Patent Application
20230126308
Aspects herein are directed to a garment adjusting system that utilizes straps to which male and female coupling components are coupled.
Traditional garments such as nursing bras may utilize various types of clips or attachment means to couple, for example, an outer layer of the nursing bra to a shoulder strap or areas near the shoulder strap when the wearer is not nursing or pumping. However, these clips or attachment means may be difficult to manipulate often requiring two hands to effectively couple the outer layer to the shoulder strap. Moreover, traditional nursing bras typically lack a way to adjust the level of tension or support of the outer layer, which is important when the nursing bra is worn during, for example, athletic activities.
The following clauses represent example aspects of concepts contemplated herein. Any one of the following clauses may be combined in a multiple dependent manner to depend from one or more other clauses. Further, any combination of dependent clauses (clauses that explicitly depend from a previous clause) may be combined while staying within the scope of aspects contemplated herein. The following clauses are examples and are not limiting.
Clause 1. A garment adjusting system comprising: a first strap having a first end and an opposite second end, the second end of the first strap secured to a first textile element; a male coupling component fixedly coupled to the first end of the first strap; a second strap having a first end and an opposite second end, the second end of the second strap secured to a second textile element; and a female coupling component slidably coupled to the second strap, the female coupling component adapted to releasably mate with the male coupling component, wherein the female coupling component is slidable along a length of the second strap such that movement of the female coupling component in a first direction increases a level of support provided by the garment adjusting system and movement of the female coupling component in an opposite second direction decreases the level of support provided by the garment adjusting system.
Clause 2. The garment adjusting system according to clause 1, wherein the first textile element and the second textile element form, at least in part, the garment.
Clause 3. The garment adjusting system according to any of clauses 1 through 2, wherein the first end of the first strap is unaffixed from the first textile element and the second textile element.
Clause 4. The garment adjusting system according to any of clauses 1 through 3, wherein the first end of the second strap is unaffixed from the first textile element and the second textile element.
Clause 5. The garment adjusting system according to any of clauses 1 through 4, wherein the male coupling component includes a hook.
Clause 6. The garment adjusting system according to any of clauses 1 through 5, wherein the female coupling component includes a body having a receiving hole at one end, a release tab at an opposing end, and a through hole between the receiving hole and the release tab, and wherein the second strap is slidably threaded through the through hole.
Clause 7. The garment adjusting system according to any of clauses 1 through 6, wherein the garment is a bra.
Clause 8. A support garment having an adjusting system, the support garment comprising: a first strap having a first end and an opposite second end, the second end of the first strap secured to a first shoulder strap; a male coupling component coupled to the first end of the first strap; a second strap having a first end and an opposite second end, the second end of the second strap secured to an upper aspect of the a breast-covering portion; and a female coupling component adjustably coupled to the second strap, the female coupling component adapted to releasably mate with the male coupling component, wherein when tension is applied to the first end of the second strap, a length of the second strap as measured between the second end of the second strap and the female coupling component is adjusted.
Clause 9. The support garment according to clause 8, wherein the support garment is a bra.
Clause 10. The support garment according to clause 9, wherein the first breast-covering portion is an outermost layer of the bra.
Clause 11. The support garment according to any of clauses 9 through 10, wherein the bra further includes an inner layer positioned interior to the first breast-covering portion.
Clause 12. The support garment according to any of clauses 9 through 11, wherein a lower aspect of the first breast-covering portion is secured to a lower margin of the bra.
Clause 13. The support garment according to any of clauses 8 through 12, wherein the male coupling component includes a hook.
Clause 14. The support garment according to any of clauses 8 through 13, wherein the female coupling component includes a body having a receiving hole at one end, a release tab at an opposing end, and a through hole between the receiving hole and the release tab, and wherein the second strap is slidably threaded through the through hole.
Clause 15. The support garment according to any of clauses 8 through 14, wherein the first end of the first strap is unaffixed from the first shoulder strap and the first breast-covering portion.
Clause 16. The support garment according to any of clauses 8 through 15, wherein the first end of the second strap is unaffixed from the first shoulder strap and the first breast-covering portion.
Clause 17. A method of manufacturing a garment adjusting system, the method comprising: securing a second end of a first strap to a first textile element; fixedly coupling a male coupling component to a first end of the first strap; securing a second end of a second strap to a second textile element; and adjustably coupling a female coupling component to a first end of the second strap, the female coupling component adapted to releasably mate with the male coupling component, wherein when tension is applied to the first end of the second strap, a length of the second strap as measured between the second end of the second strap and the female coupling component is adjusted.
Clause 18. The method of manufacturing the garment adjusting system according to clause 17, wherein the first strap and the second strap are formed from a low-stretch material.
Clause 19. The method of manufacturing the garment adjusting system according to any of clauses 17 through 18, wherein the male coupling component includes a hook.
