Brassiere cup, manufacturing apparatus and method of brassiere cup

Abstract

A molded brassiere cup manufacturing apparatus includes a wound roller for consecutively supplying upper and lower cloths and a reinforcing pad cloth interleaved between the upper and lower cloths, a puncturing unit for puncturing at least one position checking hole at a predetermined position of the cloth supplied from the wound roller, a molding unit having upper and lower molding casts formed in correspondence with a predetermined bust shape, a cooling unit having upper and lower cooling casts, a cutting unit having first upper and lower cutting casts formed in correspondence with a predetermined bust shape and second upper and lower cutting casts formed in correspondence with a predetermined reinforcing pad to be placed at a lower portion of the predetermined bust shape, wherein the molding unit, the cooling unit, and the cutting unit each have at least one sensor for detecting the position checking hole at the side thereof opposite to the cloth.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2005-0048441 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Jun. 7, 2005, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a brassiere cup and a manufacturing apparatus and method thereof, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a molded brassiere cup having a reinforcing pad at a predetermined portion between upper and lower pads and a manufacturing apparatus and method thereof.

Generally, a brassiere has been used as a woman's undergarment to protect the bust, as well as to beautifully shape the bust. Recently, various brassieres have been developed to have various functions and designs.

Such brassieres may have a bra cup formed by tailoring a cloth and, if necessary, inserting a pad, such as cotton, sponge, or an air bag, therein and sewing, or may have a bra cup formed by molding a bra cup with a pad and a cloth at once.

A manufacturing method of the molded bra cup has been widely used to manufacture various brassieres, for example, a soft bra, a minimizer bra, a full cup bra, and a seamless bra, to provide good shaping. The molded bra cup is subject to mass-production.

In more detail, as shown in FIG. 1A to FIG. 1C, a conventional manufacturing apparatus of the brassiere cup may include a first cast, which is concave in correspondence with a predetermined bust shape and provided on the lower of a fixed table, and a second cast, which is convex in correspondence with the first cast and provided on an operating table. The operating table enables the second cast to move up and down to the fixed table by an additional driving apparatus. Such a manufacturing apparatus forms a one-piece bra cup by heating or pressing a material, such as a sponge or a non-woven fabric, according to a predetermined shape.

However, since such a molded bra cup has a uniform density over the entire area thereof, as shown in FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C, it cannot sufficiently support a weight of the bust and so the bust becomes misshapen.

Accordingly, in order to sufficiently support the bust weight, reinforcing members, such as a wire or a liner, have been used at the lowermost round portion of the bra cup.

However, it is difficult to join such reinforcing members into the molded cup. Also, when such reinforcing members are joined into the molded cup, a user feels strained, embarrassed, and awkward due to the reinforcing members.

Further, although the reinforcing members are hidden by being inserted and sewn into the bra cup at a brassiere factory, such reinforcing members have sharpness enough to break the seam of the bra cup so that they have often become exposed. Also, a brassiere having such reinforcing members is subject to be damaged or deformed by washing.

A molded brassiere appropriate for respective fashionable or functional tendencies has been desired.

Particularly, when the bust has too a large size to become volume up or pushed up, a molded brassiere capable of minimizing the size of the bust as well as shaping the bust has been severely desired.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a molded brassiere and a manufacturing apparatus and method thereof having advantages of providing a natural and comfortable feeling and effectively supporting a bust.

An exemplary molded brassiere cup manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a wound roller for consecutively supplying upper and lower cloths and a reinforcing pad cloth interleaved between the upper and lower cloths, a puncturing unit for puncturing at least one position checking hole at a predetermined position of the cloth supplied from the wound roller, a molding unit having upper and lower molding casts formed in correspondence with a predetermined bust shape, a cooling unit having upper and lower cooling casts, and a cutting unit having first upper and lower cutting casts formed in correspondence with the predetermined bust shape and second upper and lower cutting casts formed in correspondence with a predetermined reinforcing pad to be placed at the lower portion of the predetermined bust shape, wherein the molding unit, the cooling unit, and the cutting unit each have at least one sensor for detecting the position checking hole at the side thereof opposite to the cloth.

The molding unit may have first upper and lower molding casts formed in correspondence with the predetermined bust shape and second upper and lower molding casts formed in correspondence with a predetermined reinforcing pad to be placed at the lower portion of the predetermined bust shape.

