This application claims priority to Taiwan Patent Application No. 102213461 filed on Jul. 17, 2013.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a brassiere pad adjustable structure for a brassiere.
2. Descriptions of the Related Art
Brassieres contain brassiere pads which are disposed on the inside of cups of the brassiere to prevent sagging and non-uniform breast sizes. When a woman wears the brassiere, her breasts are covered by the cups so that the brassiere pads are located between the breasts and the cups to adjust the shape of the woman breasts.
FIG. 1A illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional brassiere pad adjustable structure 1. To adjust the shape of the breasts in response to the demands of different users, the brassiere pad adjustable structure 1 has an air pump 1a, two air cells 1b and two passages 1d. The air pump 1a is connected with each of the air cells 1b through a respective passage 1d. When the air pump 1a is pressed, the air pump 1a is adapted to provide air to each of the air cells 1b so that the air cells 1b are expanded to adjust the sizes of the air cells 1b in response to the user's demand. FIG. 1B illustrates the brassiere pad adjustable structure 1 that is disposed on the inner surface of a brassiere. The brassiere includes two cups 1e, and each of the air cells 1b is disposed in the respective cup 1e. FIG. 1C is a schematic view illustrating the relative positional relationship between the cups 1e and the air cells 1b of the brassiere. The bottom edge 1c of each of the air cells 1b is connected with the bottom edge 1f of the respective cup 1e so that the brassiere pad adjustable structure 1 can be connected with the brassiere.
According to the above descriptions, the inclination angle of the air cells 1b is limited when the bottom edge 1c of each of the air cells 1b is connected with the bottom edge 1f of the respective cup 1e. Consequently, when the air cells 1b are expanded, the air cells 1b will move away from the cups 1e to incline at an angle as shown in FIG. 1C. The air cells 1b are unable to completely attach to the cups 1e because of the spaces existing therebetween. As a result, when the user wears the brassiere, her breasts are not completely flush with the cups 1e and the air cells 1b. Furthermore, when the conventional brassiere pad adjustable structure 1 is joined with the brassiere, the air pump 1a is correspondingly disposed in a brassiere central region 1g between the cups 1e. To prevent the air pump 1a from being exposed, the brassiere central region 1g must be made to have a certain height, so this makes the conventional brassiere pad adjustable structure 1 unsuitable for brassieres with a relatively lower height in the central region. In other words, the conventional brassiere pad adjustable structure 1 is only suitable for brassieres with a shallow V-shaped brassiere central region (as shown in FIG. 1B), but it is unsuitable for other brassieres with a deep V-shaped brassiere central region.
Accordingly, it is important to provide a brassiere pad adjustable structure to improve the aforesaid drawbacks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An objective of the present invention is to provide a brassiere pad adjustable structure which can be used in various kinds of brassieres.
To achieve the aforesaid objective, a brassiere pad adjustable structure for use in a brassiere is provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The brassiere has two cups to correspond to two breasts of a human body respectively. Each of the two cups has a concave portion and an inside bottom edge. The brassiere pad adjustable structure comprises a pouch, an air pump and an exhaust valve. The pouch is formed by a first layer film and a second layer film that is connected to each other to form a one-piece structure. The pouch has two breast contacting portions and a central passage portion. The central passage portion is located between the breast contacting portions. The bottom edge of each of the breast contacting portions is connected with an inside bottom edge of each of the cups. Each of the breast contacting portions has a first top stitching that welds the first layer film and the second layer film to divide each of the breast contacting portions into a first portion and a second portion. The first portion is located between the bottom edge and the first top stitching of each breast contacting portion, while the second portion corresponds to the concave portion of each cup. At least one first passage disposed between the first portion and the second portion passes through the first top stitching so that the first portion and the second portion are in fluid communication with each other through the first passage. The air pump is disposed on the pouch, and disposed on either the first layer film or the second layer film. When the air pump is pressed, the air pump pumps fluid into the pouch. The exhaust valve is disposed on the pouch and fixed on either the first layer film or the second layer film to exhaust the fluids to the exterior. When the air pump pumps fluids into the pouch, the pouch is expanded for forming an air chamber.
