Foundation garments – Breast or chest – e.g. – brassieres – With stiffening strips – strands – or stays – e.g. – wired
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-22
2001-03-27
Hale, Gloria M (Department: 3741)
Foundation garments
Breast or chest, e.g., brassieres
With stiffening strips, strands, or stays, e.g., wired
C450S052000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06206753
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to supports used in brassieres and, more particularly, to brassieres having underwire supports formed with a generally helical form.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The use of generally U-shaped “underwire” elements for shaping and supporting the lower periphery of bra cups has long been known in the art. The terminology “underwires” has been in common use to refer to such elements, more recently without any implication that the underwire element is formed of metal wire material, and such elements have been made of many different materials. Commonly, such underwire support elements have been inserted into fabric sleeves disposed about the lower periphery of the bra cups.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
Modern underwires are generally formed of relatively thin lengths of metal or polymeric material having a rectangular or rounded cross-section. A fairly stiff length of such material is shaped into a generalized U-shape held within a U-shaped sleeve disposed about the periphery of the under side of each bra cup. These stiff metal underwires are often coated with various polymeric materials and often have plastic tips disposed at each end of the underwire. Underwires are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,378,012, 3,599,643, 3,605,753, 3,777,763, and 4,133,316 to Schwartz, for example. Various improvements in the materials and shapes of underwire support elements have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,509,353 to Johnson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,759,190 to Herbener, U.S. Pat. No. 2,799,021 to LaBue, U.S. Pat. No. 2,830,590 to Verreault, U.S. Pat. No. 2,900,981 to Herbener, U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,494 to Magidson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,035,584 to Menkel, U.S. Pat. No. 3,114,374 to Chalfin et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,209,756 and 3,799,175 to Rowell, U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,614 to Miller, U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,240 to Cousins, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,558,705 to O'Boyle et al., 4,646,746 to O'Boyle, U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,470 to Morgan et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,366 to Moore, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,641 to Brown. U.S. Pat. No. 2,762,055 to Bermueller discloses reinforcing or supporting wires for brassieres, including a provision for regulating the effective length of the wires. The adjustment is provided by a flexible coil spring adjuster, longitudinally adjustable on the wire to extend to a greater or lesser extent beyond the end of the wire. U.S. Pat. No. 2,880,732 to Smith discloses garments having bust pockets and including a longitudinally resilient flattened wire coil. Two helically coiled spring wires are interengaged and flattened under extremely high pressure, which has the effect of permanently maintaining the interengaged wires together through the set imparted to the wires by the pressure, and by causing the superimposed wires to slightly embed into each other at their points of contact. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,965,103 to Blair discloses undergarments including a pair of breast-receiving pockets and a pair of separate resilient members, each resilient member consisting of a helical wire coil which is pressed to overlay adjacent coils in a substantially flat plane.
While these underwire structures of the background art have achieved widespread usage, certain disadvantages result from their use. These disadvantages relate to the relative stiffness, and therefore discomfort, of conventional underwires, to the uniformity of that stiffness, and to the lack of adaptability to the needs of various users.
The terms “brassiere” and “bra” as used throughout this specification and the appended claims refer to any article of apparel which utilizes bust-supporting structures (including those with vertically oriented supports, such as stays or boning). Thus these terms are meant to include swimwear, athletic apparel and gowns with integral bustsupport structures, mastectomy prosthetic devices, bodices, lingerie, corsets, etc., as well as brassiere-like undergarments.
PROBLEMS SOLVED BY THE INVENTION
While the background art provides underwire support structures of varying description, the art has yet to provide an underwire structure capable of providing shape and support while being sufficiently comfortable to the wearer of the bra. Although the conventional underwire structures could be changed in shape by bending, they have generally had constant stiffness. Even those whose stiffness varied along their lengths due to non-uniform thickness have had stiffness that could not be varied after manufacture to fit the needs of various users. Furthermore, although various types of tips have been formed on conventional underwires for preventing user discomfort and for preventing poking of the underwire ends through the bra fabric, the relative stiffness of conventional underwires has prevented sufficient comfort of the wearer. The conventional underwires have not been able to conform to the wearer's body in any direction and still provide the added support of an underwire. The present invention is intended to provide improved wearer comfort and improved adaptability to the needs of various users.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
An overall object of the invention is an improved underwire type of brassiere having a non-rigid underwire structure, providing improved comfort to the wearer of the bra. A related object is an underwire structure having a form suitable for providing and maintaining a natural curve at the bottom periphery of a brassiere cup. Another related object is an underwire adaptable for providing flexibility varying along its length. A further object is an underwire structure whose local flexibility is self-adjusting to suit the individual needs of each user. Another object is an underwire structure that is adaptable for attachment to the fabric of a bra, at one or both ends of the underwire, and/or at selected points intermediate between the ends. A specific object is a bra underwire having a helical form. A more specific object is a helical-form bra underwire having non-uniform flexibility imparted by variations in thickness, stiffness, cross-sectional shape of the material forming the helix, cross-sectional shape and/or transverse size of the helix itself, or any combination of two or more of these features, and adapting to conform to the wearer's body in any direction. These and other objects and advantages will be apparent from a reading of this specification and the appended claims, along with the drawings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A flexible bra-cup support for brassieres of the underwire type is formed by a length of generally helical coil spring for flexible support and improved control of flexibility. Better control of flexibility is provided than with rigid or semi-rigid underwires. The spring may be formed from metal wire or from a plastic material such as nylon or polyethylene. The support is fitted into a conventional sleeve extending along the undercup portions of the bra. The support may have a circular cross-section or may be made in an elliptical, oval, polygonal, “dogbone,” or other shape to control its flexibility as a function of bending direction. The helical support may have a core extending along its axis. The core within the helical support may be another wire, a resilient rubber or plastic material, or an axial core wire surrounded by a softer rubber, plastic, or foam sheath. The pitch of turns of the helix may be uniform. However, the pitch may be varied along the length of the support to vary the spring's rigidity with position along the undercup line, for controlling the support's flexibility for various models, shapes, and sizes of the brassiere product incorporating this support. The ends of the spring may be bent back into the axial line to prevent their poking through the bra fabric and/or causing discomfort. They may be bent into a twist, loop, or semi-circular form for sewing the ends in place after insertion in the sleeve part. They may be formed or bent to fit a plastic end-piece. Other bends may be made in the wire coil material at intervals spaced along the support length to provide for fast
Hale Gloria M
Touw Theodore R.
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