NURSING BRA WITH REPLACEABLE CUP UNIT

Abstract

A nursing bra with a replaceable cup unit and a support garment is shown and described. The support garment includes an anterior exposure section that leaves the area between the nipples substantially fully exposed when the support garment is donned without the replaceable cup unit. When the replaceable cup unit is attached to the support garment, and the nursing bra is donned by a wearer, the area between the nipples is substantially fully exposed to the cup unit. In certain examples, the breasts are substantially fully exposed to the cup unit. In certain other examples, the replaceable cup unit includes two cups comprised of a cup material and an attachment feature formed from an attachment feature fabric. The replaceable cup unit's cups are fixedly attached to a cup holder, which comprises a fabric that includes attachment features formed from an attachment feature fabric.

Description

FIELD

The present disclosure concerns nursing bras, and more specifically, a nursing bra with a replaceable and disposable cup unit.

BACKGROUND

Nursing bras are used to facilitate a mother's nursing of an infant. Known nursing bra designs generally allow the mother to selectively expose a breast while continuing to wear the bra and quickly cover the breast upon completion.

During periods of nursing infants, mothers often experience leakage of breast milk while sleeping at night. If the breast milk remains trapped in the bra cups, it can become uncomfortable and lead to skin irritation. In addition, the bra may require frequent washing.

Certain nursing bra designs have been proposed which provide for removable bra cups that can be inserted into a bra or other garment and washed. However, such known designs are often insufficiently leak resistant as the cups often become loose. Many known designs also subject the garment with which the bra cups are used to liquid exposure. In addition, the frequency of cup washing that is required is often inconvenient.

In certain known nursing bra designs with replaceable cups, the cups include mechanical fasteners made of a rigid material, such as plastic or metal hooks, snaps, clips etc. As a result, the replaceable cups, while perhaps washable and reusable, are not readily or conveniently disposable.

In certain cases, nursing bras also include a back panel (i.e., a portion of the garment that contacts the wearer's back) which has mechanical fasteners that allow the back panel to be selectively separated into two sections. This design can often produce discomfort while sleeping, as the mechanical fasteners may irritate the wearer's back.

Accordingly, a need has arisen for a nursing bra that addresses the foregoing issues.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The disclosure will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a depiction of a nursing bra comprising a replaceable cup unit removably attached to a support garment.

FIG. 2 is a depiction of a first side of the replaceable cup unit of FIG. 1 in a detached condition;

FIG. 3 is a depiction of a second side of the replaceable cup unit of FIG. 1 in a detached condition;

FIG. 4 is a depiction of the support garment of FIG. 1 with the replaceable cup unit detached therefrom; and

FIG. 5 is a close-up cross-sectional view of one of the cups of the replaceable cup unit of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to a nursing bra with a replaceable cup unit that is removably attachable to a support garment. The replaceable cup unit includes first and second cups fixedly attached to a cup holder formed from a cup holder fabric. The cups each include a cup attachment feature that facilitates attachment of the cups to a support garment. The cup holder is also preferably configured for attachment to a support garment.

In certain preferred examples, the support garment includes an anterior exposure region such that when the support garment is donned without the replacement cup unit, the breasts are located in the anterior exposure area, and the area between the nipples is substantially fully exposed. When the replaceable cup unit is attached, the area between the nipples is substantially fully exposed to and covered by the cup unit. As a result, leaked breast milk is less likely to contact the support garment and more likely to contact the replaceable cup unit. In certain examples, each breast is substantially fully exposed to and covered by one of the first and second cups of the replaceable cup unit.

The first and second cups formed from a cup material. In certain examples, each cup has an attachment feature formed from at least one attachment feature fabric which enables the cup to be removably attached to a corresponding attachment feature on a support garment. In certain embodiments, the cup attachment feature fabric is the cup material, and the attachment feature is integrally formed with the cup. In other embodiments, the cups are formed exclusively from fabrics.

The replaceable cup unit also includes a cup holder to which the cups are fixedly attached. The cup holder comprises a fabric and a cup holder attachment feature that in certain examples is formed from a cup holder attachment feature fabric. In certain embodiments, the cup holder attachment feature fabric is the cup holder fabric. In other embodiments, the cup holder is formed exclusively from fabrics. The cup holder attachment features are selectively and removably attachable to corresponding attachment features on the support garment. The replaceable cup unit preferably lacks any mechanical fasteners, such as buttons, snaps, zippers, clips or any other mechanical devices affixed to it, allowing to be readily disposed of after a period of use and exposure to breast milk.

Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment of a nursing bra comprising a replaceable cup unit is depicted. Nursing bra 20 includes replaceable cup unit 22 (separately shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) and a support garment 24 (separately shown in FIG. 4). The replaceable cup unit 22 is selectively attachable to and removable from support garment 24. The support garment 24 is designed to be worn by a nursing mother and to support the replaceable cup unit 22 so it remains in place with respect to the mother's body.

The cup unit 22 comprises a first cup 26 and a second cup 28 that are spaced apart from one another along a direction defining a first axis, which is the x-axis in FIG. 2. First cup 26 and second cup 28 are fixedly attached to a cup holder 40 formed from a cup holder fabric so as to be non-removable from the cup holder 40. First cup 26 is made out of a cup material and includes an attachment feature 30 formed from at least one cup attachment feature fabric. In certain examples, each cup 26, 28 is formed exclusively from one or more fabrics. In other examples, the entire cup unit 22 is formed exclusively from one or more fabrics. Attachment feature 30 is preferably spaced apart from cup holder 40, and more preferably is spaced apart from cup holder 40 along a direction defined by the y-axis shown in FIG. 2.

Attachment feature 30 is selectively attachable to a support garment 24. Suitable cup attachment feature fabrics include liquid impermeable fabrics, liquid permeable fabrics, hydrophobic non-woven fabrics, and hydrophilic non-woven fabrics. In certain examples, the cup attachment feature 30 is formed from two fabrics, each of which may be any of the foregoing fabrics. In another example, the cup attachment feature 30 is formed from the cup material. In one example, the cup unit 22 comprises two cups 26, 28, each of which has a liquid impermeable layer and a liquid permeable layer. In another example, each cup 26, 28 comprises a super absorbent polymer fluff sandwiched between a liquid impermeable layer and a liquid impermeable layer, and the cup attachment features are formed from the cup material. In FIG. 2, first cup attachment feature 30 is formed exclusively from the same material used to form first cup 26.

Correspondingly, second cup 28 is made of out a cup material, which is preferably the same as that of first cup 26. Second cup 28 also includes an attachment feature 32 which is the preferably made from the same material as first cup attachment feature 30 and which is also selectively attachable to a support garment. The use of attachment features 30 and 32 made out of fabric(s) avoids the need to attach separate mechanical fasteners such as hooks, clips, buttons, Velcro, snaps etc. and makes replaceable cup unit 22 more readily disposable. Thus, in certain preferred examples, first and second cups 26, 28 include no such separate mechanical fasteners. In other more preferred examples, the entire replaceable cup unit 22 includes no such separate mechanical fasteners. For ease of manufacturing, it may be preferred to form the attachment features 30 and 32 out of the cup material, or more preferably, exclusively out of the cup material.

In certain examples, the cup attachment features 30 and 32 are loops formed from at least one cup attachment feature fabric, such as the cup material. The loops may be formed, for example, by cutting the cup material such that it includes a narrow strip in the upper outer portion of each cup, forming each narrow strip into a loop and attaching its free end to the end connected to the cup body by heat pressing, glue, sewing, etc. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the cup attachment features 30 and 32 in the depicted example are spaced apart from the cup holder 40 in the y-axis direction (which would correspond to the axis defined by the wearer's height). In certain examples, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first cup attachment feature 30 and the second cup attachment feature 32 also project in a direction away from the y-axis and the x-axis, as well as away from each other.

As mentioned previously, first cup 26 and second cup 28 are preferably fixedly attached to a cup holder 40 so as to be non-removable therefrom. First cup 26 includes an inner perimeter section 80 and a bottom perimeter section 82 that are attached to cup holder 40. Correspondingly, second cup 28 has an inner perimeter section 76 and a bottom perimeter section 78 that are attached to cup holder 40. The inner perimeter sections 80 and 76 of the first and second cups 26 and 28 are spaced apart from one another in a direction along the x-axis.

First and second cups 26 and 28 are preferably formed into the shape of a human breast. As best seen in FIG. 5 (which shows second cup 28 only), each cup 26 and 28 includes a maximum point 70 (not shown in FIG. 5), 72 (respectively) that represents the point of farthest projection of the cup along a direction parallel to the z-axis. When replaceable cup unit 22 is donned, the maxima 70, 72 are the anterior-most points of the cup unit 22. In certain preferred examples, maxima 70, 72 are spaced apart from the y-axis location of the uppermost boundary 43 of cup holder 40 by a distance, Δy. This configuration helps to avoid leakage of breast milk at the inner perimeter sections 80 and 76 of first and second cups 26, 28.

