Abstract:
A method of manufacturing a bra pad having a thicker summit area, as well as the pad itself, includes holding a sheet of resilient and formable material of uniform thickness, such as thermoplastic foam, and forming the sheet to have a graduated thicker summit area corresponding to each summit of a bra or bra-like garment for including the pad, and a surrounding thinner area. Each pad thus has a thicker summit area for extending over the summits of the breasts.

Description:
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates generally to the field of bras and related garments, and in particular to a new and useful method and pad product having a thicker central summit area for use in bras, camisoles, slips, swimsuits or any other breast covering garment where padding is desired.  
         [0002]     It is known to provide resilient pads in bras to accentuate the figure. Padded bras are not always desirable, however. Bras without pads are also known but these have limited ability to enhance the figure.  
         [0003]     U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,750 discloses a method for making brasserie pad pre-forms which can produce a bra pad having a thicker central region than its outer regions. A mold apparatus is utilized which produces a substantially conical pad of polyester fibers with a summit which is thicker than the periphery of the conical pad. Also see U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,207.  
         [0004]     Other patents of interest to the present invention are:  
                                   U.S. Pat. No.   Inventor(s)                   2,507,543   Prager       2,565,400   Skeoch       2,616,093   Talalay       2,627,368   Jantzen       2,702,769   Alderfer       2,845,974   Ashton et al.       3,164,655   Howard et al.       3,186,271   Kaiser       3,311,007   McGee       3,417,755   Howard et al.       3,464,418   Silverman       3,502,083   Howard et al.       3,800,650   Schroder       4,351,211   Azzolini       5,017,174   Gowrylow       5,299,483   Ber-Fong.                  
 
         [0005]     U.S. Pat. No. 2,627,368 to Jantzen discloses a method of making curved pad filler in which a mold is provided with a concave part for receiving a part of a blank of material. A means are provided for pushing or pressing the blank into the concave part of the mold. A sharp moving knife is passed between the mold and the pressing element, resulting in a curved shoulder pad filler and uniformly tapered portions extending from the thick end to a feathered edge.  
         [0006]     U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,271 to Kaiser discloses an apparatus and method for producing shaped articles consisting of foam such as sponges and cushions.  
         [0007]     Neither the Jantzen nor the Kaiser patents teach or suggest a sheet of material having a pair of thicker areas positioned so that they correspond to the location where the central summit of the bra pad will be when it is completed.  
         [0008]     U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,164,655, 3,417,755 and 3,502,083 to Howard et al. disclose molding of a blank to give it a desired shape and contour but fail to teach or suggest forming a foam sheet of material having a pair of thicker areas positioned so that their position corresponds to the location where the central summit of the bra pad will be when it is completed after thermoforming.  
         [0009]     U.S. Pat. No. 2,616,093 to Talalay discloses an apparel pad such as a shoulder or breast pad, which as a concavo-complex shape with a thickness graduated from a relatively thick portion to a relatively thin portion using different pieces of material to build up the pad.  
         [0010]     U.S. Pat. No. 3,311,007 to McGee discloses an apparatus for producing at least one contoured surface upon a foamed material pad but is very different from the present invention because it teaches the effects of cutting a foam member which is compressed by a male mold portion against an opposite flat mold portion, and thus, the contour of the shaved material is based on the shape of the male mold portion. McGee fails to teach contouring of an article based on a foam material being pressed to cover and penetrate a recess before the foam material is shaved.  
         [0011]     U.S. Pat. No. 2,727,278 to Thompson discloses a method of making a molded composite bra, in which the thickness of filler material in each bra pad has a summit thickness greater than the thickness surrounding the summit. The process for making the molded bra is however very different from the present invention and does not teach shaving a material compressed into a recess.  
         [0012]     The remaining patents disclose other pad-related technology which are distinguishable from the invention, and they are enclosed for general reference.  
         [0013]     A need remains for an improved pad, as well as a method for producing such a bra pad, which adds some padding effect to the bra but in a very subtle manner so that the padding is barely perceptible.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]     It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a bra pad having a thicker central summit area, as well as the pad itself and the apparatus for manufacturing the pad, comprising holding a sheet of uniform thickness, resilient and formable material, such as thermoplastic foam, and forming the sheet to have one or two thicker summit areas corresponding to the summits of the bra or bra-like garment (here called a bra for any garment in which the pads are ultimately used). Each pad thus has a thicker summit area for extending over the summits of the breasts of a wearer of the bra.  
         [0015]     A further object of the invention is to provide the bra pad made in accordance with the method of the invention.  
