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Garment for surfingRelated Patent Categories: Apparel, Head Coverings, SkirtsGarment for surfing description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070101481, Garment for surfing. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention is a garment, a sport skirt. Throughout the application description the coined word "skqurt" is used in place of "the garment of this invention". The English word "garment" is used in the claims. [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a garment for a part of the body, and in particular to a sport skirt, a skqurt. Particular examples are described in relation to surfing and skiing, which are preferred sports for application, but the garment described here can be adapted for use in other sports. [0004] 2. Background Information [0005] Skqurts can be seen as similar to many historic garments including loincloths, which have historically been worn as the sole piece of lower torso clothing. Loincloths are noted for their ability to offer glimpses of pubic hair, which is precisely what skqurts aim to prevent. In Borneo the purpose of the loincloth is to cover the male genitals, it leaves the buttocks bare. http://www.ikanlundu.com/literary/borneo_loincloth.html. [0006] The Wikipedia definition of loincloth: The loincloth is the simplest form of underwear, and it was probably the first undergarment worn by human beings. A loincloth may take two major forms. The first consists of a long, triangular piece of fabric with strings or strips of cloth sewn to the corners. The strings are tied around the waist, and the cloth is brought up between the legs and tucked into or otherwise fastened to the resulting band. The alternate form is more skirt-like: a cloth is wrapped around the hips several times and then fastened with a girdle. In warmer climates, the loincloth may be the only clothing worn (making it effectively not an undergarment), but in colder temperatures, the loincloth often forms the basis of a person's clothing and is covered by other garments. In most ancient civilizations, this was the only undergarment available (King Tutankhamun was buried with 145 of them). The loincloth continues to be worn by people around the world (it is the traditional form of undergarment in many Asian societies, for example). [0007] Other historic garments that bear resemblance include a belted harem skirt of Egypt circa 48BC as depicted in the Jean-Leon Gerome 1866 painting From Gerald M. Ackerman, Les Orientalistes: Jean-Leon Gerome, ACR Edition Internationale, Courbevoie, Paris, 1986, p. 70. 2 pictures. These are very long and have potential for entangling the user if it is subject to strong currents of wind or water. [0008] A dhoti in Indian culture, or a sarong of Malayan culture, or other historic and current forms of mantle draping and tying do not offer the same mobility as skqurts. In addition to other limiting factors, they have excess fabric, which bunches when worn in a manner similar to the skqurt, this adds weight and bulk in opposition to the performance ideal of a surfer. [0009] A skirted panty circa 1946 Mel Juffe, The New York Post [?], date unknown but c. 1982. No photo credit. 1 picture, is an early incarnation of the skqurt. Appealing to an entirely different aesthetic, the tight `skirt` is actually an extra layer of fabric folded back over a panty. It is permanently attached to the undergarment, has no slits for keeping coverage over the crotch in the event of straddling or squatting. This aspect of exposure is quite clear in pin-up photos of the 40's and 50's including some famous shots of actress Marilyn Monroe. [0010] Similar more contemporary garments from outside of the surfing world include newer Yoga skirts (pictured at www.sportees.com/imported_pics/yoga %20skirts.JPG), beach skirts, Tennis skirts, and other sports skirts of today. Besides using fabrics unsuitable for salt-water exposure, these are limited in the respect that they generally have elastic waistbands that easily fall off or up when pulled by strong ocean surges. Some do employ fixed circumference waistbands and full skirts, pleats, or excess fabric, however these skirts do not offer the coverage or mobility of skqurts, as when seated with legs spread wide they tend to flip up in the middle to form an "m" shape with the lower edge of the fabric exposing the crotch. They also lack a means of securing to an undergarment. Often these are made with built in undergarments, which limits the convenience and ability to wear the same skirt with any bikini bottom, thus precluding many combinations from one purchase. [0011] Sports kilts like those offered at www.sheplayssports.com/spmarket.html are made for vertical sports and are perfectly useful for sports such as telemark skiing and lacrosse, however they do not have tabs to secure to undergarments and so they can shift and twist on the user especially when she is in heavy surf. They also will not cover the crotch area when squatted deeply as they form an "m" like others mentioned above. [0012] The cheerleading skirt of U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,279 is closer to functional for surfing. The multiple partially attached panels provide for free leg movement while probably providing sufficient crotch coverage for a surfer straddling her surfboard. However, it would not be as useful in the water where rough water easily shifts skirts. And the plurality of skirt panels and seams might make for some very uncomfortable rashes especially if seams corresponded to the protrusions of the hip bones on the user, which is a place on the body that receives a lot of