JP2014237903A - Brassiere cup plastic strip support feature part and manufacturing method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a brassiere cup plastic strip support feature part which provides a desired level of variable support throughout its length and also to provide brassieres therewith and a manufacturing method therefor.SOLUTION: Brassieres (100) comprise a plastic strip support feature part in the shape of an underwire, the strip support feature part being capable of providing desired "firmness" or "hardness" along its length, and thereby providing desired degrees of support therealong. The strip support feature part has the shapes of an uplifting panel (144), a reinforcing pad (140), a sternum region (142), or an extended fish bone like pattern (130). Preferably, the plastic strip comprises at least one polymer layer and at least one layer of second material, with an adhesive applied therebetween to secure the layers to each other.

Description

  The present invention relates to a brassiere. In particular, the present invention relates to a brassiere having a specially formed plastic strip support feature and a method of manufacturing a cup for such a brassiere using a specially formed plastic strip support feature. It is not limited.

  Known bras have a hard or waisted metal underwire sewn into the bottom of each cup.

  Such underwires can provide a suitable level of support, but are uncomfortable, unsightly and can protrude from the brassiere after a given time of use. Such metal underwires are also of constant cross-section and stiffness throughout their length and thus do not provide the desired variable support level throughout their length.

  The object of the present invention provides a brassiere with a plastic strip support feature for a brassiere cup and a method of manufacture therefor which solves or substantially alleviates the above-mentioned drawbacks and / or more generally. There is.

  Disclosed herein is a plastic strip support feature for a brassiere cup having a plastic strip. The plastic strip support feature may be in the form of a lifting panel, a reinforcing pad, a sternal region or an expanded fishbone pattern. Such plastic strip support features can provide the desired “tightness” or “stiffness” along its length, thereby providing the desired support along its length.

  Preferably, the plastic strip has at least one layer of polymer.

  The plastic strip may further comprise at least one layer of a second material, the at least one polymer layer and the at least one second material layer being in the form of a sandwich.

  Preferably, the plastic strip has at least two layers of polymer, and at least one layer of the second material is formed sandwiched between at least two layers of polymer.

  Preferably, the second material is selected from the group comprising polymers, fabrics and foams.

  The plastic strip preferably has a certain number of layers of polymer and second material so as to have a uniform lateral dimension along its length.

  Alternatively, the plastic strip may have an indefinite layer of at least one of the polymer and the second material along its length so as to have a variable lateral dimension along its length. .

  Preferably, the dimensions vary from a minimum value at one end of the plastic strip support feature to a maximum value at the other end of the plastic strip support feature.

  Preferably, the polymer is ethylene vinyl acetate.

  Preferably, the polymer is a resin.

  Preferably, preferably the plastic strip is formed of a polymer layer and a second material layer that are bonded together in the form of a sandwich.

  Preferably, the plastic strip support feature is initially formed by cutting a desired shape from the plastic strip.

  Further disclosed herein is a brassiere cup having the plastic strip support feature described above disposed within the edge region and / or the outer region.

  Preferably, the plastic strip support feature is disposed between layers of the constituent material of the cup, and the plastic strip support feature is molded in place when the cup is formed.

  Further disclosed herein is a brassiere having a pair of bra cups as described above.

Further, herein, a method of manufacturing a portion of a brassiere with a plastic strip support feature comprising:
(A) providing at least one layer of polymer;
(B) providing at least one layer of a second material on top of the polymer layer;
(C) applying an adhesive that attaches the layers together to form a layered plastic strip at an interface between at least one layer of polymer and at least one layer of the second material;
(D) cutting the plastic strip support feature from the layered plastic strip, the dimensions of the plastic strip support feature cut from the layered plastic strip are described in step (h) below. After applying heat to match the desired dimensional shape to the plastic strip support feature of the brassiere,
(E) preparing a mold for forming a brassiere portion with a trough;
(F) laying the brassiere material constituting the brassiere part in the mold so that some of the brassiere material extends into the trough;
(G) positioning a plastic strip support feature cut from the layered plastic strip on the brassiere material extending into the trough;
(H) Apply sufficient heat to the mold to soften the plastic strip support feature so that the plastic strip support feature is compacted to a desired shape defined by the shape of the trough and melted into a continuous strip. And a method comprising the steps of forming an entire piece of material together with the brassiere material.

