Abstract:
A brassiere comprising a bra core which includes two breast cups of a cup shape to each support a breast of a person. Each breast cup is engaged to a chest band wherein the chest band is able to extend about the chest of a person and has distal end fastening clips. A layer of fabric is adhered to each side of the bra core, the layer being of a continuous sheet, formed to the contour the bra core.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to brassieres and in particular to a brassiere which incorporates a seamless breast cup construction and wherein the entire brassiere includes a negligible amount of stitching joining various components of the brassiere together.  
         BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Construction details of brassieres (hereinafter referred to as “bras”) have been developed over many years. Construction details have evolved along with the introduction of new materials and new processes which can be utilised for the manufacturing of bras. As with most consumer products, manufacturers endeavour to reduce the cost of goods sold. A reduction in cost of goods sold can be brought about by the use of cheaper materials. For bra technology however, a significant saving in the cost of a bra can be achieved by eliminating the man-hours required to manufacture the bra. Many bras that are available on the market will include multiple panels of materials which need to be cut, and joined. Cutting can be automated, however when it comes to stitching the panels together, this will mostly be done by a person. The breast cup of a bra may consist of multiple panels which each need to be stitched together, the entire breast cup then needs to be stitched to the chest band and to the over the shoulder straps. Perimeter stitching or overlooking to ensure that the edges of the material of the bra do not fray also needs to be added to the bra. Such is also done by a person. It can hence be seen that in order to manufacture a bra, the labour component of the overall cost can be relatively high.  
           [0003]    Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a bra which reduces the amount of stitching that is required compared to the majority of bras available on the market. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a seamless breast cup construction which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.  
           [0004]    It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a seamless breast cup construction and related bra incorporating such construction to reduce the labour content of manufacturing of the bra or to at least provide the public with a useful choice.  
         BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    Accordingly the present invention consist is a breast cup construction comprising,  
           [0006]    a core of at least a first sheet of molded foam material and a second sheet of foam material laminated to said first sheet and adhered (whether directly or indirectly) to said first sheet to define a concave cup form for use in a bra assembly.  
           [0007]    Preferably said first and second sheets are co extensive.  
           [0008]    Preferably said second sheet is a piece of skived foam cut to a predefined cup shape.  
           [0009]    Preferably said first sheet of molded foam material is an open cell foam formed from a sheet of foam material of 1 mm to 5 mm thick.  
           [0010]    Preferably an underwire structure is provided intermediate of said first sheet and said second sheet.  
           [0011]    Preferably said underwire structure comprises a rigid elongate member (whether of metal or plastic) and a casing about at least part of said rigid elongate member.  
           [0012]    Preferably said casing is of a fabric material.  
           [0013]    Preferably said casing is adhered to one or each of the facing surfaces of said first and second sheet by an adhesive material.  
           [0014]    Preferably said casing is a tubular sock within which said rigid elongate member is located, the sock having closed distal ends.  
           [0015]    Preferably said first sheet of foam material is generated into a cup form from a flat sheet of foam material.  
           [0016]    Preferably said first sheet of foam material is on the concave side of said cup construction.  
           [0017]    Preferably said second sheet is on the convex side of said cup construction.  
           [0018]    Preferably said open cell foam of said first sheet is a urethane foam.  
           [0019]    Preferably said casing completely envelops said rigid elongate member.  
           [0020]    Preferably said casing is adhered intermediate of said first and second sheets to one or each of the facing surfaces thereof.  
           [0021]    Preferably said first and second sheets are adhered to each other by heat fusion.  
           [0022]    Preferably said sock is a slender elongate sock.  
           [0023]    In a second aspect the present invention consists in two breast cups as herein before described wherein said first sheets of each cup has been generated out of a single sheet of foam material.  
