Foundation garments – Breast or chest – e.g. – brassieres – With stiffening strips – strands – or stays – e.g. – wired
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-09
2001-10-09
Hale, Gloria M. (Department: 3765)
Foundation garments
Breast or chest, e.g., brassieres
With stiffening strips, strands, or stays, e.g., wired
C450S051000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06299504
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates generally to a brassiere support element and, more particularly to a support element of a plastic construction material in a U-shape configuration effectively maintained in its breast-supporting position beneath and in surrounding relation about a cooperating brassiere cup.
EXAMPLE OF THE PRIOR ART
Prior art plastic stays and supports have taken various measures to provide the desired rigidity and yet avoid having the end portions thereof irritate the wearer, minimize movement or “creep” of the stay in the pocket encasing the stay during wear of the brassiere, and an undesirable consequence of “creep,” namely, “poke-through” of the pocket particularly after the brassiere has been repeatedly machined laundered.
Such measures are found in the following patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,030,633 to Chalfin is directed to plastic strips which, in certain embodiments thereof, have a body portion and tip portions of different resiliency since the tip portions are made from a softer resin material and of a thickness less than that of the body portion. The tip portions also include notches which are provided to sew the strip in place in the brassiere.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,737,606 to Tareau is directed to a U-shape plastic stay which can be made from any one of a variety of cross-sections and which has an aperture in one end thereof for fastening the stay to the brassiere and a joint in the other end thereof for fastening the stay to another stay.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,777,763 to Schwartz and U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,244 to Rowell are directed to U-shape plastic supports which preferably are of rectangular cross-sectional configuration. The Schwartz patent provides that the terminal end closest to the arm of the wearer is twisted out of the plane of the remainder of the support, while the Rowell patent provides a dished-out contour, i.e., the base area of the support is bent slightly forward out of the plane of the end portions and the inner peripheral edge is angularly offset from the outer peripheral edge, and end portions which may have enlarged knobs to substantially reduce or preclude abrasion of the end portions.
However, such measures have made the brassiere costly to manufacture, have not completely eliminated stress from being applied to the wearer by the end portions of the support and/or the side panels of the brassiere and further many of such prior art plastic supports and stays do not provide adequate support and comfort.
Underlying the present invention is the recognition that the condition which gives rise to the aforementioned problem is the width size differences between the plastic stay and the encasing pocket and that eliminating this difference, which allows movement of the stay within the pocket, is a solution. Moreover, this solution is easily achieved by fusing, rather than sewing, the stay in place since fusing can be located almost directly against the edges of the stay. However, fusing alone is not a complete solution unless the fusing is at an optimum extent which effectively holds the stay against movement, particularly lengthwise of its U-shape.
Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the foregoing and other shortcomings of the prior art in providing U-shape plastic stays to serve as brassiere support elements.
More particularly, it is an object to provide a fused-in-place plastic stay for a brassiere in a modified U-shape in which the modification, consisting of an interruption in the U-shape, adds significantly to the securement of the stay, all as will be better understood as the description proceeds.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4245644 (1981-01-01), Evans
Amer PC Myron
Hale Gloria M.
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