Patent Application
20230049200
The present invention relates to the field of clothing construction in particular to a new and useful construction for an upper body garment covering at least a portion of the outer side and bottom portion of the breast, from under and around the breast area. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a front-close harness that is layered over any article of apparel including bras, sports bras, swimwear, lingerie, or any top worn over and covering the breast area. The harness having an adjustable compression effect around the circumference of the under-breast or under-band area, the shoulder area, and support around a portion of the outer side breast and bottom area of the breast that is specially designed for compressing or tightening around the breast and chest without covering the entire breast volume. The invention provides advantageous benefits to the wearer while it is being put on and while it is worn to provide the desired support to the wearer to control the movement of the breast during daily activity and for the wearer to control the amount of support during exercise.
Many people choose lingerie bras and sports bras to improve their appearance, accentuate their breast shape, and support their breasts during movement or reduce bounce. This is especially true for lingerie, swimwear, athletic, and athleisure wear whether it is wearing these articles of clothing for daily activities, for exercise, swimming, or performance.
Many different approaches have already been proposed for minimizing the movement of breast tissue through two main types of support, compression of the breast tissue or encapsulation of the breast tissue. Compression designs use compressive materials and fit to compress the breast tissue against the torso to minimize movement. The compression materials comprise of a front layer on the front portion of the body and a back panel that fits on the back portion of the body. The compressive panels can be single or multiple layer materials that provide support by compressing the breast tissue against the chest wall of the wearer. Encapsulation designs are constituted of a cup that encapsulates the entire left breast coupled to the left side of the back panel and a right cup that encapsulates the right breast coupled to the right side of the back panel, a band that wraps around the body with a clasp, and straps that connect to the cup over the shoulder and attach to the band on the back portion of the body. Encapsulated cups may be constructed through cut and sew or molded designs that may be used in conjunction with under-wires to help shape and place the breast tissue. The basic support presents a normal counterbalance system.
Most bras, sports bras, and swimwear are designed with specific degrees of support or compression depending on the activity. These degrees of compression are categorized by support levels typically referred to as low, medium, and high support, in sports bras specifically. For example, sports bras may be specifically designed and engineered for yoga which is a low level of activity that requires light exertion and bounce to the breast tissue, versus high support categories for high-impact activities such as running which cause the breast to move vigorously anteriorly, posteriorly, vertically, and horizontal. However, women are modernizing their needs for support and no longer wish or want to change their bras several times throughout the day to fit the performance level of their various activities or workouts. For wearers who wear bras for the duration of the day and throughout their exercise activities without changing their bras for the various categories of impact, their bras fail to adapt to their support needs causing short term pain to the breast tissue and longer-term issues of strain on the breast root and ligaments in the breast tissue and chest area.
Women also often do not know what brand or company provides the right fit, what support their breast size needs, what size they should buy to fit their torso, what size they should buy to fit the volume of their breast, and therefore often find bras and sports bras uncomfortable. Another drawback is when the wearer does get the lingerie bra or sports bra positioned on their body, the bra often does not fit their breast or the size of their under-breast circumference due to sizing differences of brands. Women also often complain that their bras do not fit due to the fluctuations of their breast size due to hormonal differences throughout the month. Wearer's often quickly compromise their choice of bra or sports bra purchases and complain of fit issues, lack of supportive, and discomfort because of the strain, soreness, and pain caused by an ill-fitting, incorrect size, or poor functioning bra for the wearer's size or level of activities.
U.S. Ser. No. 10/383,373B2 Describes a system for adjusting support of a garment through a pully system around the sport bra.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,435,155B2 Describes an athletic bra with adjustable support system that with molded cups comprising a framework for adjustable compression.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,806,748B2 Describes a system having bays and a truss for supporting breasts, to reduce the stress and strain of breast tissue.
It will be understood that, generally, directional descriptions used herein, such as left or right, front, or back, up, or down, are used relative to basic anatomical convention in order to provide consistency and alleviate confusion in the description of the adjustable under bust compression and adjustable support when shown from the various vantage points provided in the figures herein. As an example, directional descriptions are used with respect to the garment being in an as-worn configuration with the wearer standing in the anatomical position.