The detailed technology and preferred embodiments implemented for the subject invention are described in the following paragraphs accompanying the appended drawings for people skilled in this field to well appreciate the features of the claimed invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1A is a schematic view of a conventional brassiere pad adjustable structure;
FIG. 1B is a schematic view of the conventional brassiere pad adjustable structure connected with a brassiere;
FIG. 1C is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the relative relationship between the conventional brassiere pad adjustable structure and the brassiere;
FIG. 2A is a schematic view of a brassiere pad adjustable structure of a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2B is a schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 2A;
FIG. 2C is a schematic view illustrating the relative positional relationship between the brassiere pad adjustable structure, a brassiere and a breast of a human body according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2D is a schematic view of the brassiere pad adjustable structure connected with the brassiere according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a brassiere pad adjustable structure according to another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4A is a schematic view of a brassiere pad adjustable structure of a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4B is a schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 4A;
FIG. 4C is a schematic view of the brassiere pad adjustable structure connected with a brassiere according to the second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4D is another schematic view of the brassiere pad adjustable structure connected with the brassiere according to the second embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 4E is a schematic view of a brassiere pad adjustable structure connected with a brassiere according to another embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 2A is a schematic view of a brassiere pad adjustable structure 2 of a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B is a partial schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 2A. FIG. 2C is a schematic view illustrating the relative relationship between the brassiere pad adjustable structure 2, a brassiere 3 and a breast 4 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2D is a schematic view of the brassiere pad adjustable structure 2 connected with the brassiere 3 according to this embodiment.
The brassiere pad adjustable structure 2 of this embodiment may correspond to two breasts 4 of a human body. In detail, the brassiere pad adjustable structure 2 comprises a pouch 21, an air pump 22 and an exhaust valve 23. The pouch 21 is formed by a first layer film 24 and a second layer film 25 that is connected to each other to form a one-piece structure. The pouch 21 has two breast contacting portions 211 and a central passage portion 212. The central passage portion 212 is located between the breast contacting portions 211. The breast contacting portions 211 and the central passage portion 212 are in fluid communication with each other.
With reference to both FIGS. 2B and 2C, the brassiere pad adjustable structure 2 of this embodiment may be connected with a brassiere 3 so that when the user wears the brassiere 3, the brassiere pad adjustable structure 2 can correspond to the breast 4 of a human body. In detail, the air pump 22 is disposed on the pouch 21 and on either the first layer film 24 or the second layer film 25. Furthermore, the air pump 22 is disposed inside the pouch 21 and on either the first layer film 24 or the second layer film 25. When the air pump 22 is pressed, the air pump 22 is adapted to pump fluids into the pouch 21. An exhaust valve 23 is fixed on the pouch 21. The user can press the exhaust valve 23 and the pouch 21 simultaneously at any time to exhaust the fluids in the pouch 21 to the exterior through the exhaust valve 23. Because the air pump 22 is disposed in the pouch 21 and can be disposed at any location of the pouch 21, it is not pertinent to locate the air pump 22 at the center of the brassiere 3. Thus, the brassiere pad adjustable structure 2 of this embodiment is suitable for various kinds of brassieres, e.g., the brassiere 3 with a deep V-shaped central region as shown in FIG. 2D (i.e., the brassiere 3 with a relatively lower height in the central region). The air pump 22 is disposed in one of the breast contacting portions 211 to prevent the air pump 22 from being exposed.
With reference to FIG. 2C, in practical application of this embodiment, the pouch 21 has a bottom edge 211a and the brassiere 3 has two cups 31. Each of the cups 31 has an inside bottom edge 31a and a concave portion 31b. The bottom edge 211a of the pouch 21 is connected with the inside bottom edge 31a of one of the cups 31. In this embodiment, the bottom edge 211a of the pouch 21 may be connected with the inside bottom edge 31a of each of the cups 31 by stitching. Steel wire coils may be disposed at the inside bottom edge 31a of each of the cups 31 in this embodiment; but in other embodiments of the present invention, the connection may also be achieved by other means, for example, by adherence, and will not be further described herein. When the two breasts of the user are of different sizes, the user only needs to purchase the brassiere pad adjustable structure 2, dispose it in the cups of the brassiere 3 and adjust the size of the pouch 21 through the air pump 22 and the exhaust valve 23.
