Patent Grant
11229242
This invention relates to breast support garments and more particularly it relates to adjustable breast support garments to adjust the size and the fit of such breast support garments.
Typically, breast support garments known in the prior art have some adjustment means in order to make slight adjustments to the size and/or the fit of the garment. For example, traditional bras generally comprise a strap adjustment arrangement to adjust the length of the straps. Normally, each of the straps in typical bras comprises a separate adjusting system. In addition, the underband of known bras can also comprise an adjustment system to adjust the torso opening to fit wearers having the same bra size but slightly larger or smaller torso (chest) sizes. In order to adjust the garment, the wearer of such known breast support garments needs to individually adjust each of such adjustment systems (i.e., adjust each strap and the underband separately). In addition, in most typical bras, the band and strap adjustments are at the back of the bra making the adjustment even more difficult especially while the garment is worn and the wearer needs to reach to the back to make such adjustment.
Further, different physical activities require different levels of breast support. For example, running or jumping may require a high level of breast support compared to activities such as walking, meditating or yoga that may require a lower level of breast support. Typical athletic or sports bras are designed to restrict the movement of breast tissue by uniformly compressing the breast tissue to the wearer's chest and such compression can be uncomfortable for the wearer because it does not effectively distribute the pressure around the wearer's torso.
Throughout the drawings, reference numbers may be re-used to indicate correspondence between referenced elements. The drawings are provided to illustrate example embodiments described herein and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the shapes of various elements and angles may be not drawn to scale, and some of these elements may be arbitrarily enlarged and positioned to improve drawing legibility.
The present invention provides an adjustable breast support garment that can adjust the size and the amount of breast support to a preferred fit and sensation (more support or less) from a single point using a single tensioning system that is easily reachable by the wearer. The adjustable breast support garment of the present invention is configured to adjust the tension over the shoulders, around the chest, and in some implementations around the under arm opening or around the neckline from a single point using a system of channels integrated into the garment. Elastic straps, webbings, shock cords or any combination thereof can be inserted and run through the system of channels in order to provide a tension change when pulled from a single point. The adjustable breast support garment can be a brasserie, a swimwear, a tank top, a body suit or any other garment where breast support may be required.
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention is described in conjunction with these embodiments, it will be understood that the descriptions herein are not intended to limit the scope of the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents that may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Detailed description of components that are well known in the art may be omitted if that detailed description would confuse or obscure the description of the embodiments of the present invention.
A system of channels 20 is integrated into the garment 100 such that an elastic strap can slide therein. The system of channels 20 can comprise an under-breast channel 21 that extends from one side of the front panel 12 to the opposite side in the under breast region and a back channel 23 that is integrated with the back panel 14 and is continuous with the under-breast channel 21. For example, the front under-breast channel 21 may extend from a left side 25 of the garment 100 to the right side 26 and may be positioned under the breast tissue for breast support. The left and right side edges 25, 26 are the side edges between the front and the back panels 12, 14. In one example embodiment, the under-breast channel 21 can be formed by folding a lower edge 18 of the front panel 12 and affixing it by, for example, sewing, bonding, gluing, etc., to the inner side of the front panel 12. The back channel 23 can comprise a left back channel 23a that traverses curving from the left side edge 25 to an upper edge 27 of the back panel 14, and a right back channel 23b that traverses curving from the right side edge 26 to the upper edge 27. The system of channels 20 further comprises two openings, such as for example an opening 24a formed at the end of the left back channel 23a and an opening 24b formed at the end of the right back channel 23b. The openings 24a and 24b are spaced apart, such that opening 24a is positioned left and away of a back panel mid-line 33 and the opening 24b is positioned right and away of the mid-line 33. The front under-breast channel 21 can further comprise a front opening 22 that is formed at a face of the under-breast channel 21 and which can be positioned and sized so that the wearer can easily reach it. In one implementation, the back channel 23 can be omitted and the openings 24a, 24b can be formed at the right and left ends of the under-breast channel 21 (e.g., at the right and left side edges 26, 25).
