AU2015370446A1

AU2015370446A1 - Brassiere with reinforced support

Info

Publication number: AU2015370446A1
Application number: AU2015370446A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Manon Turlan-Van Der Hoeven
Original assignee: Hanes Operations Europe SAS
Current assignee: DBI Operations Europe SAS
Priority date: 2014-12-23
Filing date: 2015-12-21
Publication date: 2017-07-13
Also published as: RU2662387C1; ES2750723T3; EP3236792B1; JP2018500475A; KR20170097100A; KR102018447B1; WO2016103159A1; EP3236792A1; BR112017013644A2; CA2972190C; FR3030196B1; FR3030196A1; CN107105795A; MX2017008341A; CA2972190A1; US20170354188A1

Abstract

The invention concerns a brassiere (10) of the type including at least a first cup (12a) and a second cup (12b), characterized in that each cup (12a, 12b) includes a first exterior support (28) and a second interior support (30) each of which has generally the shape of a crescent, defined by a generally convex edge (32, 34) and by an opposing concave edge (36, 38), the concave edge (36) of the first support (28) being generally arranged racing the concave edge (38) of the second support (30), the first support (28) and the second support (30) exhibiting a first lower end (40) and a second lower end (42), respectively, which are crossed in a zone of support (Z1) for the breasts.

Description

WO 2016/103159 PCT/IB2015/059849 1

Brassiere with reinforced support

The invention concerns a brassiere aiming to improve comfort and support of the breasts. 5 A brassiere essentially aims to support the breasts of the user and to protect the breast centered in the cup. A brassiere includes for this purpose two cups which generally exhibit a hollow shape matching the shape of the breast.

Moreover, each cup can be fitted with underwiring, which is arranged 10 along a lower edge of the cup and which is designed to be accommodated under the breast of the user.

The underwiring, which generally exhibits a C-shaped curve, is executed in a metal or plastic material exhibiting a rigidity sufficient to limit deformation of the cup. 15 Although the underwires allow support of the breasts to be improved, underwiring is often the source of discomfort and can bother, or injure, the user.

The aim of the present invention in particular is to propose a brassiere which provides satisfactory support of the breasts without necessarily having 20 recourse to underwires.

With this goal, the invention relates to a brassiere of the type which includes at least: - a first cup and a second cup, each of which is defined by a lower edge designed to be arranged below the breast, by an inner edge defining the 25 neckline, and by a lateral exterior edge, - a dorsal fastening band which is connected to the exterior edge of the first cup and to the exterior edge of the second cup, characterized in that each cup includes a first exterior support and a second interior support, each of which is generally crescent-shaped, defined 30 by a generally convex edge and by an opposing concave edge, the concave edge of the first support being generally arranged facing the concave edge of the second support, the first support and the second support exhibiting a first lower end and a second lower end, respectively, which are crossed in a zone of support for the breasts. 35 Advantageously, the supports fitted together on the cups allow the breasts to be supported such that the addition of uncomfortable underwires is no longer necessary. WO 2016/103159 PCT/IB2015/059849 2

According to another characteristic, the support zone is designed to be arranged below the breast, in order to support the breast.

Also, the first exterior support extends at least in part into a lateral exterior zone of the connected cup, said zone corresponding to a lateral 5 external part of the breast, to force the breast toward the center of the connected cup.

Likewise, the second interior support extends at least in part into a lateral interior zone of the connected cup, said zone corresponding to a lateral interior part of the neckline, to keep the breast in the connected cup. 10 According to another aspect, the first exterior support exhibits an upper end which extends up to a strap of the brassiere.

This characteristic promotes the transmission of forces between the strap and the lower part of the cup, via the first support.

Likewise, the second interior support exhibits an upper end which 15 extends to a strap of the brassiere.

This characteristic promotes the transmission of forces between the strap and the lower part of the cup, via the second support.

According to one embodiment, the lower edge of each cup is fitted with an underwire. 20 According to a preferred embodiment, each support is executed in an elastically deformable material which exhibits an elongation between 110 percent and 190 percent.

Likewise, each support is executed in a material exhibiting high springiness, the back and forth force of elastic deformation of the said material 25 being roughly equal.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become evident upon reading the detailed description which follows with regard to understanding what is referred to on the drawings attached, wherein: - Fig. 1 is a frontal view which illustrates a brassiere without 30 underwiring, including a first and a second cup, each fitted with an exterior and interior crescent-shaped support, according to the invention; - Fig. 2 is a detail view of the first cup of the brassiere of Fig. 1; - Fig. 3 is a frontal view which illustrates the exterior support of the first cup of Fig. 1; 35 - Fig. 4 is a frontal view which illustrates the interior support of the first cup of Fig. 1; WO 2016/103159 PCT/IB2015/059849 3 - Fig. 5 is a schematic frontal view which illustrates a brassiere with underwiring, including two cups, each fitted with two crescent-shaped supports, according to the invention; - Fig. 6 is a detail view which illustrates the first cup of the brassiere of 5 Fig. 5, according to an embodiment of the invention.