  Preferably, the second material is selected from the group comprising foams, fabrics and polymers.

  Preferably, the brassiere portion is a cup, the plastic strip support feature is an underwire, and the plastic material is an underwire having a variable or uniform width and / or depth from one end of the underwire to the other. Consolidate in trough to form wire.

  Optionally, the method described above may further comprise providing an additional layer of polymer as well as an additional layer of a second material sandwiched between the polymer layers.

  In addition, another layer of material comprising the brassiere cup may be laid to cover the plastic material in the trough prior to performing the step of applying heat.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is a schematic perspective view of a brassiere. FIG. 3 is a schematic elevation view of a plastic strip support feature. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional end view of the thick end portion of the plastic strip support feature of FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional end view of the thin end portion of the plastic strip support feature of FIG. 2. 1 is a schematic sectional elevation view of a prior art underwire. FIG. 6 is a schematic elevational view of the prior art underwire of FIG. 5. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional elevation view of the plastic strip support feature of FIG. 2. FIG. 8 is a schematic elevation view of the plastic strip support feature of FIG. 7. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a non-uniform material comprising a plastic strip according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a uniform material comprising a plastic strip according to another embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a mold used to form a brassiere cup with an underwire of variable depth along its length. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a mold used to form a brassiere cup with a variable width underwire along its length. FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a brassiere with a plastic strip support feature as another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a schematic side view of a plastic strip support feature in the form of the fishbone pattern of FIG. FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the plastic strip support feature of FIG. 12. FIG. 13 is a schematic side view of a plastic strip support feature in the form of the fishbone pattern of FIG. FIG. 13 is a schematic side view of a mold used to form a brassiere cup with plastic strip support features in the form of a variable depth and / or variable width fishbone pattern of FIG.

  FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings schematically shows a brassiere 10 having a pair of breast cups, a pair of shoulder straps, a front band, a pair of underwires 11 and a rear strap that is an extension of the front band. Has been. The rear straps are connected to each other by hook and loop fasteners 40. The brassiere further includes a pair of lifting (uplift) panels 42 and a reinforced central sternal region 17 between the cups.

  A plastic strip support feature in the form of an underwire 11 is shown in FIGS. The underwire 11 has a plastic strip. The plastic strip has at least one layer of polymer alone or together with at least one layer of foam and / or fabric. Whether to use foam or fabric is a matter of choice depending on the application. Optionally, the plastic strip may vary in thickness from a maximum value indicated at A at one end of the underwire to a minimum value indicated at B at the other end of the underwire. As described above, as a variation, the underwire may be of variable width along its length.

  In this embodiment, at least one layer of polymer 12 is disposed between the layers of foam 14 as shown in FIGS.

  The degree of change in the thickness (or width) of the plastic strip support feature is a matter of choice depending on the desired support. In this figure, the thickness of the plastic strip support feature in the form of an underwire 11 is gradually changing between A and B. The underwire 11 is surrounded by a foam 13 as shown in FIGS. Foam 13 and underwire 11 are typically molded into the bottom edge region of the brassiere cup during the manufacturing process. Alternatively, the underwire 11 may be positioned and held in place with respect to the brassiere cup, and then the underwire 11 may be laminated into the brassiere cup itself.

  One end of the underwire 11 (typically, the end closest to the wearer's shoulder) is thickest, whereas the other end of the underwire 11 (typically the wearer's shoulder) The end closest to the sternum is the thinnest. This provides a gradual decrease in stiffness along the length of the underwire 11. Different materials and material thicknesses can be employed to fine-tune the support and comfort along the length of the underwire 11. Indeed, different forms may be required for different cup sizes in order to fit different female anatomy.