Cup holder 40 comprises a fabric, and is preferably formed from an elastic fabric such as an elastane containing material. In certain preferred examples, cup holder 40 is made exclusively out of fabric. In certain examples, cup holder 40 is stretchable along at least two directions, such as directions along the x and y axes of FIGS. 2 and 3. In such configurations, the cups 26 and 28 may be elastically separated from one another under a separation force and then allowed to return to an unbiased separation distance from one another once the separation force is removed. This configuration allows the replaceable cup unit 22 to better conform to the configuration of the wearer's body.

The cup holder 40 is preferably formed with a plurality of cup holder attachment features 42a-42f (42e and 42f are not visible in FIG. 2). Cup holder attachment features 42a-42f are formed from a cup holder attachment feature fabric. In the example of FIGS. 2 and 3, the plurality of cup holder attachment features 42a-42f comprise narrow openings formed through the same fabric from which the cup holder 40 is made. In certain embodiments, the cup holder attachment features 42a-42f include openings sized to receive corresponding buttons located on the support garment 24.

In certain preferred examples, cup holder 40 includes no separate mechanical fasteners such as hooks, clips, buttons, snaps etc., which makes replaceable cup unit 22 more readily disposable. Certain of the attachment features 42a-42f are spaced apart from one another along the x-axis direction (i.e., along a direction orthogonal to the wearer's height direction). At one end of the cup holder 40 proximate first cup 26, two attachment features 42e and 42f are spaced apart along the y-axis direction from one another. At the opposite end of the cup holder 40 proximate second cup 28, two attachment features 42a and 42b are spaced apart from one another along the y-axis direction. Each of the attachment features 42a-42f is spaced apart from the first and second cup attachment features 30 and 32 along the y-axis direction.

Cup holder attachment features 42a and 42b define a first attachment region and are located on a portion of cup holder 40 that projects outwardly away from first cup 26 and second cup 28 along the x-axis and/or z-axis when bra 20 is worn. Cup holder attachment features 42e and 42f define a second attachment region and are located on a portion of cup holder 40 that projects outwardly away from first cup 26 and second cup 28 along the x-axis and/or z-axis when bra 20 is worn. If replaceable cup unit 22 is laid out on a flat surface in an unfurled condition, attachment features 42a and 42b will project away from first and second cups 26 and 28 in a first direction along the x-axis, and attachment features 42e and 42f will project away from first and second cups 26 and 28 in a second direction along the x-axis that is opposite the first direction. When bra 20 is worn, cup holder attachment features 42a and 42b will be spaced apart from attachment features 42c and 42d in a direction along the z-axis, which generally conforms to the anterior-posterior axis of the human anatomy.

A close-up cross-sectional view of second cup 28 is provided in FIG. 5. In certain examples, first and second cups 26 and 28 are designed such that one side of the cups 26 and 28 will be liquid permeable and the opposite side of the cups 26 and 28 will be liquid impermeable. The liquid permeable sides 27 and 29 of cups 26 and 28 are best seen in FIG. 3 and are the respective sides of first cup 26 and second cup 28 which face the wearer's breasts when nursing bra 20 is donned by the wearer. Liquid permeable sides 27 and 29 also face toward support garment 24 back section 62 along the z-axis direction (i.e., posteriorly) when nursing bra 20 is donned.

The respective liquid impervious sides 31 and 33 of first cup 26 and second cup 28 face anteriorly away from the wearer's breasts when nursing bra 20 is donned by the wearer and also face away from back section 62 of support garment 24 in a direction along the z-axis. Thus, first cups 26 and 28 are designed to absorb liquids, such as discharged breast milk, while preventing the liquids from being transmitted through liquid impermeable sides 31 and 33, which protects the wearer's clothing from contact with discharged breast milk. In one example, first and second cups 26 and 28 include three layers of material: a first liquid permeable material comprising the respective sides 27 and 29 facing the breasts, a second liquid impermeable material comprising the respective sides 31 and 33 facing away from the breasts, and a third absorbent polymer fluff material 35 (not shown), 37 (shown in FIG. 5) sandwiched between the corresponding first liquid absorbent layer 27, 29 and corresponding second liquid impermeable layer 31, 33. In one example, the first liquid permeable layer forming the first sides 27 and 29 of the respective first and second cups 26 and 28 is formed from a hydrophilic staple non-woven fabric. In certain examples, the first liquid permeable layer comprises a spun-bond/melt-blown/spun-bond web.