In the present application, the terms "top", "bottom", "upper", "lower" and their derivatives refer to the position or to the orientation of an element, said position or said orientation being kep in mind when the brassiere is worn by a standing user. 10 Furthermore, to clarify the description and the claims, the terminology longitudinal, vertical, and transverse will be adopted in a non-limiting manner in reference to the trihedron L, V, T indicated on the figures.

In this set of figures, identical or analogous references represent identical or analogous parts or assemblies. 15 A brassiere 10 is represented on Fig. 1 which includes a first cup 12a and a second cup 12b which belong to a frontal part in the front of brassiere 10.

The two cups 12a, 12b are aligned transversely and are arranged on either side of a plane P of vertical symmetry in the general design of brassiere 20 10, as seen in Fig. 1.

In order to facilitate understanding the description, since the first cup 12a and the second cup 12b are symmetrical and similar, only the first cup 12a will be described in detail in the following.

The first cup 12a is defined by a lower edge 14 designed to be 25 arranged below the breast, by an interior edge 16 defining the neckline, and by a lateral exterior edge 18.

Moreover, the first cup 12a exhibits a convex shape, with a generally hemispherical relief and convex toward the front in a longitudinal direction.

The brassiere 10 includes a dorsal fastening band 20, which consists of 30 a first section 22a connected to the exterior edge 18 of the first cup 12a and a second section 22b connected to the exterior edge of the second cup 12b.

The first section 22a and the second section 22b are interconnected at the back of the user by a removable means of attachment 24 of the complementary hook and eye type, for example. 35 In an non-limiting manner, the brassiere 10 can also be conceived as being attached at the front, between the two cups 12a, 12b, according to a design example not depicted. WO 2016/103159 PCT/IB2015/059849 4

The dorsal fastening band 20 is executed in a knit, extensible in a transverse direction corresponding to its major length, for example.

In addition, the brassiere 10 is fitted with a pair of straps 26a, 26b, which are designed to support brassiere 10 on the shoulders of the user. 5 In accordance with the invention, the first cup 12a includes a first exterior support 28 and a second interior support 30, each of which is generally in the shape of a crescent defined by a generally convex edge 32, 34, respectively, and by a concave edge 36, 38, respectively.

As may be seen in more detail on Fig. 2, the concave edge 36 of the 10 first support 28 and the concave edge 38 of the second support 30 are arranged generally opposite one another, outlining a V open toward the top on the first cup 12a.

Also, the first support 28 and the second support 30 each exhibit a lower end 40, 42, respectively, which are crossed and overlapped in a zone Z1 15 of support for the breasts.

Support zone Z1, represented by dashes on Fig. 2, is understood to be a zone arranged below the breast, in order to support and bear the weight of the breast.

The crossing of the lower ends 40, 42 of first support 28 and second 20 support 30 offer double support for the breasts and avoid recourse to a rigid, uncomfortable underwire.

Advantageously, each lower end 40, 42 of supports 28, 30 is connected to the lower edge 14 of the first cup 12a.

Furthermore, the first exterior support 28 extends at least in part into a 25 lateral exterior zone Z2 of the first cup 12a, a zone which corresponds to a lateral external part of the breast, in order to force the breast toward the center of the first cup 12a.

More particularly, the convex edge 32 of the first exterior support 28 is connected to the exterior edge 18 and the lower edge 14 of the first cup 12a. 30 Likewise, the second interior support 30 extends at least in part into a lateral interior zone Z3 of the first cup 12a, a zone which corresponds to a lateral interior part of the neckline, to keep the breast in the connected cup.

More particularly, the convex edge 32 of the second exterior support 30 is connected to interior edge 16 and lower edge 14 of the first cup 12a. 35 According to the embodiment of the invention represented in Figs. 1 through 4, the first exterior support 28 exhibits an upper end 44 which extends WO 2016/103159 PCT/IB2015/059849 5 up to exterior edge 18 of the first cup 12a, in front of the strap 26a connected to brassiere 10.

Likewise, the second exterior support 18 exhibits an upper end 46 which extends up to interior edge 18 of the first cup 12a, in front of strap 26a 5 connected to brassiere 10.

According to another aspect of the invention, each support 28, 30 is executed in an elastically deformable material.

Preferably, the material used to fabricate supports 28, 30 is a mesh, particularly a mesh of the type known as "power net", the binding whereof is 10 made of elastic tulle.