  FIGS. 5 and 6 are included for comparison, and FIGS. 5 and 6 show a typical prior art underwire structure. In the prior art, the underwire has a central metallic wire 11B surrounded by a metallic wire loop 11A. These two parts are encased in foam 13. Foam 13 provides some degree of protection from a hard metal core, but discomfort occurs as a result of the firmness of the wire.

  On the other hand, FIGS. 7 and 8 show a plastic strip support feature in the form of an underwire 11 made according to the present invention, in which case the underwire 11 is also surrounded by a foam 13. As shown in FIG. 8, the thickness or depth of the underwire 11 gradually decreases from one end to the other end. In this case, the dimension A is larger than B.

  FIG. 7 shows an underwire 11 having a plastic strip with a layer of polymer 12 between the layers of foam 14, this plastic strip being shown at A at one end of the underwire 11. The thickness changes from the maximum value to the minimum value indicated by B at the other end of the underwire 11.

  The underwire 11 is typically formed and positioned at a transition location between the brassiere cup and the front band. The underwire 11 is directed with its flat side facing the wearer's body, and the convex side of the underwire 11 is away from the body and faces outward. The brassiere cup may be formed as a laminate of foam plastic material between the layers where the underwire 11 is disposed.

  In another embodiment, the underwire 11 may be of a uniform thickness throughout its length. The thickness of the underwire is determined by the number of polymer layers and the number of foam and / or fabric layers used.

  FIG. 9A illustrates a plastic material 20 according to one aspect of the present invention, in which a plastic strip support feature can be cut from such plastic material or otherwise produced therefrom. Plastic material 20 is made to have one or more layers of polymer 12 and one or more layers of second material 14 arranged in a sandwich with polymer 12. The number of layers of polymer 12 and the number of layers of second material 14 may vary along the length of plastic material 20 depending on the final shape and final thickness of the desired plastic strip support feature. . The thickness (and / or width) of the polymer 12 and the second material 14 may also vary in a manner similar to that described in the prior art form. The embodiment of FIG. 9A shows that one end of material 20 is thicker than the other end by having an additional layer of polymer 12 and second material 14. In this case, a plastic strip support feature of the desired shape and thickness can be cut from the material 20 shown. The plastic strip support feature may be in the form of an underwire 11, a reinforcement pad 140, a lifting panel 42 or a sternum region 17, as shown in FIG. Additionally or optionally, the plastic strip support feature may take another shape, such as a lifting panel 144, a reinforcement pad 140, a sternal region 142, or an expanded fishbone pattern 130, as shown in FIG. Can do. As noted, the desired shape cut from the material 20 can individually correspond to the final / desired dimensional shape for the plastic strip support feature. This is because the final shape may change somewhat during the molding process of the plastic strip support feature with the rest of the brassiere cup, which is related to FIGS. 10 and 11. To explain. The expanded fishbone pattern 130 is further illustrated in FIGS. 13, 14, 15 and 16. The thickness, width and length of each of the bones 111 of the expanded fishbone pattern 130 may vary depending on the desired shape. The body 121 of the expanded fishbone pattern 130 may also have different thicknesses and different widths along its length. As shown in FIGS. 13, 15, and 16, the width A and the width B of the main body 121 have different values. Similarly, the thickness X and width Y of the main body 121 have different values as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 9B shows a plastic material 20 comprising the plastic strip support feature of the present invention in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, material 20 also has a layer of polymer 12 and a layer of second material 14 in the form of a sandwich. However, unlike the configuration shown in FIG. 9A, the number of layers of polymer 12 and the number of layers of second material 14 shown in FIG. 9B are constant along the length of plastic material 20. As a result, a uniform thickness of the plastic material 20 is obtained. In this case, a plastic strip support feature of the desired shape and thickness can be cut from the material shown. The plastic strip support feature may be in the form of an underwire 11, a reinforcing pad 40, a lifting panel 42 or a sternum region 17, as shown in FIG. Additionally or optionally, the plastic strip support feature may take another shape, such as a lifting panel 144, a reinforcement pad 140, a sternal region 142, or an expanded fishbone pattern 130, as shown in FIG. Can do.