Clause 20. The method of manufacturing the garment adjusting system according to clause 19, wherein the female coupling component includes a receiving hole, and wherein when the male coupling component and the female coupling component are releasably mated, the receiving hole of the female coupling component receives the hook of the male coupling component.
Examples of aspects herein are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:
The subject matter of the present invention is described with specificity herein to meet statutory requirements. However, the description itself is not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Rather, the inventors have contemplated that the claimed or disclosed subject matter might also be embodied in other ways, to include different steps or combinations of steps similar to the ones described in this document, in conjunction with other present or future technologies. Moreover, although the terms “step” and/or “block” might be used herein to connote different elements of methods employed, the terms should not be interpreted as implying any particular order among or between various steps herein disclosed unless and except when the order of individual steps is explicitly stated.
Traditional garments such as nursing bras may utilize various types of clips or attachment means to couple, for example, an outer layer of the nursing bra to a shoulder strap when the wearer is not nursing or pumping. However, traditional nursing bras typically lack an ability to adjust the level of tension or support of the outer layer, which is important when the nursing bra is worn during, for example, athletic activities. Moreover, the clips or attachment means associated with the garment may be difficult to manipulate, often requiring the use of two hands.
Aspects herein are directed to a garment adjusting system that includes a first strap with a first end and a second end. The second end of the first strap is secured to a first textile element, and a male coupling component is fixedly coupled to the first end of the first strap. The garment adjusting system further includes a second strap having a first end and a second end. The second end of the second strap is secured to a second textile element, and a female coupling component is slidably coupled to the second strap. In example aspects, the first and second textile elements are part of a single garment or article such as, for example, a bra (including a nursing bra), an upper-body garment, a lower-body garment, an article of footwear, and article of headwear, and the like.
In example aspects, the male coupling component includes a hook, and the female coupling component includes a receiving hole through which the hook of the male coupling component is received. To couple the first and second textile elements, the female coupling component is releasably mated with the male coupling component by positioning the receiving hole of the female coupling component over the hook of the male coupling component. The hook and receiving hole combination is easy to use and enables a wearer to releasably mate the two components using, for example, one hand making the garment adjusting system useable by people with disabilities and/or people whose other hand may be engaged in other activities such as, for example, supporting a baby or a nursing pump.
Once the male and female coupling components are releasably mated, the amount of support provided by the first and/or second textile elements can be increased by pulling on the free first end of the second strap, which decreases the length of the second strap as measured between the second end of the second strap and the female coupling component. This operation may also be carried out using, for example, one hand. The ability to provide an increased level of support when the garment is in the form of, for example, a nursing bra enables the bra to be used for athletic activities eliminating the need for a wearer to change from a nursing bra to an athletic bra when exercising. When the increased level of support is no longer needed, the second strap can be manipulated to increase the length of the second strap as measured between the second end of the second strap and the female coupling component.
Although examples described herein have been in the context of bras, including a nursing bra, aspects herein further contemplate using the garment adjusting system for other types of garments. For example, the garment adjusting system may be used at the waistband of a lower-body garment to quickly couple textile elements together and to quickly adjust the circumferential diameter of the waistband. When incorporated into an article of footwear such as an upper of a shoe, the garment adjusting system may be used to adjust the level of support across, for example, an instep region of the upper. The garment adjusting system may also be used as part of an underband of a bra to join two portions of the underband together and adjust the circumferential tension of the underband. These are just a few examples, and it is contemplated herein that the garment adjusting system may be incorporated into any type of garment for which a quick and easy coupling and adjustment of support is desired.
As used herein, the term “garment” means any article that may be worn by a wearer. Example articles include support garments including bras and nursing bras, upper-body garments such as tops, pullovers, hoodies, jacket/coats, and the like, lower-body garments such as shorts, capris, leggings, pants, and the like, articles of headwear such as hats, caps, sweatbands, and the like, and articles of footwear including athletic shoes. The adjusting system may also be used in equipment such as backpacks, luggage, duffle bags, and the like.
Positional terms may be used when describing the garment with the assumption that the garment is being worn as intended by a wearer standing upright. For example, the term “inner” means a layer or structure that is positioned closer to a body surface of a wearer as compared to other layers or structures of the garment. The term “outer” means a layer or structure that is positioned external to other layers or structures of the garment. In example aspects, an inner layer may be an innermost layer and an outer layer may be an outermost layer of the garment. An upper part of the garment would be located closer to a head area of a wearer compared to a lower part of the garment.
