Motocross pants

Abstract

A pair of motocross pants is described, including a waist portion, a seat portion, a crotch and inner thigh portion, and two leg portions, the pants being formed by plurality of panels of material numbering less than 20. A majority of the surface area of the pants may include elastic material, and a nearly straight knee angle may be formed.

We claim: 
     
         1 . Motocross pants comprising
 a waist portion configured to encompass a wearer's waist, the waist portion having a fastener for selectively fastening the waist portion around the waist;   a seat portion descending from the waist portion on a back side of the pants, the seat portion being configured to substantially cover a wearer's buttocks when riding a two wheeled vehicle;   a crotch and inner thigh portion connected to the seat portion and merging into two leg portions, each leg portion having a medial region corresponding approximately to the medial knee region of a rider wearing the pants, the medial regions of the leg portions substantially facing each other;   the seat portion, crotch and inner thigh portion, and medial regions collectively defining a motorcycle interface zone;   wherein greater than 50% of the material of the pants, excluding the motorcycle interface zone, is made of material that stretches at least 20% in at least one direction.   
     
     
         2 . The motocross pants of  claim 1 , wherein greater than 50% of the material of the pants, excluding the motorcycle interface zone, is made of material that stretches between about 20% and about 80%. 
     
     
         3 . The motocross pants of  claim 1 , wherein the medial regions of the leg portions are made of a material that is more heat resistant than most of the rest of the material of the pants. 
     
     
         4 . The motocross pants of  claim 1 , wherein the medial regions of the leg portions are made of a material that has a higher friction coefficient than most of the rest of the material of the pants. 
     
     
         5 . The motocross pants of  claim 1 , wherein at least a majority of a surface area of each of the medial regions is disposed medially relative to a plane bisecting a respective leg of the wearer from front to back, and each medial region does not cover a wearer's knee cap when worn. 
     
     
         6 . The motocross pants of  claim 1 , wherein the medial regions of the leg portions are comprised of leather. 
     
     
         7 . The motocross pants of  claim 1 , wherein the seat portion of the pants is comprised of a nylon material having a denier of at least 500. 
     
     
         8 . The motocross pants of  claim 1 , wherein at least about 75% of the material of the pants, excluding the motorcycle interface zone, is made of material that stretches at least 20% in at least one direction. 
     
     
         9 . The motocross pants of  claim 1 , wherein at least about 75% of the material of the pants, excluding the motorcycle interface zone, is made of material that stretches between 20% to 80% in at least one direction. 
     
     
         10 . The motocross pants of  claim 1 , wherein at least about 75% of the material of the pants, excluding the motorcycle interface zone, is made of material that stretches between 20% to 80% in at least two directions. 
     
     
         11 . The motocross pants of  claim 10 , wherein the two directions are perpendicular to each other. 
     
     
         12 . The motocross pants of  claim 1 , wherein the motocross pants are made entirely from fewer than about 20 material panels. 
     
     
         13 . Motocross pants comprising
 a waist portion configured to encompass a wearer's waist, the waist portion having a fastener for selectively fastening the waist portion around the rider's waist;   a seat portion descending from the waist portion on a back side of the pants, the seat portion being configured to cover a wearer's buttocks when riding a two-wheeled vehicle;   a crotch and inner thigh portion connected to the seat portion and merging into two leg portions, each leg portion having a medial region corresponding approximately to the medial knee region of a rider wearing the pants, the medial regions of the leg portions substantially facing each other;   the seat portion, crotch and inner thigh portion, and medial regions collectively defining a motorcycle interface zone;   wherein most of the material of the pants, excluding the motorcycle interface zone, is made of material that stretches at least about 20% and not more than about 80% in at least two directions that are perpendicular to each other.   
     
     
         14 . Motocross pants comprising
 a waist portion configured to encompass a wearer's waist, the waist portion having a fastener for selectively fastening the waist portion around the rider's waist;   a seat portion descending from the waist portion on a back side of the pants, the seat portion being configured to cover a wearer's buttocks when riding a two-wheeled vehicle;   a crotch portion connected to the seat portion and merging into two leg portions, each leg portion having a medial region corresponding approximately to the medial knee region of a rider wearing the pants, the medial regions of the leg portions substantially facing each other;   the seat portion, crotch and inner thigh portion, and medial regions collectively defining a motorcycle interface zone;   wherein greater than 50% of the material of the pants, excluding the motorcycle interface zone, is made of material that stretches more than the seat portion of the pants.   
     
     
         15 . Motocross pants comprising
 a waist portion configured to encompass a wearer's waist, the waist portion having a fastener for selectively fastening the waist portion around the rider's waist,   a seat portion descending from the waist portion on a back side of the pants, the seat portion being configured to cover a wearer's buttocks when riding a two-wheeled vehicle,   a crotch and inner thigh portion connected to the seat portion and merging into two leg portions, each leg portion having a medial region corresponding approximately to the medial knee region of a rider wearing the pants, the medial regions of the leg portions substantially facing each other, wherein most of the material of the pants is made of material that stretches more than the seat portion of the pants.   
     
     
         16 . Motocross pants comprising
 a waist portion configured to encompass a wearer's waist, the waist portion having a fastener for selectively fastening the waist portion around the rider's waist,   a seat portion descending from the waist portion on a back side of the pants, the seat portion being configured to cover a wearer's buttocks when riding a two-wheeled vehicle,   a crotch and inner thigh portion connected to the seat portion and merging into two leg portions, each leg portion having a medial region corresponding approximately to the medial knee region of a rider wearing the pants, the medial regions of the leg portions substantially facing each other, wherein at least about 75% of the material of the pants is made of material that stretches at least about 20% and not more than about 80% in at least two directions that are perpendicular to each other.   
     
     
         17 . An article of clothing comprising:
 a pair of pants having a seat portion, a first leg portion, a second leg portion, an outer surface area, and a plurality of panels, each panel comprising a selected one of a substantially inelastic material having a stretchability less than about 10% in both a width and a length dimension, and an elastic material having a stretchability greater than about 10% in both a width and a length dimension;   wherein a first panel of the plurality of panels is disposed on a first medial knee area of the first leg portion, a second panel is disposed on a second medial knee area of the second leg portion, and the first and second panels comprise a substantially inelastic material; and   wherein greater than approximately 50% of the outer surface area of the pants comprises elastic material.   
     
     
         18 . The article of clothing of  claim 17 , wherein the elastic material has a stretchability of greater than about 20% and less than about 80%. 
     
     
         19 . The article of clothing of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of panels does not exceed twelve total panels. 
     
     
         20 . The article of clothing of  claim 17 , wherein the first leg portion has five or fewer panels. 
     
     
         21 . The article of clothing of  claim 20 , wherein the second leg portion has five or fewer panels. 
     
     
         22 . The article of clothing of  claim 17 , wherein the elastic material makes up greater than approximately 75% of the outer surface area of the pants. 
     
     
         23 . The article of clothing of  claim 17 , wherein the pants have a total weight that does not exceed about 1.5 pounds. 
     
     
         24 . The article of clothing of  claim 17 , wherein a third panel of the plurality of panels is disposed in the seat portion of the pants, and the third panel comprises a substantially inelastic nylon having a denier greater than about 500. 
     
     
         25 . The article of clothing of  claim 17 , the first leg portion further including an upper leg portion connected to a lower leg portion at an obtuse knee angle, the knee angle being formed at a rear side of the knee at an intersection of a central axis of the upper leg portion and a central axis of the lower leg portion, wherein the knee angle is greater than approximately 170 degrees.