US3114374A - Covered wire - Google Patents

Description

1963 w. L. CHALFIN ETAL 3,114,374

COVERED WIRE 1mm Aug. 1. 1960 FIG.1

FIG.4

F|G.5 l 12 INVENTORS William L. Chalfin BY Ronald Boser ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,114,374 COVERED WIRE William L. Chalfin, Brooklyn, and Ronald Boser, Huntington, N.Y., assignors to Regina Enterprises, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 1, 1960, Ser. No. 46,702 4 Claims. (Cl. 128-465) The present invention relates to a covered wire and more particularly to a covered wire adapted for use in a brassiere stay.

A curved stay is commonly used at the bottom of the breast cup of brassieres especially of the strapless variety, and comprises a covered wire. The stay must offer support yet have suflicient lateral flexibility for comfort. In addition, provision should be made to prevent the wire from cutting through its covering and into the body, particularly at its free ends. In the usual stay on the market today, the wire has been swaged at each end to blunt its tips and thereby prevent its cutting through its covering. The swaging operation is costly and adds considerably to the expense of the brassiere stay. Generally, the wire is also padded along its length for added protection against cutting into the body.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a covered wire which will overcome the foregoing and other difi'iculties.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a covered wire which will not require the costly swaging operation.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a padded wire adapted to comprise a comfortable brassiere stay.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a brassiere stay which is adapted for stitching directly to a garment.

Additional features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view, partially broken away, of the covered wire of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an edge view of the brassiere stay of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional View taken on the line 33 in FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an uncovered wire when padded according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a modified covered wire brassiere stay; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3, showing the application of a cloth cover.

Referring to the drawing, a wire 10 which has a uniform cross-section along its entire length and which has been curved and cut by machine is inserted in a plastic tubing 12. The tubing 12 may be made of nylon or polypropylene. The extremities 14 of the plastic tubing 12 extend beyond each end of the wire, for example about one-half inch, and are crimped by heat and pressure to enclose the said wire 10 thereby covering the rough ends thereof. Flattened tubing or wire, or both, may be used for additional resistance to bending of the wire from its desired shape. Such covered wire cannot be subjected to 3,114,374 Patented Dec. 17, 1963 rust or deterioration during washing of the brassiere into which it is inserted.

A padding 16 is then applied around the plastic tubing 12, and is preferably cemented in place by means of a pressure-sensitive adhesive. It has been found that a padding having a semi-circular cross-section is most desirable, and is applied to the garment so that the curved side of the padding 16 will face the body. The padding 16 extends beyond each extremity 14 of the tubing 12, for example about one-half inch. If desired, the padding may be tapered at its ends to form a soft tip which can be sewn through when the stay is stitched to the garment. A padding of a foamed material such as a polyurethane foam or foam rubber is satisfactory.

The brassiere stay is now ready to be inserted in the garment. The stay may be sewn by double-needle stitching along each edge of the padding 16 or at the ends thereof directly to the garment or may be encased in a cloth cover 17 at the same time it is being sewn.

It should be added that the semi-circular padding 16 may be used over an uncovered wire but it is not as desirable to do so because there would be less protection aiforded against the wire ends, and the wire, per se. In this case, too, the padding 16 would extend beyond each end of the wire where it may be tapered as described above.

Referring to FIG. 5, the wire stay shown in cross-section is very much like the stay of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, except that the wire 10' is inserted in an oval-shaped plastic tubing 12' and the padding 16' is lower in height, or flatter, than the forms shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The stay may be sewn by double-needle stitching either through the padding 16' or the plastic tubing 12' along each side of the wire 10' directly to the garment.

It may be seen, then, that the present invention provides a covered wire suitable for use as a brassiere stay. The covered wire will give the comfortable support needed and may be further improved by application of the novel padding herein described. Furthermore, the padded brassiere stay may be sewn directly into a garment.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

1. A brassiere stay comprising a curved wire, a plastic tubing completely encasing said wire, the extremities of said tubing extending beyond each end of said wire and being crimped to enclose said wire, and a foam padding having a semi-circular cross-section and secured completely around the entire length of said tubing.

2. A brassiere stay comprising a curved wire, a plastic tubing completely encasing said wire, the extremities of said tubing extending beyond each end of said wire and being crimped to enclose said wire, and a foam padding having a semi-circular cross-section and secured completely around the entire length of said tubing, said padding extending beyond each extremity of said tubing.

3. A brassiere stay comprising a curved wire, a plastic tubing completely encasing said wire, the extremities of said tubing extending beyond each end of said wire, and a polyurethane foam padding having a semi-circular cross- 3 4 section and secured by pressure-sensitive adhesive com- Cover may be sewn in place by stitching along each edge pletely around the entire length of said tubing, said padof the said padding. ding extending beyond each extremity of said tubing. References Cited in the file of this patent 4. A brassiere stay comprising a curved wire, a plastic tubing completely encasing said wire, the extremities of 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS said tubing extending beyond each end of said wire and 2,483,273 Gluckin Sept. 27, 1949 being crirnped by heat and pressure to enclose said wire, 2,553,825 Langs May 22, 1951 a foam padding having a semi-circular cross-section and 2,731,640 Garson Jan. 24, 1956 secured completely around the entire length of said tubing, 2,764,761 Rosenthal et al. Oct. 2, 1956 and a cloth cover encasing said padding whereby the 10 2,852,781 Ganser Sept. 23, 1958 brassiere stay may be applied to a garment and the cloth 2,923,300 Ots Feb. 2, 1960

Claims (1)

1. A BRASSIERE STAY COMPRISING A CURVED WIRE, A PLASTIC TUBING COMPLETELY ENCASING SAID WIRE, THE EXTREMITIES OF SAID TUBING EXTENDING BEYOND EACH END OF SAID WIRE AND BEING CRIMPED TO ENCLOSE SAID WIRE, AND A FOAM PADDING HAVING A SEMI-CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION AND SECURED COMPLETELY AROUND THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF SAID TUBING.

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