Patent Grant
7666060
The present disclosure relates to a breast support for women's tights and brassieres, in particular, a bra support for safe use.
The arc-shaped underwire used for current bra supports is made of rigid material. When it is inserted into a sleeve which is loosely structured fabric, soft to the feel and comfortable, the two ends of the wire can easily push through the textile fabric and make a nick on the sleeve, allowing the end to poke out and to injure the user. It is therefore not safe to use. To solve this problem, some insert two rubber caps on both ends of the underwire to minimize the risk of its end poking through the sleeve to injure users.
The disadvantages of this method are as follows: 1. the insertion of a rubber cap in the end of the wire is not tight enough to be reliable; 2. the technique of manufacturing rubber caps on steel wires requires using punching shear on the ends of the wire and the rubber caps, which reduces the top area of the wire, resulting in two weak points of the underwire. When a strong force is then applied to the wire, the wire can break at the weak point and shorten the life of the product. 3. Since the rubber cap only covers the tips of the wire, the end of the underwire can not be placed at the end stitches of the fabric sleeve, and when the bra is in use, it is therefore likely that the wire will push through the fabric of the sleeve and make a hole.
The disclosed safety bra of the present disclosure overcomes one or more of the deficiencies set forth above.
The object of the invention is to solve the existing problems of current bra supports by providing a bra support that is safe, comfortable, long-lasting, simple in structure and easy to manufacture. The present disclosure also means to provide a bra support with better elasticity, safety in use, and allow users to enjoy a seamless and natural fit, combined with comfort and enhanced safety.
The technical details for the present disclosure are described as follows:
The improved safety bra support of the present disclosure comprises a single or combined arc-shaped underwire with an enhanced structure where the two ends of the arc-shaped underwire are inserted into, and enclosed by, at least one set of thermally contractible cases, regardless of its length, color and diameter, made of polyethylene, and the thermally contractible case's external end can be a soft tube which protrudes out of the tips of the arc-shaped underwire, and such a soft tube is bendable and flexible, ensuring the tip of the underwire be placed right at the end stitches of the sleeve. Alternatively, the thermally contractible cases may not be extended to the wire ends which will be solely coated with protective paint instead.
To provide double the protection, the two ends of the arc-shaped underwire are coated with protective paint.
There is a variety of combinations for insertion of the underwire into the thermally contractible cases, regardless of its length, diameter or color. For example, the two ends of the underwire can be inserted into and enclosed by thermally contractible cases respectively; alternatively, the entire underwire can be inserted into and enclosed by a thermally contractible case. In this way the user will not feel the rigid underwire, thus increasing its comfort in use, and also enhancing the life of the underwire and its resistance to potential degradation from sweat and laundry detergents. The two ends of the arc-shaped underwire are reliably wrapped by the ends of the thermally contractible cases, and the outer case's external ends that extend out of the tips of the arc-shaped underwire are soft tubes, and an air cushion is formed between the underwire and the case. Alternatively, the two ends of the arc-shaped underwire may not be wrapped but exposed and coated with protective paint instead. The entire arc-shaped underwire can also be tightly wrapped by the thermally contractible cases, wherein no air cushion may be formed.
Alternatively, the underwire can be inserted into two sets of the thermally contractible cases. The insertion manner can be applied in accordance to the specific needs. For example, after the two ends of the underwire are inserted into a case, the entire underwire can be inserted into and enclosed by the second case. In addition, the underwire can be inserted into and enclosed by two sets of the thermally contractible cases directly, and an air cushion may be formed between two sets of the cases.
The present disclosure can not only prevent injury to users caused by the ends of the underwire poking through the sleeve, but also can achieve the objective of safe use and comfortable wear, providing a support that has a simple structure, is reliable, as well as easy and low cost manufacture because the present disclosure uses a support structure that the two ends of the underwire are enclosed with at least one set of thermally contractible cases made of polyethylene, with case's external end that is a soft and bendable tube protruding out of the end of the underwire, and takes full advantage of polythylene's nontoxicity, softness, better ventilation, and its characteristic that it contracts when its temperature rises to 80 degree.
In addition, since the thermally contractible case's external end is a soft bendable tube which protrudes out of the end of the underwire, it can be used to position the tip of the underwire be placed right at the end stitches of the sleeve when the underwire is inserted into the sleeve, thus providing highly-efficient protection against poke-throughs.
The present disclosure further uses the structure in which the entire underwire is inserted into and enclosed by thermally contractible cases and the two ends of the underwire are wrapped, and in which the external ends of the case extend out, forming soft tubes, while an air cushion may be formed between the underwire and the case. Such a structure of the present disclosure makes the support exceptionally elastic and users will not feel the rigid underwire, resulting in a seamless and natural fit; and also enhancing the underwire's life and its resistance to potential degradation from sweat and laundry detergents. The present disclosure can be used for a variety of brassieres in undergarments, swimming suits and evening gowns.
The following is a further description, with the attached drawings, of the invention:
Referring to
The structure of the end of the arc-shaped underwire 1 is shown in
The structure of the end of the arc-shaped underwire 1 is shown in
During the assembly, the arc-shaped underwire 1 is inserted into and put in place with stitches in the sleeve 4 at the lower periphery of a cup 5 of the bra, as shown in
To ensure wearers that users do not to feel the existence of the rigid underwire when in use, and to further enhance the comfort, and also to enhance the underwire's life and its resistance to potential degradation from sweat and laundry detergents, the present disclosure inserts the entire said underwire 1 into a transparent thermally contractible case 2, as shown in
The external end of the case which extends out of the tip of the underwire is a soft tube 21, and an air cushion 6 is formed between the case and the surface of the underwire, as shown in
In the process of manufacturing the bra support, the two ends of the underwire can be punch sheared, and then coated with paint. The thermally contractible case 2 with proper size is inserted into the end of the underwire and is placed into an upright oven with a set temperature, so the thermally contractible case 2 can contract naturally and tightly wrapped around the body of the underwire 1, as shown in
Further, this manufacturing process is exceptionally simple and the production cost is low. The underwire 1 in the present disclosure is sheared off after the steel wire is bent by a wire bending machine, and is then inserted into the thermally contractible case 2. Therefore, the underwire can not be easily broken even if it is under a great pressure.
When the support is in use, both sides of the soft tube receive an equal force, and this positions the tip of the underwire 1 right at the end stitches of the sleeve 4, thus holes are unlikely to be made, and poke-throughs are efficiently prevented. The present disclosure not only can effectively prevent injuries to users caused by poking through underwire, but also can provide safe and comfortable use.
To further enhance the reliability of this structure and make it even safer and more comfortable to use, two sets of the thermally contractible cases 2 and 2′ can be inserted into the underwire 1, as shown in
The soft tube 21 bends to one side and this positions the end stitches of the sleeve 4 right at the tip of the underwire, thus holes are unlikely to occur and poke-throughs can be very efficiently prevented. Thus injuries to users caused by the underwire poking through the fabric will not occur as shown in
Although the present disclosure has been described in certain exemplary preferred embodiments, many modifications and variations would be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is therefore understood that the present disclosure may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Hence, those preferred embodiments described in the present disclosure should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3114374 | Chalfin et al. | Dec 1963 | A |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20090156095 A1 | Jun 2009 | US |
