Lower-body garment with leak protection features
A lower-body garment that has built-in leak protection. The built-in leak protection can be achieved through an integral gusset or an internal assembly that is positioned interior to an exterior layer that forms the lower-body garment. The internal assembly can include a front torso portion, a back torso portion, and a crotch portion. The crotch portion can include a spacer fabric layer configured to be positioned adjacent to a wearer's body surface, and a moisture-barrier layer secured to the spacer fabric layer and configured to be face outward.
1 . A lower-body garment comprising:
an external layer forming an exterior torso portion, the exterior torso portion having a waist opening, a first leg portion including a first leg opening, and a second leg portion including a second leg opening;
an internal assembly positioned internal to the external layer, the internal assembly comprising:
an interior front torso portion comprising a front upper edge secured to the external layer a first distance away from the waist opening;
an interior back torso portion comprising a back upper edge secured to the external layer a second distance away from the waist opening, wherein the second distance is greater than the first distance; and
a crotch panel between the interior front torso portion and the interior back torso portion, and positioned between the first leg opening and the second leg opening of the exterior torso portion, the crotch panel comprising a spacer fabric layer and a moisture-barrier layer secured to the spacer fabric layer.
2 . The lower-body garment of claim 1 , wherein the interior front torso portion of the internal assembly includes a front upper edge secured to the external layer, and wherein the interior back torso portion of the internal assembly includes a back upper edge secured to the external layer.
3 . The lower-body garment of claim 1 , wherein: the interior front torso portion has a first side edge that is located on a first side of the lower-body garment and that includes a first lower end positioned a third distance below the waist opening, and the interior back torso portion has a first back side edge that is located on the first side of the lower-body garment and that includes a second lower end positioned a fourth distance below the waist opening, the second distance being greater than the first distance.
4 . The lower-body garment of claim 1 , wherein the internal assembly further comprises a crotch area that continuously extends between the interior front torso portion and the interior back torso portion and that includes an inner-facing surface facing towards the crotch panel.
5 . The lower-body garment of claim 1 , wherein:
the interior front torso portion has a first front side edge located on a first side of the lower-body garment,
the interior back torso portion has a first back side edge that is located on the first side of the lower-body garment, and
the first front side edge of the interior front torso portion is spaced apart from the first back side edge of the interior back torso portion.
6 . The lower-body garment of claim 5 , wherein the crotch panel joins the interior front torso portion to the interior back torso portion.
7 . The lower-body garment of claim 1 , wherein the interior front torso portion and the interior back torso portion form a built-in undergarment and comprise a durable water repellant (DWR) treatment.
8 . The lower-body garment of claim 1 , wherein the internal assembly further comprises a crotch area that continuously extends between the interior front torso portion and the interior back torso portion and that wraps around side edges of the crotch panel.
9 . The lower-body garment of claim 1 , wherein the spacer fabric layer comprises an innermost surface of the lower-body garment and comprises a first layer, a second layer, and a plurality of tie yarns that interconnect the first layer and the second layer, the plurality of tie yarns comprising elastic yarns.
10 . The lower-body garment of claim 1 , wherein the moisture-barrier layer comprises a thermoplastic polymer material.
11 . The lower-body garment of claim 1 , wherein:
the interior front torso portion has a first front side edge located on a first side of the lower-body garment,
the interior back torso portion has a first back side edge that is located on the first side of the lower-body garment, and
the first front side edge of the interior front torso portion is affixed to the first back side edge of the interior back torso portion.
12 . A lower-body garment comprising: a torso portion comprising a first leg opening and a second leg opening; and a crotch portion between the first leg opening and the second leg opening, wherein the crotch portion of the lower-body garment comprises a textile layer comprising a durable water repellant (DWR) treatment on an inner facing surface of the textile layer and a composite textile, wherein the composite textile comprises a spacer fabric and a moisture-barrier layer, and wherein the moisture-barrier layer comprises a thermoplastic polymer film,
wherein at least a portion of the moisture-barrier layer is layered between the spacer fabric and the textile layer,
wherein when the lower-body garment is in an as-worn configuration, the spacer fabric is positioned adjacent to a skin surface of a wearer, wherein the spacer fabric comprises a side edge proximate the first leg opening; and wherein material from the textile layer of the crotch portion wraps over the side edge of the spacer fabric to form a hem.
13 . The lower-body garment of claim 12 , wherein the spacer fabric comprises a front edge coupled to a front of the torso portion; and wherein the lower-body garment further comprises a DWR-treated bonding strip that at least partially overlaps the front edge and the front of the torso portion.
14 . The lower-body garment of claim 13 , wherein the DWR-treated bonding strip comprises an adhesive layer.
15 . The lower-body garment of claim 12 , wherein the spacer fabric comprises a spacer knit textile comprising a first knit layer, a second knit layer, and tie yarns connecting the first knit layer to the second knit layer.
16 . The lower-body garment of claim 15 , wherein the tie yarns comprise a first yarn having a first denier and a second yarn having a second denier, which is different from the first denier.
17 . The lower-body garment of claim 12 , wherein:
the torso portion comprises a front upper edge and a back upper edge, at least one of the front upper edge and the back upper edge being affixed to an external garment layer.
18 . The lower-body garment of claim 12 , wherein lower-body garment comprises an undergarment configured to be selectively worn underneath a variety of external lower-body garments.
19 . The lower-body garment of claim 12 , wherein when the lower-body garment is in an as-worn configuration, the spacer fabric is positioned adjacent to a skin surface of a wearer, and wherein the spacer fabric comprises an edge secured to the textile layer with a bonding strip.
20 . The lower-body garment of claim 19 , wherein the bonding strip comprises an outer textile layer treated with DWR.
21 . A lower-body garment comprising: a torso portion comprising a first leg opening and a second leg opening; and a crotch portion between a first leg opening and a second leg opening, wherein the crotch portion of the lower-body garment comprises a textile layer comprising a durable water repellant (DWR) treatment on an inner facing surface of the textile layer and a composite textile; the composite textile comprising: a spacer fabric layer, and a moisture-barrier layer secured to the spacer fabric layer,
wherein at least a portion of the moisture-barrier layer is layered between the spacer fabric layer and the textile layer,
wherein when the lower-body garment is in an as-worn configuration, the spacer fabric layer is positioned adjacent to a skin surface of a wearer, wherein the spacer fabric layer comprises a side edge proximate the first leg opening; and
wherein material from the textile layer of the crotch portion wraps over the side edge of the spacer fabric layer to form a hem.
22 . The lower-body garment of claim 21 , wherein the moisture-barrier layer is layered between the textile layer and the spacer fabric layer, and wherein material of the textile layer envelops a side edge of the composite textile.
23 . The lower-body garment of claim 22 , wherein the textile layer further comprises the durable water repellant (DWR) treatment on an outer facing surface of the textile layer.
24 . The lower-body garment of claim 23 , wherein the spacer fabric layer, the moisture-barrier layer, and the textile layer comprise an integral crotch gusset associated with the lower-body garment.
25 . The lower-body garment of claim 24 , wherein the lower-body garment is an undergarment.
26 . The lower-body garment of claim 23 , wherein the spacer fabric layer, the moisture-barrier layer, and the textile layer comprise a crotch area of a built-in undergarment that is affixed in an interior of the lower-body garment.
27 . The lower-body garment of claim 23 , wherein the composite textile has a front edge and a back edge, the lower-body garment further comprising a first bonding strip coupling the front edge to the torso portion and a second bonding strip coupling the back edge to the torso portion.
28 . The lower-body garment of claim 23 , wherein the textile layer is laminated together with the spacer fabric layer and the moisture-barrier layer.