           [0024]    In a further aspect the present invention consists in a method of manufacturing a breast cup construction comprising:  
           [0025]    placing a sheet of foam material on one mold portion of a molding machine which includes at least one cup shaped molding surface,  
           [0026]    closing said molding machine by bringing an other mold portion towards said one mold portion, said other mold portion having a substantially complementary shaped molding surface to said first mentioned molding surface and between which said sheet material is positioned,  
           [0027]    wherein the bringing together thereby subjects said sheet of foam to a molding force which with the combination of heat, will provide a permanent cup shape to said sheet,  
           [0028]    laminating a second sheet of foam material to one of the major surfaces of said first mentioned sheet of foam material.  
           [0029]    Preferably prior to laminating of said first and second sheet, an underwire structure is provided intermediate of said first and second sheet  
           [0030]    Preferably after said laminating the first and second sheets are trimmed to a desired perimeter shape.  
           [0031]    Preferably said laminating of said second sheet of foam material to said first mentioned sheet is achieved by the placement of said second sheet adjacent said first sheet and applying a molding force pressing said second sheet and said first sheet together and with the application of heat and an appropriate dwell time of pressing thereby adhering said first and second sheets together.  
           [0032]    Preferably laminating is achieved by the use of said first and second mold halves.  
           [0033]    Preferably said second sheet is placed on said first sheet positioned on said first or second mold half prior to said other of said first or second mold halves being brought together for said laminating step.  
           [0034]    Preferably said underwire structure is adhered to one of said first and second sheets prior to said sheets being brought together for laminating.  
           [0035]    Preferably said underwire structure is adhered to said first sheet subsequent to the molding of said first sheet.  
           [0036]    Preferably said underwire structure is adhered to the second sheet during said laminating step.  
           [0037]    Preferably said molding halves each include a pair of complementary cup shaped molding reliefs for the molding to two cup shapes simultaneously.  
           [0038]    Preferably a single of said first sheets is placed on said first molding halves to extend over both reliefs of said first molding half.  
           [0039]    Preferably two individual of said second sheets are adhered onto a respective of said two cup shapes molded of said first sheet.  
           [0040]    Preferably said cup shaped molding surface of said first mold half is a concave cup shape, said molding surface of said other mold half is a convex cup shape.  
           [0041]    Preferably said cup shaped molding surface of said first mold half is a convex cup shape, said molding surface of said other mold half is a concave cup shape.  
           [0042]    A method of making a bra comprising  
           [0043]    taking two preformed (preferably seamless) breast cups and affixing each breast cup to a chest band at the lower regions of each cup to define a bra core,  
           [0044]    sandwiching said two breast cups and said chest band between two sheets of fabric, and adhering the fabric to said core.  
           [0045]    Preferably each of said two sheets are affixed to opposite sides of said bra core by an adhesive, or by adhesive molding.  
           [0046]    Preferably a first of said fabric sheets is placed on the molding surface(s) of a or said first mold portion, whereafter said bra core is placed onto said fabric, whereafter said second of said fabric sheets is placed over said bra core, wherein all layers on said first molding portion are pressed together by a second molding portion, the application of heat znd/or adhesive between said core and said fabric sheets thereafter adhering said fabric to the outer surfaces of said core.  
           [0047]    Preferably said adhesion of said shoulder straps and said back clasp is achieved by ultrasonic welding.  
           [0048]    Preferably at said region where said chest band and each said breast cups are affixed, there is an overlapping of said first and second sheets and said chest band along which a stitching therebetween engages the cups to the band.  
           [0049]    Preferably said seamless breast cups are of a kind as hereinbefore described.  
           [0050]    Preferably said seamless breast cups are of a kind made according to the methods as hereinbefore described.  
           [0051]    Preferably each said first and second sheets of fabric material are unitary.  
           [0052]    Preferably no seams exist between said core and said sheets of fabric material save for at regions where said shoulder straps and said back clasp are engaged.  
           [0053]    Preferably no seams exist between said core and said sheets of fabric material and said shoulder straps and said back clasp are engaged by adhesion.  
           [0054]    In still a further aspect the present invention consists in a brassiere comprising;  
           [0055]    a bra core which includes two breast cups of a cup shape to each support a breast of a person, each breast cup engaged to a chest band, said chest band able to extend about the chest of a person and having distal end fastening clips,  
           [0056]    a layer of fabric adhered to each side of said bra core, each said layer being of a continuous sheet, formed to the contour the bra core.  