Optionally, an adhesive may be used that causes the layers to adhere to each other at the interface between each layer of polymer and at least one layer of the second material, so that the materials can be processed in the following steps: During this time, the relative positions of these are maintained.
Optionally, the plastic strip may have only one or more layers of polymer 12 without a layer of second material 14 being provided. The second material 14 may be selected from the group consisting of polymers, fabrics and foams.
Certainly, depending on the desired support size, providing a plastic material that has either only a layer of polymer or a combination of layers of polymer together with a layer of fabric and / or foam, It is a matter of choice.

  FIG. 10 shows a mold 15 for molding a plastic strip support feature in the form of a brassiere cup and underwire 11. This mold has a trough 16 that defines the overall shape of the underwire 11. The trough 16 is deeper at A and shallower at B. A desired layer of fabric and / or foam material is laid or deposited on the mold 15 so that these layers extend into the trough. Next, a plastic strip of the desired shape and thickness made of the plastic material 20 of FIG. 9A or 9B is placed on the fabric and / or foam material that extends into the trough 16. The deep end of the trough 16 accepts more plastic material 20 than the shallow end. Apply sufficient heat and pressure to melt / soften the plastic material 20 either during the molding process or after the molding process in which other layers of foam and / or fabric material are pressed against and encased in the plastic material 20 So that the plastic material 20 melts into a continuous strip of indefinite depth along its length, forming an entire piece of material together with the fabric and / or foam material.

  FIG. 11 shows another mold 15 for molding a plastic strip support feature in the form of a brassiere cup and underwire 11. The mold has a trough 16 that defines the overall shape of the underwire 11. The trough 16 of uniform depth is wide at A and narrow at B. A desired layer of fabric and / or foam material is laid or deposited on the mold 15 so that these layers extend into the trough. Next, a plastic strip of the desired shape made of the plastic material 20 of FIG. 9A or 9B is placed on the fabric and / or foam material that extends into the trough 16. The wide end of the trough 16 receives more plastic material 20 than the narrow end. Apply sufficient heat and pressure to melt / soften the plastic material 20 either during the molding process or after the molding process in which other layers of foam and / or fabric material are pressed against and encased in the plastic material 20 Thus, the plastic material 20 is melted into a continuous strip of indefinite depth along its length so that the entire piece of material can be formed together with the fabric and / or foam material.

  The features 40, 42 and 17 shown in FIG. 1 are in fact the other parts of the brassiere that may have reinforcement and support panels formed by the same method as described above for producing the underwire. It is an example. These are typically areas of brassiere that require extra strength and provide additional support. For example, it may be desirable to incorporate a reinforcing pad behind a typical hook and loop fastener 40. Thereby, the user can securely fix the hook type fastener to the loop type fastener. At the sternal region 17 between the brassiere cups, extra reinforcement may be desirable. In addition, special lifting panels 42 may be provided in the outer edge region of each cup. Each of these features may be provided by a mold having a cavity for receiving a granular plastic material to be thermally combined in a manner similar to that described above. The lifting panel 42 and the sternum reinforcement region 17 may be made individually as the plastic strip support feature described above. Alternatively, the lifting panel 42 and the sternum reinforcement region 17 may be integrally formed with the plastic strip support feature as an extension of another plastic strip support feature.

  It should be understood that modifications and variations apparent to those skilled in the art are not beyond the scope of the invention. For example, instead of using a continuous length strip of polymer / foam / fabric material in a method of making a plastic strip or plastic strip support feature, step by step a continuous strip of polymer / foam material. The material thickness may be varied along the plastic strip. Next, heat and pressure may be applied to coalesce the layers together to remove the step between the layers. In addition, different thickness polymers may be used together or separately to form a plastic strip. Furthermore, two or more polymer layers may be used to form a plastic strip, in which case at least two of the polymer layers are made of resin, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or EVA (ethylene Vinyl acetate) and another polymer selected from the group consisting of vinyl acetate). Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, but has the entire range suggested by the above terms and equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Bra 11 Underwire 12 Polymer 13 Foam 17,142 Sternum area 40,140 Face fastener or reinforcement pad 42,144 Lifting panel 111 Bone 121 Expanded fishbone pattern body 130 Expanded fishbone pattern