Additionally in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A, the exhaust valve 23 is disposed on the first layer film 24 away from the air pump 22 and is located on the central passage portion 212. However, in other embodiments, the exhaust valve 23 may also be optionally disposed on either the first layer film 24, or the second layer film 25 away from the air pump 22, or may be disposed in the air pump 22.
In this embodiment, the brassiere pad adjustable structure 2 can be bent to conform to the shape of the cups 31 and the breasts of a human body by a plurality of top stitchings. Each of the breast contacting portions 211 has a first top stitching 26 that welds the first layer film 24 and the second layer film 25 to divide each of the breast contacting portions 211 into a first portion 21a and a second portion 21b. The first portion 21a is located between the bottom edge 211a and the first top stitching 26 of each breast contacting portion 211. Because the brassiere pad adjustable structure 2 is connected with the brassiere 3 and a steel wire coil may be disposed at the inside bottom edge 31a of each of the cups 31, the first portion 21a is also located between the inner edge of the steel wire coil and the first top stitching 26. The second portion 21b may correspond to the concave portion 31b of each of the cups 31. The second portion 21b of each of the breast contacting portions 211 has a second top stitching 27 that welds the first layer film 24 and the second layer film 25 to divide the second portion 21b into a first sub-portion 210a and a second sub-portion 210b. The first sub-portion 210a is located at a center of the breast contacting portion 211. The second sub-portion 210b is located between the second top stitching 27 and a top edge 211b of each of the breast contacting portions 211. When the pouch is filled with air, a second thickness T2 of the second sub-portion 210b is lower than a first thickness T1 of the first sub-portion 210a.
With reference to FIG. 2C, the second portion 21b can be bent towards the concave portion 31b of each cup 31 by means of the first top stitching 26. When the pouch 21 is bent to conform to the curved shape of the breast 4, the first portion 21a can correspond to the bottom edge of the breast 4 to lift up the breast 4. The second portion 21b corresponds to the middle and the upper half of the breast 4 to squeeze and centralize the breast 4. Furthermore, the second sub-portion 210b can be bent towards each of the cups 31 and become closer to the concave portion 31b by means of the second top stitching 27. In this way, the first sub-portion 210a of the second portion 21b can correspond to the middle and the lower half of the breast 4, while the second sub-portion 210b can correspond to the middle and the upper half of the breast 4 to continue modifying the breast 4 along the first portion 21a to perfect the shape of the breasts of a human body.
According to the above descriptions, when the air pump 22 pumps fluids into the pouch 21, the pouch 21 is expanded for forming an air chamber in the pouch 21. Through the arrangement of the aforesaid top stitchings, the pouch 21 can be further divided into several portions, including the aforesaid first portion 21a and the second portion 21b (which may include the first sub-portion 210a and the second sub-portion 210b). To ensure air communication between the first portion 21a and the second portion 21b, at least one first passage 28 disposed between the first portion 21a and the second portion 21b passes through the first top stitching 26 so that the first portion 21a and the second portion 21b are in fluid communication with each other through the first passage 28. To ensure fluid communication between the first sub-portion 210a and the second sub-portion 210b, at least one second passage 29 disposed between the first sub-portion 210a and the second sub-portion 210b passes through the second top stitching 27 so that the first sub-portion 210a and the second sub-portion 210b are in fluid communication with each other through the second passage 29. That is, the air chamber in the pouch 21 is divided into several air sub-chambers, each of which may correspond to one portion of the pouch 21. The air pump 22 may be disposed in the first sub-portion 210a of the second portion 21b of one of the breast contacting portions 211.
To prevent the bending angle of the pouch 21 from being limited when the pouch 21 is stitched on the brassiere 3, each first sub-portion 210a has a first width W1 and each second sub-portion 210b has a second width W2. The first width W1 is larger than the second width W2. Accordingly, the pouch 21 has a curved shape corresponding to the inside bottom edge 31a of each cup 31 of the brassiere 3. Each of the breast contacting portions 211 has a first portion 21a connected with the corresponding cup 31 only through the bottom edge 211a. Furthermore, the second portion 21b can be bent to conform to different sizes of the breasts by adjusting the first width W1 of the first sub-portion 210a to be larger than the second width W2 of the second sub-portion 210b.
