Foundation garments – Breast or chest – e.g. – brassieres – With stiffening strips – strands – or stays – e.g. – wired
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-28
2002-10-22
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
06468130
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to underwires used in foundation garments such as brassieres.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Underwires are employed to provide shape and support to brassieres, corsets and other similar foundation undergarments. They are typically rigid, flat steel members having a U-shaped configuration, or are formed from a hard, molded or extruded engineering plastic having some inherent shape and curvature.
Underwires used in the manufacture of brassieres and the like have been provided with a plastic or polymeric tip at either end. Examples of the construction and the assembly of underwires having such tips are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,316.
The underwire is maintained in a sleeve or casing that is formed below the breast cup of the brassiere and that is necessarily made from a soft woven or knitted fabric. In order to prevent one or both ends of the metal or polymeric underwire from penetrating the fabric casing and/or pressing uncomfortably through the garment into the wearer, it has long been the practice to provide the free ends of the underwire with a tip.
The polymeric tip can be in the form of a molten thermoplastic material into which the underwire is dipped and then removed and allowed to cool and harden into a generally spherical shape. Alternatively, the plastic material can be further shaped while in a pliable state in order to create contours that will easily pass through the retaining casing when it is assembled to the garment and that will fit comfortably against the wearer. An improved cushion tip in which a relatively soft and pliable polymeric material is molded directly on to the free end of the underwire is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,040, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In a second embodiment known to the art, the tip is produced separately from a polymeric material and then fitted using appropriate retaining means to the end of the underwire. In a more recent advance in the art, the separate polymeric tips have been produced using a material that is more pliable and has the feel of an apparently “softer” terminus to the wearer of the garment.
Despite the advance in the art of providing a more pliable tip having a softer feel, problems are still known to exist. For example, when the wearer assumes certain positions in which the torso is turned and/or twisted, as in bending over to pick up something from a position to the wearer's right or left side, the tip of the underwire which lies beneath the arm tends to exert an extreme pressure against the end of the fabric casing. Depending upon the age, condition and type of fabric used in the casing, the tip can puncture the casing. This condition is not readily reparable and the garment may have to be discarded. In addition, the protruding tip may contact the wearer's flesh causing extreme discomfort.
Even if the tip of the underwire does not penetrate the casing, the turning and twisting and/or bending of the torso can still cause the tip of the underwire to press into the flesh beneath the wearer's arm and produce discomfort that spans the spectrum from merely uncomfortable to painful. Periodic physiological changes are also experienced by some women in association with their menstrual cycle, as well as during pregnancy, can results in discomfort at time.
Variations in body types and anatomical differences can also result in discomfort among some women even when the brassiere is of the “correct” size. some women also find that a particular style or design of brassiere is not as comfortable as others because the tip of the underwire produces an undesired pressure.
Yet an other recognized problem is a change that occurs when the garment is laundered, particularly with respect to shrinkage of the fabric pocket or tube that retains the underwire in place. Such shrinkage of the fabric of the casing and/or of the brassiere itself results in a continuous internal force applied by the underwire tip against the closed end of the casing and premature wear and failure of the casing. Once the underwire has broken through, the garment is deemed to be unwearable long before its otherwise useful life is reached.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved tip assembly and construction for an underwire which is more responsive to pressures and forces that are applied during the physical activity of the wearer to thereby reduce or entirely avoid the application of excessive concentrated force to the casing containing the underwire and to the wearer.
It is also an object of the invention to provide an underwire having a resiliently mounted tip that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and assemble and which is reliable in its mode of operation and rugged in construction.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a resiliently mounted tip assembly and method of construction for an underwire that is adapted for use with both metal and polymeric underwires and that can be produced from a variety of materials in various shapes and sizes to accommodate the requirements of the trade.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above objects and other advantages are realized in the improved underwire which comprehends the resilient mounting of a polymeric tip on at least one end of a garment-supporting underwire. In a first preferred embodiment, the tip is separately formed, i.e., by molding and/or machining the tip from a polymeric material having a composition commonly used for such purposes. The tip is resiliently mounted on a free end of the underwire for sliding movement within a predetermined range. The range of movement of the tip can be determined by the cooperative engagement of mounting means on the free end of the underwire with the tip.
In one aspect of this embodiment, a compression spring is mounted between a retaining shoulder formed on the underwire and the proximal end of the tip. When a force is applied to the distal end of the tip, the tip slides along the longitudinal axis of the underwire to compress the spring. When the force is removed or lessened, the spring urges the tip to return to its original position.
In another aspect of this embodiment, the tip is again mounted on the underwire in longitudinal sliding relation. A spring which can act in both extension and compression is affixed at one of its ends to a point of attachment on the free end of the underwire and at its opposite end to a point of attachment on the slidable tip. As in the earlier-described embodiment, when a longitudinal force vector is applied to the distal end of the tip, the tip moves along the underwire and is opposed by the resisting force of the spring in compression. When the compressive force is removed or lessened, the tip returns to its original position.
In this second aspect of the invention, it is contemplated that the distal end of the tip is sewn or otherwise secured in position at the end of the casing. Thus, when the wearer's motion is such that the opposite end and/or intermediate portion of the underwire is subjected to a force in the opposite direction, i.e., away from the secured resiliently-mounted tip, the retaining spring expands until such force is reduced or discontinued, after which the extended spring returns to its neutral position and brings with it the underwire. This construction has the advantage of eliminating movement of the tip within the casing, which can lead to excessive wear of the fabric casing in the vicinity of the tip and to premature failure of the casing.
The invention also comprehends an underwire in which at least one, but preferably a plurality of resilient elements are included in, and form an integral part of the underwire. The one or more resilient members can be displaced from the point of attachment of the tips, for example, at three spaced apart locations. The one or more resilient members can take the form of coiled metal expansion and/or compression springs the ends of which are molded into and retained by the adjacent sections of the underwire, e.g., a molded plastic
Horta Joseph
Thakur Ajit
Abelman ,Frayne & Schwab
Hale Gloria M.
S&S Industries, Inc.
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