US2515601A

US2515601A - Foundation apparel device

Info

Publication number: US2515601A
Application number: US135229A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gale A Hughes
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1949-12-27
Filing date: 1949-12-27
Publication date: 1950-07-18
Anticipated expiration: 1967-07-18

Description

July 18, 1950 G. A. HUGHES FDUNDATION APPAREL DEVICE Filed Dec. 27, 1949 INVENTOR. 6 ,445 A HUGHES,

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Patented July 18, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOUNDATION APPAREL nnvron Gale A. Hughes, Los Angeles, Calif. Application December 27, 1949', Serial No. 135,229 3 Claims. (01. 2-42) This invention relates to foundation apparel for women, and pertains more particularly to a device adapted to be worn within the pocket of a brassiere and to augment and enhance the apparent size and form of the bust.

A well-known form of device that has been widely used for this general purpose comprises a pad of soft resilient material adapted to be worn within each pocket of a brassiere and to extend over and in front of substantially the entire area of a breast, the pad being of greater thickness at the central portion than at the outer edge thereof. However, such pad do not generally serveto simulate closely the effect and appearance of a well-formed natural bust, and it is difficult to positively and consistently conceal them from view, particularly when they are worn with a dress having a low-cut neck line. Furthermore, such pads sometimes have a tendency to become displaced from their intended position, producing discomfort to the wearer and an unsatisfactory appearance, while at the same time increasing the likelihood of the pad becoming exposed to view.

. The principal object of my invention is to provide a device for the above mentioned purpose that is adapted to be safely and positively concealed when worn within a brassiere, while at the same time augmenting and enhancing the appearance of the bust in such manner as to simulate closely the appearance and form of a well-formed natural bust.

A further object of the invention i to provide a device for this purpose that is safely and positively concealed from view, even when worn with a dress having such a low neck line as to expose the upper portion of the bust.

Another object is to provide a device for the above purpose that will be held securely in its intended position.

The device ofthis invention comprise a pad formed of soft resilient material so formed as to fit snugly within the lower half of a pocket of a brassiere and beneath the breast, said pad being of such shape and surface configuration as to fill the space between the breast and the lower half of the brassiere pocket, and to also raise the breast upward and outward above the ,pad to fill the upper half of the brassiere pocket, whereby the upper portion of the breast and the pad concealed within the lower half of the brassiere combine with each other to simulate closely the form and appearance of a well-formed breast.

Other objects and advantageous features of the invention will be set forth hereinafter or will be apparent from the following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a preferred form of device according to my invention;

Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the device, as viewed from the left in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation thereof, as viewed from the right in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the device on line 5-5 in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the device, at the plane and in the direction indicated by the line 6-6 in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation showing the device in position beneath a womans breast and within a pocket of a brassiere, the brassiere being shown in section; and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 5, showing a modified form of device having a somewhat different configuration of the inner surface.

The device shown in Figs. 1 to 7 comprises a breast augmenting pad A formed of soft resilient material such as sponge rubber or foam rubber, which is adapted to fit beneath the breast and within the lower half of a cup of a brassiere, as shown particularly in Fig. 7 and described more fully hereinafter.

The pad A has an outer convex surface I which faces forward and downward for engagement with the brassire, and an inner surface 2 which faces rearward and upward for engagement beneath the lower portion of the breast.

The outer convex surface I has the general form of a quadrantal portion of a spheroidal surface. As illustrated particularly in Figs. 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7, this outer convex surface conforms substantially to the shape of the lower half of a well-formed breast, and is preferably elongated somewhat along a horizontal axis X-X extending forwardly and centrally across the top of the pad as indicated in Fig. 1, so that the overall distance from front to rear of the pad, along this axis, is somewhat greater than the overall vertical height of the pad (see Figs. 5 and 7) and also somewhat greater than half the width of the pad along the line Y-Y in Fig. 1. This outer surface I extends between a generally semicircular upper edge 3 lying substantially in a horizontal plane at the top of the pad and a generally semi-circular rear edge 4 lying substantially in a vertical plane at the rear of the pad, said

edges

3 and 4 meeting each other at each lateral extremity of the pad, as indicated at 5.

The inner surface 2 extends from the upper edge 3 rearward and downward to the rear edge 4, and is spaced from the outer surface by the thickness of the pad at all positions between these two edges. In the preferred form of pad shown in Figs. 1 to 7, the inner surface 2 includes a substantially horizontal surface portion 6 adjacent the upper edge 3, facing upwardly and extending inward a short distance from said upper edge; a substantially vertical surface portion 1 adjacent the rear edge 4, facing rearwardly and extending upward a short distance from said rear edge; and a central surface portion 8 therebetween sloping downward and rearward.

The central surface portion II, which extends from the substantially horizontal portion 5 to the substantially vertical portion 1, faces upwardly and inwardly and is curved concavely along lines extending over the inner surface of the pad between the lateral extremities of the pad (one of such lines being represented by the line extending over the inner surface 2, between the lateral extremities 5, in Fig. 6). As illustrated in Figs. 1, 4, 5 and-6, the configuration of this central portion 8 of the inner surface is such as to provide a concavity in the pad, as indicated at B, positioned and adapted to receive the lower portion of the breast. v

The pad A is preferably provided with a small rounded protuberance ll, formed integrally with the main body of the pad and located centrally of and immediately below the upper edge 3 of the outer surface I. The protuberance ll prothe form and appearance of a well-formed breast. Furthermore, since the pad A is disposed only within the lower half of the brassiere pocket and beneath the breast, and since the breast is raised upwardly and outwardly above the pad as described above, the pad is safely and positively concealed from view, even when worn with a dress having such a low neck line as to expose the raised upper portion of the bust.

The forwardly extending rounded protuberance II is adapted to engage within the tip portion C at the forward extremity of the brassiere pocket, so as to fill this tip portion and hold it outward in the desired position, and to definitely locate the pad in its intended position within the brassiere, as described above. The engagement of this protuberance within the tip portion C is of material advantage in serving to prevent accidental shifting of the pad within the brassiere,

and thus contributes to holding the pad securely in its intended position.

The pad may of course be made in different sizes and thicknesses, to fit different sizes of brassieres and to accommodate variations in the natural size and shape of the bust. The configuration of the outer convex surface I may also be g varied somewhat from that shown, to conform to Jects forwardly beyond the adjacent portions of p brassiere pocket is shown in section at C and v the position of the breast is indicated generally at D. It will be seen that the pad is adapted to fit snugly within the pocket 0 of the brassire.

The lower portion of the breast, which is received within the above-mentioned concavity B of the pad A, is hidden by the pad in Fig. 7, but the-pro file of the central portion thereof, which engages the sloping central inner surface portion 8 of the pad, is indicated in dotted lines at D. As will be apparent from this view in conjunction with the above description, the pad A fills the space between the breast and the lower half of the brassiere pocket, and also raises the breast upward and outward above the pad to fill the upper half of the brassire pocket.

The substantially vertical inner surface portion I is adapted to engage the body of the wearer below the breast, as indicated at E, while the substantially horizontal inner surface portion 6 is adapted to engage and lift the outer portion of the breast, as indicated at F, so as to assist in raising the upper portion of the breast and holding it in such raised position as to fill and round out the upper half of the brassiere pocket.

It will be seen, therefore, that the upper portion of the breast, in its raised position, and the pad concealed within the lower portion of the brassiere, combine with each other to simulate closely any particular form that may be desired to simulate the form and appearance of the lower half of a well-formed breast.

The configuration of the inner surface 2 may also be varied somewhat, so as to produce the desired lifting of breasts of different natural sizes and shapes. By way of example, Fig. 8 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 5, showing a pad A which is the same as the pad A described above in all respects except for the shape of the inner surface indicated at 2'. The elements shown therein which are the same as previously described are designated by the same reference numerals I, 3, 4, 5 and II. As before, the inner surface 2' faces rearward and upward forengagement with the lower portion of the breast, and extends from the upper edge 3 of the outer convex surface I, rearward and downward to the rear edge 4 of the outer surface. In this case, however, the entire inner surface 2 slopes downward and rearward from the upper edge 3 to the rear edge 4, and is shown as having a generally convex curvature along lines extending from one of said edges to the other (one of said lines being ing over the surface between the lateral extremities 5, in a manner comparable to that above described in connection with the central surface portion 8 in the previously described embodiment, so as to provide a concavity in the pad as indicated at B, positioned and adapted to receive the lower portion of the breast.

This modified form of the device is adapted to be used in the same manner as described above, and produces substantially the same results, except for a slight difference in the lifting efiect on the breast due to the difference in shape of the inner surface of the pad.

As clearly shown in Figs. 5, 6, '7 and 8, the major portion of each of the pads A and A between the outer surface I and the central portion of the inner surface 2 or 2' is of substantial thickness so as to raise the breast upward and outward when received in the concavity B or B of the pad, and also to fill the space between the breast and the lower half of the brassire pocket. The upper portion of the breast is held by the pad in the raised position filling the upper half of the brassiere pocket, so that the raised breast and the pad combine to fill and round out both the upper and lower portions of the brassiere pocket and simulate closely the form and appearance of a well-formed breast, while the pad itself is effectively concealed from view as described above.

I claim:

1. A foundation apparel device, for use in combination with a brassiere, comprising a breast augmenting pad formed of soft resilient material adapted to fit beneath the breast and within the lower half of a pocket of a brassiere; said pad having an outer convex surface facing forward and downward for engagement with the brassiere and an inner surface facing rearward and upward for engagement beneath the breast; said outer surface having the general form of a portion of a spheroidal surface conforming substantially'to the shape of the lower half of a wellformed breast, and extending between a generally semi-circular upper edge lying substantiallyin a horizontal plane and a generally semi-circular rear edge lying substantially in a vertical plane, said edges meeting each other at each lateral extremity of the pad; and said inner surface extending from said upper edge rearward and downward to said rearedge, the central portion at least of said inner surface sloping rearward and downward and being curved concavely along lines extending oversaid surface between said lateral extremities of the pad, so as to provide a concavity in the pad to receive the lower portion of the breast; the major portion of said pad between said outer surface and said central portion of said inner surface being of substantial thickness so as to raise the breast when so received in said concavity and to fill the space between the bination with a brassiere, comprising a breast augmenting pad formed of soft resilient material adapted to fit beneath the breast and within the breast and the lower portion of the brassiere pocket.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1, said pad having a small rounded protuberance formed integrally therewith located centrally of and immediately below said upper edge of the outer surface of thepad and projecting forwardly beyond the adjacent portions of said outer surface for engagement within the tip portion of the pocket of the brassire.

3. A foundation apparel device, for use in comlower half of a pocket of a brassire; said pad having an outer convex surface facing forward and downward for engagement with the brassire and an inner surface facing rearward and upward for engagement beneath the breast; said outer surface having the general form of a portion of a spheroidal surface conforming substantially to the shape of the lower half of a wellformed breast, and extending between a generally semi-circular upper edge lying substantially in a horizontal plane and a generally semi-circular rear edge lying substantially in a vertical plane, said edges meeting each other at each lateral extremity of the pad; and said inner surface extending from said upper edge rearward and downward to said rear edge, and having a substantially horizontal surface portion adjacent said upper edge, a substantially vertical surface portion adjacent said rear edge, and a central portion therebetween sloping rearward and downward from said substantially horizontal portion to said substantially vertical portion, said rearward and downward sloping portion being curved concavely along lines extending over said inner surface between said lateral extremities of the pad so as to provide a concavity in the pad to receive the lower portion of the breast; the major portion of said pad between said outer surface and said central portion of said inner surface being of substantial thickness so as to raise the breast when so received in said concavity and to fill the space between the breast and the lower portion of the brassiere pocket.

GALE A. HUGHES.

REFERENCES orran The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,191,545 Schneider Feb. 27, 1940 2,391,417 Hill "a Dec. 25, 1945 2,429,680 Goddard Oct. 28, 1947 1 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 718,653 France May 6, 1931