The garment 100 can further comprise a first elastic strap 28 with a connection end 28a attached to a top edge of one of the front straps 16a, 16b and a free end; and a second elastic strap 29 with a connection end 29a attached to a top edge of the other of the front straps 16a, 16b and a free end. Each of the first and the second elastic straps 28, 29 is connected to a respective top edge of one of the front straps 16a, 16b. At the back of the garment 100, the first and second elastic straps 28, 29 crisscross one on top of the other. The free end of each of the elastic straps 28, 29 is inserted through a respective opening 24a, 24b into the respective back channels 23a, 23b and the under-breast channel 21 such that the free end of each of the elastic straps 28, 29 exits at the front opening 22 from a respective left or right side of the garment 100. In the example illustrated in
The free ends of the elastic straps 28, 29 are connected to a tensioning system 30 that is configured to adjust the size and the support level of the garment 100 by tensioning or releasing the elastics straps 28, 29. The tensioning system 30, for example, can comprise a fastening element such as a buckle 10 that is connected to the free end of one of the elastic straps 28, 29 while the free end of the other elastic strap can be inserted into the buckle 10. Any other known tensioning system 30 can be used without departing from the scope of the invention. For example,
The curve of the left and right back channels 23a, 23b is designed to allow the straps 28, 29 to slide easily within the back channels 23a, 23b as well as the front under-breast channel 21 with reduced or without any twisting or bulging. In one implementation, the surface of the straps 28, 29 or the inner surface of the channels 21, 23 can be treated to allow easier sliding of the straps 28, 29 in the channels 21, 23. For example, the elastic straps 28, 29 can be made of a material that contains a pre-determined amount of silicon, so that the straps 28, 29 are smoother/softer and can slide much easier. The embodiment of the adjustable breast support garment 100 illustrated in
Only parts of the straps 28, 29 can slide within the channels 21, 23 while other parts of the straps 28, 29 can be uncovered. For example, the part of the straps 28, 29 that passes over the shoulder and across the back of the wearer are not inserted into the channels 23a, 23b. In an implementation where the back channel 23 is omitted, a number of loops can be provided on the back panel 14 to guide/curve the straps 28, 29 across the back.
The garment 200 further comprises a first elastic strap 38 with a connection end 38a that is connected to the back mid-element 233 and a second elastic strap 39 with a connection end 39a also connected to the back mid-element 233. The free end of each of the elastic straps 38, 39 slides through the respective channels 232a, 232b traversing across the back panel 214, around the under arm openings 217a, 217b and exit through the respective openings 231a, 231b, then extends over a respective shoulder of the wearer into the respective back channels 223a, 223b and the under-breast channel 221 to the front opening 222. Each of the free end of the straps 38, 39 is connected to the tensioning system 230 that can be same as the tensioning system described with respect to the garment 100 of
In one implementation, the channels 232a and 232b can be continuous across the back of the garment 200 and only one elastic strap can be used having two free-ends. This means that the channels 232a and 232b can be joined at the back mid-element 233 and the mid-element 233 may be omitted. For example, one of the free ends of the single elastic strap can be inserted into the under-breast channel 221 and can extend through one of the back channels (e.g., back channel 223a) over the shoulder into the under-arm channel 232b through the opening 231b, traverse across the back panel 214 continuing into the under-arm channel 232a over the other shoulder and into the back channel 223b and the under-breast channel 221 to the front opening 222 to face the other free end of the elastic strap. Persons skilled in the art would understand that the openings 231a, 231b at the front of the garment 200 or the openings 24a, 24b at the back of the garment can be omitted and the system of channels 20, 220 can continue from the front structure 12, 212 of the breast support garment 100, 200 over the shoulders of the wearer into the back structure 14, 214 of such garment without departing from the scope of the invention.
The connection end 328a, 329a of the elastic straps can be sandwiched between an inner and an outer layer of the shoulder strap 316 at the end 317 and secured by sewing (e.g., using respective lengthwise bartacks 817 as illustrated in
While particular elements, embodiments and applications of the present disclosure have been shown and described, it will be understood, that the scope of the disclosure is not limited thereto, since modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings. Thus, for example, in any method or process disclosed herein, the acts or operations making up the method/process may be performed in any suitable sequence and are not necessarily limited to any particular disclosed sequence. Elements and components can be configured or arranged differently, combined, and/or eliminated in various embodiments. The various features and processes described above may be used independently of one another, or may be combined in various ways. All possible combinations and subcombinations are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. Reference throughout this disclosure to “some embodiments,” “an embodiment,” or the like, means that a particular feature, structure, step, process, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in some embodiments,” “in an embodiment,” or the like, throughout this disclosure are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment and may refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, additions, substitutions, equivalents, rearrangements, and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions described herein.
Various aspects and advantages of the embodiments have been described where appropriate. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such aspects or advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment. Thus, for example, it should be recognized that the various embodiments may be carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other aspects or advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.
Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without operator input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment. No single feature or group of features is required for or indispensable to any particular embodiment. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and the like are synonymous and are used inclusively, in an open-ended fashion, and do not exclude additional elements, features, acts, operations, and so forth. Also, the term “or” is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so that when used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the term “or” means one, some, or all of the elements in the list.
The example calculations, simulations, results, graphs, values, and parameters of the embodiments described herein are intended to illustrate and not to limit the disclosed embodiments. Other embodiments can be configured and/or operated differently than the illustrative examples described herein.
This application claims priority from and the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/818,721, filed Mar. 14, 2019, and the entire content of such application is incorporated herein by reference.
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