Foundation garments – Breast or chest – e.g. – brassieres – With stiffening strips – strands – or stays – e.g. – wired
Patent
1996-10-29
1998-03-24
Chapman, Jeanette E.
Foundation garments
Breast or chest, e.g., brassieres
With stiffening strips, strands, or stays, e.g., wired
2255, 2256, 2258, 450 51, 450 52, 450 93, 450 92, A41C 310, A41C 312, A41C 314
Patent
active
057306400
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a wire reinforcement for women's garments designed to support the breasts, such as brassieres, swimming suits, sports clothing, one-piece outfits, etc. Normally speaking, the wire reinforcement takes the form of a U-shaped frame.
Such a wire reinforcement must meet the following requirements.
First, in order to have a sufficient bracing effect, the wire reinforcement must exhibit a certain rigidity in the plane of the frame.
Secondly, the wire reinforcement must be flexible enough to move easily with and not hinder the body movements of the person wearing it.
Thirdly, the wire reinforcement must feel comfortable for the wearer.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
A number of wire reinforcements are already known in the prior art.
A first wire reinforcement has a round cross section. In order to fulfil the first requirement of sufficient rigidity, however, the diameter of the wire has to be so large that the second requirement of flexibility cannot be fulfilled. Conversely, if we attempt to decrease the diameter in order to attain the required flexibility, then the wire reinforcement lacks the required rigidity.
To correct this problem, wire reinforcements with an essentially rectangular or flat cross section have come onto the market. Such wires produce sufficient rigidity in the direction of the long axis and at the same time are flexible in the direction of the short axis. Rectangular wires with cross sections displaying 90.degree. angles are certainly to be avoided because they are uncomfortable. But even flat wires with their rounded naturally rolled edges do not always feel comfortable.
This latter disadvantage can be remedied by wire reinforcements having an elliptical or oval cross section. These have no sharp or right angles whatsoever and therefore fulfil the third requirement of feeling comfortable. The reinforcement in the direction of the long axis is sufficient, but the flexibility in the direction of the short axis is sometimes less than desired.
Other existing wire reinforcements exhibit a cross section with a rounded side on one side because of the third requirement of comfort. The other side is flat or hollow. The rigidity in the direction of the long axis, however, is not always sufficient in this case. Another disadvantage is that this profile is not symmetric and therefore two different frames are needed, a left one and a right one.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to avoid the disadvantages of the prior art and to provide a wire reinforcement that possesses sufficient rigidity in the plane of the frame, exhibits sufficient flexibility, and at the same time meets the requirements of comfort. Another object of the present invention is to provide a stable and economical way of manufacturing a profile wire.
A first aspect of the invention provides a wire reinforcement for women's garments designed to support the breasts. The wire reinforcement displays an axial cross section with a long axis and a short axis perpendicular to the long axis. The long axis has a well-defined length and the short axis has a center thickness that is smaller than half the length of the long axis. The cross section has a profile resembling an I-shape: The left end of the long axis has a left thickness and the right end of the long axis has a right thickness. Both the left thickness and the right thickness are substantially greater than the center thickness.
The terms `long axis` and `short axis` do not necessarily indicate that the cross section is symmetrical in relation to these axes. A profile that is symmetrical in relation to the long axis and the short axis is indeed preferable since then only one type of frame needs to be made for both the left and the right breast; however, an asymmetrical profile is also possible.
The ratio of center thickness to right thickness, as well as of center thickness to left thickness, is preferably between 0.6 and 0.8. The maximum limit is set at 0.8; otherwise there is not a sufficient difference from a re
REFERENCES:
patent: Re22771 (1946-07-01), Licht
patent: 3747606 (1973-07-01), Tareau
patent: 5472366 (1995-12-01), Moore
Acx Filip
Adriaensen Ludo
Balcaen Paul
Chapman Jeanette E.
N.V. Bekaert S.A.
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