In certain examples, the polymer fluff comprising the layer 35, 37 between the first liquid permeable layer 27, 29 and the second liquid impermeable layer 31, 33 comprises a super absorbent polymer, or SAP. In certain examples the liquid impermeable layer 31, 33 comprises a hydrophobic non-woven fabric. Suitable examples of liquid impervious materials include those made of polyalpha olefins, such as polyethylene or polypropylene.

As mentioned previously, the first and second cups 26 and 28 are shaped to generally conform to the shape of a woman's breast. In one example, heat pressing is used to form the cups 26 and 28 into the desired shape. Heat pressing may also be used to hold the various material layers (27, 31, 35 for first cup 26 and 29, 33, 37 for second cup 28) of the cups 26 and 28 together. The first and second cups 26 and 28 are also preferably fixedly attached to the cup holder 40 such as by sewing, gluing, or thermal bonding. In one preferred example, a hot-point calendaring thermal bonding process is used.

Referring to FIG. 4, support garment 24 is depicted without replaceable cup unit 22 attached. Support garment 24 comprises a bottom perimeter section 58 which runs around the body and beneath the breasts of the person wearing it. Bottom perimeter section 58 includes an anterior region 77 and a posterior region 79. When support garment 24 is donned, anterior region 77 is located at the anterior region of the wearer's torso, and posterior region 79 is located at the posterior region of the wearer's torso. Back panel 62 is adjacent the back of the wearer when in use. First strap 44 extends from one side of the back panel 62 over the wearer's shoulder and terminates at the anterior region 77 of the bottom perimeter section 58 on the wearer's anterior (front facing) side. Second strap 46 is spaced apart along the x-axis apart from the first strap 44 and extends from the back panel 62 to the anterior region 77 of the bottom perimeter section 58 on the wearer's anterior side.

First strap 44 includes a first strap attachment feature 56 disposed along its length. Correspondingly, second strap 46 includes a second strap attachment feature 59 disposed along its length. When support garment 24 is worn, first strap attachment feature 56 is spaced apart from second strap attachment feature 59 in a direction along the x-axis.

First strap 44 comprises a first shoulder strap region 48 and a first support strap region 52. In the example of FIG. 5, first shoulder strap region 48 and first support strap region 52 connect to one another at or closely proximate to the location of first strap attachment feature 56 along first strap 44. First support strap region 52 is narrower at its point of connection with first shoulder strap region 48 than at its point of connection with the anterior region 77 of bottom perimeter section 58 and progressively widens as its length is traversed in the y-axis direction moving from its point of connection with first shoulder strap region 48 toward bottom perimeter region 58.

Second strap 46 comprises a second shoulder strap region 50 and a second support strap region 54. Second shoulder strap region 50 also intersects second support strap region 54 at or proximate the location of second strap attachment feature 59. Second support strap region 54 also progressively widens as its length is traversed in the y-axis direction from its point of attachment with second shoulder strap region 50 towards the anterior region 77 of bottom perimeter region 58. First support strap region 52 includes an outer boundary 53 and an inner boundary 55. Similarly, second support strap region 54 includes an outer boundary 63 and an inner boundary 57. The inner boundaries 55 and 57 are spaced apart by a distance along the x-axis direction that widens as the lengths of first and second support strap regions 52 and 54 are traversed in the y-axis direction starting from the anterior region 77 of the bottom perimeter section 58 and moving away from the bottom perimeter section 58.

The first and second support strap region inner boundaries 55 and 57 along with the anterior region 77 of bottom perimeter section 58 bound and define an open area which may be referred to as an anterior exposure region 74. When support garment 24 is donned, the wearer's breasts will be located in the anterior exposure region 74. In certain preferred embodiments, the region of the wearer's breasts between the nipples will be substantially fully exposed (if cup unit 22 is not attached) and unobstructed by the support strap regions 52 and 54. In other preferred examples, the support strap regions 52 and 54 will be tucked under and/or laterally outward of the breasts (i.e., away from the midline of the chest along the x-axis direction), so that the breasts will be substantially fully exposed. In certain examples, at least about 80 percent, more preferably at least about 85 percent, and even more preferably at least about 90 percent of the wearer's breast surface area will be fully exposed and not covered by support strap regions 52 and 54. Accordingly, when removable cup unit 22 is removably attached to support garment 24, the area between the wearer's nipples will be substantially fully exposed to (and covered by) the side of removable cup unit 22 facing toward the wearer along the z-axis direction. In certain examples, substantially the entirety of each breast will be fully exposed to (and covered by) one of the first and second cups 26 and 28. As a result, the portion of the nursing bra 20 that is most likely to be exposed to breast milk is the replaceable cup unit 22 and not the support garment 24, better ensuring that the disposable component of nursing bra 20 is most likely to be subject to liquid contact.

