Patent Publication Number: US-11659873-B2

Title: Pants with an underside opening

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION DATA 
     This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/727,646, filed Sep. 6, 2018, and titled “Pants with an Underside Opening,” and U.S. Design Application No. 29/694,940, filed Jun. 14, 2019 and titled “Pants with an Underside Zipper,” and each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to pants. In particular, the present invention is directed to Pants with an Underside Opening. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Pants, including shorts, capris, under-layer or base-layer pants, work-pants, leggings, underwear, and outerwear (such as ski pants, snow pants, and rain gear) often include a closable opening (or fly) in the center front area that facilitates putting on and taking off of the pants as well as allowing wearers with male urinary anatomy to urinate without having to lower the pants. These designs, however, require wearers with female urinary anatomy to lower the pants off of the waist in order to urinate, thereby exposing more of the body to the elements or to others. This can be inconvenient and unsafe, especially in harsh environments/weather conditions and/or in non-private circumstances, such as may be encountered on lengthy hiking, biking, or skiing adventures or at certain job sites. (The term “pant” is used herein to describe any article of clothing that generally includes a waist, a front crotch area, a rear area, and legs, and can include a variety of items of apparel such as jeans, shorts, leggings, snow pants, ram pants, trousers, knickers, slacks, underwear, etc.). 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     In an embodiment, an underside opening for a lower body garment includes a first closable opening running from below a front center of a waistband of the garment down along a crotch area of the garment, a second closable opening running from beyond the first closable opening, through the crotch area, and up toward a rear center of the waistband, a zipper track running from below the front center of the waistband, through the crotch area, and up toward the rear center of the waistband, an exterior blocking member traversing the zipper track, the exterior blocking member being attached to an exterior of the garment and separating the first closable opening from the second closable opening, and an interior blocking member traversing the zipper track, the interior blocking member being attached to an interior of the garment opposite the exterior blocking member. The zipper track is continuous and includes a first zipper pull on a first side of the exterior blocking member and a second zipper pull on a second side of the exterior blocking member. 
     In another embodiment, a pair of pants includes a first leg opening, a second leg opening, a waist opening, a lowest crotch point, a first closable opening running from below a front center of the waist opening down toward the lowest crotch point, a second closable opening running from beyond the first closable opening, through the lowest crotch point, and up toward a rear center of the waist opening, a zipper track running along the first closable opening and the second closable opening, an exterior blocking member traversing the zipper track, the exterior blocking member being attached to an exterior of the pants and separating the first closable opening from the second closable opening, and an interior blocking member traversing the zipper track, the interior blocking member being attached to an interior of the pants opposite the exterior blocking member. The zipper track is continuous and includes a first zipper pull on a first side of the exterior blocking member and a second zipper pull on a second side of the exterior blocking member. 
     In another embodiment, a closable opening for a crotch area of a garment includes a single, continuous zipper track running from below a front portion of a waistband of the garment, through the crotch area, and up toward a rear portion of the waistband, wherein the zipper track has an inner side and an outer side, an exterior blocking member traversing the outer side of the zipper track, wherein the exterior blocking member is designed and configured to prevent a zipper pull from continuing along the zipper track, and an interior blocking member traversing the inner side of the zipper track and being opposite the exterior blocking member, wherein the interior blocking member is designed and configured to prevent a zipper pull from continuing along the zipper track. The zipper track includes a first zipper pull on a first side of the exterior blocking member and a second zipper pull on a second side of the exterior blocking member. 
