WO2010062164A1

WO2010062164A1 - Brassiere with improved breast-lifting system

Info

Publication number: WO2010062164A1
Application number: PCT/NL2008/000261
Authority: WO
Inventors: Giuseppe Pisoni
Original assignee: Lipatech B.V.
Priority date: 2008-11-28
Filing date: 2008-11-28
Publication date: 2010-06-03

Abstract

A push-up bra (100) comprises two cups (110; 120) and a bridge portion (130) connecting the cups. A torso band (101) is attached to the cups for being positioned around a user's torso. Each cup is provided with a shoulder strap (160; 170) for being positioned over a user's shoulder. Each cup is provided with an elongate insert (200) arranged in the lower half of the cup, the insert having a first end (203) arranged close to the bridge portion (130) and a second end (204) opposite the first end (203). The first insert end (203) is attached to the cup and/or to the bridge portion. The remainder of the insert is capable of moving with respect to the cup. The shoulder strap is attached to the second insert end. The insert can act as a hinging lever pushing a breast upwards and inwards while the cup remains in place.

Description

TITLE : Brassiere with improved breast-lifting system

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates in general to a bra, more particularly a wireless push-up bra.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Since bras are generally known, a general description of the design will be kept short. Figure 1 schematically shows a front view of a bra 100, and figures 2A and 2B are schematic perspective views of the bra 100 on a user's torso. The bra comprises two cups 110, 120 arranged adjacent to each other, and attached to each other by a bridge portion 130. This bridge portion 130 defines a centre of the bra, and in use, when worn, the bridge portion will be near the user's breastbone. The side of a cup directed toward the bridge portion will be indicated as bridge side; the opposite side will be indicated as arm side, since when worn it will be close to the user's underarm.

It is noted that, depending on design, the bridge portion may be larger or smaller. It is further noted that the material of the bra may be any suitable material. The bra may be an undergarment, but it may also be a swimming garment. The bra further may be part of a larger garment, such as a robe.

Each cup 110, 120 has a dome portion 111, 121 bordered by a rim 112, 122. The dome portion is typically made of a supple and soft material, while the rim is typically more sturdy, for instance in the form of a seam.

For attaching a bra to the user's body, the bra comprises a torso band 101. In the embodiment shown, the torso band 101 comprises two torso straps 140 and 150, each having one end 141, 151 attached to the arm sides of the cups 110 and 120, respectively. At the opposite free ends 142, 152, the torso straps 140, 150 are provided with mutually cooperating attachment members 143, 153, for instance implemented as hooks and loops. In use, when worn, the torso straps 140, 150 will extend more or less horizontally around the user's torso and their coupling members 143, 153 will engage each other at the user's back. It is noted that at least one of the torso straps 140, 150 may be provided with a length adjustment portion in order to adapt the size of the torso straps to the user's torso size; such length adjustment portion is not shown in the drawing for sake of simplicity. It is further noted that the torso straps may be of an elastic material, or may be provided with at least one elastic portion, in order to be able to stretch the torso straps and have the torso straps attached to the torso under some tension so as to have a firm grip on the torso to keep the bra securely in place. It is further noted that, in an alternative design, the torso band 101 is one undivided band without interruptions while the bridge portion 130 is divided in two segments, each being attached to a respective cup and provided with mutually cooperating attachment members, so that in such case the attachment members are located at the user's front.

In order to be able to secure the bra in place as regards a vertical direction, and this applies especially in the case of a push-up bra, the bra 100 comprises two shoulder straps 160 and 170. In the prior art, the shoulder straps 160 and 170 have respective first ends 161, 171 attached to the peripheral rim 112, 122 of the cups at the upper arm side of the cups 110, 120, respectively. In use, when the bra is worn, the shoulder straps 160, 170 will extend over a respective shoulder . Several designs are possible for the shoulder straps 160, 170. In one design, they are two ends of one continuous band, or they have opposite ends 162, 172 which are provided with coupling members 163, 173 capable of mutually engaging each other. In both cases, when the bra is worn, the shoulder straps 160, 170 will meet each other behind the user's neck. Again, at least one of the shoulder straps, typically both, may be provided with a length adjustment portion, but this is not shown for sake of simplicity. In another possible design, the shoulder straps 160, 170 may have their opposite ends 162, 172 attached to the upper edge of the torso straps 140^', "150, either fixedly or through detachable coupling members (not shown) ; in the latter case, the user may choose whether or not to cross the shoulder straps 160, 170 behind the user's back.

In all of the above design variations, the shoulder straps 160, 170 are capable of exerting a lifting force.

Obviously, the cups of a bra are designed for holding the user's breasts. There is a specific desire for bras to be designed to lift the breasts, or to push the breasts up and together, in order to enhance the bustline and to generate a more pronounced cleavage. However, because the shoulder straps are attached to the respective cup rims, while the cup domes are softer and more flexible, it is hardly possible in a standard bra to transfer the lifting force from the shoulder straps to a cup dome such as to actually support a breast rather than simply encompassing it. Several designs for a push-up bra have already been proposed to overcome this purpose .