First shoulder strap region 48 and second shoulder strap region 50 extend over the wearer's shoulders when nursing bra 20 is worn. The region between the back panel 62 and the first and second support strap regions 52 and 54 along the direction of the z-axis defines open areas through which the wearer's arms may be placed. In certain examples, back panel 62 includes concave lateral boundaries 64 and 66 which are in facing opposition to another when bra 20 is worn.

In certain examples, nursing bra 20 is worn while sleeping. In such cases, it may be preferably to construct back panel 62 so that it does not include any mechanical fastening devices (snaps, buttons, zippers, etc.) that may press against the back and cause sleep disruptions. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 4, back panel 62 is formed as a single piece of fabric to avoid the need for such mechanical fastening devices, such as those typically used to fasten a bra in the back. Accordingly, support garment 24 is a designed to be donned by being pulled over the wearer's head and then down over the breast area. Of course, in those cases in which nursing bra 20 is not used for sleeping, other embodiments may be used wherein the back panel 62 is constructed as separable sections that are joined by mechanical fasteners.

First strap attachment feature 56 is designed to removably engage and attach to first cup attachment feature 30 on replaceable cup unit 22. Correspondingly, second strap attachment feature 59 is designed to removably engage and attach to second cup attachment feature 32. In certain examples, first and second strap attachment features 56 and 59 are connecting devices, such as those formed from rigid plastics or metals. In the depicted example, first strap attachment feature 56 is a male attachment feature, and first cup attachment feature 30 is a female attachment feature. Similarly, second strap attachment feature 59 is a male attachment feature, and second cup attachment feature 32 is a female attachment feature. In certain examples, first strap attachment feature 56 is a hook, second strap attachment feature 59 is a hook, and the two hooks 56, 59 face away from one another along the x-axis direction. This configuration allows the user to disengage the first cup attachment feature 30 from the first strap attachment feature 56 by moving the first cup attachment feature 30 relative to the first strap attachment feature 56 in a direction along the x-axis away from the second cup 28. Similarly, second cup attachment feature 32 can be disengaged from second strap attachment feature 59 by moving second cup attachment feature 32 relative to second strap attachment feature 59 in a direction away from first cup 26. The cup attachment features 30 and 32 can be engaged to the corresponding strap attachment features 56 and 59 by moving them in the opposite direction relative to the strap attachment features 56 and 59.

Referring again to FIG. 4, support garment 24 also includes a plurality of bottom perimeter attachment features 60a-60f. Attachment features 60a and 60b are spaced apart from one another in a direction along the y-axis, and from the remaining attachment features 60c-60f in a direction along the x-axis. Similarly, bottom perimeter attachment features 60e and 60f are spaced apart from one another along the y-axis and from the remaining attachment features 60a-60d in a direction along the x-axis. In certain examples, bottom perimeter attachment features 60a-60f are male attachment features, and cup holder attachment features 42a-42f are female attachment features that removably engage bottom perimeter attachment features 60a-60d. In certain examples, bottom perimeter attachment features 60a-60f comprise a plurality of buttons, and cup holder attachment features 42a-42f are each button holes, each of which removably engages a corresponding one of the buttons 60a-60f to retain replaceable cup unit 22 to support garment 24.

Support garment 24 is preferably an elastic garment and more preferably is bidirectionally elastic (e.g., it can be stretched in the x- and y-axis directions and return to its original shape upon release). In one example, support garment 24 comprises an elastane material. In another example, support garment 24 comprises a composite of elastane and polyamide fibers. In one specific example, the amount of elastane fibers comprising support garment 24 is (by weight) at least about 4%, more preferably at least about 6%, and yet more preferably at least about 8%, with the balance being polyamide fibers. At the same time, support garment 24 comprises (by weight) no more than about 15%, preferably no more than 12%, and even more preferably no more than about 10% elastane fibers, with the balance being polyamide fibers. In one particular case, support garment 24 comprises (by weight) 91% polyamide fibers and 9% elastane fibers.