Claims (19)

  A plastic strip support feature for a brassiere cup having a plastic strip, the plastic strip comprising at least one layer of polymer and at least one layer of a second material, the plastic strip support feature A plastic strip support feature for a brassiere cup in the form of a lifting panel, reinforcing pad, sternum region or expanded fishbone pattern.   The plastic strip has at least two layers of the polymer, and the at least one layer of the second material is formed sandwiched between the at least two layers of the polymer. A plastic strip support feature for a brassiere cup according to claim 1.   The plastic strip support feature for a brass cup according to claim 1, wherein said second material is selected from the group comprising polymers, fabrics and foams.   The plastic strip support feature for a brass cup according to claim 1, wherein the plastic strip has a certain number of layers of the polymer and the second material to have a uniform lateral dimension along its length. Department.   The plastic strip has an indefinite layer of at least one of the polymer and the second material along its length to have a variable lateral dimension along its length. Plastic strip support feature for brassiere cups.   6. The plastic strip support feature for brassiere cups according to claim 5, wherein the dimension is gradually changed from a minimum value at one end of the plastic strip to a maximum value at the other end of the plastic strip.   The plastic strip support feature for brassiere cups according to claim 1, wherein the polymer is selected from the group consisting of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), resin or polyvinyl chloride (PVC).   The plastic strip support feature for a brass cup according to claim 1, wherein the plastic strip support feature is formed by cutting a desired shape from the plastic strip.   The plastic strip support feature for brassiere cups according to claim 1, wherein the plastic strip support feature is formed by molding.   The plastic for brassiere cups according to claim 1, further comprising an adhesive material provided at an interface between each layer of the polymer and the at least one layer of the second material to attach the layers together. Strip support feature.   The plastic strip support feature for a brass cup according to claim 1, wherein the plastic strip support feature is disposed in an edge region of the brassiere cup.   The plastic strip support feature for a brass cup according to claim 1, wherein the plastic strip support feature is disposed between layers of constituent material of the brassiere cup.   A brassiere having a pair of said brassiere cups according to claim 1. A method of manufacturing a brassiere portion with a plastic strip support feature, comprising:
(A) providing at least one layer of polymer;
(B) providing at least one layer of a second material on top of the polymer layer;
(C) applying an adhesive that attaches the layers together to form a layered plastic strip at an interface between the at least one layer of the polymer and the at least one layer of the second material; Have
(D) cutting the plastic strip support feature from the layered plastic strip, wherein the dimensional shape of the plastic strip support feature cut from the layered plastic strip is as follows: After applying heat as described in), the plastic strip support feature of the brassiere matches the desired dimensional shape,
(E) preparing a mold for forming the brassiere portion with a trough;
(F) laying a brassiere material constituting the brassiere part in the mold so that a percentage of the brassiere material extends into the trough;
(G) positioning the plastic strip support feature cut from the layered plastic strip on the brassiere material extending into the trough;
(H) Heat sufficient to soften the plastic strip support feature is applied to the mold to consolidate the polymer layer into the desired shape defined by the shape of the trough and melt into a continuous strip. And having the step of combining with the brassiere material to form an entire piece of material.   15. The method of claim 14, wherein in step (b), the second material selected from the group comprising foam, fabric and polymer is provided.   The brassiere portion is a cup, the plastic strip support feature is an underwire, and the plastic material is variable or uniform from one end to the other end of the underwire during the step (h). 15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the trough is consolidated to form the underwire having a wide width and / or depth.   15. The method of claim 14, wherein in step (a), multiple layers of the polymer are provided.   The steps (a) and (b) each provide multiple layers of the polymer and the second material of each of the steps until a plastic material of the desired shape and thickness is completed. Item 15. The method according to Item 14.   15. The method of claim 14, wherein in step (f), another layer of material comprising the brassiere cup is laid to cover the plastic material in the trough prior to performing step (h).

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