Patent Application
20100317256
The present invention relates generally to brassieres and in particular to a single molded brassiere cup, a molded brassiere cup assembly, a brassiere and a method of manufacturing.
A conventional brassiere comprises a pair of breast cups intended to support the breasts of the wearer, a connecting portion joining together the inner edges of the cups at the wearer's cleavage, and at least one strap or back wing that extends from outer edges of the breast cups around the back of the wearer. The brassiere may further include shoulder straps that extend from upper edges of the breast cups over the shoulders of the wearer to attachment points on the back wing crossing the wearer's back.
A brassiere may include an underwire for each breast cup to shape and support the lower periphery of each breast cup. An underwire may comprise a generally U-shaped frame formed from metal or a rigid plastic material. Usually a pair of underwires is incorporated into a brassiere or other undergarment to provide shape and support for a pair of breast cups. However, in some forms the underwire may comprise a single underwire frame which traverses both breast cups.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,896,580 B2 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,207,861 B2 disclose cushioned underwires for brassieres, in which the underwire and the cushioning material are provided in multi-layered casings. These casings are complex in structure and thus relatively expensive in the overall costs for manufacture of a brassiere.
According to a first aspect the present invention provides a molded brassiere cup comprising an outer layer of fabric, an inner layer of fabric and an underwire, wherein the inner fabric layer and the outer fabric layer are molded to form the brassiere cup with the underwire sandwiched therebetween, wherein an insert of a cushioning substance is located between the inner fabric layer and the underwire for reducing pressure of the underwire against a wearer's body.
The invention avoids the rather complex casing structures of the prior art which have incorporated the underwire. Thus, in the invention, the underwire and the cushioning substance are separately provided, with the cushioning substance being preferably provided via a piece of foam which is readily molded into the brassiere cup form during manufacture of the brassiere cup. Thus costs are reduced.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a brassiere comprising:
two molded breast cups each including an outer foam layer, an inner foam layer and an underwire, wherein the outer foam layer and the inner foam layer are molded to form the breast cup with the underwire sandwiched therebetween,
an intermediate bridging region extending between the two breast cups, and
a back strap extending from an outer region of each of the two breast cups,
wherein an insert of a cushioning substance is located between the inner foam layer and the underwire for reducing pressure of the underwire against a wearer's body.
According to yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a molded brassiere cup comprising the steps of:
i) providing a first sheet of material comprising a layer of fabric which is to be an outer layer of the brassiere cup,
ii) molding the first sheet of material to impress a breast cup form into the sheet of material,
iii) locating an underwire on the first sheet of material adjacent the breast cup form,
iv) covering the underwire with an insert of a cushioning substance,
v) providing a second sheet of material comprising a layer of fabric which is to be an inner layer of the brassiere cup, and
vi) molding together the first and second sheets of material to laminate the sheets to provide the molded brassiere cup wherein the underwire is sandwiched between the sheets with the insert of the cushioning substance located between the second sheet of material and the underwire.
Although the insert of cushioning substance is preferably a piece of foam, or possibly a double layer of foam to provide a thicker cushion, it may alternatively be provided via a silicon gel, a fibre mass, or a bladder or sac filled with a fluid such as a liquid or air.
Preferably the outer fabric layer is a ply of a multiply sheet and the multiply sheet may comprise the fabric layer with a foam layer laminated thereto. Also preferably, the inner fabric layer is a ply of a multiply sheet and the multiply sheet comprises at least two layers, namely the fabric layer and a foam layer laminated to the fabric layer. However, the invention is also applicable to a molded brassiere cup without foam layers laminated to either the inner or outer fabric layers.
The invention also includes a molded finished cup assembly (that is, a molded assembly comprising two brassiere cups) and also a brassiere which may be formed from the molded cup assembly.
For a better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be performed, embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The cup assembly 20 comprises an outer fabric layer 30 (see
Referring to the rear view of the cup assembly 20 (see
The structure of a brassiere cup 22 is shown by the
The fabric layers 30 and 32, and the foam layers 42 and 46, and the padding 48 if provided, may be fabrics and foams as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,179,150 B2, the contents of which are to be taken as incorporated herein by this cross-reference. This patent also discloses that the fabric of the underwire sheath 50 may be a tricot material. It also discloses how the laminated sheets 40 and 44 may be manufactured.
The underwire 34 may be of metal, coated metal, or other different materials as may be suitable, such as plastic or other polymeric materials. The underwire for each cup 22 must be rigid enough, particularly in the plane of the brassiere, to provide adequate support for the bust and yet flexible enough to conform to the wearer's body for comfort and appearance. The underwire 34 for each brassiere cup 22 may be formed of a relatively thin length of metal or polymeric material having a rectangular or rounded (for example, oval) cross-section. A reasonably stiff length of such material is bent into an appropriately curved shape and is sheathed by the tricot fabric 50 for placement in position during manufacture of the brassiere cups 22.
The second sheet of material 44 comprising the inner fabric layer 32 and the foam layer 46 may comprise two contiguous panels (each comprising fabric of a certain different characteristic, such as different color or hand feel, or pattern) joined to each other. One of the fabrics which may be patterned, or which may exhibit other characteristic different from the other fabric, may correspond generally to the region of the brassiere cup where the cushioned underwire is embedded or where the insert of a cushioning substance is located, that is, as indicated by reference 31 in
With reference to
Instead of a two cup assembly 20 as described above, the invention is intended to encompass the provision of a single brassiere cup 22, which may be manufactured using the same steps as above but in respect of a single stand alone brassiere cup 22. The invention is also intended to cover the provision and manufacture of a molded one-piece brassiere of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,179,750 B2. For such a one-piece brassiere as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,179,750 B2 which includes a core cup assembly comprising an outer foam layer and an inner foam layer laminated to each other and defining two breast cups, the first sheet of material described in the foregoing corresponds to the outer foam layer of the core cup assembly as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,179,750 B2, and the second sheet of material described in the foregoing corresponds to the inner foam layer of the core cup assembly as described therein, and the insert of a cushioning substance described in the foregoing is located between the inner foam layer of the core cup assembly described therein and the sheathed underwire described therein. In this case, neither the first sheet of material nor the second sheet of material needs to include a fabric layer. Instead, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,179,750 B2, the core cup assembly is encased by an outer exterior layer (which includes a fabric layer) and an inner exterior layer (which includes a fabric layer) each laminated with the core cup assembly on a respective side thereof, wherein each of the outer and inner exterior layers extends beyond a perimeter of the core cup assembly to provide at least a part of the brassiere's back strap or wing.
Although use of a piece of foam for the insert 36 is preferred, other alternative cushioning substances that may be used are a silicon gel, fibre fill, or a bladder or sac filled with air or a liquid. It is also possible to use two or more inserts of a cushioning substance (or different cushioning substances), preferably pieces of foam which may for each brassiere cup 22 be layered one on the other to enhance the cushioning effect.
Besides reducing manufacturing costs, the invention also provides other advantages. For example, different sized cushioning inserts may be used, depending upon the requirements of different users. Variations in cushion sizes are easily achievable during a manufacturing process, for example by varying the size of the cushioning substance, or by varying the mold design in the case of moldable cushioning material.
The invention described herein is susceptible to variations, modifications and/or additions other than those specifically described which would be obvious to a person of skill in the art and it is to be understood that the invention includes all such variations, modifications and/or additions which fall within the scope of the following claims.