           [0057]    Preferably each said layer of fabric is co-extensive with the bra core.  
           [0058]    Preferably said bra is ultrasonically welded at its perimeter.  
           [0059]    Preferably each said layer of fabric is of a polyester based material.  
           [0060]    Preferably each said layer of fabric is heat adhered to said core.  
           [0061]    Preferably each said layer is ultrasonically welded at its perimeter.  
           [0062]    Preferably said breast cups are of a kind as hereinbefore described.  
           [0063]    Preferably said breast cups are stitched to said chest band.  
           [0064]    Preferably brassiere is made in accordance to the method as hereinbefore described.  
           [0065]    Preferably said brassiere includes over the shoulder straps ultrasonically secured to the main body of said brassiere.  
           [0066]    Preferably back clasps are engaged to the distal ends of said chest straps (preferably also by ultrasonic welding.  
           [0067]    In a further aspect the present invention consist in a brassiere of a kind made according to the method as hereinbefore defined.  
           [0068]    This invention may also be said broadly to consist in the parts, elements and features referred to or indicated in the specification of the application, individually or collectively, and any or all combinations of any two or more of said parts, elements or features, and where specific integers are mentioned herein which have known equivalents in the art to which this invention relates, such known equivalents are deemed to be incorporated herein as if individually set forth. For the purposes of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings a form which is presently preferred. It is being understood however that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0069]    A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures.  
         [0070]    [0070]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one half (bottom half) of a mold for the manufacture of the breast cup and/or the bra of the present invention,  
         [0071]    [0071]FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating two mold halves and an intermediate foam sheet ready to be pressed between the mold halves for the forming of the foam sheet to define two core components for two mirror image breast cups,  
         [0072]    [0072]FIG. 3 illustrates an underwire assembly,  
         [0073]    [0073]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a skived panel of foam material to provide a second component to the core of a breast construction,  
         [0074]    [0074]FIG. 5 is a plan view of FIG. 4,  
         [0075]    [0075]FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG. 4,  
         [0076]    [0076]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the mold half of FIG. 1 but on which the shaped foam sheet of one of the layers of the core is supported and on top of each cup shape, there is provided the underwire assembly of FIG. 3,  
         [0077]    [0077]FIG. 8 shows the same mold half in a side view and wherein the skived foam pieces of FIGS.  4 - 6  are positioned ready for placement on top of the foam sheet which has previously been formed into the two cup shapes,  
         [0078]    [0078]FIG. 9 illustrates two mirror image cup shaped cores of the breast cup construction and showing in phantom the underwire assembly of each,  
         [0079]    [0079]FIG. 10 illustrates each breast cup construction engaged to a chest band,  
         [0080]    [0080]FIG. 11 illustrates a plan view of a chest band,  
         [0081]    [0081]FIG. 12 illustrates the two mold halves ready for pressing the bra core as shown in FIG. 10 with two sheets of fabric to sandwich the bra core,  
         [0082]    [0082]FIG. 13 illustrates a pressed bra after being removed from the mold halves having the sandwiching fabric engaged onto the bra core but prior to a perimeter trimming and sealing, and  
         [0083]    [0083]FIG. 14 illustrates a perimeter trimmed bra of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0084]    Breast Cup Construction  
         [0085]    The breast cup construction of the present invention is defined by at least a first and second layer of foam material which have each been formed to a three dimensional cup shape. The first and second layer of foam material are adhered to each other and may include an intermediate underwire assembly. The breast cup construction will have a concave side and a convex side. The concave side is that side which will be proximate most to the skin of a person wearing the bra which incorporates the breast cup construction. In the most preferred form, the foam sheet material which is provided on the concave side of the breast cup construction is made from a flat (substantially uniform thickness) piece of foam. The foam that is used for this layer is preferably a urethane foam and of a thickness of approximately 1 mm to 5 mm. The second layer of foam of the breast cup construction is located on the convex side and is preferably provided from a piece of skived foam which has preferably been cut from a block of foam material. However this second sheet of foam may alternatively also be made from a flat sheet. However there is advantage to the provision of a skived foam piece, in that it already has its three dimensional form defined prior to it being engaged to the foam made from the flat sheet defining the first sheet of the core.  