     In another embodiment, a lower body garment has an interior side and an exterior side, and the garment includes a first leg opening, a second leg opening, a waist opening, a lowest crotch point, a first closable opening running from below a front center of the waist opening down toward the lowest crotch point, a second closable opening running from beyond the first closable opening, through the lowest crotch point, and up toward a rear center of the waist opening, a first zipper track running along the first closable opening, a second zipper track running along the second closable opening, a first interior flap designed and configured to reversibly cover the first zipper track on the interior side of the garment, a second interior flap designed and configured to reversibly cover the second zipper track on the interior side of the garment, a first exterior flap designed and configured to reversibly cover the first zipper track on the exterior side of the garment, and a second exterior flap designed and configured to reversibly cover the second zipper track on the exterior side of the garment. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For the purpose of illustrating the invention, the drawings show aspects of one or more embodiments of the invention. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in the drawings, wherein: 
         FIG.  1    is a front perspective view of pants with an underside zipper in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  2    is a front view of the pants shown in  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  3    is a rear view of the pants shown in  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  4    is a right side view of the pants shown in  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  5    is a top plan view of the pants shown in  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  6    is a bottom view of the pants shown in  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  7    is a front perspective view of the pants of  FIG.  1    with cover flaps turned outward; 
         FIG.  8    is a front view of the pants shown in  FIG.  7   ; 
         FIG.  9    is a rear view of the pants shown in  FIG.  7   ; 
         FIG.  10    is a left side view of the pants shown in  FIG.  7   ; 
         FIG.  11    is a top view of the pants shown in  FIG.  7   ; and 
         FIG.  12    is a bottom view of the pants shown in  FIG.  7   . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Pants with an underside opening of the present invention facilitate the urination of those persons possessing female urinary anatomy or, potentially, for those possessing male or female urinary anatomy who wish to defecate without having to lower the pants off of the waist. In an embodiment, the pants of the present invention include two, separately openable and closable openings, an underside opening and a front or fly opening. In another embodiment, the two openings share a continuous closing mechanism that is separated by exterior and interior blocking members. thereby allowing the openings to be operated separately. In another embodiment, under layer garments such as long underwear or thermal underwear are provided with a slit or opening along the bottom of the crotch area. Alternatively, a single long closable opening may run from the center front waist area through the bottom of the crotch. 
     Turning to the figures, in an embodiment, pants with an underside opening of the present invention, for example full length pants  100  shown in  FIGS.  1 - 12   , include a front  104 , a back  108 , a left leg portion  112 L, a right leg portion  112 R, a waistband  116 , a waistband closure  120 , and a crotch area  122 . A first closable opening  124  (e.g., a fly) runs from just below waistband closure  120  downward along the center of the crotch area to a location  126  near or above a low point  128  of the crotch area (low point  128  is the lowest point of the crotch area when a garment is being worn or held upright). A second closable opening  130  runs from just below or beyond location  126 , along the crotch area, and back up along the back side of the crotch area terminating at or near the center of back side  108  of waistband  116 . 
     First closable opening  124  includes an exterior front flap  132  and an interior front flap  136 , each of which reversibly covers a respective side of a closing mechanism for first closable opening  124 , such as a zipper or buttons. Second closable opening  130  includes an exterior back flap  144  and an interior back flap  148 , each of which reversibly covers a respective side of a closing mechanism for second closable opening  130 , such as a zipper or buttons. Exterior flaps  132  and  144  may be secured on one side or on both sides (in which case the flaps would be split down the middle) to the exterior side of pants  100  and are designed and configured to cover respective closing mechanisms for appearance sake, as well as provide insulating properties when the closing mechanism is thermally conductive. Interior flaps  136  and  148  may be secured on one side or on both sides (in which case the flaps would be split down the middle) to the interior side of pants  100  and are designed and configured to cover respective closing mechanisms in order to provide an insulating (and protective) barrier between the closing mechanisms and the user. Flaps  132 .  136 ,  144 , and  148  may include a slight curve that generally follows the slight curve in the material that forms crotch area  122  of pants  100  in order to help reduce bunching when worn. 
