Foundation garments – Breast or chest – e.g. – brassieres – Shoulder strap arrangements and connecting features
Patent
1994-10-06
1997-08-26
Chapman, Jeanette E.
Foundation garments
Breast or chest, e.g., brassieres
Shoulder strap arrangements and connecting features
2 73, 450 41, 450 53, 450 60, A41C 300, A41C 312
Patent
active
056605773
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to the brassieres and particularly to an improved brassiere.
It is known that, in order to obtain a particular effectiveness in both supporting and containing the breasts, several types of brassieres are provided with a so called underwire. This consists of a support, made either of metal or a different substantially rigid material, arranged at the base of the brassiere cups, whereby each cup can be strained only within the limit of the geometric shape imposed by the underwire itself. In such a way, the push exerted by the breasts is completely borne by the underwire and therefore the containing forces act on horizontal planes.
The main drawback of the brassieres provided with an underwire is that they are very uncomfortable due to the presence of a substantially rigid element pressed on the thorax at the base of the breasts.
A greater comfort is vice versa ensured by the brassieres being completely made of fabric but having, on the other hand, a poorer supporting and containing action. In fact, while a substantially rigid element like an underwire can bear, through a bending, the strain exerted on the fabric of each cup, with consequent pulling and compression of the internal structure of the underwire, this is not possible for the only fabric which can effectively bear only pulling stresses. Therefore said pulling stresses spread, in a usual brassiere, to the whole fabric, with both a consequent dispersion of them and less effective support and containment of the breasts. U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,254 discloses a brassiere without underwire which comprises a circumferential stretchable band extending around the body of the wearer; when the brassiere is worn. However, this stretchable band does not extend upwards and is not connected to the shoulder straps. No breast supporting and containing action is performed by said band. It only serves to anchor the brassiere to the body of the wearer so as to oppose undesirable displacements.
Thus the object of the present invention is to provide an article of lingerie which is effective both in supporting and containing the breasts and, at the same time, particularly easy-fitting and comfortable to be worn.
Such an object is attained by a brassiere comprising two cups connected to both an elastic band and respective shoulder straps, in which each cup consists, in its lower and external lateral parts, of a continuous band connected at the top to respective shoulder straps, said continuous band being made of a low-stretch fabric which is less elastic than the remaining fabric of the cups.
The brassiere according to the present invention has also the advantage of allowing the adjustment at will of the breast-supporting effect. In fact, as it will be clear in the following, the two bands made of low-stretch fabric form a preferential way for the distribution of the breast-supporting stress and therefore, by varying the tension of the brassiere straps directly connected to said bands, the support degree of the respective cups can be adjusted.
These and other advantages of the improved brassiere according to the present invention will be clear from the following detailed description with reference to the attached sole drawing which shows a front schematic view of a preferred embodiment of this article of lingerie.
The brassiere consists of two cups 1,2 connected, in correspondence with respective bands 3,3' made of low-stretch fabric, to an elastic band 4 as well as to respective shoulder straps 7,8. Said bands 3,3' made of low-stretch fabric form both the lower part and lateral part of each brassiere cup 1,2 and constitute a particular element of continuity between each cup and the respective strap. By virtue of this element of continuity, in this kind of brassiere, a new scheme for both the distribution and the transferring of the stresses is realized. In fact, the continuity of the stiffening in the lateral and lower parts of each cup ensures the transmission, along the low-stretch band, of the mechanical tension due to both the respective stra
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Chapman Jeanette E.
Lovable Italiana S.p.A.
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