         [0086]    Should the breast cup construction be utilised for the manufacture of an underwire bra, then an underwire assembly as shown in FIG. 3 can be provided intermediate of the two foam sheets.  
         [0087]    The underwire assembly consists of a wire casing  7  which encloses a wire  8 . The wire casing is preferably made from a fabric material such as polyester based cotton, lycra, spandex or nylon and is effectively a sock into which the wire can be pushed. The wire  8  has at its distal end features which prevent or reduce the possibility of the wire pushing through the fabric material of the casing such as a dome. The wire may also be bent or formed at the ends to provide a less sharp distal end. The casing has sealed ends and some clearance may be provided between the distal ends of the wire and the sealed ends of the casing to provide the wire with some room for movement within the casing without piercing the casing.  
         [0088]    The manufacture of the breast cup construction is such that no stitching is required to be used. A mold half  1  as shown in FIG. 1 which includes two mirror image breast cup reliefs  5  and a perimeter region  4  is taken, onto which the first sheet of substantially uniform thickness foam  6  is placed. A second mold half  2  which includes substantially complimentary rebate surfaces to the rebate  5  and perimeter  4  of the first mold half will be brought into contact with the foam sheet  6  to thereby press the foam sheet  6  with the first mold half  1  to define cup shapes in the foam sheet  6 . With the application of heat a permanent deformation of the foam sheet  6  can be provided. The foam sheet  6  is preferably subjected to a temperature of approximately 200° C.-210° C. for a duration of 150 seconds by one or both of the mold halves  1 ,  2  whilst placed together, whereafter the mold halves will be separated and one of the major surfaces of the then formed foam sheet  6  will be exposed. The foam sheet  6  may remain within this the first mold half  1 , after forming. Placed on top of each of the cup shapes formed in the sheet  6  are second sheets of foam  11 . Such second sheets of foam  11  are of a size which is substantially the same or larger than the cup shapes defined in the sheet  6 . The second sheets are placed onto the convex side of the formed sheet  6 . The second sheets  11  are preferably of a pre-shaped form and are preferably pieces of skived foam which have been cut from a block of material in a predetermined three dimensional curvature. The second sheets of foam may alternatively be made from a planar sheet of foam and formed either prior to or during its engagement with the first sheet of foam  6 .  
         [0089]    The skived foam  11 , placed onto the formed sheet  6  is then subjected by the second mold half to a pressing with the first sheet. Again a temperature of approximately 200° C.-210° C. and dwell time of 150 seconds subjected to both sheets to thereby fuse both sheets together. Should it be desired that the breast cup construction also includes an underwire, then an underwire assembly as shown in FIG. 3 can be included intermediate of the first sheet  6  and second sheet(s)  11 , prior to the placement of the second sheet. The underwire assembly of FIG. 3 is for example placed onto the formed sheet  6  after it is formed to its three dimensional shape. The underwire assembly may for example be adhered to the first sheet  6  by adhesion using for example an adhesive material. One side of the wire casing may be sprayed by glue for adhesion onto the layer  6  and the other side may be sprayed with a glue for adhesion onto a surface of the sheets  11 . Once the second sheet(s) are placed on top of the first sheet  6 , the underwire assembly becomes trapped between the two sheets. The underwire assembly is placed in an appropriate location such as towards the bottom curvature of the cup construction.  
         [0090]    Once the two cup constructions are formed by the sheet  6  and sheet(s)  11  being adhered together with or without an underwire assembly intermediate thereof, the molding is removed from the mold halves and trimmed to define the breast cup constructions as shown in FIG. 9. These are formed by the trimming of the material removed from mold and by preferably leaving a margin of approximately 5-6 mm around the three dimensional cup contour of the cup.  
         [0091]    Whilst in the preferred form, each complimentary cup shape (left and right cup) are formed from one molding, alternatively separate molds may be used for molding each of the left and right cups.  