The present invention in its various aspects addresses the disadvantages of most bras and sports bras and the above problems with prior support and fit issues, by providing a garment that can be added on top of any lingerie bra, sports bra, swim top, or any top worn around the chest area. Advantageously the front-close bra support harness encompasses the side breast and bottom breast tissue to lift and support the breast during vertical and horizontal motion without fully encapsulating or compressing the breast tissue against the torso. The front-close bra support harness has an easy to reach adjustable closure for easy donning and offing to add or remove this additional layer of support without removing or changing one's bra or sports bra. This design further allows the user to easily add the front-close bra support harness over any bra or sports bra to adjust and increase the amount of support at the time of activity as desired for control and comfort.
Accordingly, to one example of the present disclosure, a front-close bra support harness comprises a material panel having a left side, a right side, a top side, and a bottom side. A material creating a sling shape around the left breast coupled to the left shoulder strap, left side of the back panel, and left under breast panel, and a material creating a sling shape around the right breast coupled to the right shoulder strap, right side of the back panel, and right under breast panel are secured together at the center front area by an adjustable closure mechanism. The sling shape material around the left breast is configured to encapsulate and support the bottom and left-side portion of the breast by the use of contouring panels, and compression to minimize the movement, therefore. The sling shape material around the right breast is configured to encapsulate and support the bottom and right-side portion of the breast by the use of contouring panels, and compression to minimize the movement, therefore. The sling shape around the left and the right breast contours around the outer sides and bottom of each breast and extends to the center front area or center axis of the body optimizing the shape and displacing the breast tissue in a forward and lifted position without the discomfort of a wire.
The adjustable closure mechanism at the center front area along the center front axis of the body has a number of adjustable positions which can be adjusted by the wearer for the desired compression on the torso and for the desired support of the breast across a lateral pull and diagonal pull. The adjustable closure mechanism is attached at the center front area of the under-breast or bottom band area. The under-breast band provides the wearer with the first or primary load support during various movements by compression on the torso. The under-breast band is wide in length, extending down vertically on the torso. The top edge of the under-breast band sits at the under breast or inframammary fold of the breast and extends horizontally around the circumference of the torso, the bottom edge of the under-breast band extends down vertically on the torso to a position just above the waist of the wearer. The bottom edge of the under-breast band has a contoured shape for optimized movement of the body. It is advantageous that the under-breast band is wide in length vertically to sit comfortably on top of any bottom band of a bra or sports bra which is located around the rib area and has localized tension. The wide surface area of the under-breast band spreads the amount of tension around the torso avoiding localized tension on the ribs.
The desired support of the left breast is also controlled by the wearer by adjusting the left shoulder strap coupled to the sling shape material around the left side and bottom area of the breast which creates more strain on the material around the left side area and bottom area of the breast and therefore creates more vertical pull over the left shoulder. The desired support of the right breast is also controlled by the wearer by adjusting the right shoulder strap coupled to the sling shape material around the right side and bottom area of the breast which creates more strain on the material around the right-side area and bottom area of the breast and therefore creates more vertical pull over the right shoulder. This angular support of each breast by both corresponding straps, supports the load of the breast as a secondary load support for different motions of the body. This outer breast supporting system allows the user to easily change the amount of support and the amount of compression with ease at any time of wearing by adjusting the strap length with an adjustment mechanism on the left front shoulder strap, and an adjustment mechanism on the right front shoulder strap. The front-close bra support harness provides adjustable compression, adjustable lift, and adjustable support which may provide improved comfort subjective to preference and depending on the activity of the user.
It is still further advantageous that the panel located on the back of the body, couples to the left back shoulder strap and couples to the right back shoulder strap at the center back axis or center back area of the body. This attachment at the center back region of the body to the back shoulder straps allows for minimal distraction and increased movement of the scapula or shoulder blades during activity. The bottom edge of the back panel is attached to the under-breast band at the top edge of the under-breast band.
