US3421514A

US3421514A - Garment having anti-perspirant means

Info

Publication number: US3421514A
Application number: US613339A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ruth Friedlander
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1967-02-01
Filing date: 1967-02-01
Publication date: 1969-01-14
Anticipated expiration: 1986-01-14

Description

Jan. 14, 1969 v FRIEDLANDER 3,421,514

GARMENT HAVING ANTI-PERSPIRANT MEANS- Filed Feb. 1, 1967 Sheet of 2 AT NEys III INVENTOR. Rgn-l FRIEDLAN DER ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 3,421,514 Patented Jan. 14, 1969 3,421,514 GARMENT HAVING ANTI-PERSPIRANT MEANS Ruth Fr'iedlander, 1919 Curtis St., Berkeley, Calif. 94702 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 497,875,

Oct. 19, 1965. This application Feb. 1, 1967, Ser.

No. 613,339 U.S. Cl. 128-454 Int. Cl. A41c 3/08 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Cross-reference to related application This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending application Ser. No. 497,875, filed Oct. 19, 1965, now abandoned, for Garment.

Background of the invention This invention relates to garments and more particularly to a womans undergarment which includes as a part thereof underarm perspiration shields for the protection of outer garments and means by which the perspiration shields are held in place.

To protect a dress or other outer garment from soiling by underarm perspiration, it is common for women to use underarm perspiration shields. These shields are generally laminated cloth bodies having a layer of absorbing material to be adjacent the skin of the wearer and an outer layer of a liquid impervious material.

In most instances, perspiration shields are bought as separate items, and the user secures them to the inside of the outer garment at the appropriate places. This securance is usually accomplished by means of stitching, snaps or an adhesive. None of these securing methods is fully satisfactory. For example, stitching is laborious, especially since the shields must often be removed from the garment for washing and the like. It is difficult to attach snaps to the garment such that they do not show on the outside of the garment. When an adhesive is used, the shields often slip or bunch up, especially if the wearer is active.

Attachment of the shields to the outer garment has other disadvantages. To permit free movement of the arms of the wearer, the armholes and upper sleeves of dresses are usually larger than the wearers arm. The result is that shields attached to the garment are not closely adjacent to the wearers armpits or axillary regions. Perspiration therefore can often escape contact with the shields and soil the garment. Moreover, movement of the wearers arms often causes the shields to bunch up and make un-neat visible outlines. While undergarments which include perspiration shields as a part thereof have been designed, these undergarments also generally do not maintain the shields in sufficiently close proximity to the axillary region of the wearer to prevent escape of perspiration or to prevent bunching up. Also, in most instances, these undergarments have to be worn in addition to the other undergarments conventionally Worn.

Summary of the invention The present invention overcomes the above difliculties. It comprises an undergarment which includes perspiration shields and which has shoulder portions of a stretchable material and adapted to pass over the shoulders of the wearer. When the undergarment is being worn, these shoulder portions will place an upward and inward force on the perspiration shields to thereby maintain them closely adjacent the axillary regions of the wearer irrespective of the orientation of the wearers arms. Thus no perspiration can escape. Furthermore, this will result in the shields being inwardly spaced from the outer garment a suflicient distance to prevent them from causing noticeable outlines on the outside of the outer garment.

Elastic means interconnect the shields across the body of the wearer. To provide this elastic means, it is preferred that the stretchable shoulder portions be adapted to be laterally secured together across the body of the wearer to provide both a corsetting action and a lateral force on the perspiration shields. This will assure that the perspiration shields are maintained against the thorax sides of the armpits or axillary regions and collect all perspiration thereat. As will be described hereinafter, fastening means which permit adjustment of the amount of force tending to maintain the perspiration shields in the axillary region are also provided.

The undergarment of the invention can incorporate the features and functions of a conventional undergarment, such as those of brassieres or slips. Thus, the undergarment can replace the conventional undergarment and thereby not add to the layers of clothing worn by the user. When the undergarment does incorporate the functions of a conventional undergarment, the stretchable shoulder portions have another decided advantage. They eliminate the necessity of providing the shoulder straps or the like which are now on conventional undergarments. Such straps tend to leave marks and irritate the skin of the wearer, and the means by which their length may be regulated are generally ineflicient. Because the shoulder portions of the instant invention are relatively wide and are of a stretchable material, they are not subject to the disadvantages of straps.

Brief description of the drawings With reference to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front perspective view of a womans undergarment of the present invention shown worn by a woman.

FIGURE 2 is a rear perspective view of the undergarment on a woman shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a rear perspective view of another undergarment of the invention as worn by a woman.