         [0092]    The skived foam that may be used, preferably varies in thickness which decreases towards the edges.  
         [0093]    When the two mold halves are brought together, a slight gap remains between the three dimensional molding surfaces which define the cup mold shape so the material of the first and second sheets  6 ,  11  is at least in the middle of the cup shape not completely pressed together. The gap between the first and second mold halves at the cup shape regions, does vary.  
         [0094]    In an alternative to the above formation may include the skived foam layer being on the concave side of the cup form.  
         [0095]    Bra Construction  
         [0096]    The breast cup constructions as hereinbefore described can be utilised in an overall bra construction. In the most preferred form the bra is manufactured by engaging two breast cups to a chest band core  12 . The chest band core  12  is engaged to the cups by stitching along part of the perimeter of each cup. The core itself consists of strap regions  20  which are sewn onto the inner gore  13  at stitch lines  21 . This is then sewn to the breast cup constructions along seams  22 . With the breast cup construction and the chest band core engaged together, a bra core is defined.  
         [0097]    With reference to FIG. 11, there is shown a region  14  which is a foam region. This region  14  serves to provide support and stiffness to the finished bra at the region between the two breast cups.  
         [0098]    The bra core consisting of the foam breast cup construction hereinbefore described is engaged to the chest band core  12 , and is then placed into a molding arrangement as shown in FIG. 12. A first layer of fabric material  16  is placed onto the lower mold half  1 . This fabric material  16  is of a size larger than the size of the bra core so as to completely overlie the bra core. The bra core is then placed onto the fabric material  16  and a second layer of outer fabric material  15  is placed onto the bra core. The second outer layer  15  is also of a size larger than the perimeter size of the bra core. The upper mold half  2  is then brought into engagement to press the layers of the outer fabric  15 ,  16  and the bra core together. The outer fabric layers  15  and  16  will be deformed to follow the contours of the cup shapes and with a dwell time of 150 seconds and a heating temperature of between 200° C.-210° C., the outer fabric sheets  15 ,  16  become adhered to the bra core both at the breast cup constructions and at the chest band core. The sheets of fabric material  15 ,  16  are substantially each made of a single sheet of material and by the fact that each outer layer overlies the bra core, no seams will be visible to a person once the outer layers,  15 ,  16  have been engaged.  
         [0099]    The molding is then removed from the mold halves and the resultant bra precursor as shown in FIG. 13 exists. A perimeter margin  17  formed at regions of the bra precursor as shown in FIG. 13 by the two mold halves  1 ,  2  being substantially engaged together in then molding condition, then needs to be trimmed. This trimming is achieved for example by a cutting device. The removal of the margin may alternatively be achieved by a combined ultrasonic cutting and fusing step. The ultrasonic cutting and fusing step will remove the margin from the bra and simultaneously seal the perimeter of the bra to prevent any fraying of material. The ultrasonic fusing and cutting can be achieved by an ultrasonic bonding machine (such as a sonobond machine) set to a 3 mm setting. The molded bra is placed into a fusing horn for fusing and cutting the final shape. Thereafter straps and hook pads can be added the fused and cut bra by either an ultrasonic bonding or by stitching.  
         [0100]    The bra of the present invention can be made substantially at least without any visible stitching. The bra is much more durable and eliminates problems caused by repeated washing and wearing which can cause the seams of the stitching to become undone or fray. The use of the bra cup construction comprising of the at least two sheets of foam material makes the shape of the bra more sustainable after washing.  
         [0101]    The durability of the bra and the lack of stitching means that skin allergies/abrasions from wires which would have penetrated through the bra, and or loose stitching can be avoided. Because of the sandwiching nature of the bra construction, little or no undesirable deformation of the bra occurs. The positioning of the wire assembly between the cups ensures that they are much more secured and its position is much more controlled and thereby prevents sliding. This leads to stronger support and more conformed fitting of the bra against the body. With the lack of stitching across the breast cup construction, it means the contour lines of the bra are much less visible and the breast curve can be well concealed.  
         [0102]    The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and accordingly reference should be made to the appended claims rather than the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.