An exemplary molded brassiere cup manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes consecutively supplying the upper and lower pad cloths and the interleaving reinforcing pad cloth at a predetermined distance between the upper and lower pad cloths, pressing and molding the upper and lower pad cloths and the reinforcing pad cloth interleaved therebetween into the form of a predetermined bra cup, cooling the molded bra cup cloth at a predetermined temperature, and cutting the cooled bra cup cloth along the form of the predetermined bra cup, wherein the respective steps are performed in relation to the position checking hole when the position checking hole formed on the upper and lower pad cloths is detected.

The molded brassiere cup manufacturing method may further include puncturing at least one position checking hole on the upper and lower pad cloths considering the cup size of the brassiere, an inserting position and angle of the reinforcing pad, a usage, and a function.

The reinforcing pad may be arranged at a position corresponding to the position checking hole.

The molded brassiere cup manufacturing method may further include intercepting at least a part of the first upper and lower molding casts, cooling casts, and cutting casts to expose second upper and lower molding casts, cooling casts, and cutting casts in correspondence with the form of the reinforcing pad.

The molded brassiere cup manufacturing method may further include applying adhesive to at least one surface of the reinforcing pad before molding.

An exemplary molded brassiere pad according to an embodiment of the present invention includes upper and lower pads being thin as a film, and a reinforcing pad having a predetermined strength partly included between the upper and lower pads.

The reinforcing pad may be arranged at two or more positions between the upper and lower pads.

The reinforcing pad may be formed with the same material as that of the upper and lower pads.

The reinforcing pad may have a higher density and hardness than that of the upper and lower pads.

The reinforcing pad may be projected toward the front of the bra cup with a predetermined shape and thickness.

The reinforcing pad may have a flat-eyebrow shape transversely placed at the lower portion from the center of the bra cup.

Reinforcing pads may be transversely placed at the upper and lower portions of the cup, and the upper reinforcing pad is smaller than the lower reinforcing pad.

The reinforcing pad may have a nose projected toward the center of the cup from the middle of the transversely long pad body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a schematic view illustrating a conventional molding method of a brassiere cup.

FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C are schematic views illustrating an unworn and a worn state of a conventional brassiere cup.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a brassiere cup manufacturing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a molding unit of a brassiere cup according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are respectively schematic views illustrating a worn and an unworn state of a brassiere cup according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are respectively schematic views illustrating a manufacturing method of a brassiere cup according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are respectively schematic views illustrating a brassiere cup according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will hereinafter be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, a brassiere cup manufacturing apparatus 20 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is described in detail with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a brassiere cup manufacturing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a molding unit of a brassiere cup according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the brassiere cup manufacturing apparatus 20 may use a cloth S, such as a non-woven fabric, a woven fabric, a sponge, and a raschel lace. Such a cloth is supplied according to a production line. That is, a cloth wound over a wound roller 22 may be supplied when the wound roller 22 is rotated by a driving unit.

The brassiere cup manufacturing apparatus 20 includes a cloth position-controlling unit 60, a cloth-fixing unit 70, a molding unit 30, a cooling unit 40, and a cutting unit 50 along the production line.

The cloth position-controlling unit 60 includes a pair of upper and lower wound rollers (not shown). The cloth position-controlling unit 60 is placed at the respective front and rear of the brassiere cup manufacturing apparatus 20 such that the wound roller 22 supplies the cloth with a predetermined interval. The cloth position-controlling unit 60 controls the position of the cloth using balance and tension generated when the pairs of upper and lower rollers cooperate with each other.

The cloth-fixing unit 70 presses the cloth, which the cloth position-controlling unit 60 precisely supplies onto a conveyer belt 28 via the pressed rollers 24 and 26 to tightly fix the cloth onto the conveyer belt 28.

The molding unit 30 includes a pair of upper and lower molding casts 32 and 36, and applies heat and pressure to the cloth S supplied by the conveyer belt 28. In this case, the cloth S is thermally fused at the periphery of the upper and lower molding casts 32 and 36 to form a bra cup in a desired shape.

The upper and lower molding casts 32 and 36 are respectively moved up and down along a guide rod (not shown) by a pneumatic cylinder or hydraulic cylinder 34, and are provided with a heater (not shown). The heater is heated when a power is respectively applied thereto so that the upper and lower molding casts 32 and 36 are heated at a predetermined temperature.