Description of the preferred embodiments Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, an undergarment of the invention, generally referred to by the reference numeral 10, is shown covering the thorax region of a womans body. The illustrated undergarment is a brassiere and includes a body portion 11 having the usual cups for accommodating the breasts of a woman. It is to be appreciated that while this exemplary embodiment is a brassiere, the invention is equally applicable to other undergarments which cover the thorax region or which are adapted to be supported at least in part by the shoulders of the wearer.

In accordance with the invention, the undergarment .10 includes

underarm perspiration shields

12 and 13. These shields are of a conventional nature in that they comprise an outer layer of impervious material and an inner layer of absorbing material. As shown, they extend for generally the full length of the brassiere from adjacent the wearers breast upward over the armpit or axillary region. The extent to which the perspiration shields will extend over or beyond the axillary region will depend, of course, on the design of the outer garment with which the undergarment is to be worn. The embodiment shown is for wear with dresses or other outer garments having sleeves. If the outer garment has short capped sleeves, or is sleeveless with built up side panels, the perspiration shields would not extend upward quite as far as shown.

Undergarment also includes

shoulder portions

14 and 16 which extend over the shoulders of the wearer from the breast cups of body portion 11 to a band 17 of the undergarment which encircles the wearers lower thorax region. As a particularly salient point of the present invention, each shoulder portion is made of an elastic or other stretchable material and is secured to the opposite sides of the

perspiration shield

12 or 13 with which it is associated.

Because of the stretchable nature of the shoulder portions, they place an upward and inward force on the perspiration shields to maintain them within the axillary regions of the wearer, and yet they allow free movement of the wearers arm. Thus, even in situations in which the wearer is quite active, such as in dancing or in sports, the shields will remain in place and prevent perspiration from reaching the outer garment. Moreover, because of their close fit within the axillary regions, such shields will not chafe the arms of the wearer or otherwise be uncomfortable.

Desirably, the shoulder portions are of an elastic mesh material which can include decorative patterns and which allows free flow of air to the skin of the wearer. It is preferred that these shoulder portions be relatively wide, especially at the point at which they pass over the shoulders of the wearer so that the yieldable pressure they provide on the wearer is distributed over a fairly large area of the wearers shoulder. In this regard, it has been found that best results are obtained when these shoulder portions are at least two inches wide at the top of the shoulder.

The

stretchable shoulder portions

14 and 16 extend downward along the sides of the perspiration shields and are adapted to be secured to each other laterally across the body of the wearer. Because of this the shoulder portions also provide a corsetting action and a lateral force on the perspiration shields tending to maintain such shields against the thorax side of the wearers axillary regions. This will further assure close fit of the shields in the axillary regions and also prevent any perspiration from escaping by travelling downward from such regions.

As shown in FIGURE 2, at the back of the garment this lateral securance together of the two

shoulder portions

14 and 16 is provided by a fastening means which is generally referred to by the reference numeral 18. Fastening means '18 allows selective separation of the shoulder portions to facilitate putting on and removal of garment 10. Most desirably, fastening means 18 is of a type which also permits adjustment of the corsetting action and lateral force provided by the

shoulder portions

14 and 16. In the embodiment shown, the fastening means comprises a zipper 19 which extends upward from hand 17 along the inward edges of the shoulder portions adjacent the lower rear thorax of the wearer. Band 17 is divided below zipper 19 to allow full separation of the rear portions of the garment and a suitable fastener, such as button 21 is provided for securing'the band about the wearer.

It will be appreciated that the extent to which the shoulder portions cause a lateral force on the perspiration shields is related to the extent to which zipper 19 is closed. That is, when the zipper is only partly closed, the lateral force will be less than when the zipper is fully closed. Thus, a wearer can adjust the lateral force for their own comfort by setting the zipper to the appropriate closure position. To facilitate holding the zipper at different positions of closure, hook and eye assemblies 20 are spaced along the zipper and are adapted to bridge the same and hold the two shoulder portions secured together.

While in the embodiment being described the fastening means 18 is a zipper and hook-and-eye combination, other types of fastening means can be utilized to permit adjustment of the lateral force provided by the shoulder portions. For example, if the fastening means were a vertical row of buttons, the adjustment could be provided by leaving an appropriate number of the uppermost buttons unfastened.

The front of the undergarment shown is also provided with separable fastening means to facilitate putting on and removal of the garment. More particularly, a vertically disposed zipper 22 connects inward edges of the breast cups alon the sternum of the wearer. This zipper can also be used to regulate the amount of lateral force provided by the shoulder portions on the perspiration shields. More particularly, hook and eye members 23 are provided along the length of the zipper to hold it at any position of closure. It is to be noted that at the front of the garment, the

elastic shoulder portions

14 and 16 are not direcly attached to each other to provide the lateral securance together thereof across the body of the wearer. Rather, each is suitably secured, such as by sewing to the top edge of one of the breast cups and then the breast cups are physically secured together. The band 17 is also separable below the front zipper 22 and has a button 24 for securing the band about the wearer.

