Abstract:
A breast-supporting garment ( 10 ) having a pair of centrally joined breast cups ( 12, 13 ), each cup having a generally U-shaped underwire ( 23, 24 ) extending along a bottom edge and upwardly along inner and outer side edges thereof, each underwire having a substantially straight central section ( 31, 32 ), the straight sections being held in abutment to provide enhanced support of the breasts.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
   This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/484,694 filed Jul. 3, 2003, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to an improved breast-supporting garment, and is described primarily in terms of an underwire brassiere (hereinafter “bra”), which is modified by positioning upper central sections of left and right underwires against each other to provide increased and comfortable support of the breasts. The invention is not limited to back- and shoulder-strap bras, and is applicable to underwire breast cups which are incorporated in strapless bras, corsets, swimwear, dresses, and other breast-supporting garments. 
   Underwire bras have left and right breast cups each having a hollow lining or casing, typically of sewn fabric, and extending from an inner central part of the cup, around the bottom of the cup, and upwardly along at least a portion of the cup outer edge. An underwire (typically metal, but could also be plastic, or a tightly compressed and stiff strand of cotton or a similar material) is inserted in each casing channel to facilitate positioning and increased support of the breasts. The fabric casing is not an essential feature, and other attachment methods such as sewing or gluing can be used to secure the underwire to the breast-cup edge. 
   Prior-art bra designs use two separated underwires which are not in contact, or are in only point contact at the underwire ends. Such point contact provides little mutual lateral support of the underwire and breast cups. 
   It has been found that a significant improvement in breast support can be achieved by providing underwires with overlapping straight and upwardly extending inner sections which are either secured in direct tangential and parallel contact with each other, or so held firmly together by an enclosing tube-like capsule. The abutted inner sections provide significantly additional lateral and vertical support for the underwires, cups, and breasts, and the design is especially advantageous with larger breast cups. Such larger sizes can also be of a demi-cup configuration for a more revealing cleavage, and a smaller amount of cup material. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A breast-supporting garment such as a bra, the garment having side-by-side and centrally joined breast cups, each cup having a generally U-shaped underwire fitted along a bottom edge, and extending upwardly along inner and outer side edges of the cup. The underwires have upper central sections which are abutted tangentially together in parallel alignment to provide enhanced support to each other, and to the cups. In a bra configuration, the garment preferably has a backstrap with a lower edge which is upwardly arched to resist upward movement of the backstrap. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a front view of a demi-cup bra incorporating the invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the bra; 
       FIG. 3  is a back view of the bra; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective of the bra as worn; 
       FIG. 5  is an enlarged front view of centrally joined underwires and enclosing casings; 
       FIG. 6  is a sectional view of the components shown in  FIG. 5 ; 
       FIG. 7  is a sectional view on line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6 ; 
       FIG. 8  is a view similar to  FIG. 7 , but showing underwires one above the other; 
       FIG. 9  is a view similar to  FIG. 7 , and showing underwires of a rectangular cross-section. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1-4 , an underwire bra  10  has centrally joined left and right breast cups  12  and  13 , shown as demi-cups, but the invention is equally applicable to full-cup bras. Left and right backstraps  14  and  15  extend from the cups to encircle the user&#39;s chest, and be joined by a conventional rear fastener  16 . Left and right shoulder straps  19  and  20  are secured to the upper outer edges of the cups to extend over the user&#39;s shoulders, and be joined to the backstraps ( FIG. 3 ). The invention is also useful in bras which lack shoulder straps, and rely on backstraps, cups, and underwires for breast support. 
   Rear lower-edge portions  21  of the backstraps are upwardly arched, in contrast to the straight and generally horizontal lower edges of conventional bra backstraps. This arched configuration provides added resistance to “riding up” of the connected backstraps, and is especially helpful with bras using large cup sizes. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 , and  4 , the underside of the breast cups have sewn thereto casings  23  and  24 , typically of a thick fabric, and with hollow interiors to accept left and right underwires  26  and  27  (shown in phantom line in  FIG. 1 ). The casings and underwires extend downwardly along the outer side edges of cups  12  and  13 , around the undersurface of the cups, and then merge upwardly in the central junction of the cups. For comfort, a slightly elastic fabric is preferred for the casings, but an elastomeric or plastic tubing can also be used. Hollow casings are conventionally used in underwire bras, but other means such as gluing or sewing can also be used to attach underwires to cups. 
     FIG. 6  is a sectional view of joined casings  23  and  24 , with underwires  26  and  27  fitted therein. The upper central sections of the casings are sewn together, and a buttonhole-like window or opening  29  is formed in the inner sidewall of casing  24 . Stitching closes the channel of casing  23  above the opening, forcing the upper inner section of underwire  26  into the channel of casing  24  to be tangent to and against the upper inner section of underwire  27 . The fabric or other material forming the casings is sufficiently flexible to accept both wires, and to hold them in tight engagement as shown in the sectional view of  FIG. 7 . 
   As illustrated, upper inner sections  31  and  32  of the underwires are substantially straight, and these straight sections are at least about one-half inch in length, and preferably longer. The longer the tangential joint of the sections  31  and  32 , the more mutual support is provided to the underwires and breast cups. Sections  31  and  32  can be rigidly connected (as by welding, twisting, and gluing, or being integrally formed), but this prevents folding of the bra for storage or shipment, and abutting ends which can be twisted during folding are accordingly preferred. 
   The underwires are typically made of a metal such as stainless steel, which is rigid and only slightly flexible. Plastic or other materials having these characteristics can also be used to make the underwires. Underwires having a circular cross section are shown in  FIGS. 6-8 , but a rectangular cross section ( FIG. 9 ) also is entirely acceptable, and typical dimensions are 0.10 inch by 0.024 inch. Other cross sections such as half round can also be used. 
   Fore-and-aft overlapping of upper sections  31  and  32  as shown in  FIG. 8  will provide the best support if encased in a short and close-fitting elastomeric or plastic tube  34  urging the wires into tight engagement. Preferably, the upper sections are laterally against each other as shown in  FIGS. 7 and 9 , the casing again urging the sections against each other.