In one design, the lower half of the cup dome is reinforced with steel wires. An example of this prior art is disclosed in US-6.425.799. However, this design does not produce an esthetically beautiful effect, it may cause discomfort for the user, and the lifting effect is not adjustable.

In another approach, an insert is placed in a pocket in the lower half of the cups and at the arm side of the cups, for supporting the underside and arm side of the breasts.

Examples of this prior art are disclosed in US-6.231.423 and US-5.334.082

US-3.834.397 seeks to provide the desired lifting effect by making the cups stronger and filled with padding material, the padding material being located at the lower side and arm side of the cup. A similar disclosure is found in US-3.814.107. Nevertheless, the lifting effect as actually achieved is unsatisfying. Further, the lifting effect in prior art bras can not be adjusted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims to improve a bra such as to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages. Particularly, the present invention aims to provide a push-up bra that is comfortable to wear, and that is capable of offering a good push-up effect without needing steel wires, while the push-up effect is adjustable.

According to an important aspect of the present invention, an elongate insert cushion is placed at the bottom side of the cup, having one end attached to the cup rim at the location of the bridge, and having its other end attached to the corresponding shoulder strap. Apart from the attachment to the cup rim, the insert cushion lies free in the cup, although it is preferably contained in a sheath attached to the cup. The cup itself is also coupled to the shoulder strap, just to keep it in place, but the tension force that provides the lift is primarily exerted directly to the arm-side end of the insert cushion, so that it is possible to lift the cushion with respect to the cup.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained by the following description of a preferred embodiment of the push-up bra according to the present invention with reference to the drawings, in which same reference numerals indicate same or similar parts, and in which: figure 1 schematically shows a schematic front view of a bra, illustrating the general design thereof; figures 2A and 2B schematically show perspective views of an embodiment of a bra according to the present invention, on a user ' s torso; figures 3A and 3B schematically show an inside view of one cup according to the present invention; figure 4 is a perspective views of an embodiment of a bra according to the present invention, on a user's torso; figure 5 schematically shows an inside view of one cup of another embodiment of the bra according to the present invention .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In state of the art bras, any lifting implement, be it in the form of underwire or in the form of paddings, is fixedly attached to its cup, and the shoulder strap is attached to the cup such as to try to lift the entire cup. For pushing the breasts together, a force having a horizontal component is required, and this would require the cups actually moving together. This effect is counteracted by the fact that the two torso straps 140 and 150 tend to pull the cups 110 and 120 away from each other; thus, such horizontal force component must be provided by side cushions at the arm sides of the cups. If the torso straps would not hold the cups separated from each other, the optical result might be a very tiny bosom as compared to the torso, with breasts placed closely together, which is not an esthetically pleasing appearance and which in any case is not the appearance the present invention aims to provide. According to the present invention, the overall impression should be a full_. bust.

Figures 3A and 3B schematically show an inside view, of one cup 110 of the bra 100 according to the present invention. In the lower half of the cup, an elongate insert 200 is arranged. The insert 200 may have straight sides, mutually parallel, or curved sides, as depicted. The insert is typically made from a soft yet firm material, such as foam, as is known per se as a material suitable for padding. The contour of the insert may be comparable to a half-moon or quarter-moon. In cross-section, the insert may have equal thickness throughout, or it may have a more wedge-shaped cross-section. In any case, the insert 200 will be arranged more or less horizontally, normally lying on the bottom of the cup, extending from the bridge 130 to a position close to the torso strap 140. The insert's extremity close to the bridge portion 130 will be indicated as bridge end 203; the opposite end will be indicated as arm end 204.

The insert bridge end 203 is connected to the cup 110 at the position of the bridge 130, or is even attached directly to the bridge 130. The remaining part of the insert 200 is free from the cup 100. The manner in which the bridge end 203 is connected to the cup is not relevant, and is therefore not illustrated; a suitable manner of attachment is by stitching. The dotted ellipse indicates the location of attachment. According to another important aspect of the present invention, the first end 161 of the shoulder strap 160 is attached to the insert arm end 204, also for instance by stitching. As a result of this design, the arm end 204 of the insert can be lifted while the bridge end 203 of the insert remains in place by virtue of it being fixed with respect to the bridge 130, as illustrated in figure 3B. The amount of lift is variable, and is determined by length adjustment of the shoulder strap 160, as should be clear by a person skilled in the art. Since strap length adjustment mechanisms are known per se, this is not illustrated. Because of the arm end 204 being lifted while the bridge end 203 remains in place, the insert 200 acts as a hinging lever pushing the corresponding breast both upwards and inwards while the cup 110 remains in place . It is noted that the tension force in the shoulder strap 160 pulling on the insert 200 is transferred to the bridge 130, where it is balanced by the similar force in the other insert in the other cup having a mirrored configuration.

