BRASSIERE CUP PLASTIC STRIP SUPPORT AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREFOR
A brassiere cup support and method of manufacturing the support and cup therewith. The support comprises a plastic support in the shape of one or more of an underwire, an uplifting panel, a reinforcing pad, a sternum region, or an extended fish bone like pattern capable of providing desired “firmness” or “hardness” along its length and thereby providing desired degrees of support therealong. The plastic support comprises at least one layer of polymer and at least one layer of a second material, wherein the at least one layer of polymer and the at least one layer of the second material are in the form of a sandwich. Preferably, the plastic support comprises at least two layers of polymer and at least one layer of the second material, with an adhesive applied therebetween to secure the layers to one another.
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This application is a continuation-in-part of pending U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 13/244,577 filed Sep. 25, 2011, which claims benefit of Hong Kong Patent Application Serial Number HK11105043.3, filed on May 23, 2011 and Hong Kong Patent Application Serial Number HK11105044.2 filed on May 23, 2011. This continuation-in-part application also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to United Kingdom patent application GB1309939.5, filed Jun. 4, 2013. Each of the aforementioned related patent applications is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to brassieres. The invention more particularly, although not exclusively, relates to a brassiere having a specially formed plastic support and a method of manufacturing a cup for such a brassiere using the specially formed plastic support.
Known brassieres have a stiff metallic underwire sewn into the bottom of each cup. Such underwires may provide an adequate level of support but are uncomfortable, unsightly and can protrude from the brassiere after a time of use. Such metallic underwires are also of constant cross-section and stiffness throughout their length and therefore do not provide a desired level of variable support throughout their length.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the above disadvantages and/or more generally to provide an improved brassiere and brassiere cup plastic support and method of manufacture therefor.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTIONThere is disclosed herein a brassiere cup plastic support. The plastic support may be in the shape of one or more of an underwire, an uplifting panel, a reinforcing pad, a sternum region, or an extended fish bone like pattern. Such plastic support is capable of providing desired “firmness” or “hardness” along its length and thereby providing desired degrees of support therealong.
Preferably, the plastic support comprises at least one layer of polymer.
The plastic support may further comprise at least one layer of a second material, wherein the at least one layer of polymer and the at least one layer of the second material are in the form of sandwich.
Preferably, the plastic support comprises at least two layers of said polymer and the at least one layer of the second material is formed sandwiched between said at least two layers of said polymer.
Preferably, the second material is selected from a group of polymer, fabric and foam.
It is preferred that the plastic support has a constant number of layers of the polymer and second material, so as to have a uniform crosswise dimension along its length.
Alternatively, the plastic support may have a variable number of layers of at least one of the polymer and second material along its length, so as to have a varied crosswise dimension along its length.
Preferably, the dimension graduates from a minimum at one end of the plastic support to a maximum at the other end of the plastic support.
Preferably, the polymer is ethylene vinyl acetate.
Preferably, the polymer is resin.
Preferably, the plastic support is formed by layers of polymer and second material adhered to each other in the form of a sandwich.
Preferably, the plastic support is initially formed by cutting a desired shape from the plastic support.
There is further disclosed herein a brassiere cup having the above-disclosed plastic support located in an edge region and/or an outer region thereof.
Preferably, the plastic support is located between layers of material from which the cup is formed, and even furthermore, the plastic support is molded in place with formation of the cup.
There is further disclosed herein a brassiere having a pair of the above-disclosed brassiere cups.