A method of nursing an infant using a nursing bra with a replaceable cup unit will now be described using the nursing bra 20 of FIGS. 1-5. In accordance with the method, a nursing bra 20 is provided which includes a replaceable cup unit 22 and a support garment 24. The cup unit 22 comprises first and second cups 26, 28 attached to a cup holder 40.

The first and second cups 26, 28 are formed from a cup material, and each of the first and second cups 26, 28 includes a respective cup attachment feature 30, 32 formed from one or more cup attachment feature fabrics. Suitable cup attachment feature fabrics include liquid impermeable fabrics, liquid permeable fabrics, hydrophobic non-woven fabrics, and hydrophilic non-woven fabrics. In certain examples, the cup attachment feature 30, 32 is formed from two fabrics, each of which may be any of the foregoing fabrics. In another example, the cup attachment feature 30, 32 is formed from the cup material. In one example, the cup unit 22 comprises two cups 26, 28, each of which has a liquid permeable layer 27, 29 and a liquid impermeable layer 31, 33. In another example, each cup comprises a super absorbent polymer fluff sandwiched between a liquid impermeable layer and a liquid impermeable layer. One suitable cup structure is the structure depicted in FIG. 5 and described previously with respect thereto.

The cup holder 40 comprises a fabric having a plurality of attachment features 42a-42f formed from a cup holder attachment feature fabric. In one example, the cup holder attachment fabric comprises elastic threads. In another example, the cup holder attachment feature fabric is the same as the cup holder fabric. In yet another example, the cup holder attachment feature fabric comprises the cup holder fabric, and the cup holder attachment features 42a-42f comprise openings formed through the cup holder fabric.

The support garment 24 used in the method comprises first and second straps 44, 46 and a bottom perimeter section 58. The method comprises attaching the first and second cup attachment features 30, 32 to a corresponding one of a first and second support garment strap attachment feature 56, 59. The method also comprises attaching each of the plurality of cup holder attachment features 42a-42f to a corresponding support garment bottom perimeter attachment feature 60a-60f. The method further comprises donning the nursing bra 20 such that the first cup 26 covers a first breast, and the second cup 28 covers a second breast. Nursing bra 20 may be donned by first attaching replaceable cup unit 22 to support garment 24 and then donning the assembled nursing bra 20. Alternatively, support garment 24 may first be donned, and then replaceable cup unit 22 may be attached to support garment 24 in the manner described previously.

The nursing bra 20 is placed above the head and pulled down so that the head enters the opening 61 bounded by support garment bottom perimeter section 58. Nursing bra 20 is then pulled down further so that the wearer's head projects upward (y-axis direction) away from the support garment bottom perimeter section 58. The arms are then projected through the arm openings defined by concave lateral back panel boundaries 64 and 66 and their respective straps 44 and 46. The support strap regions 52 and 54 are tucked underneath and laterally outside of the breasts so that the breasts are disposed in the anterior exposure region 74. In preferred examples, the area between the nipples is substantially fully exposed to and covered by the cup unit 22 (i.e., such that the support strap regions 52 and 54 are not between the breasts and the cup unit 22). At the same time or in other examples, the breasts are substantially fully exposed to and covered by a respective one of first and second cups 26, 28. In certain examples, at least 80 percent, preferably at least 85 percent, and more preferably at least 90 percent of the surface area of each breast is fully exposed to and covered by one of the cups.

To perform a nursing operation, cup attachment feature 30 is slid away from second cup 28 along hook 56 until it is separated therefrom, allowing the cup 26 to fall away from the breast, thereby exposing it for nursing an infant. In certain preferred embodiments, the first cup attachment feature 30 is detached from support garment strap attachment feature 56 without detaching cup holder 40 from support garment 24, which allows the bra to quickly be reassembled following nursing.

