US3393682A

US3393682A - Brassiere

Info

Publication number: US3393682A
Application number: US507723A
Authority: US
Inventors: Raymond C Cole
Original assignee: International Playtex Inc
Current assignee: International Playtex Inc
Priority date: 1965-11-15
Filing date: 1965-11-15
Publication date: 1968-07-23
Anticipated expiration: 1985-07-23
Also published as: BE682522A; FR1532248A; ES122601U; ES122601Y; NL6608080A; DE1946011U

Description

July 23, 1968 R. c. COLE 3,393,682

BRASS IERE Filed NOV. 15, 1965 IN VENTDR Raymond C. Cole W 4% ATT EV Unied, ws. e

3,393,682 BRASSIERE Raymond C. Cole, Hillsdale, N.J-., assignor to International Playtex Corporation, Dover, Del., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 15, 1965, Ser. No. 507,723 Claims. (Cl. 128-490) This invention is a brassiere designed and constructed to expand with the chest when the wearer breathes and moves about and yet prevent excessive pressures against the body.

Basically, a brassiere must adequately support and shape thebreasts and yet be comfortable. It is the comfort feature that is most difiicult' to achieve in designing and constructing a brassiere.

It is most difiicult to achieve comfort by virtue of the common fact'that a womans chest is constantly expanding and contracting as she breathes, movesher arms and indulges inother body motions. Each changein chest size andshape requires an accommodating change in brassiere size and shape particularly with respect to the size and shape of the breast cups. The more nearly perfect the brassiere accommodates to changes in size and shape of the chest, the more comfortable the brassiere.

Standardization of cup sizes also presents difliculty to the brassiere designer in that'the brassiere must properly supportand shape breast sizes that are between standard cup sizes. Although half-size cups would resolve this problem-in the most part, it is'n-ot a practical solution. The optimuni of brassiere design is achieved when the brassiere is capable of properly supporting and shaping breast sizes that are'less than or more than standard cup sizes, yet provide the'required comfort characteristics.

The prior art has solved in most respects some of the more common brassiere disadvantages, such as upward creeping of the brassiere, roll-over of the underbust bands, shoulder strap adjustability, girthwise adjustability, underbust distribution of pressures and independent support of each breast. One undesirable aspect that has yet to be resolved is first the 'discomfort'due to excessive pressures against the pectoral muscles of the wearer that is caused 'by the underarm portion of the brassiere, and second the discomfort caused by improper fitting of the breast cups.

A brassiere constructed in accordance with my invention surprisingly accommodates to eachchange in chest size and shape as the wearer breathes and moves about, thus uniquely alleviating excessive pressures against the pectoral muscles and breasts of the wearer, yet adequately supports and shapes the breasts and properly fits the wearer.

According to my invention, a brassiere is provided with a pair of stretchable cups and a pair of stretchable tapes respectively secured to the outer edges of the cups. Preferably, the upper half of each cup is stretchable in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of stretch of the corresponding stretchable tape, while the lower half of each cup is stretchable in a direction substantially verticalv with respect to the brassiere when on the wearer.

It is an object of this invention to design a brassiere which eliminates excessive pressures against the pectoral muscles of the wearer yet advantageously provides proper support and necessary comfort. 1

It is another object ofthis invention ,to design a brassiere capable of properly supporting and shaping-breast sizes that are between standard cup sizes, yet provide the required comfort.

Proceeding n0w.t0 a more detailed description of the invention, reference will be, had to the accompanying drawings which are to be understood as being illustrative and, not limitative of the invention. 7

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of my brassiere as seen on the wearer, and l 1 FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic front elevation of the brassiere of FIGURE 1 with a series ofarrows to illustrate the direction of stretch ofportions of the brassiere.

It is to be understood that my brassiere may have any known suitable dorsal band arrangement and shoulder strap construction; these are not the subject of my invention, and as they are conventional they are merely indicated here. 1

Referring to the drawings, my brassiere has cups 10 and 20 of a conical to hemispherical shape, each cup having an upper half 11 and 21, a

lower half

12 and 22, and a generally horizontal mid-seam 13 and 23. The members making up the cups are, as is usual, cut with convex edges that are pulled to each other, overlapped, and sewn together to form the mid-seam, thus providing outwardly peaked cups.