According to another example of the present disclosure, a front-close bra support harness comprises a material panel having a left side, a right side, a top side, and a bottom side. A material creating a sling shape around the left breast coupled to the left shoulder strap, left side of the back panel, and left under breast panel, and a sling shape material around the right breast coupled to the right shoulder strap, right side of the back panel, and right under breast panel are secured together at the center front area by an adjustable closure mechanism. The material creating the sling shape around the left breast is configured to encapsulate and support the bottom and left side portion of the breast by the use of contouring panels, and compression to minimize the movement, therefore. The material creating the sling shape around the right breast is configured to encapsulate and support the bottom and right-side portion of the breast by the use of contouring panels, and compression to minimize the movement, therefore. Further, a material creating a secondary sling shape around the left breast sits on top of or over the material creating the left sling shape. This secondary sling shape is coupled to the primary left material creating the left sling shape along the top edge of the bottom under breast band, coupled to the left shoulder strap, and the left side of the back panel, creating a layering effect of materials or an inner left sling shape and an outer left sling shape. A material creating a secondary sling shape around the right breast sits on top of or over the material creating the right sling shape. This secondary sling shape is coupled to the primary right material creating the right sling shape along the top edge of the bottom under breast band, coupled to the right shoulder strap, and the right side of the back panel, creating a layering effect of materials or an inner right sling shape and an outer right sling shape. Respectively the left outer sling shape around the left-side and bottom area of the left breast and the right outer sling around the right-side and bottom area of the right breast is coupled at the center front area or the center front axis of the body with an adjustable closure mechanism. The left outer sling shape and the right outer sling shape may fully cover the left inner sling shape and the right inner sling shape, respectively. The outer sling shape provides additional support to the breast tissue by the use of layered materials. In some instances, the use of layered materials may also be used to create a pocket with an opening on the side of the breast area for the purpose of adding padding or absorbent material that can be added and removed by the wearer. The garment presenting a compression effect, in particular for the purpose of compressing the under-breast circumference of the harness against the wearer's body, cradling the bottom and side of the breast tissue for added support and lift of the wearer's breast tissue. The compression effect will provide adjustable compression, adjustable lift, and adjustable support which may provide reduced movement and therefore improved comfort.
According to another example of the present disclosure, a front-close bra support harness comprises a material panel having a left side, a right side, a top side, and a bottom side. A material creating a sling shape around the left breast coupled to the left shoulder strap, left side of the back panel, and left under breast panel, and a sling shape material around the right breast coupled to the right shoulder strap, right side of the back panel, and right under breast panel are secured together at the center front area by an adjustable closure mechanism. The material creating the sling shape around the left breast is configured to encapsulate and support the bottom and left-side portion of the breast by the use of contouring panels, and compression to minimize the movement, therefore. The material creating the sling shape around the right breast is configured to encapsulate and support the bottom and right-side portion of the breast by the use of contouring panels, and compression to minimize the movement, therefore. Further, a material creating a secondary sling shape around the left breast sits on top of or over the material creating the left sling shape. This secondary sling shape is coupled to the left front strap and extends around the left side portion of the breast and bottom portion of the breast. The left secondary sling shape further extends over the front left under breast band and around the left portion of the back under breast band attaching to a seam on the left side of the center back panel. The left secondary sling shape creates a layering effect of materials or an inner left sling shape and an outer left sling shape. Further, a material creating a secondary sling shape around the right breast sits on top of or over the material creating the right sling shape. This secondary sling shape is coupled to the right front strap and extends around the right-side portion of the breast and bottom portion of the breast. The right secondary sling shape further extends over the front right under breast band and around the right portion of the back under breast band attaching to a seam on the right side of the center back panel. The right secondary sling shape creates a layering effect of materials or an inner right sling shape and an outer right sling shape. Respectively the left outer sling shape and the right outer sling shape are coupled at the center front area or the center front axis of the body with an adjustable closure mechanism. The left outer sling shape and the right outer sling shape may fully cover the left inner sling shape and the right inner sling shape, respectively. The outer sling shape provides additional support to the breast tissue by the use of layered materials creating a shelf-like shape along the bottom and center front area of the breasts to dampen the movement of the breast tissue. The garment presenting a compression effect, in particular for the purpose of compressing the under-breast circumference of the harness against the wearer's body, cradling the bottom and side of the breast tissue for added support and lift of the wearer's breast tissue. The compression effect will provide adjustable compression, adjustable lift, and adjustable support which may provide reduced movement and therefore improved comfort.