In this case, the upper and lower molding casts 32 and 36 are preferably heated in a range of 180□ to 220□ by the heater, and preferably mold a bra cup at that temperature during 1 to 2 minutes. When the upper and lower molding casts 32 and 36 finish molding, the upper and lower molding casts 32 and 36 are returned to their original positions by the pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 34.

The cooling unit 40 is configured in correspondence with the molding unit 30. The cooling unit 40 cools the thermally fused portion at the periphery of the molded bra cup cloth, which is continuously transmitted by the conveyer belt 28. The cooling unit 40 includes upper and lower cooling casts 42 and 46 respectively moved up or down along a guide rod (not shown) by a pneumatic cylinder or hydraulic cylinder 44, the same as the molding unit 30. The upper and lower cooling casts 42 and 46 have a circulation apparatus (not shown) mounted therein such that cooling water is supplied to the molded bra cup cloth.

The cutting unit 50 cuts the cooled portion corresponding to the thermally fused portion at the periphery of the bra cup cloth, that is to say, it separates the cooled portion from the bra cup cloth. The separated bra cups are recovered.

The cutting unit 50 is configured in correspondence with the above-noted molding unit 30 and cooling unit 40. Accordingly, the cutting unit 50 includes upper and lower cutting casts 52 and 56. The upper and lower cutting casts 52 and 56 respectively have a cutter moved up and down along a guide rod (not shown) by a pneumatic cylinder or hydraulic cylinder 54.

Also, the cutting unit 50 may further include first upper and lower cutting casts formed in correspondence with a predetermined bust shape and second upper and lower cutting casts formed in correspondence with a predetermined reinforcing pad reinforcing the lower of the predetermined bust shape, that is in correspondence with at least a part of the first upper and lower cutting casts.

Such second upper and lower cutting casts may be formed in at least a part of the first upper and lower cutting casts.

In more detail, the first upper and lower cutting casts 52 and 56 may include the second upper and lower cutting casts and therein such that the first upper and lower cutting casts 52 and 56 are converted to the second upper and lower cutting casts. Also, at least a part of the first upper and lower cutting casts 52 and 56 may be intercepted. Accordingly, if necessary, the second upper and lower cutting casts may be exposed.

The upper and lower molding casts 32 and 36 or the upper and lower cooling casts 42 and 46 may further include first upper and lower molding or cooling casts formed in correspondence with a predetermined bust shape and second upper and lower molding or cooling casts formed in correspondence with at least a part of the first upper and lower molding or cooling casts.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 3, a reinforcing pad cloth S3, as well as thin upper and lower pad cloths S1 and S2, is supplied by the conveyer belt 28 between a pair of upper and lower molding casts 32 and 36.

In order to fix the reinforcing pad cloth S3 at a predetermined position between the upper and lower pad cloths S1 and S2, the cloth position-controlling unit 60 may include a puncturing portion 61 and a position-controlling table 63.

The puncturing portion 61 punctures a position-checking hole 62 (see FIG. 5) at a predetermined position of the cloth, determined by the parallel or rotating motion of the position-controlling table 63.

Such position-checking hole 62 is used as a standard point which position sensors 35, 45, and 55, such as an infrared sensor, included in the molding unit 30, cooling unit 40, and cutting unit 50, use to determine the exact molding point and cutting point when the cloth is flowed into the molding unit 30, cooling unit 40, and cutting unit 50.

The cloth-fixing unit 70 is further provided with an adhesive coater (not shown) at the front of the pressed rollers 24 and 26. The adhesive coater applies adhesive to at least one surface of the reinforcing pad cloth S3. This adhesive is designed to fix the reinforcing pad S3 at a predetermined position between the upper and lower pads S1 and S2. When the reinforcing pad S3 applied with the adhesive is pressed between the pair of pressed rollers 24 and 26, the reinforcing pad cloth S3 may be tightly fixed at a predetermined position between the upper and lower pads S1 and S2.

Now, a brassiere cup manufacturing method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is described.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are respectively schematic views illustrating a worn and unworn state of a brassiere cup according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 5A and 5B are respectively schematic views illustrating a manufacturing method of a brassiere cup according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

First, the cloth S is supplied from the wound roller 22, the puncturing unit 61 punctures the position-checking hole 62 in the cloth S, considering a predetermined size of the bra cup and a position to be reinforced on the bra cup or the like.