Supports 28, 30 can also be executed in other materials, for example other textile mesh knits can be used, preferably linear mesh, for better managed stability and, likewise, films or meshes made of thermoplastic elastomers. Supports 28, 30 can be fabricated from silicone, in particular, or 15 any other elastomer configured in mesh or in film.

Preferably, the material used to fabricate supports 28, 30 exhibits a longitudinal elongation, that is, in a vertical direction on the figures, between 145 percent and 190 percent, and a transverse elongation, that is, in a transverse direction on the figures, between 110 percent and 125 percent. 20 In addition, the material used to fabricate supports 28, 30 exhibits a high springiness, that is, the back-and-forth forces of elastic deformation of the material are roughly equal.

Preferably, the springiness of the material used to fabricate supports 28, 30 is between 150 grams and 600 grams for a force of 40 newtons. 25 These different values for springiness and elongation also depend on the cup size of the brassiere.

As for the fabrication of brassiere 10 according to the invention, the first support is first fastened onto the first cup 12a and the second support 30 is subsequently fastened onto the first cup 12a. 30 Preferably, each support 28, 30 is fastened by sewing its exterior edge onto the first cup 12a, in order to allow each support 28, 30 to be elastically deformed and thus to retain its characteristics of elongation and springiness.

According to an embodiment of the invention represented on Figs. 5 and 6, each cup 12a, 12b of brassiere 10 is fitted with an underwire (not 35 depicted), metal underwiring, for example, which reinforces the lower edge 14 of each cup. WO 2016/103159 PCT/IB2015/059849 6

The underwiring used can exhibit more flexibility and can be finer, and can thus be more comfortable, than an underwire used for a brassiere of prior art, due to the support provided by the two supports 28, 30.

Brassiere 10 according to the invention is not limited to supports 28, 30 5 in the shape previously described.

Also, a brassiere 10 is represented in Figs. 5 and 6 which is similar to that in Fig. 1 but which is distinguished by the shape of the supports 28, 30.

In fact, according to the embodiment represented in Fig. 5, the upper end of the first exterior support 28 extends up to strap 26a of the brassiere 10. 10 Moreover, the upper end of the second interior support 30 extends roughly up to the upper end of the first exterior support 28.

Finally, according to the embodiment represented in Fig. 6, the upper end of the first exterior support 28 and the upper end of the second interior support 30 each extend up to strap 26a of brassiere 10. 15 Furthermore, the upper ends are crossed at strap 26a.

Extension of the first support 28 and/or the second support 30 to strap 26a allows supports 28, 30 to transmit forces between strap 26a and the first connected cup 12a.

This description of the invention is given as a non-limiting example. 20 It is particularly understood that the different embodiments described above can be combined with one another.

Claims

1. A brassiere (10) of the type including at least: - a first cup (12a) and a second cup (12b), each of which is defined by a lower edge (14) designed to be arranged under the breast, by an inner edge (16) defining the neckline, and by a lateral exterior edge (18), - a dorsal fastening band (20) which is connected to exterior edge (18) of the first cup (12a) and to the exterior edge of the second cup (12b), characterized in that each cup (12a, 12b) includes a first exterior support (28) and a second interior support (30) each of which is generally crescent-shaped, defined generally by a convex edge (32, 34) and by an opposing concave edge (36, 38), the concave edge (36) of the first support (28) being generally arranged facing the concave edge (38) of the second support (30), the first support (28) and the second support (30) exhibiting a first lower end (40) and a second lower end (42), respectively, which are crossed in a zone of support (Z1) for the breasts.

2. The brassiere (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the support zone (Z1) is designed to be arranged below the breast in order to support the breast.

3. The brassiere (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first exterior support (28) extends at least in part into a lateral exterior zone (Z2) of the connected cup (12a), said zone corresponding to an lateral external part of the breast, in order to force the breast toward the center of the connected cup (12a).

4. The brassiere (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second interior support (30) extends at least in part into a lateral interior zone (Z3) of the connected cup (12a), said zone corresponding to a lateral interior part of the neckline, in order to keep the breast in the connected cup (12a).

5. The brassiere (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first exterior support (28) exhibits an upper end which extends up to a strap (26a) of the brassiere (10).

6. The brassiere (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second interior support (28) exhibits an upper end which extends up to strap (26a) of the brassiere (10).

7. The brassiere (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lower edge (32, 34) of each cup (10) is fitted with underwiring.

8. The brassiere (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each support (28, 30) is executed in an elastically deformable material which exhibits an elongation between 110 percent and 190 percent.

9. The brassiere (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each support (28, 30) is executed in a material exhibiting high springiness, the back and forth forces of elastic deformation of said material being roughly equal.