Patent Application
20170020204
Traditional women's undergarments, namely brassieres, generally have a front portion with supportive cups, wings extending from the front portion surrounding the wearer's ribcage, a hook and eye closure to connect the two wings, and two shoulder straps. While traditional bras are practical for everyday use under daily wear, such as t-shirt, blouses, sweaters, etc., these traditional bras are not suitable for all purposes, e.g., for wear with backless garments such as formal gowns.
One solution has been a strapless and backless bra as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,391. While there are no wings of the bra to be exposed under a backless garment, this configuration provides little support to the breasts, resulting in an undesirable appearance. There have been other attempts to solve this problem but with little success.
Accordingly, a backless support bra comprising: a front main portion having first and second cups, first and second upper shoulder straps each having first and second ends connected to said front main portion, and first and second lower pelvic straps each having first and second ends connected to said front main portion; and wherein said first and second lower pelvic straps are designed to be worn through the pelvic region of a wearer is generally disclosed.
Moreover, a method of securing a backless support bra having a front main portion on a wearer comprising the steps of: sliding upper shoulder straps extending from the front main portion of the backless support bra over the wearer's shoulders; pulling one end of lower pelvic straps extending from the front main portion of the backless support bra through the pelvic region of the wearer; and securing said one end of said lower pelvic straps extending from the front main portion of the backless support bra to the front main portion is also disclosed.
An alternate method of securing a backless support bra having a front main portion on a wearer comprising the steps of: sliding upper shoulder straps extending from the front main portion of the backless support bra over the wearer's shoulders; crisscrossing lower pelvic straps extending from the front main portion of the backless support bra in a torso region of the wearer; pulling said lower pelvic straps around the hip region of the wearer; pulling said lower pelvic straps through the pelvic region of the wearer; and securing a distal end of said lower pelvic straps onto said lower pelvic straps is also described.
A more complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the Detailed Description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings.
Turning now to the figures,
Cups 103 can be lined, padded, or otherwise enhanced to provide additional support and/or enhancement. Cups 103 can be of various sizes ranging from AAA-N. These cup variations would be understood to those having ordinary skill in the art and such variations would not serve to limit the scope of the invention. In addition to cups 103, front main portion 102 can also include channels having underwire 106 underneath the cups 103 to provide additional support and lift to the wearer's breasts. A center front gore 107 generally connects cups 103.
Both upper shoulder straps 104 and lower pelvic straps 105 attach to front main portion 102 at hook points 108. Hook points 108 generally comprise of a bra hook (not visible in every figure but can be seen in
It should be understood that hook points can be more permanently affixed, for example, by sewing the two portion together. This may be used where regular attachment and detachment of a hook from an eye for removal of the bra is not necessary. For example, hook points 108 on shoulder strap 104 could be more permanently affixed since the shoulder straps 104 can be slid over the arms.
Sliders 109 can also placed along uppers shoulder straps 104 and lower pelvic straps 105 to adjust the length of the straps to fit various body sizes and types.
The neckline created by the cups 103 of the front main portion 102 can be a variety of shapes as would be understood to those having skill in the art. In these exemplary figures, the neckline is shown to be contoured or molded, but the front main portion 102 and cups 103 could be in plunge, full-cup, demi-cup, push-up, balconette, or shelf styles, for example. These cups can be made from a variety of materials, sizes, and colors known in the art of bra-making. The upper shoulder straps 104 and lower pelvic straps 105 can be a variety of widths and made from a variety of materials and in a variety of colors.
As shown
Turning now to
While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combination, and equivalents of the embodiments, methods, and examples provided herein. The invention should, therefore, not be limited by the embodiments and examples disclosed here, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention as claimed.