Furthermore, there is disclosed herein a method of manufacturing a brassiere part with a plastic support, comprising the steps of:
-
- (a) providing at least one layer of a polymer;
- (b) providing at least one layer of a second material on top of the layer of polymer;
- (c) applying an adhesive at the interface between the at least one layer of polymer and the at least one layer of the second material, for causing said layers to adhere to each other and form a layered plastic support;
- (d) cutting the plastic support from the layered plastic support, where the size and shape of the plastic support corresponds to a desired size and shape for the plastic support of the brassiere part;
- (e) providing a mold for forming the brassiere part with a trough;
- (f) laying down in the mold a brassiere part material from which the brassiere part is to be formed, such that some of the brassiere part material extends into the trough;
- (g) positioning the plastic support upon the brassiere part material that extends into the trough; and
- (h) applying heat to the mold sufficient to soften the plastic support so that it consolidates into a desired shape as defined by the shape of the trough, melts into a continuous support and forms a whole piece of material together with the brassiere part material.
Preferably, in some embodiments, the second material may be selected from a group of foam, fabric and polymer.
Preferably, in some embodiments, the brassiere part is a cup and the plastic support is an underwire, wherein the plastic material consolidates in the trough to form the underwire of variable or uniform width and/or depth from one end of the underwire to the other.
Optionally, the methods disclosed above may further comprise providing additional layers of polymer as well as additional layers of second material sandwiched therebetween.
Even furthermore, further layers of material from which the brassiere cup is to be formed can be laid down so as to cover the plastic material in the trough before the step of applying heat.
Preferred forms of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
In
A plastic support in a form of underwire 11 is shown in
In this embodiment, the at least one layer of polymer 12 is placed between layers of foam 14 as shown in
The variation of the thickness (or width) of the plastic support is a matter of choice subject to the support desired. In this illustration, the thickness of the plastic support in a form of underwire 11 varies gradually between A and B. Underwire 11 is surrounded by foam 13 as shown in
One end of the underwire 11 (typically the end closest to the wearer's shoulder) is the thickest, whereas the other end of the underwire 11 (typically the end nearest the wearer's sternum) is the thinnest. This provides a gradual reduction in stiffness of the underwire 11 along its length. In order to finely tune the degree of support and comfort along the length of the underwire 11, differing materials and material thicknesses may be adopted. Indeed different configurations might be required for different cup sizes to suit the anatomy of different women.
The underwire 11 is typically formed in and located at a transition position between the cup and the front band of the brassiere. The underwire 11 would be orientated with its flatter side facing the body of the wearer so that the convex side of the underwire 11 faces outwardly away from the body. The brassiere cup might be formed as a lamination of foam plastics material between layers of which the underwire 11 is located.
In another embodiment, underwire 11 may be of constant uniform thickness throughout its length. The thickness of the underwire depends on the number of layers of polymer and the number of layers of foam and/or fabric used.
Optional, an adhesive can be used at the interface between each layer of polymer and the at least one layer of the second material, for causing said layers to adhere to each other so they maintain their relative position during further processing.
Optionally, the plastic support may comprise one or more layer of polymer 12 only, without layers of the second material 14. Second material 14 may be selected from the group of polymer, fabric and foam.
It is indeed a matter of choice to have the plastic material having either only layer(s) of polymer or combination of layer(s) of polymer together with layer(s) of fabric and/or foam, subject to the amount of support desired.
Features 40, 42 and 17 shown in
It should be appreciated that modifications and alterations obvious to those skilled in the art are not to be considered as beyond the scope of the present invention. For example, rather than using continuous fixed length supports of polymer/foam/fabric materials in the method of manufacturing the plastic support, continuous variable-length supports of polymer/foam material could be laid one upon another in stepwise manner such that thickness of the material varies along the plastic support. These layers could then be melded together upon the application of heat and pressure to remove any steps between the layers. Furthermore, different thickness of polymer can be used together or separately to form a plastic support. Even furthermore, two or more polymer layers can be used to form the plastic support, where at least two of the polymer layers are comprised of a different polymer, chosen from the group of a resin, a PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) or EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate). Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the described embodiments, but that it has the full scope suggested by the above-language, as well as equivalents thereof.
Claims
1. A brassiere cup plastic support comprising at least one layer of polymer and at least one layer of a second material; wherein the plastic support is in the shape of one or more of an underwire, an uplifting panel, a reinforcing pad, a sternum region, or an extended fish bone like pattern.
