Textiles: knitting – Fabrics or articles – Articles
Reexamination Certificate
2002-05-21
2003-04-22
Worrell, Danny (Department: 3765)
Textiles: knitting
Fabrics or articles
Articles
C066S202000, C450S040000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06550286
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an item of support lingerie having at least one molded region to create a retaining and support volume for at least one protuberant part of the human body.
The articles in question are primarily brassieres and briefs, in which the cups and the part covering the buttocks respectively may incorporate substantially mechanical features designed to impart to them a support function and even to lift the breasts and buttocks of the users.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Manufacturers in the lingerie sector are constantly faced with a dual challenge: that of ensuring maximum comfort on the one hand whilst providing an optimum support and retaining function on the other. Historically, the problem initially cropped up with brassieres, whilst the idea of molding and hence supporting the buttocks by means of the actual structure of the briefs in a manner similar to that applied to the breasts is a more recent phenomenon.
Traditionally, items of lingerie have been made using cut pieces which are then sewn together, particularly in the zones intended to form a three-dimensional capacity, such as the cups of brassieres. In order to improve wearing comfort, the idea was posited that stitching should be reduced as far as possible, especially since stitched seams form extra thicknesses which can be irritating where they come into contact with the skin. Bonding and even welding techniques were therefore developed and applied in this field with a view to reducing or even eliminating the presence of these stitched seams.
Patent document EP 0 809 945, for example, discloses a brassiere manufactured from a material incorporating heat-weldable fibers, the various components of the brassiere made from this material being assembled with one another by heat-welding in order to impart the final shape to said brassiere.
Although stitching is eliminated, the plurality of welded zones, particularly in the bottom part of the brassiere surrounding the bust, nevertheless involves the use of some relief areas which are elastically supported against the skin and have a perceptible effect on wearing comfort.
In order to overcome this drawback, brassieres have been developed in which the periphery is made in a single piece from a tubular knitted fabric. In reality, these brassieres tend not to have cups for the breasts and are designed for women with a small chest or for sporting purposes and compress the breasts rather than support them. Similarly, briefs made from tubular knitted fabric do not have any means of supporting or lifting the buttocks, although they do afford good peripheral compression.
In situations where several pieces are not stitched together to impart a three-dimensional shape to the cups, it is necessary to use textile fibers that are both elastic and whose elongation can be modified in order to provide the support characteristics and adapt to different bust sizes. For example, heat-deformable fibers are used to enable the cups or buttock regions to be heat-molded, thereby imparting a three-dimensional configuration to accommodate the breasts or buttocks.
However, the ability to mold fibres is not enough on its own because it is also vital to impart mechanical strength in order to support and hold these parts of the body. Generally speaking, this mechanical strength is not needed merely in the region supporting the buttocks or breasts but also needs to be imparted to the article of lingerie generally in order to take account of the day-to-day strain to which different parts of the item are subjected. Accordingly, it is necessary to preserve a certain degree of strength in the back tabs of a brassiere, which is also subjected to strain as the bust of the user moves.
Another necessary feature is the ability to withstand washing, sometimes at a high temperature, which may affect the durability of the mechanical characteristics of the fibers.
For this reason, it is preferable to provide a fabric lining, at least in certain zones, this lining naturally also being subject to the above-mentioned criteria/limitations, especially resistance and elasticity, whilst it is particularly important for it not to be secured to the outer fabric by stitching, yet exhibit a capacity for controlled extension as applicable, etc.
This is essentially the objective of the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Generally speaking, it relates, as mentioned above, to an item of support lingerie incorporating at least one region moulded to create a three-dimensional retaining and support volume for at least one protuberant part of the human body, manufactured from a tubular knitted fabric made from a first extensible and heat-deformable material, provided with a ribbing constituting one of the edges of said article elastically enclosing the body, the final shape of the item of lingerie being made by cuts made in the knitted tube starting from the free edge opposite the ribbing, characterized in that each molded three-dimensional region is lined by at least one internally bonded lining made from a second extensible and heat-deformable material, one face of which is coated with a heat-activatable adhesive, the knitted fabric and lining materials on the one hand having a modulus of elongation, either by heat deformation or elastic, and the adhesive on the other hand having an activation temperature such that they enable deformation to be induced by hot-moulding the molded regions to impart a three-dimensional aspect to them without affecting the heat-bonded join, said first and second materials conserving their capacity to support and hold after molding.
Not only do the articles proposed by the invention afford maximum comfort due to the fact of using a knitted tube and bonded seams, they also exhibit bust supporting properties which enable brassieres to be made for every chest size, for example, including the largest requiring E or F size cups.
Whilst the support features are naturally linked to the double thickness of textile fabric, they are also due primarily to a judicious choice of materials for both the two layers of textile and for the adhesive, meeting the imperatives of mechanical strength over time and in space as well as the problems inherent in manufacture.
Accordingly, it is of vital importance during the heat-forming process that the two layers of textile react compatibly in terms of elongation whilst remaining bonded to one another. The same may be said with regard to the elastic and hence rebound elongation during day-to-day use of the product.
Tests have shown that the modulus of elongation of the materials used for the knitted fabric and the lining must exhibit a differential ranging between 0 and 140% and each fabric must be capable of undergoing an elongation greater than or equal to 40%. This is the requirement for good mechanical strength, particularly with regard to molding. In this respect, elongation is defined as being the percentage elongation and deformation of the material relative to its non-elongated state, caused by a linear force of 3N per centimeter.
If the above values are not complied with, there is a risk that one of the materials will slip relative to the other, thereby rupturing the adhesive/textile cohesion during molding, which will cause the two materials to come unstuck.
As regards the criteria for selecting appropriate materials, it should be pointed out that materials which permit too great an elongation must be ruled out because although they will permit perfect molding, they will not provide the subsequent mechanical strength needed to hold the breasts or buttocks.
In fact, the results of an experiment show that the first and the second materials should be made of a mixture of fibers containing at least 7% synthetic fibers. Polyester fibers, in particular, are suitable.
Synthetic fibers having a modulus of elongation can be perfectly mixed with natural fibers such as cotton which are not at all or not very extensible: it is the links created by the knitting stitches which permit elongation of the fabric if the extensible fibers a
Ohlandt Greeley Ruggiero & Perle L.L.P.
Playtex Apparel, Inc.
Worrell Danny
LandOfFree
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