It shall be appreciated that in other embodiments of the present invention as shown in FIG. 3, each of the breast contacting portions 211 of the pouch 21 may only have a first top stitching 26. Each of the breast contacting portions 211 may only be divided into the first portion 21a and the second portion 21b without any other sub-portions. The number of first passages 28 and second passages 29 may also be adjusted depending on practical demands, which will not be further described herein.
With reference to FIG. 2D, each of the cups 31 has an outer side area 32, and the brassiere 3 has two lateral wings 33 which are connected with the outer side area 32 respectively. Each of the lateral wings 33 has an adhesive layer 33b and a protective layer 33c. The protective layer 33c is detachably attached on the adhesive layer 33b so that the adhesive layer 33b is stuck on the lateral side of each of the breasts and attached directly on the lateral side of the breasts under the armpits of a human body when the brassiere 3 is worn by the user. When the adhesive layer 33b loses its adherence due to repeated use, the user can replace only the lateral wings 33 to avoid resource waste.
FIG. 4A is a schematic view of a brassiere pad adjustable structure 5 of a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4B is a partial schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 4A. FIG. 4C is a schematic view of the brassiere pad adjustable structure 5 connected with a brassiere 3 according to this embodiment. FIG. 4D is another schematic view of the brassiere pad adjustable structure 5 connected with the brassiere 3 according to this embodiment. The brassiere pad adjustable structure 5 of this embodiment may correspond to two breasts of a human body. In detail, the brassiere pad adjustable structure 5 comprises a pouch 51, an air pump 52 and an exhaust valve 53. The pouch 51 is formed by a first layer film 54 and a second layer film 55 connected to each other to form a one-piece structure. The pouch 51 has two breast contacting portions 511 and a central passage portion 512. The central passage portion 512 is located between the breast contacting portions 511 and is in air communication with the breast contacting portions 511. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment of the present invention in that, as shown in FIG. 4B, the air pump 52 is disposed on either the first layer film 54 or the second layer film 55 in the central passage portion 512 of the pouch 51. When the air pump 52 is pressed, the air pump 52 is adapted to pump fluid into the pouch 51. An exhaust valve 53 is fixed on the pouch 51 so that the user can press the exhaust valve 53 and the pouch 51 simultaneously at any time as desired to exhaust the fluids in the pouch 51 to the exterior through the exhaust valve 53. In practical application of this embodiment, the pouch 51 has a bottom edge 511a, while the brassiere 3 has two cups 31. Each of the cups 31 has an inside bottom edge 31a and a concave portion 31b. The bottom edge 511a of each of the breast contacting portions 511 is connected with an inside bottom edge 31a of each of the cups 31 respectively. A steel wire coil may be disposed at the inside bottom edge 31a of each of the cups 31. In this embodiment, the bottom edge 511a of each of the breast contacting portions 511 may be connected with an inside bottom edge 31a of each of the cups 31 by stitching, but in other embodiments of the present invention, the connection may also be achieved by other means, for example, by adherence. This will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art and, thus, will not be further described herein.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A, the exhaust valve 53 is disposed on the first layer film 54 away from the air pump 52 and located on the central passage portion 512. However, in other embodiments, the exhaust valve 53 may also be optionally disposed on either the first layer film 54 or the second layer film 55 away from the air pump 52, or may be disposed in the air pump 52.
Like the first embodiment of the present invention, the brassiere pad adjustable structure 5 in this embodiment can be bent to conform to the shape of the cups 31 and the breasts of a human body by means of a plurality of top stitchings. Each of the breast contacting portions 511 has a first top stitching 56 that welds the first layer film 54 and the second layer film 55 to divide each of the breast contacting portions 511 into a first portion 51a and a second portion 51b. The first portion 51a is located between the bottom edge 511a and the first top stitchings 56 of each breast contacting portion 511. Because the brassiere pad adjustable structure 5 is connected with the brassiere 3 and a steel wire coil may be disposed at the inside bottom edge 31a of each of the cups 31, the first portion 51a is also located between the inner edge of the steel wire coils and the first top stitching 56. The second portion 51b may correspond to the concave portion 31b of each cup 31. The second portion 51b of each of the breast contacting portions 511 has a second top stitching 57 that welds the first layer film 54 and the second layer film 55 to divide the second portion 51b into a first sub-portion 510a and a second sub-portion 510b. The first sub-portion 510a is located at the center of the breast contacting portion 511. The second sub-portion 510b is located between the second top stitching 57 and the top edge 511b of each of the breast contacting portions 511. When the pouch is filled with air, the thickness of the second sub-portion 510b is lower than the thickness of the first sub-portion 510a. Thus, an effect of lifting up the breasts by the first portion 51a, squeezing the breasts to centralize the breasts and modifying the shape of the breasts by the second portion 51b can by achieved.