     In a preferred embodiment, and as can best be seen for example in  FIGS.  11 - 12   , the closing mechanisms for first closable opening  124  and second closable opening  130  made with a single zipper track  156  running along the length of the crotch from just below the center of the front of waistband  116  to just below the center of the back of waistband  116 . In this embodiment, zipper track  156  includes a front pull  160  and a rear pull  164 , and is traversed by a pair of blocking members  168  (exterior blocking member  168 A and interior blocking member  168 B) that prevents front pull  160  and rear pull  164  from passing. In this way, first closable opening  124  may be opened and closed by use of front pull  160  and second closable opening  130  may be opened and closed by use of rear pull  164 , effectively providing two closing mechanisms while only a single zipper track need be sewn onto pants  100 . Blocking members  168  may be any suitable material, including the same material from which pants  100  are made, and be sewn or otherwise secured to pants  100  on both sides across zipper track  156 . Exterior blocking member  168 A is secured across zipper track  156  on the exterior side of pants  100  while interior blocking member  168 B is secured across zipper track  156  on the interior side of pants  100  at a location that is directly opposite the location on the exterior side where exterior blocking member  168 A is positioned. Blocking members  168  may be made from the same material as and/or be contiguous with the flaps; in particular, exterior blocking member  168 A may be contiguous with exterior flaps  132  and  144  and interior blocking member  168 B may be contiguous with interior flaps  136  and  148 , with the difference being that the flaps may be repositioned or opened to expose or allow access to zipper track  156 , blocking members  168  cannot be repositioned in such a manner by wearer under typical use conditions. 
     In another embodiment, a first zipper secures a fly opening that runs from the top of the waistline of a pair of pants down toward the bottom of the crotch, as may often be found on pants. A second zipper that secures a second opening that may start approximately 0-3 inches further toward the bottom of the crotch than where the first opening/zipper ends. This second opening/zipper continues through the bottom of the crotch and up the backside of the pants a distance sufficient to allow for female urination or unitary defecation, e.g., up to approximately just after a location that would be adjacent to the anal opening on a wearer, though in alternative embodiments the second opening/zipper may extend up to the tailbone. 
     The second zipper is preferably discreetly hidden by a flap on the outside that covers the zipper, the flap being a fabric strip or the like that is about one-quarter inch to about two inches in width. A second flap or liner may be included on the inside of the pants. The second flap is sized and located to cover the inside facing portion of the zipper to thereby prevent the second zipper from coming into contact with skin when the pants are worn. Both the inner and outer flaps may include a slight curve that generally follows the slight curve in the material that forms the crotch area of the pants in order to help reduce bunching. 
     In another exemplary embodiment, under layer garments such as long underwear or thermal underwear are provided with a slit or opening along the bottom of the crotch area. The opening is sized and positioned to allow wearers with female urinary anatomy to urinate without having to lower or remove the garment. Because these types of garments are typically worn beneath other garments, the opening is closed or covered preferably without the use of a securement mechanism such as a zipper or buttons but rather through the use of overlapping flaps on either side. These garments may be used separately or in conjunction with the outerwear described above. 
     In an embodiment, an underside opening for a lower body garment includes a first closable opening running from below a front center of a waistband of the garment down along a crotch area of the garment, a second closable opening running from beyond the first closable opening, through the crotch area, and up toward a rear center of the waistband, a zipper track miming from below the front center of the waistband, through the crotch area, and up toward the rear center of the waistband, an exterior blocking member traversing the zipper track, the exterior blocking member being attached to an exterior of the garment and separating the first closable opening from the second closable opening, and an interior blocking member traversing the zipper track, the interior blocking member being attached to an interior of the garment opposite the exterior blocking member. The zipper track is continuous and includes a first zipper pull on a first side of the exterior blocking member and a second zipper pull on a second side of the exterior blocking member. 
     Additionally or alternatively, an interior flap designed and configured to reversibly cover the zipper track is included. 
     Additionally or alternatively, an exterior flap designed and configured to reversibly cover the zipper track is included. 