Extending from the top of the cups 10 and 20 and along the upper-inner edges thereof are narrow tapes 30 and 40. These tapes cross each other at midpoint 50 and extend along the lower-inner edges of the cups.

Tape 30 comprises an upper branch 31, which is secured to the upper-inner edge of upper cup portion 11, and a lower branch 32, which is secured to the lower-inner edge of lower portion 22. Tape 40 comprises an upper branch 41, which is secured to the upper-inner edge of upper cup portion 21, and a lower branch 42, which is secured to the lower-inner edge of lower cup portion 12. These tapes are preferably secured to each other at the crossing or midpoint 50.

Tapes 30 and 40 are preferably secured to the upperinner edges of the cups by a double line, continuous run of stitching, and in the exemplary embodiment shown are non-stretchable or'inelastic. It is contemplated however that tapes 30 and 40 may be stretchable or elastic and constructed as described in co-pending application, S.N. 434,292, filed Feb. 23, 1965, now Patent 3,222,127 in the name of Charles M. Sachs, which application is assigned to the assignee of this invention.

Although tapes 30 and 40 are inherently straight, the

lower branches 32 and 42 are slightly bent inwardly when sewn to the shaped cups, thus resulting in the lower branches 32 and 42 being less divergent than the upper branches 31 and 41. This relationship tends to be confirmed and enhanced when the brassiere is on the body.

At the lower-center area of the brassier is a triangular piece of two-way stretch elastic fabric 60, which is also sewn to the lower branches 32 and 42 of tapes 30 and 40 and t o the lower-inner edges of the cups 10 and 20.

Across the front of the brassiere and under the cups 10 and 20 extends an underbust band 70, which is preferably stretchable in the girthwise direction. This band may be made of elastic material.

In the central region of the underbust band 70, girthwise stretchability is preserved by virtue of the fact that it is sewn to the lower edge of the triangular fabric 60, which 3 is stretchable, and by utilizing zig-zag stitching. Girthwise stretchability at the outer regions of the underbust band 70 is restrained since it is sewn to the lower edges of the cups which are virtually non-stretchable in the girthwise direction. It is preferable however to preserve a slight amount of girthwise stretchability at the outer regions of the underbust band. This may be achieved by slightly extending the band as it is sewnwith zig-zag stitchingto the cups, thus resulting in a finished product which is slightly gathered along the sewn edge. The underbust band is thus capable of a small degree of girthwise stretch.

Underbust band 70 is preferably two or three times more resistive to stretch than a like width of the twoway stretch fabric 60. The top edge of the underbust band 70 overlapsand is sewn tothe lower edges of cups and '20, the lower ends of tapes 30 and 40, and the lower edge of triangular piece 60.

Extending from the top of cups 10 and and along the upper-outer edges thereof are narrow

stretchable tapes

80 and 90. These tapes are preferably secured to the upper inner edges of cups 10 and 20 by a double line, continuous run of stitching and in the exemplary embodiment are elastic. It is contemplated that

tapes

80 and 90 may also be constructed as described in the above mentioned copending application.

Crossed tapes and have their upper ends secured to corresponding upper ends of the

stretchable tapes

80 and 90 so as to form upper loops which respectively extend through the lower loop of the conventional shoulder strap buckles 81 and 91. It is to be understood however that other well known constructions may be utilized to connect the upper ends of the

tapes

30, 40 and 80, 90 to conventional shoulder straps or shoulder strap buckles.

In the embodiment shown, the underbust band 70 is coterminous with the outer edges of cups 10 and 20 and

stretchable tapes

80 and 90, and all are secured to the dorsal band members 100 and 110 of any desired nature. When the underbust band is assembled into the composite front panel, it is curved in a downwardly concave arc. Desirably, the lower edges of the dorsal bands 100 and 110-when the brassiere is laid out flat-continue this same downwardly concave are so that the dorsal bands will substantially lie straight across the wearers back when the brassier is on the body.

