Patent Publication Number: US-2017367413-A1

Title: Pull Away Undergarment

Description:
COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
     A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 37 CFR 1.71(d). 
     FIELD 
     At least some embodiments disclosed herein relate, in general, to undergarments and more specifically to undergarments with pull away bottoms. 
     BACKGROUND 
     For various reasons, points in people&#39;s lives, they may only have use of one hand. One example could be someone who is had hip surgery and needs to use a Walker. So long as they&#39;re standing or trying to sit or stand up, generally one hand must always remain on the Walker. In other cases, some people may have a stroke and lose the use of one of their arms. In another example someone could break an arm. 
     This can, of course, cause serious problems. One problem in particular is one of the person needs to use the restroom. If they are wearing underwear, it may prove extremely difficult for them to remove or pull down their underwear with one hand. They may in fact then need assistance from a second person, which many people find inconvenient or embarrassing. 
     SUMMARY 
     A pull away undergarment comprising a top portion and a bottom panel generally covering the genital and anal areas of a person wearing the undergarment. The front of the bottom panel is detachably attached to the top portion in the front of the top portion, such that the person wearing the undergarment can pull the bottom panel away from the top portion in the front of the garment. In an embodiment the front of the bottom panel is detachably attached to the front of the top portion of the undergarment using hook and loop strips (e.g. Velcro®). The top portion and the bottom panel are construed from one or more of: nylon, cotton, polyester, and a cotton/synthetic blend. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. 
         FIG. 1  shows a front view and a rearview of an embodiment of a woman&#39;s undergarment with a pull away panel in accordance with the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  shows how the front of the bottom panel of an undergarment similar to that of  FIG. 1  can be pulled away from front of the upper part of the undergarment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description and drawings are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding. However, in certain instances, well known or conventional details are not described in order to avoid obscuring the description. References to one or an embodiment in the present disclosure are not necessarily references to the same embodiment; and, such references mean at least one. 
     Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments. 
     As used herein, the term “undergarment” should be understood to refer to any type of underpants, briefs, panties, or shorts for men, women, or children that are generally worn under outer clothing. 
     Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide undergarments that have pull away panels on the bottom of the undergarment. Among the various uses of such undergarments, such undergarments can enable an individual who has use of only one hand to use the restroom by pulling away the bottom panel of the undergarment for the purposes of urinating or defecating. 
       FIG. 1  shows a front view  100   a  and a rearview  100   b  of an embodiment of a woman&#39;s undergarment with a pull away panel in accordance with the present disclosure. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the undergarment  100   a  and  100   b  has a top portion  110  resembling a conventional undergarment, including, for example, a waistband. The undergarment  100   a  and  100   b  additionally has a pull away bottom panel  120  generally covering the genital and rectal areas. The top portion  110  and the bottom panel  120  are held together in the front of the undergarment by strips  130  of a hook and loop material such as Velcro®. The top portion  110  and the bottom panel  120  are held together in the back of the undergarment by some form of permanent attachment, for example, by being sewn together. Alternatively, the top portion  110  and the bottom panel  112  could be constructed from a single piece of material. 
       FIG. 2  shows how the front of the bottom panel  120  of an undergarment  100  similar to that of  FIG. 1  can be pulled away  130  from front of the upper part  110  of the undergarment. 
     As in the case of  FIG. 1 , the undergarment  100  has a top portion  110  resembling a conventional undergarment, including, for example, a waistband. The undergarment  100  additionally has a pull away bottom panel  120  generally covering the genital and rectal areas. The front of the top portion  110  and the front of the bottom panel  120  are held together by strips  130  of a hook and loop material such as Velcro®. The top portion  110  and the bottom panel  120  are held together in the back of the undergarment by some form of permanent attachment, for example, by being sewn together. Alternatively, the top portion  110  and the bottom panel  112  could be constructed from a single piece of material. 
     The front of the bottom panel  120  is easily separated  140  from the front of the top portion simply by pulling on any portion of the bottom panel  120 . The bottom panel  120  can then be easily reattached to the top portion  110  by joining the hook and loop strips together. 
     In various embodiments, the undergarments of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  can be constructed using any suitable material now known, or later to be developed in the art. Examples could include cotton, nylon, rayon, or cotton/synthetic blends. The top portion and the bottom panels could be constructed from different materials. 
     While the examples given above utilize hook and loop (e.g. Velcro®) strips to detachably join the top portion of the undergarment to the bottom pullaway panel, any suitable detachably adherent strips could be used, or even snaps. 
     In various embodiments, the undergarments of the present disclosure are machine washable and dryable. They are not disposable and can be made with different materials and patterns. 
     It is understood that the principles discussed with respect to the women&#39;s undergarments of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  could be easily adapted to men&#39;s or even children&#39;s undergarments. 
     In the foregoing specification, the disclosure has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will be evident that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope as set forth in the following claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.