pressure while paddling. [0013] As with many sports, surfing is dependent on good timing, good position, and quick action when the time is right. Though not always the case depending on the break, usually a large part of surfing is paddling belly down on the surfboard from inshore out through whitewash and breaking waves to get in position to catch a wave. After the surfer bails off the wave she must get her belly back on her board and paddle back out through the whitewash and breaking waves. Each moment spent inside requires a lot of energy fighting the force of the water pushing in toward shore; so the faster the surfer can paddle out the better. If the garments a surfer is wearing move around or fall off, the surfer suffers in energy and time lost to rearranging clothing rather than paddling back out immediately. Or worse, loose or inappropriate garments can restrict the movements of the surfer or even entangle her in the event of getting `maytagged` or joggled by severe water hydraulics. [0014] Lower torso surf apparel waistbands suffer from one or more of the following deficiencies: seams around the waist and hip area create friction while the surfer is lying on the board; ties and closures in the front of the waistband also create friction while the surfer is lying on the board; non elastic and thin elastic waistbands allow the garment to be pulled off, to move up the torso, or to spin or twist around the user. [0015] In addition, because a substantial amount of time in surfing is spent paddling, there are places on the body which can get raw or rashed called `hotspots`. Typical `hotspots` on females include where the bottom ribs come in contact with the board, the lower abdomen and the protrusions of the hipbones. This rawness can be amplified by any garment seams that are in contact with the areas of the body that are in pressured contact with the board. [0016] In warm water surfing traditional surf trunks work well enough for female surfers. They stay up in rough water and require little in-water attention. Many women choose to wear them because they completely cover the crotch area when straddling the board and they cover the buttocks when lying on the board. However they are shorts, an historically male garment, with an aesthetic quality that many women do not want. [0017] One of the only functional lower torso garment alternatives for warm water female surfers is bikini bottoms or a one-piece bathing suit. The positives of these tight fitting garments is they allow for full leg mobility and if tight enough only shift or get pulled off by extremely strong ocean hydraulics. However a problem many women surfers find is that both of these options do not fully cover their crotch when they are straddling their surfboard. [0018] Newer surf skirts are more true to the female aesthetic and they do not fall off as they have a fixed diameter non-stretch waistband usually with a short closure secured by grommets and ties in the middle in the front of the garment. However they are free to spin around the surfer's torso and float up on the body off of the hips or waist. This means time lost to rearranging in the crucial time between bailing off the wave and paddling out. Also, surf skirt assemblies are made of non stretch or low stretch fabric with no slits so that the skirt must bunch up toward the user's waistline in order for her to straddle her board, lunge deeply, or stride fully all of which expose the crotch and buttocks. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0019] This invention, called the `Skqurt`, is a skirt-like garment that comprises a fixed circumference waist opening, high slits, and, in certain embodiments where required, tabs or connective devices adapted to attach the skqurt securely to an undergarment such as a bikini bottom or ski pant. [0020] This invention is based on the realization that female athletes, specifically surfers, want more choices in their surfwear. They do not want to be limited to surf shorts, one-piece bathing suits, or bikini bottoms. But they also want to keep their performance capacity, which hinges on conserving energy by means of a well-timed, quick paddle out. Due to aesthetics most women would enjoy wearing surf skirts in the water if they were fully functional. The unique design of skqurts allows for full range of motion in the legs, full frontal coverage when straddling a surfboard and an aesthetic many female surfers prefer over surf shorts, bikinis, and one-piece bathing suits. [0021] The fixed circumference waist opening of the skqurt keeps the garment from being pulled off in powerful hydraulics. [0022] High slits allow for complete leg mobility and complete coverage in sport specific positions such as straddling a surfboard. By freeing portions of fabric the slits allow fabric to fall with gravity to cover the frontal crotch area when the surfer is straddling her board and to cover the buttocks when she is straddling her board and lying on her board. This coverage allows the surfer to fully focus on the waves rather than the position of her bikini while retaining a distinctly female aesthetic. Continue reading about Garment for surfing... Full patent description for Garment for surfing Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Garment for surfing patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Garment for surfing or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Headwear with keepers for eyeglasses Next Patent Application: Toilet training device for small children Industry Class: Apparel ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Garment for surfing patent info. 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