Nursing mothers may often experience unintended breast milk discharges while wearing nursing bra 20. As explained previously, the first and second cups 26 and 28 of nursing bra 20 are designed to absorb liquid from the breast without allowing it to pass through the cup. However, at some point it may become desirable to replace the replaceable cup unit 22 with a new replaceable cup unit, especially if one or both cups 26, 28 have become liquid saturated. In certain cases, replaceable cup unit 22 may be discarded and replaced on a daily basis. In accordance with one method, the replaceable cup unit 22 is detached from support garment 24 and disposed of. The absence of mechanical fasteners such as plastic or metal hooks, snaps, etc. allows the replaceable cup unit 22 to be readily disposed of A new replaceable cup unit 22 is then attached to the support garment 24. In one example involving the specific nursing bra 20 of FIG. 1, the old replaceable cup unit is removed from the support garment 24 by detaching the cup attachment features 30 and 32 from their corresponding support garment strap attachment features 56 and 59 by sliding the cup attachment features 30 and 32 along the support garment attachment features 56 and 59 in a direction away from one another along the x-axis. The support garment bottom perimeter attachment features 60a-60f are removed from the corresponding cup holder attachment features 42a and 42f, which in the case of bra 20 involves unbuttoning the support garment bottom perimeter attachment features 60a-60f from the cup holder openings 42a-42f. A new replaceable cup unit 22 is then attached to support garment 24 by attaching the support garment bottom perimeter attachment features 60a-60f to the corresponding cup holder attachment features 42a-42f and by sliding the loops comprising the cup attachment features 30 and 32 over the corresponding hooks comprising the support garment strap attachment features 56 and 59.

The present invention has been described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments thereof However, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that it is possible to embody the invention in specific forms other than those of the exemplary embodiments described above. This may be done without departing from the spirit of the invention. The exemplary embodiments are merely illustrative and should not be considered restrictive in any way. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents, rather than by the preceding description.

Claims

1. A cup unit for a nursing bra, comprising:

first and second cups fixedly connected to one another by a cup holder, wherein the first and second cups are liquid absorbent, and the cup holder comprises a cup holder fabric, wherein each cup includes a respective cup attachment feature, and each respective cup attachment feature is spaced apart from the cup holder.

2. The cup unit of claim 1, wherein the disposable cup unit is removably attachable to a support garment.

3. The cup unit of claim 1, wherein each of the first cup attachment feature and the second cup attachment feature is formed from a cup attachment feature fabric.

4. The cup unit of claim 3, wherein the first and second cups are formed from a cup material, and the cup attachment feature fabric is the cup material.

5. The cup unit of claim 3, wherein the first and second cup attachment features comprise first and second loops formed from the cup attachment feature fabric.

6. The cup unit of claim 1, wherein the cup holder includes a plurality of cup holder attachment features formed from a cup holder attachment feature fabric.

7. The cup unit of claim 6, wherein the cup holder attachment features comprise openings formed in the cup holder attachment feature fabric.

8. The cup unit of claim 1, wherein the first cup has a bottom perimeter section, and an inner perimeter section, the second cup has a bottom perimeter section and an inner perimeter section, and the cup holder is attached to the bottom perimeter section of the first cup, the bottom perimeter section of the second cup, and the inner perimeter sections of the first and second cups.

9. The cup unit of claim 1, wherein the disposable cup unit does not include mechanical fasteners.

10. A nursing bra, comprising:

the disposable cup unit of claim 1, and a support garment to which the disposable cup unit is removably attached.

11. The nursing bra of claim 9, wherein the support garment has a back section, a pair of spaced apart straps, and a bottom perimeter section, the straps are spaced apart in a first direction along at least a portion of the length of the straps, the straps are attached to the back panel and the bottom perimeter section, and the support garment includes an anterior exposure section such that when a wearer dons the support garment with the disposable cup unit removed, the breasts are located in the anterior exposure section, and the region of the breasts between the nipples is substantially fully exposed.

12. The nursing bra of claim 9, wherein the distance between the spaced apart straps varies along the length of the straps.

13. The nursing bra of claim 12, wherein the bottom perimeter section of the support garment has an anterior region connected to the pair of spaced apart straps and a posterior region connected to the back section, and as the lengths of the straps are traversed starting from the bottom perimeter anterior region of the support garment in a direction away from the bottom perimeter of the support garment, the distance between the straps increases.

14. The nursing bra of claim 9, wherein when a wearer dons the nursing bra with the disposable cup unit removably attached to the support garment, the area between the wearer's nipples is substantially fully exposed to the cup unit.

15. The nursing bra of claim 9, wherein when a wearer dons the nursing bra with the disposable cup unit removably attached to the support garment, the wearer's breasts are substantially fully exposed to the disposable cup unit.

16. A cup unit for a nursing bra, comprising:

first and second cups formed from a cup material, wherein each of the first and second cups includes a respective cup attachment feature formed from at least one cup attachment feature fabric;

a cup holder comprising a cup holder fabric having a plurality of attachment features formed from a cup holder attachment feature fabric, wherein the respective first and second cup attachment features are spaced apart from the cup holder, and the cup unit is selectively attachable to a support garment.