The term “support garment” when used herein refers to an upper-body garment primarily configured to provide support to a wearer's breasts. As such, the support garment may be in the form of a bra, including a nursing bra and/or athletic bra, a tank top, an athletic top, a swimsuit top, and the like. When the garment is in the form of a support garment or bra, the term “breast-covering portion” means the portion of the support garment configured to cover a wearer's breast. As such, the breast-covering portion generally extends from a top part (e.g., near the wearer's clavicle) to a lower part (e.g., the wearer's inframammary fold) of each of the wearer's breasts and from a medial edge (e.g., near the wearer's sternum) to a lateral edge (e.g., near the wearer's axilla) of each of the wearer's breasts. The term “apex region” when referring to the support garment generally means the area where a shoulder strap extends from or is joined to the breast-covering portion or other portions of the support garment. The term “underband” when used in relation to, for instance, a bra refers to the portion of the bra that forms a lower margin of at least the front portion of the bra. The underband is configured to encircle the torso area of a wearer and may include a separate pattern piece or may include an integral extension of the front portion.
The term “strap” generally means an element having a greater length than width with generally parallel longitudinal side edges. The strap may be formed of textile elements (knit, woven, braided, nonwoven, and the like) or non-textile elements. In example aspects, the strap may be formed of a no-stretch or low-stretch material. A no-stretch or low-stretch material generally does not have inherent stretch properties (mechanical or elastic) in response to a tensioning force and thus the length and/or width of the material remains substantially unchanged when subject to the tensioning forces below the material's breaking/tearing point. For example, the strap may undergo a change of length from about 0% of resting length to about 20% of resting length in response to a tensioning force. The no-stretch or low-stretch material may include tightly knit, woven, or braided constructions that do not utilize elastic yarns; non-elastomeric films; knit, woven, nonwoven, or braided constructions that include a surface treatment to limit stretch, and the like.
The term “fixedly coupled” or “fixedly secured” generally means some type of permanent attachment through use of stitching, bonding, adhesives, welding, and the like. The term “slidably coupled” when referring to, for example, the female coupling component and the second strap, means that the female coupling component can be moved (e.g., slid) along a length of the second strap while maintaining the integrity of both the female coupling component and the second strap. The term “releasably mated” when referring to the relationship between the male and female coupling components means that the components can be repeatedly mated (i.e., joined together) and unmated without damaging either of the components.
A male coupling component 120 is fixedly coupled to the first end 112 of the first strap 110. For example, a loop formed at the first end 112 of the first strap 110 may extend around the frame of the male coupling component 120 and be secured to itself using, for example, stitching, adhesives, bonding, and the like. Other ways of fixedly coupling the first end 112 to the male coupling component 120 are contemplated and within the scope herein. The male coupling component 120 may be formed of a number of different materials including plastics, metals, ceramics, composites, and the like.
The male coupling component 120 includes an extension or hook 122 that extends at an angle with respect to a plane defined by the surface of the first strap 110 and/or the first textile element 116. In example aspects, the angle may be less than about 90 degrees, less than about 80 degrees, less than about 70 degrees, less than about 60 degrees, less than about 50 degrees, less than about 40 degrees, less than about 30 degrees, less than about 20 degrees, or from about 5 degrees to about 40 degrees. As used herein, the term “about” means within ±5% of a given value. Having an angle in this range helps to reduce the profile of the hook 122 and make it less likely to catch on other structures.
The garment adjusting system 100 further includes a second strap 124 (shown with cross-hatching) having a first end 126 and an opposite second end 128. The second end 128 of the second strap 124 is secured to a second textile element 132 by way of, for example, stitching 130 although other permanent affixing technologies are contemplated herein. In example aspects, the second textile element 132 may include a knit construction, a braid construction, a woven construction, a nonwoven construction, and the like. In example aspects, the first textile element 116 and the second textile element 132 are part of a single garment as described and depicted herein. The first and second textile elements 116 and 132 may include separate elements or they may represent different portions of the same element.
A female coupling component 134 is removably and slidably coupled to the second strap 124. In some examples, the female coupling component 134 includes a body 135, having a receiving hole 136 at one end and a tab 139 at the opposing end. In addition, the body 135 can include a through hole 137 extending through the body 139. In at least some examples, the through hole 137 can include a bar 138 (e.g., cross bar) that extends across the through hole 137 and divides the through hole 137 into a first slot 137a and a second slot 137b. In some examples, the first end 126 of the second strap 124 can be threaded through the first slot 137a, around the bar 138, and through the second slot 137b, such that the second strap 124 and the female coupling component 134 are slidable relative to one another. Although the first end 126 of the second strap 124 is shown positioned below the second textile element 132, aspects herein contemplate that the second strap 124 may be threaded around the bar in the opposite direction such that the first end 126 of the second strap 124 may be positioned above the second textile element 132 with respect to the perspective view shown in
The female coupling component 134 includes a receiving hole 136 positioned at a distal end of the female coupling component 134. As further described herein, the receiving hole 136 is sized to receive the hook 122 of the male coupling component 120. As depicted in
As depicted, the first end 112 of the first strap 110 is not directly affixed to the first textile element 116 and is not directly affixed to the second textile element 132. Similarly, the first end 126 of the second strap 124 is not directly affixed to the second textile element 132 and is not directly affixed to the first textile element 116. In some instances and as described above, the first end 112 of the first strap 110 is looped through the male coupling component 120 and affixed to itself, though it is also contemplated that the first end 112 of the first strap 110 could be looped through the male coupling component 120 and affixed to the first textile element 116.
The garment adjusting system 100 may be used to adjust the level of support provided by the second textile element 132 and/or the first textile element 116. As depicted in
As shown in
Movement of the first end 126 of the second strap 124 in a second direction opposite the first direction 305 would increase the distance between the second end 128 of the second strap 124 and the proximal end of the female coupling component 134 and decrease the level of support provided by the second textile element 132 and/or the first textile element 116. For example, in at least some instance, the tab 139 can be lifted (e.g., by simply inserting one or more fingers beneath the tab 139), which in turn can lift or bias the bar 138 upwards (in the orientation depicted in
The nursing bra 600 further includes a first breast-covering portion 622 and a second breast-covering portion 624 where the first and second breast-covering portions 622 and 624 are positioned external to at least a portion of the inner layer 616. Lower edges 623 of the first and second breast-covering portions 622 and 624 may be affixed to the underband 625 in order to secure or anchor the first and second breast-covering portions 622 and 624 when tension is applied to the first and second breast-covering portions 622 and 624 through use of the garment adjusting system. Alternatively, the lower edges 623 of the first and second breast-covering portions 622 and 624 may form a lower margin of the nursing bra 600 when an underband is not used. With respect to
A first garment adjusting system 650 is located on the first shoulder strap 610 and the first breast-covering portion 622, and a second garment adjusting system 652 is located on the second shoulder strap 612 and the second breast-covering portion 624 (shown in
The first garment adjusting system 650 includes a first strap 654 having a first end 656 and an opposite second end 658, where the second end 658 is fixedly secured to the first shoulder strap 610 at or around a location corresponding to where the first shoulder strap 610 curves over the wearer's shoulder. This location is illustrative and other securement locations for the second end 658 are contemplated herein. In this aspect, the first shoulder strap 610 corresponds to the first textile element 116 of the garment adjusting system 100. In example aspects, the first end 656 of the first strap 654 may be maintained adjacent to the first shoulder strap 610 using, for example, a strip of material (not shown) that extends over the first end 656 and has opposing ends that are fixedly coupled to the first shoulder strap 610. This may prevent the first end 656 of the first strap 654 from hanging loose or flapping which may be a distraction to the wearer. A male coupling component 660, which may be the male coupling component 120 is fixedly secured to the first end 656 of the first strap 654. The male coupling component 660 includes a hook 662.
The first garment adjusting system 650 further includes a second strap 664 having a first end 666 and an opposite second end 668, where the second end 668 is fixedly secured to the first breast-covering portion 622 at or near the apex region 614 of the nursing bra 600 with respect to when the first breast-covering portion 622 is fully covering the wearer's breast (e.g., is not folded over). In example aspects, the first breast-covering portion 622 corresponds to the second textile element 132 of the garment adjusting system 100. A female coupling component 670, which may be the female coupling component 134 is slidably coupled to the second strap 664 and includes a receiving hole 672. The first end 666 of the second strap 664 hangs freely.
In
By utilizing both the first garment adjusting system 650 and the second garment adjusting system 652, the first and second breast-covering portions 622 and 624 can independently be raised and lowered. Additionally, the level of tension of the first and second breast-covering portions 622 and 624 and/or the first and second shoulder straps 610 and 612 can be independently adjusted to account for differences in breast morphology between the two breasts and/or support needs of the wearer 601.
The garment adjusting system 822 further includes a second strap 834 having a free first end 836 and an opposite second end 838 where the second end 838 is fixedly attached to an opposite second side of the waistband area 820. The second strap 834 is slidably coupled to a female coupling component 840 having a receiving hole 842.
In example aspects, the article of footwear 1000 includes a garment adjusting system (indicated by reference numeral 1014 in
The garment adjusting system 1014 further includes a second strap 1026 having a free first end 1028 and an opposite second end 1030 that is fixedly secured to the article of footwear 1000. A female coupling component 1032 is slidably coupled to the second strap 1026 where the female coupling component 1032 includes a receiving hole 1034.
Aspects of the present disclosure have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative aspects will become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not depart from its scope. A skilled artisan may develop alternative means of implementing the aforementioned improvements without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims. Not all steps listed in the various figures need be carried out in the specific order described
This application claims priority to U.S. 63/270,838 (filed Oct. 22, 2021), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63270838 | Oct 2021 | US |