To ensure air communication between the first portion 51a and the second portion 51b, at least one first passage 58 disposed between the first portion 51a and the second portion 51b passes through the first top stitching 56 so that the first portion 51a and the second portion 51b are in fluid communication with each other through the first passage 58. To ensure fluid communication between the first sub-portion 510a and the second sub-portion 510b, at least one second passage 59 disposed between the first sub-portion 510a and the second sub-portion 510b passes through the second top stitching 57 so that the first sub-portion 510a and the second sub-portion 510b are in fluid communication with each other through the second passage 59.
Like the first embodiment, the number of first passages 58 and second passages 59 may be adjusted depending on practical demands. Each first sub-portion 510a has a first width and each second sub-portion 510b has a second width. The first width is larger than the second width. Accordingly, when the first portion 51a is connected with the cup 31, the first sub-portion 510a and the second sub-portion 510b of the second portion 51b will not be connected with and limited by each of the cups 31, so they can be bent to conform to the shapes of different breasts.
With reference to FIGS. 4C and 4D, each of the cups 31 has an outer side area 32. Each outer side area 32 has a first attached structure 32a in this embodiment. The brassiere 3 has two lateral wings 33. Each of the lateral wings 33 has a second attached structure 33a, an adhesive layer 33b and a protective layer 33c. The second attached structure 33a is detachably attached on the first attached structure 32a. The protective layer 33c is detachably attached on the adhesive layer 33b so that the adhesive layer 33b is stuck on the lateral side of each of the breasts and attached directly onto the lateral side of the breasts under the armpits of a human body when the brassiere 3 is worn by the user. When the adhesive layer 33b loses its adherence due to repeated use, the user can replace only the lateral wings 33 to avoid resource waste. In this embodiment, the first attached structures 32a and the second attached structures 33a may be Velcro.
FIG. 4E illustrates a schematic view of another embodiment of the present invention. In another embodiment of the present invention, the brassiere 3 has at least two buckle sets 35 and a brassiere strap 36. Each of the buckle sets 35 has a buckle 35a and a fastener 35b. The buckle 35a is disposed on the outer edge of each of the cups 31, while the fasteners 35b are disposed on two ends of the brassiere strap 36 respectively. Each of the buckles 35a and each of the fasteners 35b are connected to each other so that the brassiere strap 36 is connected to the cups 31. Similarly, in other embodiments of the present invention, the two ends of the brassiere strap 36 may also have a second attached structure 33a respectively so that the second attached structure 33a is detachably attached onto the first attached structure 32a. Thus, when the user is going to exercise or participate in other physical activities, she can wear the brassiere 3 of the present invention together with the brassiere strap 36 so that the brassiere 3 can be more securely fixed onto the breasts.
According to the above descriptions, the brassiere pad adjustable structure of the present invention can effectively control the position of the air pump by disposing the air pump in the pouch so that the brassiere pad adjustable structure is suitable for various kinds of brassieres. Furthermore, by disposing a plurality of top stitchings on the pouch, the pouch can be bent to conform to the shape of the breasts of a human body and the shape of the brassiere to suit various shapes of breasts of different users.
The above disclosure is related to the detailed technical contents and inventive features thereof People skilled in this field may proceed with a variety of modifications and replacements based on the disclosures and suggestions of the invention as described without departing from the characteristics thereof Nevertheless, although such modifications and replacements are not fully disclosed in the above descriptions, they have substantially been covered in the following claims as appended.
Patent Application
20150024657