         [0016]     The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]     In the drawings:  
         [0018]      FIG. 1  is a side elevation view of an open shaving mold used to make the pads and to practice the method of the present invention with a sheet of polyurethane foam material therebetween;  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is a view similar to  FIG. 1  of the shaving mold in its closed position and with a shaving device in an initial position of use;  
         [0020]      FIG. 3  is a view similar to  FIG. 2  with the shaving apparatus in a final position;  
         [0021]      FIG. 4  is a side elevational view of a shaved or graduated sheet component of the bra pad in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 5  is a view similar to  FIG. 4  of an assembled pre-form of the bra pad according to the present invention;  
         [0023]      FIG. 6  is an exploded view of a forming mold with the pre-form bra pad between the mold halves thereof;  
         [0024]      FIG. 7  is a sectional view of a formed component for creating two foam pads of the present invention;  
         [0025]      FIG. 8  is a top plan view of the formed component of  FIG. 7 ; and  
         [0026]      FIG. 9  is a view of a pair of bra pads constructed in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0027]     Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference numerals are used to refer to the same or functionally similar elements,  FIG. 1  shows a shaving mold generally designated  10  comprising a lower shaving mold portion  12  and an upper shaving mold portion  14  with a thickness of e.g. 7 mm polyurethane foam  16  therebetween. Although polyurethane foam is illustrated, any thermo plastic foam material can be used according to the present invention and in fact any formable material can be used which is resilient and is capable of being formed into a permanent yet resilient three-dimenisonal shape. The shaving mold halves or portions  12  and  14  can be made of wood, plastic, metal or other suitable rigid material. Lower mold half  12  contains a pair of recesses  18  in its upper surface which are positioned so that they are near the central summit of each bra pad to eventually be made in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0028]      FIG. 2  illustrates the shaving mold in its closed position with the resilient formable sheet of material  16  pressed down onto the lower mold half so that some of the material of sheet  16  is pressed into each recess  18  but also a thickness of material, for example at  20 , remains along the shaving mold halves.  
         [0029]     A shaving apparatus generally designated  22  is also illustrated in  FIG. 2  which comprises a movable carriage  24 , which carries a blade, knife or shaving member  26  that extends transversely the full width of material sheet  16  (perpendicular to the plane of  FIG. 2 ). Blade  26  is also positioned intermediate to the upper and lower shaving mold halves  14 ,  20  respectively so that a portion of the layer  20  can be neatly shaved from the sheet  16 . For this purpose, member  26  may be heated (e.g., a cutting wire), may be mounted for movement like a band saw, may be reciprocally vibrated back and forth like an electric knife or oscillated in any other appropriate way for cutting the foam material of sheet  16 .  
         [0030]     With the shaving apparatus  22  activated to vibrate, heat or otherwise activate member  26 , the carriage  24  is moved in the direction of arrow A and across the sheet  16  until it reaches its final position shown in  FIG. 3 . In this position a slice  30  has been made in sheet  16  thus achieving the shaving effect.  FIG. 4  shows the shaved component or graduated sheet  16   a  which is removed from the shaving mold after it is opened and which contains a pair of thicker material areas  17  at a summit e.g. of 5.5 mm thickness, surrounded by thinner material areas  19 , e.g. 1 mm thick.  FIG. 8  illustrates in dotted line the two summit areas  17  on the rectangular and graduated sheet  16   a  which, in  FIG. 8 , has already been attached to as second outer cup sheet  32 , e.g. 2 mm thick, shown in  FIG. 5  which is also made of polyurethane foam material. Shaved or graduated sheet  16   a  forms an inner cup sheet.  
         [0031]     As shown in  FIG. 5 , each of the cup sheets  16   a  and  32  may also include a laminate or fabric covering  33  and  34 , respectively, made, for example, of nylon or nylon with spandex. This is a conventional covering for foam pads used in bras. It is important that in accordance with the present invention, the laminate  33  be on the outer inner surface of the inner cup sheet  16   a  so that it is not shaved away by the shaving apparatus  22  and that the outer cup sheet  32  have its laminate  34  on its outer surface. This leaves the inner surfaces of panels  16   a  and  32  free to receive sprayed on glue. After the glue is sprayed on the two surfaces are pressed against each other to produce the single composite pre-form illustrated in  FIG. 5 .  
         [0032]     In  FIG. 6 a  thermo-forming mold  40  is generally designated  40  and, as illustrated, includes a lower female mold portion or half  42  and an upper mold half or portion  44 . The pre-form  16   a ,  32  is positioned between the mold halves  42 ,  44  with the summits  17  centered on a pair of recesses  46  formed in the lower female mold half  42  which also correspond with a pair of male projections  48  formed in the male mold half  44 . Each projection  48  may also include a slight recessed or flattened area  49  or an area which is shaped to keep from completely crushing the summit areas  17  of the inner cup sheet  16   a.    
         [0033]     The mold halves are heated to the appropriate level for molding the pre-form into a finished molding illustrated in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . The finished molding has thicker summit areas  17 , e.g. 5-6 mm thick, surrounded by the thinner surrounding areas  19 , e.g. 1 mm thick, which completely encircle each summit area  17  and have an inner area of e.g. 2 mm thick, so that a bra manufactured with or containing the bra pads of the present invention will have a slightly thicker area  17 , for example 3 mm, over the summit of each breast summit, and thinner material, e.g. tapering down to 1 mm, in thinner areas  19 .  
         [0034]      FIG. 9  illustrates the pair of pads  52 ,  54  which are cut from the molding of  FIGS. 7 and 8  and are ready for use in a bra, in a conventional manner. The pads  52 ,  54  may also be used in other garments for covering the torso of a woman and which contain bra or bra-like structures such as bathing suits, camisoles, and the like.  
         [0035]     While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.