17. The cup unit of claim 16, wherein the at least one cup attachment feature fabric is the cup material.

18. The cup unit of claim 16, wherein the cup holder attachment feature fabric is the cup holder fabric.

19. The cup unit of claim 16, wherein the first and second cup attachment features comprise first and second loops formed from the at least one cup attachment feature fabric.

20. The cup unit of claim 16, wherein the cup holder attachment features comprise openings formed in the cup holder attachment feature fabric.

21. The cup unit of claim 16, wherein the first and second cups are fixedly attached to the cup holder.

22. The cup unit of claim 16, wherein the cup unit does not include mechanical fasteners.

23. The cup unit of claim 16, wherein the cup material includes a first side that is permeable to breast milk.

24. The cup unit of claim 23, wherein the cup material includes a second side that is impermeable to breast milk.

25. The cup unit of claim 16, wherein the cup holder is selectively attachable to a support garment.

26. The cup unit of claim 16, wherein each of the first and second cups is selectively attachable to a support garment.

27. The cup unit of claim 16, wherein the cup holder and each of the first and second cups are selectively attachable to a support garment.

28. The cup unit of claim 16, wherein the cups are made exclusively from one or more fabrics.

29. The cup unit of claim 16, wherein the cup holder is made exclusively from one or more fabrics.

30. The cup unit of claim 16, wherein the cup holder is made exclusively from a first one or more fabrics, and the cups are made exclusively from a second one or more fabrics.

31. A nursing bra, comprising:

the cup unit of claim 16;

a support garment to which the cup unit is removably attached.

32. The nursing bra of claim 31, wherein the support garment comprises a first strap, a second strap, and a bottom perimeter section, each of the first strap and the second strap is connected to the bottom perimeter section, each of the first cup and the second cup is removably attached to a respective one of the first and second straps, and the cup holder is removably attached to the bottom perimeter section of the support garment.

33. The nursing bra of claim 32, wherein the first strap comprises a first shoulder strap section attached to a first support strap section, and the support garment comprises a first strap attachment feature that is connected to the first strap and removably engaged with a loop formed in the first cup.

34. The nursing bra of claim 33, wherein the second strap comprises a second shoulder strap section attached to a second support strap section, and the support garment comprises a second strap attachment feature that is connected to the second strap and removably engaged with a loop formed in the second cup.

35. The nursing bra of claim 32, wherein the support garment comprises a single-piece back section extending from the bottom perimeter section to the first and second straps.

36. The nursing bra of claim 31, wherein the support garment comprises a bottom perimeter section having a plurality of connectors, each of which is removably engaged with a corresponding one of the plurality of cup holder attachment features.

37. The nursing bra of claim 36, wherein the connectors in the plurality of connectors are buttons.

38. A method of nursing an infant, comprising:

providing a nursing bra comprising a replaceable cup unit and a support garment, wherein the replaceable cup unit comprises first and second cups fixedly attached to a cup holder formed from a cup holder fabric, and the first and second cups are formed from an absorbent cup material,

donning the support garment such that the wearer's breasts are substantially fully exposed in the region between the nipples; and

removably attaching the replaceable cup unit to the support garment such that the region between the wearer's nipples is substantially fully exposed to the cup unit.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the step of attaching the replaceable cup unit to the support garment such that the region between the wearer's nipples is substantially fully exposed to the cup unit comprises attaching the replaceable cup unit to the support garment such that the wearer's breasts are substantially fully exposed to the replaceable cup unit.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein the step of removably attaching the replaceable cup unit to the support garment comprises removably attaching the first and second cups to the support garment and removably attaching the cup holder to the support garment, and the method further comprises detaching the first cup from the support garment without detaching any of the second cup and the cup holder from the support garment, thereby exposing the first breast.

41. The method of nursing an infant of claim 38, wherein the replaceable cup unit is a first replaceable cup unit, and the method further comprises:

discharging breast milk into at least one of the first and second cups;

detaching the first replaceable cup unit from the support garment; and

disposing of the first replaceable cup unit.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein first replaceable cup unit does not include mechanical fasteners.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein the first replaceable cup unit comprises first and second cup attachment features formed from a cup attachment feature fabric.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein cup holder comprises a plurality of cup holder attachment features formed from a cup holder attachment feature fabric.

45. The method of claim 43, wherein the first and second cups are formed from a cup material, the first and second attachment feature fabric is the cup material, the cup holder attachment feature fabric is the cup holder fabric, and the plurality of cup holder attachment features comprises openings in the cup holder attachment feature fabric.