Foundation garments – Breast or chest – e.g. – brassieres
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-16
2003-06-03
Hale, Gloria M. (Department: 3765)
Foundation garments
Breast or chest, e.g., brassieres
C450S043000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06572437
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to brassiere. More particularly, the present invention relates to brassiere, especially sport brassiere, having breast supporting panels in the breast cups.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A brassiere attempts to combine comfort for the wearer and support for the breasts, which can be mutually exclusive features. Commonly, a brassiere incorporates stretchable or elastic materials for the comfort of the wearer. Typically, support for the breasts is achieved with underwires made of rigid materials, such as metal and/or plastic.
The difficulty in making both a comfortable and supportive brassiere is amplified for “sports”brassiere designed to be worn during exercise and other physical activities. Some sports brassiere function by compressing the breasts to the body of the wearer. A disadvantage of this type of sports brassiere is that it does not support the breasts of the wearer and the breasts may shift within the sports brassiere during exercise and other physical activities. To reduce the risk of injury to the breasts and back, sports brassiere are expected to be strong and fully supportive. At the same time, sports brassiere are sometimes worn for extended periods of time. Therefore, such brassiere must be quite comfortable to wear. Also, for various reasons, some women prefer to wear sports brassiere exclusively, instead of everyday and/or “fashion” brassiere.
In light of the foregoing, there is an ongoing need for brassiere, especially sports brassiere, that are both comfortable to wear and adequately support the breasts of the wearer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a brassiere that is comfortable to wear.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a comfortable brassiere that can adequately support the breasts of a wearer during exercise and other physical activities.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a comfortable and supportive brassiere that is simple to manufacture.
In light of the foregoing, there is provided a brassiere having a body made of a stretchable material for comfort. Each breast cup has a breast receiving portion with an inner layer and outer layer, and a support panel portion with the inner and outer layers and a breast supporting panel between the inner and outer layers. The breast supporting panel is substantially inelastic in all directions and, preferably, forms an arcuate edge for supporting the breast. Thus, the entire brassiere stretches and moves with the wearer, while each non-elastic breast supporting panel provides the desired breast support. Significantly, the bottom edge of each breast supporting panel is spaced from the bottom edge of the brassiere. Decreasing the length of the breast supporting panel so that its bottom edge does not contact the bottom edge of the brassiere allows the bottom periphery of the brassiere to have additional flex that improves the overall comfort of the brassiere. Preferably, the bottom edge of the brassiere is turned to form the waistband of the brassiere.
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Hale Gloria M.
Ohlandt Greeley Ruggiero & Perle L.L.P.
Sara Lee Corporation
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