Depending on the design of the cup 110, on its firmness depending on material, and on the precise location of the torso strap 140, the cup 110 may stay in place sufficiently well. However, it may be desirable to provide that the upper rim of the cup 110 is maintained close to the torso and to prevent the possibility of the upper rim sliding downwards. To this end, in the preferred embodiment as illustrated in figures 2A-B and 3A-B, the cup 110 is supported by an intermediate portion 163 of the shoulder strap 160. While in the state of the art the end 161 of the shoulder strap 160 would be attached to the cup 110, in the embodiment of the present invention the shoulder strap 160 passes a bracket 210 fixed to the cup 110, which bracket can slide along the intermediate shoulder strap portion 163. The friction between the shoulder strap 160 and the bracket 210 is sufficient for the cup to find support from the shoulder strap 160, but if the shoulder strap 160 is pulled up (by being shortened) this is allowed by shoulder strap 160 sliding through the bracket 210.

Figure 4 is a view comparable to figure 2B, wherein the cup 120 is taken to be semi-transparant and the insert 200 and shoulder strap 170 are shown in dotted lines in conjunction with the left breast, also shown in dotted lines, to illustrate how the insert is pushing the breast upwards and inwards with respect to the cup 120. In contrast to prior art, where the space between breast and cup would necessarily be occupied by the filling material, such space, indicated by reference numeral 290, will be empty in the case of the invention. In this respect, it is preferred that the dome of the cups 110, 120 is not from a simple cloth-like material such as lace or tricot or the like, but from a more form- retaining material such as foam or the like, or that the dome of the cups is made from two layers of a skin-friendly textile such as tricot with a soft yet firm form-retaining element in between made from foam or the like. Figure 5 is a view comparable to figure 3A, illustrating a further elaboration of the present invention. In this embodiment, the insert 200 is accommodated in a sheath 250, which is open at its arm side end 251, and which along its lower side 252 is attached to the rim of the cup 110, as indicated by the thick dotted line. The insert 200 projects from the open arm side end 251 of the sheath 250, and is capable of moving longitudinally with respect to the sheath, albeit that the bridge end 203 is fixed, as mentioned. The sheath allows the upward movement of the insert 200, but restricts its freedom, and particularly avoids the possibility that the insert is pushed above the breast or, vice versa, the breast dropping below the insert in the space 290. It should be clear to a person skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments discussed above, but that several variations and modifications are possible within the protective scope of the invention as defined in the appending claims.

For instance, instead of a sheath 250, a similar retaining effect can be achieved with one or more loops (not shown) around the insert 200 and attached to the bottom part of the cup. Further, the bra can be a built-in component of a garment, such as a swimming top or swimming suit, a dress, a bodice, etc.

Further, the insert may comprise a gel.

Further, the insert may comprise one or more inflatable chambers, and/or the lower portion of the cup may be provided with one or more inflatable chambers, such as to allow the user to fill the space 290. Alternatively, the bra may be provided with one or more loose filling pieces, to be attached to the insert or the sheath or the cup, such as to allow the user to fill the space 290.

Claims

1. Push-up bra (100) comprising two cups (110; 120) and a central bridge portion (130) connecting the cups; a torso band (101) attached to the cups for being positioned around a user's torso; each cup being provided with a shoulder strap (160; 170) fo^~r being positioned over a user's shoulder; wherein each cup is provided with an elongate insert (200) arranged in the lower half of the cup, the insert having a first end (203) arranged close to the bridge portion (130) and a second end (204) opposite the first end (203); wherein the first^" insert end (203) is attached to the cup and/or to the bridge portion; wherein the remainder of the insert is capable of moving with respect to the cup; and wherein the shoulder strap (160; 170) is attached to the second insert end (204) .

2. Bra according to claim 1, wherein the insert (200) comprises a soft yet firm material, such as foam.

3. Bra according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the insert (200) comprises a gel.

4. Bra according to any of the previous claims, wherein the insert (200) is inflatable.

5. Bra according to any of the previous claims, provided with one or more loose filling pieces.

6. Bra according to any of the previous claims, wherein an upper rim portion of the cup (110) is coupled to an intermediate portion (163) of the shoulder strap (160) .

7. Bra according to any of the previous claims, wherein each cup (110; 120) is provided with a bracket (210) fixed to the cup, and wherein each shoulder strap (160; 170) slidably passes the corresponding bracket.

8. Bra according to any of the previous claims, wherein the cups (110, 120) comprise a soft yet firm form-retaining material such as foam or the like.

9. Bra according to any of the previous claims, further provided with means coupling the insert positionally to the lower cup half.

10. Bra according to any of the previous claims, wherein the insert (200) is accommodated in a sheath (250), which is open at its arm side end (251) from which the insert projects, and which at its lower side (252) is attached to the cup (110) .

11. Bra according to claim 10, wherein the insert is capable of moving longitudinally with respect to the sheath.

12. Garment, comprising a built-in bra according to any of the previous claims.

13. Garment according to claim 12, wherein the garment is a swimming top or a swimming suit.

14. Garment according to claim 12, wherein the garment is a dress .

15. Garment according to claim 12, wherein the garment is a bodice.