It is to be noted that the securance of the perspiration shields 12 and 13 to the shoulder portions and the other portions of the garment can be made in any suitable manner. The shoulder portions rnay be made inseparable parts of the garment as shown in the drawings by having them sewn to the adjacent under-garment portions. They may also be detachably secured to the garment, such as by means of zippers or snaps, so that they may be removed for separate washing or the like. It is to be further noted that it is not necesary for the shoulder portions to be secured to the perspiration shields at their edges to hold them within the axillary regions. If such shoulder portions extend beyond the edges of the shields or form complete sleeve portions enclosing the shields, they will maintain the shields in the axillary regions in the desired manner. When it is stated herein and in the claims that the shoulder portions are secured to the perspiration shields, the above arrangements are meant to be included.

In some instances, it is desirable to enable more adjustment of the amount of corsetting action and the force on the perspiration shields than that provided by the front and back zippers 19 and 22. This is particularly true with respect to the upward and inward forces tending to urge the shields into the axillary regions. There is shown in FIGURE 3 an embodiment of the invention which includes means for providing this further adjustment. More particularly, each of the

shoulder portions

31 and 32 of the depicted embodiment includes at the rear of the garment a plurality of triangular folded portions or pleats 33 extending widthwise thereof. The apexes of these pleats are adjacent the perspiration shields 3 4 and the bases thereof are at the inward edges of the shoulder portions. Fastening means, such as the zippers 36, are associated with each pleat for selectively securing the edges thereof together starting from the apexes of the pleats. When a zipper 36 is in the open position, the pleat associated therewith is allowed to expand, thus, in effect, lengthening the shoulder portion and relieving the tightness with which it will fit the wearer. To illustrate this, all the pleats on shoulder portion 32 are shown in the expanded position and all the pleats on shoulder portion 31 are shown in the closed position. It is to be appreciated that the questions of whether these pleats and fastening means are to be provided, and how many should be on each shoulder portion are going to depend on the desired amount of adjustment.

What is claimed is:

1. In an undergarment of the type which when worn is supported at least in part by the shoulders of the wearer, a body portion including a breast covering portion, a pair of underarm perspiration shields secured to said body portion, said shields respectively adapted to fit within one of the axillary regions of a wearer, relatively wide shoulder portions of a stretchable material adapted to extend over the shoulders of the wearer, said stretchable shoulder portions being secured to opposite sides of said perspiration shields to yieldably urge said shields into the axillary regions of the wearer, and elastic means interconnecting said shields across the body of the wearer to provide a lateral force on said perspiration shields urging said shields against the thorax side of the axillary region of the wearer.

2. An undergarment according to claim 1 wherein said elastic means comprise means for laterally securing said shoulder portions together across the body of the wearer.

3. An undergarment according to claim 2 wherein fastening means secured to the inward edges of said shoulder portions selectively provide said lateral securance of said shoulder portions together, said fastening means being adjustable on the upper extent of the length of said edges which is secured together.

4. An undergarment according to claim 3 wherein said fastening means is a zipper and include means by which said zipper can be maintained at selected positions of closure.

5. An undergarment according to claim 2 wherein each of said shoulder portions is at least 2 inches in width where said portions are adapted to pass over the top of the shoulder of a wearer.

6. An undengarment according to claim 2 wherein said shoulder portions are adapted to extend down the back of the wearer beyond the axillary regions and are secured tov a band adapted to encircle the lower thorax region of the wearer.

7. An undergarment according to claim 6 wherein said perspiration shields extend downward from the axillary regions to said band and are secured thereto, and wherein said underganment includes breast cups adapted to accommodate the breasts of the wearer, said shoulder portions being secured to the upper edges of said cups.

8. An undergarment according to claim 7 wherein each of said cups is separate from the other and fastening means are provided at their inward edges for securing said cups together, said fastening means being adjustable as to the upper extent of the length of said edges of said cups which is secured together.

9. An undergarment according to claim 3 wherein said shoulder portions include expandable folded sections extending generally laterally of such portions, and fastening means at each of said folded sections for selectively allowing said sections to be expanded.

10. An underga rment according to claim 9 in which said fastening means at each of said folded sections is a zipper for securing together the lateral edges of said sections.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 507,373 10/ 1 893 Lendry 128-494 770,752 9/ 1904 Hull 2-54 863,917 8/1907 Guest et al 254 1,295,427 2/1919 Burr 254 ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 2-54; 128-5l0