US2769180A - Metal support, more particularly for brassieres and similar uses - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 6, 1956 G. METAL SUP H. TAREAU ET AL PORT, MORE PARTICULARLY FOR BRASSIERES AND SIMILAR USES Fil ed April 20, 1954 METAL SUPPORT, MORE PARTICULARLY FOR BRASSIERES AND SIMILAR USES Georges Henri Tareau and Lucien Charles Wilhelm, Paris, France Application April 20, 1954, Serial No. 424,428

Claims priority, application France September 28, 1953 1 Claim. (Cl. 2264) The present invention relates to brassieres comprising metal supports that partially or totally stiffen them. One of the objects of the invention-is to produce a new support for brassieres with very great rigidity, also being exceedingly flexible, which enables it to be snugly adapted to the shape of the wearers bust without running any risk of injuring the person.

Another purpose of the invention is that the support can be fixed inside or to the edges of the brassiere cups, without adding to its thickness to any material extent which might spoil the appearance of the brassiere.

According to the invention, the support consists of a flat metal strip which is bent and contoured so that it can be fitted inside and/or on the edges of the brassiere cups, so that the support presses on the users chest by one of its wide sides.

Various characteristics and advantages of the support according to the invention will moreover be revealed by the detailed description which follows.

Forms of embodiment of the purpose of the invention are shown, by way of non-restrictive examples, in the attached drawing.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a brassiere support or frame according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a larger scale cross-section taken along the line IIII of Figure 1.

Fig. 3 shows the brassiere frame provided with breast cups.

The support or brassiere frame shown in the drawing consists of a piece of steel wire 1 manufactured from a flat metal strip of substantially rectangular cross section as is particularly clearly shown in Fig. 2. This strip is bent by rolling so that it assumes the shape of the lower part and lateral contours of the two cups of a brassiere provided with a support. The arrangement is such that one of the wider sides of the flat metal strip, e. g. side 9 forms the rear surfaces of the metallic frame while the other one of the wider sides of the flat metal strip, in this instance the side 10, forms the'front surface of metallic frame.

The support or frame is provided at its middle part with a segment 2 whose width is selected so that it separates the two curved parts 3 and 4 of the support or frame by a distance corresponding to the normal space which ShO Id ite zitates Patent be between brassiere cups. The two ends of the support are connected by any suitable means, for instance by soldering, to ferrules 5 and 6 whose ends form the eyelets 7 and 8 which facilitate the attaching of the support to the fabric of the brassiere.

The support or frame which is bent as explained above and as shown in the drawings, is also contoured so that it fits as closely as possible to the brassiere users breasts. As the means for obtaining the contour are well known, they are not described in more detail hereinafter.

The ferrules can be manufactured in various other manners, more particularly they can be manufactured of plastic material, their ends being pierced or otherwise, or thinned down or shaped according to one of the usual means.

Furthermore, the support itself, which may be inserted directly into the brassiere cups, may entirely or partly be covered with a coat or sheath of plasticmaterial.

The fiat support or frame according to the invention is unbreakable, and there is no necessity to provide a reinforcment in its middle, as was the case of round wire supports.

Moreover, this flat support can be given equal solidness and rigidity with a smaller metal section, thus making it lighter and more flexible.

Lastly, without any projecting stiffener, it is possible to insert this flat support in a cover or sheath of very delicate fabric, for example, of plaited or woven braid with very fine and nonstretching threads.

The invention is not restricted to the particular embodiment shown and described in detail, but also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claim.

We claim:

A substantially rigid arcuate brassiere frame for insertion into the two cups of a brassiere, said frame being made of a single fiat metallic wire of substantially rectangular cross section and comprising two substantially semi-circular sections for extending around the bottom and both side portions of each of said cups and also com prising a spacer section interconnecting said semi-circular sections in spaced and resilient manner to allow resilient bending of said semi-circular sections in a direction toward each other while substantially rigidly supporting said semi-circular sections against bending in a direction perpendicular to said direction, the wider sides of said flat metallic wire forming the front and rear surfaces of said frame, and the narrower sides of said metallic wire of substantially rectangular cross section forming the upper and lower surfaces of said frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,013,554 De Benedetto Sept. 3, 1935 2,506,639 Gordon May 9, 1950 2,508,903 Chaft May 23, 1950 2,527,521 Bloom Oct. 31, 1950 2,559,294 Goddard July 31, 1951

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