2. The brassiere cup plastic support of claim 1, wherein the plastic support comprises at least two layers of the polymer and the at least one layer of the second material is formed sandwiched between the at least two layers of the polymer.
3. The brassiere cup plastic support of claim 1, wherein the second material is selected from a group comprising a polymer, a fabric and a foam.
4. The brassiere cup plastic support of claim 1, wherein the plastic support has a constant number of layers of the polymer and second material, so as to have a uniform crosswise dimension along its length.
5. The brassiere cup plastic support of claim 1, wherein the plastic support has a variable number of layers of at least one of the polymer and second material along its length, so as to have a varied crosswise dimension along its length.
6. The brassiere cup plastic support of claim 5, wherein the dimension graduates from a minimum at one end of the plastic support to a maximum at the other end of the plastic support.
7. The brassiere cup plastic support of claim 1, wherein the polymer is selected from the group of an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), a resin, or a poly vinyl chloride (PVC).
8. The brassiere cup plastic support of claim 1, wherein the plastic support is formed by cutting a desired shape from the plastic strip.
9. The brassiere cup plastic support of claim 1, wherein the plastic support is formed by molding.
10. The brassiere cup plastic support of claim 1, further including an adhesive material positioned at the interface between each layer of polymer and the at least one layer of the second material, for causing said layers to adhere to each other.
11. The brassiere cup plastic support of claim 1 located in an edge region of a brassiere cup.
12. The brassiere cup plastic support of claim 1 located between layers of material from which the brassiere cup is formed.
13. A brassiere having a pair of the brassiere cups of claim 1.
14. A method of manufacturing a brassiere part with a plastic support, comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing at least one layer of a polymer;
- (b) providing at least one layer of a second material on top of the layer of polymer;
- (c) applying an adhesive at the interface between the at least one layer of polymer and the at least one layer of the second material, for causing said layers to adhere to each other and form a layered plastic support;
- (d) cutting the plastic support from the layered plastic support, where the size and shape of the plastic support cut from the layered plastic support corresponds to a desired size and shape for the plastic support of the brassiere part after application of heat as noted by Step (h);
- (e) providing a mold for forming the brassiere part with a trough;
- (f) laying down in the mold a brassiere part material from which the brassiere part is to be formed, such that some of the brassiere part material extends into the trough;
- (g) positioning the plastic support cut from the layered plastic support upon the brassiere part material that extends into the trough; and
- (h) applying heat to the mold sufficient to soften the plastic support so that it consolidates into a desired shape as defined by the shape of the trough, melts into a continuous strip and forms a whole piece of material together with the brassiere part material.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein step (b) provides the second material from a group comprising a foam, a fabric and a polymer.
16. The method of claim 14 wherein the brassiere part is a cup and the plastic support is an underwire, and where during step (h) the plastic material consolidates in the trough to form the underwire so as to have either a variable or uniform width and/or depth from one end of the underwire to the other.
17. The method of claim 14, wherein step (a) provides multiple layers of polymer.
18. The method of claim 14, wherein steps (a) and (b) each provide multiple layers of their respective polymer and second material, until a plastic material of desired shape and thickness is complete.
19. The method of claim 14, wherein step (f) provides further layers of material for laying down, from which the brassiere cup is to be formed, so as to cover the plastic material in the trough before step (h).
20. The method of claim 14 wherein the brassiere part is a cup and the plastic support is in the shape of one or more of an uplifting panel, a reinforcing pad, a sternum region, or an extended fish bone like pattern.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 28, 2013
Publication Date: Feb 27, 2014
Applicant: TOP FORM (B.V.I) LIMITED (Hong Kong)
Inventor: Ho Yau Wan (Hong Kong)
Application Number: 14/012,428
International Classification: A41C 3/14 (20060101); A41C 5/00 (20060101);