When the bra cup cloth has the position-checking hole 62 therein, the cloth does not pass through the molding unit 30 and the cooling unit 40, but is directly transmitted to the cutting unit 50. If necessary, the cloth may pass through all of the molding unit 30, the cooling unit 40, and the cutting unit 50 so as to form the reinforcing pad S3.

When the reinforcing pad S3 is formed with a cubic effect by passing through the molding unit 30, the cooling unit 40, and the cutting unit 50, the final bra cup enables the bust to be supported, pushed up, and shaped into a desired shape.

The cutting unit 50 cuts the reinforcing pad S3 in a predetermined pattern using the second upper and lower cutting casts when the position sensor 55 detects the position-checking hole 62.

The reinforcing pad S3 formed in this manner is continuously interleaved between the upper and lower pad cloths S1 and S2. In this case, the reinforcing pad S3 may be separately formed or consecutively formed. The reinforcing pad S3 is placed at a predetermined position between the upper and lower pads S1 and S2 on the basis of the position-checking hole 62. Further, the adhesive coater applies adhesive to at least one surface of the reinforcing pad S3, and the cloth S fixed with the reinforcing pad S3 at a predetermined position between the upper and lower pads S1 and S2 is passed through the pressed rollers 24 and 26.

The cloth S passes through the pressed rollers 24 and 26 in this manner and flows into the molding unit 30 while spread at the tensioned state, as shown in FIG. 5A.

When the reinforcing pad S3 formed in this manner is continuously interleaved between the upper and lower pad cloths S1 and S2, the inserting area of the reinforcing pad S3 for the respective bra cup area may be controlled by placing the reinforcing pad S3 with a predetermined distance A from the upper end of the upper and lower pad cloths S1 and S2 (vertically measured with respect to the direction in which the cloth moves).

As shown in FIG. 5B, when the piled-up cloths are input into the molding unit 30 and the infrared sensor 35 detects the position-checking hole 62, in correspondence with the exact molding position, the molding unit 30 molds a predetermined bra cup shape in the piled-up cloths by the upper and lower casts 32 and 36.

Likewise, the cooling unit 40 and the cutting unit 50 respectively may also cool or cut the predetermined bra cup shape from the piled-up cloths using the upper and lower cooling and cutting casts 42, 46 and 52, 56 in correspondence with the exact cooling or cutting position, when the infrared sensors 45 and 55 detect the position-checking hole 62.

Accordingly, a brassiere cup 10′ formed according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes the reinforcing pad S3 placed transversely long at the lower portion of the cup 10′, as shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4. Such a brassiere cup 10′ can provide a natural and comfortable feeling to the wearer and can effectively support the bust. In this case, the upper and lower pads S1 and S2 may be formed with a non-woven fabric, a woven fabric, a sponge, a raschel lace, or the like, and are preferably formed thin due to being piled up one on another in comparison with the conventional bra pad, and the reinforcing pad S3 may be formed with a non-woven fabric, a woven fabric, a sponge, a raschel lace, or the like, as the upper and lower pads S1 and S2, so as to provide a natural feeling and is preferably formed with a higher density cloth than that of the upper and lower pads S1 and S2 so as to increase support.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are respectively schematic views illustrating a brassiere cup according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, a brassiere cup according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include various shapes of reinforcing pad S3′ according to user taste, design, and function.

For example, when a bust is required to be volumed up, a reinforcing pad S3′ having a higher density and hardness may be formed while projected toward the front thereof with a predetermined shape or thickness between the upper and lower pads S1 and S2, as shown in FIG. 6A.

Meanwhile, when a bust is required to be minimized and to seem convex toward the center thereof, a reinforcing pad S3′ having a higher density and hardness may be transversely placed at the lower portion from the center of the bra cup as a film. In this case, the reinforcing pad S3′ may have a nose projected toward the center of the cup from the middle of the transversely long pad body.

Also, as shown in FIG. 6B, a reinforcing pad S3″ may further be interleaved at various positions between the upper and lower pads S1 and S2 according to a user taste, a design, and a function. In this case, reinforcing pads S3″ may be transversely placed at the upper portions of the bra cup, and the upper reinforcing pad S3″ is smaller than the lower reinforcing pad S3.

