elongated cylinder having an internal channel adapted to receive a thread for sewing of the bead onto an undergarment;  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is a diagrammatic illustration of a brassiere with mood stones or beads sewn about the periphery of the brassiere including along the bra strap and the underside of the cup as well as along the top edge of the bra; and,  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is a diagrammatic illustration of a panty with mood stones or beads affixed to the edging thereof. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0020]     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a female individual  10  is shown wearing undergarments in the form of panties  12  and a brassiere  14  in which the undergarments are provided with mood stones or beads  16  in various configurations on the undergarment.  
         [0021]     More particularly, with respect to panty  12 , the mood stones or beads  16  may be affixed to the crotch area in the form of a heart  20  or other pleasing configuration, whereas the top edge  22  of panty  12  may be provided with a belt-like arrangement of beads  24 .  
         [0022]     With respect to brassiere  14 , areas around the nipples may be provided with mood stones or beads as illustrated at  26 , whereas bra straps  28  may also be provided with a string of mood stones or beads.  
         [0023]     The lingerie thus provided with mood stones or beads at erogenous zones will turn color indicating the arousal of the individual, which beadlike indicators are viewable from a distance to indicate to the person&#39;s partner her state of arousal.  
         [0024]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , individual  10  is shown to have a number of erogenous zones  30 ,  32 ,  34  and  36 , which zones increase in temperature upon arousal. The increase in temperature is sensed by mood stones or beads adjacent the erogenous zones and thus are an accurate indicator of arousal state.  
         [0025]     Lingerie that is provided with such arousal indicators is useful not only in sex play but also for instructional purposes, since the state of arousal can be ascertained not only at close quarters but rather even across the room.  
         [0026]     It is also interesting to note that while female individuals are known to fake a state of arousal, it is very difficult to fake the arousal to the extent of causing the beads to turn color when the individual is not actually aroused.  
         [0027]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , an individual mood stone or bead  40  is made of material that changes color in response to changes in temperature at the bead. Materials useful for mood stones or beads include cholesteric liquid crystals, which are generally long molecules with a stiff center consisting of two or more ring structures. On one end is a hydrocarbon chain, with the other being a polar or non-polar head group. Mood stones or encapsulated artificial stones containing cholesteric liquid crystals have the ability to change color based on the parallel arrangement of the molecules that form thin layers in the crystal. Cholesteric liquid crystals can be aligned in different ways by change in temperature. As the temperature increases, the molecules are said to tighten or twist, therefore defining the wavelength of visible light reflected from the crystal, changing the color of the mood stone. In general the color of the mood stone will range from black to brown to green to blue-green and then to blue, depending on the temperature.  
         [0028]     As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,011, in one embodiment the heat-sensitive color change bead or stone may include a heat sensitive back plate in which the jewel is made of clear polyester-type S material having a temperature-color sensitive range form about 80° F. to about 90° F. It is noted that the polyester-type S material changes color from black through a gray through a yellow through a green through a blue-green through a blue to a dark blue, with black being the color of the bead with the least amount of heat transfer. The following describes the mood of a person depending on the color of the polyester-type S material: black: frigid; gray: irritable; yellow: melancholy; green: cuddly; blue-green: amorous; blue: sensuous; dark blue: passionate. Anything from green to dark blue would indicate a state of arousal, with the color indicative of the arousal intensity.  
         [0029]     The mood stone or bead may also be as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,945. In this patent, liquid crystal material has iridescing qualities that effect variations in coloration of the device upon application of different temperatures. In this patent the color-changing device encapsulates droplets of crystalline material in a transparent body in such a way that the individually encapsulated droplets of crystalline material will be responsive to variations in temperature to affect the iridescence thereof. In one embodiment, a hollow body of polyester, acrylic or other synthetic transparent material is used to receive the encapsulated droplets of crystalline material either in non-oriented bulk form or in the form of oriented layers or strips.  
         [0030]     In other embodiments the mood stone can be in the form of a liquid crystal display that is activated by temperature, in which a thermal sensor senses the temperature and causes the liquid crystal display to changes its characteristics to indicate the sensed temperature.  
         [0031]     Thermally activated temperature indicators are also described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,321 that involves an opaque microporous sheet that has a colored stratum in the back and a transparent fusible coating on the face. The coating is a solid solution of amorphous rubbery polymer in crystallizable solvent, which upon melting gradually penetrates and transparentizes the microporous layer, rendering the colored stratum visible.  
         [0032]     Another temperature indicating device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,065,083, which is a two-compartment envelope containing a colorless indicator dye separated from a solid fatty acid by a fat-soluble isobutylene styrene barrier film. When the envelope is heated to a sufficiently high temperature, the acid melts, slowly dissolving the film, and acts with the indicator dye, causing a color change.  
         [0033]     Currently, mood stones are available commercially as Model No. BDM 0001 from Cyter Import Ltd. of Beijing, China.  
         [0034]     As can be seen in  FIG. 3 , the mood stone is provided with an internal channel  32  through which a thread or string  34  may pass so that the bead or stone may be affixed to the undergarment by simple sewing.  
         [0035]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , a brassiere  50  has edging  52  to which mood stones or beads  54  are attached. The edging provides a simple place to put the mood stones, since the mood stones will not interfere with the comfort of the brassiere.  
         [0036]     Likewise and referring to  FIG. 5 , a panty  60  has edging  62  to the front  64  thereof in which mood stones or beads  66  are attached to the edging.  
         [0037]     Regardless of the configuration of the mood stones or beads on the undergarment, and regardless of the operation by which the mood stones or beads change color, the change of color when the mood stones or beads are placed adjacent an erogenous zone give a visible arousal indication, unlike visually undetectable indicators of an aroused state.  
         [0038]     While the subject invention has been described in connection with indications of female arousal, it will be appreciated that it is within the scope of the subject invention to place mood stones or mood beads on undergarments worn by males.  
         [0039]     While the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications or additions may be made to the described embodiment for performing the same function of the present invention without deviating therefrom. Therefore, the present invention should not be limited to any single embodiment, but rather construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the recitation of the appended claims.