According to another example of the present disclosure, a front-close bra support harness comprises a material panel having a left side, a right side, a top side, and a bottom side. A material creating a sling shape around the left breast coupled to the left shoulder strap, left side of the back panel, and left under breast panel, and a sling shape material around the right breast coupled to the right shoulder strap, right side of the back panel, and right under breast panel are secured together at the center front area by an adjustable closure mechanism. The material creating the sling shape around the left breast is configured to encapsulate and support the bottom and left-side portion of the breast by the use of contouring panels, and compression to minimize the movement, therefore. The material creating the sling shape around the right breast is configured to encapsulate and support the bottom and right-side portion of the breast by the use of contouring panels, and compression to minimize the movement, therefore. An additional strip of material is attached to the material creating the sling around the left breast and crosses over the top portion of the left breast in a diagonal configuration across the center front axis and is attached to the top edge of the right under breast band. An additional strip of material is attached to the material creating the sling around the right breast and crosses over the top portion of the right breast in a diagonal configuration across the center front axis and is attached to the top edge of the left under breast band. The additional strip of material on the top portion of the left breast and the additional strip of material on the top portion of the right breast may be added by the wearer to add additional support to the breast tissue by minimizing the vertical breast movement of the top portion of the breast by the crossing of the strips of materials over the breast volume thereby limiting the breast movement in the motion of a figure eight. The garment presenting a compression effect, in particular for the purpose of compressing the under-breast circumference of the harness against the wearer's body, cradling the bottom and side of the breast tissue for added support and lift of the wearer's breast tissue. The compression effect will provide adjustable compression, adjustable lift, and adjustable support which may provide reduced movement and therefore improved comfort.
Thus, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the under-breast band of the front-close harness is formed of three-ply materials. Each of the plies are of various modulus or stretchable textiles that are assembled to optimize the compression of the materials against the torso for comfort to the wearer. The three plies may be connected in various ways, for example, at the side portion of the body by a vertical seam and at the under-breast area by a horizontal seam around the circumference of the body.
Adjustable compression can be achieved in various ways. Exemplary adjustable compression can be achieved by a closure mechanism, a slider, a tri-glide, a clasp, hook and loop material, or hard trims with multiple positions for the wearer to choose the desired position. Another example of adjustable compression is by the use of an additional textile piece attached or tunneled through the back panel of the under-breast band and attached to the front of the under-breast band creating a cinching effect around the circumference of the torso.
Preferably, the exemplary textiles that may be used in the preferred embodiment of the present invention to create compression of the under-breast band and create the slings around the left breast and right breast may include single layer or multiple layered materials that exhibit a degree of stretch, elasticized yarns, rigid textiles, stretch textiles, impregnated materials, thermal formed materials, spacer textiles, foams, carbon fiber, 3D printed materials, or a combination thereof, in a placed, engineered, or by way of zoning.
Preferably, the pieces are assembled together in the preferred embodiment of the present invention are cut and sewn, cut and bonded or laminated, or knitted materials that include flat knit or circular knit or a combination thereof, in a placed, engineered, or by way of zoning. Advantageously making use of tension of the stitching yarn or lamination glue that can be adjusted to values that are lower than those normally used for stitching or lamination so as to ensure that the presence of the stitching or lamination does not lead to non-uniformity in the mean elasticities.
Preferably, the front-close bra support harness in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention material having a left side, a right side, a top side, and a bottom side. The configuration of the shoulder straps are attached or centrally located around the center back axis of the body or the center back area. This attachment position is optimal to help counterbalance the weight of the breast tissue across the shoulders to the central back axis and back portion, and help wearers avoid issues of shoulder straps slipping from the desired position. It is also preferable that the orientation of the straps has a geometry of crossing the body to opposite sides of the body to dampen additional movement during cross-body or lateral movements.
The front-close bra support harness in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention thus overcomes the drawback of prior conventional bras and sports bras noted above by avoiding covering the entire surface area of each breast. The front-close bra support harness can be worn over any lingerie bra, sports bra, swim top, or apparel top with the desired compression around the under-breast circumference, bottom of the breast and outer-side portion of the breast effectively adjusting the fit of the under-breast band and shoulder straps to the desired compression effecting the level of support to the breast tissue, providing a desired lift to the breast tissue, providing a desired level of support across the back area, and the desired level of support across the upper abdominal area. The front-close bra support harness has minimum seams. The front-close bra support harness thereby provides a smooth appearance while providing adjustable compression and support to the breast tissue and adjustable compression around the circumference of the under-breast region.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of certain preferred embodiments thereof, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like number refer to like elements throughout.
In accordance with the present invention, with reference specifically to
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In
In each of the above-described examples, the closure mechanisms 31 and 42 may be a zipper, a hook and eye closure, a Velcro closure, a series of magnets, a magnetic zipper, gecko tape, a magnetic hook and eye closure, buttons, ties of any sort, toggles, two or more clips/clasps or a series of poppers.