While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

As described above, a reinforced brassiere cup manufacturing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention can perform an exact molding and cutting by precisely fixing the reinforcing pads to the cloth using the position-checking holes 62 consecutively formed at a predetermined position of the cloth so as to place a reinforcing pad S3 at a predetermined position between the upper and lower pads S1 and S2.

A brassiere cup 10′ formed in this manner can provide a natural and comfortable feeling to the wearer and can effectively support a loosening of the bust, occurring due to the bust weight, with homogenous reinforcing pads.

Also, a reinforced brassiere cup manufacturing method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention can consecutively produce the reinforced brassiere cup using the conventional brassiere cup manufacturing apparatus and effectively determine the interleaved position of the reinforcing pad.

Claims

1. A brassiere cup manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a wound roller for consecutively supplying upper and lower cloths and a reinforcing pad cloth interleaved between the upper and lower cloths; a puncturing unit for puncturing at least one position checking hole at a predetermined position of the cloth supplied from the wound roller; a molding unit having upper and lower molding casts formed in correspondence with a predetermined bust shape; a cooling unit having upper and lower cooling casts; and a cutting unit having first upper and lower cutting casts formed in correspondence with a predetermined bust shape and second upper and lower cutting casts formed in correspondence with a predetermined reinforcing pad to be placed at the lower portion of the predetermined bust shape, wherein the molding unit, the cooling unit, and the cutting unit have at least one sensor for detecting the position checking hole at the side thereof opposite to the cloth.

2. The brassiere cup manufacturing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the molding unit has first upper and lower molding casts formed in correspondence with a predetermined bust shape and second upper and lower molding casts formed in correspondence with a predetermined reinforcing pad to be placed at the lower portion of the predetermined bust shape.

3. A brassiere cup manufacturing method comprising: consecutively supplying upper and lower pad cloths and a reinforcing pad cloth interleaving at a predetermined distance between the upper and lower pad cloths; pressing and molding the upper and lower pad cloths and the reinforcing pad cloth interleaved therebetween into the form of a predetermined bra cup shape; cooling the molded bra cup cloth at a predetermined temperature; cutting the cooled bra cup cloth along the form of the predetermined bra cup shape, wherein the respective steps are performed with respect to a position checking hole when the position checking hole formed on the upper and lower pad cloths is detected.

4. The brassiere cup manufacturing method of claim 3 further comprising puncturing at least one position checking hole on the upper and lower pad cloths considering the cup size of the brassiere, an inserting position and angle of the reinforcing pad, a usage, and a function.

5. The brassiere cup manufacturing method of claim 4, wherein the reinforcing pad is arranged at a position corresponding to the position checking hole.

6. The brassiere cup manufacturing method of claim 5, further comprising intercepting at least a part of the first upper and lower molding casts, cooling casts, and cutting casts to expose second upper and lower molding casts, cooling casts, and cutting casts in correspondence with the form of the reinforcing pad.

7. The brassiere cup manufacturing method of claim 5, further comprising applying adhesive to at least one surface of the reinforcing pad before molding.

8. A brassiere cup, comprising upper and lower pads being thin, and a reinforcing pad having a predetermined strength partly arranged between the upper and lower pads.

9. The brassiere cup of claim 8 wherein reinforcing pads are arranged at two or more positions between the upper and lower pads.

10. The brassiere cup of claim 8 wherein the reinforcing pad is formed with the same material as that of the upper and lower pads.

11. The brassiere cup of claim 10 wherein the reinforcing pad has a higher density and hardness than that of the upper and lower pads.

12. The brassiere cup of claim 8 wherein the reinforcing pad is projected toward the front thereof with a predetermined shape and thickness.

13. The brassiere cup of claim 8 wherein the reinforcing pad has a flat-eyebrow shape transversely placed at a lower portion from the center of the bra cup.

14. The brassiere cup of claim 8 wherein reinforcing pads are transversely placed at upper and lower portions of the cup, and the upper reinforcing pad is smaller than the lower reinforcing pad.

15. The brassiere cup of claim 8 wherein the reinforcing pad has a nose projected toward the center of the cup from the middle of the transversely long pad body.