     Additionally or alternatively, the interior flap and the exterior flap include curvatures to prevent bunching during normal wear of the garment by a wearer. 
     Additionally or alternatively, the first zipper pull opens and closes the zipper track along the first closable opening and the second zipper pull opens and closes the zipper track along the second closable opening. 
     Additionally or alternatively, a third zipper pull that opens and closes the zipper track along the second closable opening is included. 
     In another embodiment, a pair of pants includes a first leg opening, a second leg opening, a waist opening, a lowest crotch point, a first closable opening running from below a front center of the waist opening down toward the lowest crotch point, a second closable opening running from beyond the first closable opening, through the lowest crotch point, and up toward a rear center of the waist opening, a zipper track miming along the first closable opening and the second closable opening, an exterior blocking member traversing the zipper track, the exterior blocking member being attached to an exterior of the pants and separating the first closable opening from the second closable opening, and an interior blocking member traversing the zipper track, the interior blocking member being attached to an interior of the pants opposite the exterior blocking member. The zipper track is continuous and includes a first zipper pull on a first side of the exterior blocking member and a second zipper pull on a second side of the exterior blocking member. 
     Additionally or alternatively, an interior flap designed and configured to reversibly cover the zipper track is included. 
     Additionally or alternatively, an exterior flap designed and configured to reversibly cover the zipper track is included. 
     Additionally or alternatively, the interior flap and the exterior flap include curvatures to prevent bunching during normal wear of the pants by a wearer. 
     Additionally or alternatively, the first zipper pull opens and closes the zipper track along the first closable opening and the second zipper pull opens and closes the zipper track along the second closable opening. 
     In another embodiment, a closable opening for a crotch area of a garment includes a single, continuous zipper track running from below a front portion of a waistband of the garment, through the crotch area, and up toward a rear portion of the waistband, wherein the zipper track has an inner side and an outer side, an exterior blocking member traversing the outer side of the zipper track, wherein the exterior blocking member is designed and configured to prevent a zipper pull from continuing along the zipper track, and an interior blocking member traversing the inner side of the zipper track and being opposite the exterior blocking member, wherein the interior blocking member is designed and configured to prevent a zipper pull from continuing along the zipper track. The zipper track includes a first zipper pull on a first side of the exterior blocking member and a second zipper pull on a second side of the exterior blocking member. 
     Additionally or alternatively, an interior flap designed and configured to reversibly cover the zipper track is included. 
     Additionally or alternatively, an exterior flap designed and configured to reversibly cover the zipper track is included. 
     Additionally or alternatively, the interior flap and the exterior flap include curvatures to prevent bunching during normal wear of the garment by a wearer. 
     Additionally or alternatively, the interior flap is connected to the interior blocking member. 
     Additionally or alternatively, the exterior flap is connected to the exterior blocking member. 
     Additionally or alternatively, the first zipper pull closes the zipper track when moving away from the exterior blocking member and the second zipper pull closes the zipper track when moving away from the exterior blocking member. 
     In another embodiment, a lower body garment has an interior side and an exterior side, and the garment includes a first leg opening, a second leg opening, a waist opening, a lowest crotch point, a first closable opening running from below a front center of the waist opening down toward the lowest crotch point, a second closable opening running from beyond the first closable opening, through the lowest crotch point, and up toward a rear center of the waist opening, a first zipper track running along the first closable opening, a second zipper track running along the second closable opening, a first interior flap designed and configured to reversibly cover the first zipper track on the interior side of the garment, a second interior flap designed and configured to reversibly cover the second zipper track on the interior side of the garment, a first exterior flap designed and configured to reversibly cover the first zipper track on the exterior side of the garment, and a second exterior flap designed and configured to reversibly cover the second zipper track on the exterior side of the garment. 
     Additionally or alternatively, two zipper pulls are included on the second zipper track. 
     Exemplary embodiments have been disclosed above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, omissions and additions may be made to that which is specifically disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.