With reference to
In addition, as also shown in
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In one example, the left and right inner harness cup slings 34, 35 comprises of a lightweight, moisture-wicking fabric. Alternatively, the cup slings can be made of foam padding, multi-layered materials, laminated materials, thermoplastic rubber, gel, 3D printed materials, fiberfill, gel pads, stretch materials, or rigid materials, or the like. In another example, each of the left front contour panel 34 and the right front contour panel 35 can be made to form a convex shape. Together, the convex shape and contoured seam around the bottom and side of the breast area 29, 30 and the contoured seam along the bottom of the breast area 36, 37 encapsulate the bottom and side portion of the breast, lift, and support a wearer's breasts. The bra support harnesses 10, 70, and 120 collectively supports the left and right breast, providing the desired added support when worn over a lingerie bra, sports bra, or swimwear top. This is especially helpful while the wearer is active, such as when exercising.
During high impact activities a woman's breasts do not move up and down together, but rather separately, in what is called a “butterfly” or figure-eight motion, as well an anterior and posterior. This movement of the breasts is very painful and possibly damaging to the breast supportive breast tissue and ligaments in the breast. The combination of the bra harness, as illustrated on bra support harness, 10, 70, and 120 encapsulating the bottom and side portion of the breast, when worn on top of the wearer's chosen bra, counteracts this butterfly motion by providing additional desired support and may provide maximum support to the wearer's chosen bra or additional support for the wearer's breast size, thereby reducing impact on a wearer's breasts when the wearer is engaged in vigorous activity. The encapsulation around the side and bottom area of the breast tissue is generally accomplished by seaming a contoured cup sling panel to a under breast band panel around the breast area to a desired shape. This creates a contoured and convex cup panel shape around the bottom and side portion of the breast creating lift and support. In one example, the contoured and convex shape of the bottom and side contour panel may be slightly reduced in comparison to the breast volume, which helps control movement of the wearer's breasts during activity. The contour sling panel 34, 35 of the present disclosure on bra support harness 10, and the contour sling panel 34, 35 when combined with the outer contour cup panels 40, 41, of the present disclosure on bra support harness 70 and 120 deliver maximum support while maintaining the wearer's breasts in place with comfort when worn on top of the wearer's chosen lingerie bra, sports bra, or swimwear top. Compression fabric may also be used for the entire bra support harness 10, including the back panel 20 and 97, such that the entire bra support harness 10 has a slightly firmer fit to create this compression effect.
The outer bra harness contour panels 40, 41 of the present invention, bra support harness 70 and 120 as illustrated in
The construction of the bra harness may be made by stitching, sewing, ultra-sonic welding, or lamination constructions. Lamination constructions are seams constructed through the use of glue laminations in place of thread to secure two or more panels of material together. Other constructions may include ultra-sonic welding, or a combination of sewn and laminated constructions.
The bra harness of the present invention can be manufactured in a variety of sizes to support different volumes of breast tissue and girth of the torso. The design of the back of the bra can come in a variety of strapping or strappy styles, however the central back area, or axis strapping is preferred.
In all embodiments the front closure on the bottom band of the bra harness may be of any material, textile, elastic, or trim that can secure two panels together. A trim may be made of metal, plastic, thermal rubbers, thermal plastics, fungus, or 3D printed materials.
The bra harness in accordance with the present invention thus addresses a number of desires in adjustable compression around the upper body and specifically the breast area for support and lift. The bra harness is comfortable and is easier to close onto the body, especially for wearers who have shoulder rotation issues, larger breasts, or mobility issues. The present invention also addresses wearers who purchase bras or sport bras to support their breasts during different levels of activity such as daily activity and high-impact exercise and subsequently have support issues. The bra harness eliminates the need to change the wearer's bra for different activities throughout the day or for exercise by layering the bra harness over the wearer's bra to achieve the desired support, lift, and compression level. Furthermore, because the bra support harness can be closed in the front, pulled, and closed on the desired clasp position, the desired compression around their torso may provide a degree of support to the back area and upper abdominal area.
The disclosure provided above is intended to illustrate some possible combinations of various aspects associated with the bra harness with adjustable compression effect on the upper torso and breast area and providing desired adjustable support, lift, and control to the breast. Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to mind to one skilled in the art of which this invention pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. For example, although it is not a preferred construction, the bra harness may be put onto the body and secured closed at the back of the body or be a pull-on style without a closure mechanism. Moreover, different features discussed in different embodiments could be combined in still other embodiments and would still fall within the scope of the attached claims. Some features could be used independently in some embodiments, while still other features could be combined in various different ways in still other embodiments. The purpose served by the discloser, however, is to provide an example of the various features and concepts related to the aspects described herein, not to limit the scope thereof. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purposes of limitation.