The directions of stretch of certain elements of my brassiere are illustrated in FIGURE 2 by corresponding arrows. Stretch arrows A and B illustrate the stretch direction of the

stretchable tapes

80 and 90, which stretch directions are substantially parallel to the stretch arrows C and D, the direction of stretch of upper cup portions 11 and 21. This construction of stretchcability uniquely permits the outer-upper portion of the brassier to stretch or expand as well as permitting the entire upper halves of the cups to stretch or expand. Although maximum stretch is provided in the direction as illustrated by the stretch arrows A, B and C, D, lesser amounts of stretch are provided at angles up to 90 degrees displaced therefrom, whereupon the amount of stretch is minimum. Stretch arrows E and F illustrate the maximum direction of stretch of the

lower cup portions

12 and 22, to wit, in the vertical direction.

The stretch characteristics of cups 10 and 20 and

tapes

80 and 90 advantageously permit the brassiere to expand upwardly and outwardly which most nearly accommodates to and follows the natural expansion of the chest and pectoral muscles when the wearer breathes and moves about. This feature adequately relieves the plaguing problem of excessive pressures against the wearers breast and pectoral muscles.

Stretch arrows G and H respectively illustrate the maximum stretch directions of the triangular fabric and the underbust band 70. Two-way stretchability of the triangular fabric 60 further assists the brassiere in accommodating and following the natural expansion and contraction of the wearers chest, particularly with respect to body movements on one side and not the other that commonly occur when the wearer reaches out or up with one arm and not the other. Of course, the combined action of the two-way stretchable triangular fabric 60 and the underbust band 70 greatly reduce creepingup of the brassiere as disclosed in the above mentioned co-pending application.

Underbust band 70 also allows the brassiere to accommodate and follow girthwise movements of the wearers chest in the area below the breasts.

Since the cups, stretchable tapes, triangular fabric and underbust band accommodate to and follow the natural expansion of the chest, yet simply abut the body, excessive pressures against the breasts and pectoral muscles of the wearer are virtually eliminated, thus providing a highly satisfactory combination of breast support and comfort.

While I have illustrated the presently preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that its teachings, in whole or in part, can be incorporated in many variations.

What is claimed is:

1. A brassiere comprising a pair of stretchable cups, and a pair of stretchable tapes respectively secured to the outer edges of the top portion of said cups that extends downwardly and outwardly from the apex of each cup, each of said cups having a stretchable upper portion in which the direction of stretch is substantially parallel to the direction of stretch of its respective stretchable tape, and a stretchable lower portion in which the direction of stretch is substantially vertical.

2. A brassiere according to claim 1 and further including an underbust band secured to the lower edges of said cups.

3. A brassiere according to claim 2 in which said underbust band has relatively restrained stretch in the regions which are secured to said cups and relatively free stretch in the remaining regions.

4. A brassiere according to claim 1 and further including a pair of crossed tapes respectively secured to the inner edges of said cups, said crossed tapes having one end secured to said underbust band and the other end secured to its respective stretchable tape.

5. A brassiere according to claim 4 in which said crossed tapes are secured to each other at their crossing point.

6. A brassiere according to claim 4 in which said crossed tapes are angled at their crossing point so as to diverge less therebelow than thereabove.

7. A brassiere according to claim 4 in which said crossed tapes are non-stretchable.

8. A brassiere according to claim 4 in which said stretchable tapes, stretchable cups and underbust band are elastic.

9. A brassiere according to claim 4 and further including a triangular piece of stretchable fabric secured to corresponding inner edges of the lower branches of said crossed tapes and to the upper edge of said underbust band.

10. A brassiere according to claim 9 in which said triangular fabric has both vertical and horizontal stretch.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,909,273 5/1933 Hennessy 128443 2,651,040 9/1953 Block 128-489 X 2,864,374 12/1958 Verreault 128-483 3,186,412 6/1965 Kurland 128483 3,263,685 8/1966 Bernfeld 128-489 FOREIGN PATENTS 533,728 12/1954 Belgium.

ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner.