Patent Application
20120045966
The present invention relates generally to brassieres and in particular to a breast cup assembly, a method of manufacturing a breast cup and a brassier incorporating two breast cups.
A conventional brassier (hereinafter referred to as a bra) includes a pair of breast cups, a connecting portion connecting the inner edges of the breast cups, a back wing that extends from outer edges of the breast cups around the back of the wearer, and shoulder straps extending from upper edges of the breast cups over the shoulder of the wearer and connected to the back wing. The function of the bra is to provide support for the wearers bust in a manner that is comfortable to the wearer. It is becoming increasingly desirable for the bra to enhance the appearance of the wearers bust while maintaining a natural look and feel.
The appearance of the wearer's bust can be enhanced by including pads, often referred to as “cookies”, in the breast cup to create the illusion of a larger breast size. The “cookies” can be formed from a foam material, generally polyurethane, or alternatively the pad is a bladder containing a fluid. In either form the pad is typically positioned within the lower portion of the breast cup to provide support to the breast and enhance the shape of the bra.
While the use of pads has enhanced the size of the wearer's breasts, certain disadvantages have resulted from their use. These disadvantages relate to the way the bra feels to touch and the appearance the bra makes under the wearer's cloths. This has resulted in a less than natural look and feel.
In light of the foregoing, there is an ongoing need for bras that enhance the appearance of the wearers bust while maintaining a natural look or feel.
According to one aspect of this invention there is provided a breast cup assembly for use in a bra, the assembly including, an outer panel having an outer fabric layer attached to a first foam layer, an inner panel having an inner fabric layer attached to a second foam layer, a pad located between the inner panel and the outer panel, the inner panel having a surface area the majority of which is overlaid with the pad, the outer panel and the inner panel being attached to each other about a periphery of each panel to retain the pad in its location.
The pad may be a thermoplastic rubber such as a styrene block copolymer, or alternatively the pad may be a semi liquid silicon such as a functional polydimethylsiloxane with an acetoxysilane cross linker.
It is preferred that the pad includes at least one channel extending between the inner panel and the outer panel.
It is preferred that the first and second foam layers are thermoplastic polyurethane. It is further preferred that the first and second foam layer is attached to the inner and outer fabrics respectively by lamination.
It is preferred that the pad has a melting point higher than the foam of the inner panel or the outer panel.
It is preferred that the inner panel and the outer panel are concave.
It is preferred that the pad overlies the surface area of the inner panel by more than 55%.
It is preferred that the foam of the inner panel and the outer panel is of substantially uniform thickness adjacent the pad while the thickness of the pad is relatively non uniform when viewed in cross section form an upper edge of the cup to a lower edge of the cup. It is further preferred that the pad is relatively thick in a mid region of the cup and relatively thin in an edge region of the cup.
It is preferred that the pad has a lower edge that is aligned to extend substantially parallel with a convex lower edge of the cup, and the pad has an upper edge that is generally non uniformly divergent from a convex upper edge of the cup. It is further preferred that the upper edge of the pad includes a concave portion. It is still further preferred that the concave portion is to one side of a centre of the upper edge.
According to another aspect of this invention there is provided a bra including two breast cups as hereinbefore described with a connecting portion connecting one edge of each breast cup and a back wing connected to another edge of each cup remote from said one edge, each back wing having a free end which are releasably attached to one another when attaching the bra to a wearer's body.
According to further still another aspect of this invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a breast cup for inclusion in a bra, the method including the steps of:
It is preferred that the step of attaching the inner panel and outer panel includes heating the inner panel and the outer panel to a bonding temperature, and the pad is selected from a thermoplastic rubber or a semi liquid silicon having a melting point above the bonding temperature.
It is preferred that the step of molding the inner panel and outer panel to a concave form includes heating the inner panel and outer panel to a moulding temperature which is lower that the melting point of the pad.
It will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention in greater detail by reference to the accompanying drawings which show two preferred embodiments of the invention, and to facilitate understanding of the method according to this invention. The particularity of the figures and the related description is not intended to supersede the generality of the broad definition of the invention as given in the attached claims.
a is one preferred embodiment of the cross section through AA of
b is another preferred embodiment of the cross section through AA of
The internal structure of one preferred form of a breast cup 1 is illustrated in
Each breast cup 1 includes a pad 12 located between the inner panel 8 and the outer panel 9. Whilst the pad 12 may be formed from any suitable material, it is preferred that it be formed from a thermoplastic rubber such as a styrene block copolymer or a semi-liquid silicone such as a functional polydimethylsiloxane with an acetoxysilane cross linker. Clearly other materials may be suitable however it is generally preferred that the melting point of the pad 12 material be higher than that of the first or second foam layers 10, 11 for reasons that will be explained with reference to the method of manufacture of the breast cup.
The thickness of the first foam layer 10 and second foam layer 11 is preferably substantially uniform in the area adjacent to the pad 12. The first foam layer 10 and second foam layer 11 is compressed at the edges of the cup 1 as can be appreciated from
It can be appreciated from
b illustrates another preferred embodiment of the breast cup 1 and in particular a variation to the pad 12. The pad 12 illustrated includes a number of horizontal channels 20 which increase the permeability of the pad 12 allowing for air flow between the inner panel 8 and the outer panel 9.
The inner panel 8 is attached to outer panel 9 around the periphery of each breast cup 1. The panels 8, 9 may be connected by any suitable manner such as an adhesive or ultrasonic welding.
With reference to
It ought to be appreciated from the forgoing that overlaying majority of the inner panel 8 with the pad 12, as opposed to locating the pad at a lower region reduces the likelihood that the breast cup 1 will appear or feel lumpy. The selection of a thermoplastic rubber or semi liquid silicon for the pad 12 further enhances the smooth appearance and feel of the breast cup.
While the invention has been described in conjunction with a limited number of embodiments, it will be appreciated that many alternative modifications and variations in light of the foregoing description are possible. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternative modifications and variations as may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the attached claims.
