Patent Publication Number: US-7708617-B2

Title: Brassiere patch closure

Description:
This application is related to copending application Ser. No. 11/296,581 filed 7 Dec. 2006 with reference back to then application Ser. Nos. 10/978,238 filed 29 Oct. 2004 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,435,154) and 11/025,679 filed 28 Dec. 2004 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,431,631). 
   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a brassiere. More particularly this invention concerns a patch closure for the back wings of a brassiere. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   In a typical brassiere a pair of brassiere wings are attached to a cup structure and can form the back of the brassiere. The wings are normally at least somewhat elastic and are provided with fastener elements which allow them to be detachably engaged with one another to form a closed back and to be opened to permit the garment to be put on or taken off. 
   In the above-mentioned applications, we have described the formation of brassiere wings with a closure that is attached as a premade units to a cup structure to form the back of a brassiere. The shoulder straps may be connected between that cup structure and these wings and the fastener elements on the wings are preferably combined press button and hook fasteners which can be engaged by the insertion of a head of the male member into the recess formed by a notch in the female member. The fasteners described as injection molded synthetic-resin snap-type hook and eye connectors and are of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,232 were injection molded directly onto the laminated wings. The fasteners have the advantage that they can be engaged via an action similar to that used to engage standard hook and eye connectors, but can be separated by being pulled apart perpendicular to the wings like a snap fastener. 
   A problem with these closures is that they can open on their own. Furthermore the tension in the back wings can cause the closure to form an unattractive bump in the middle of the wearer&#39;s back. 
   OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
   It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved brassier-wing closure. 
   Another object is the provision of such an improved brassier-wing closure that overcomes the above-given disadvantages, in particular that holds well and that lies flat when closed. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A pair of brassiere wings having ends meeting on a longitudinal centerline are interconnected by a closure having according to the invention a flexible but somewhat stiff and inelastic first patch fixed to on of the wing ends and provided with a plurality of fastener members and a flexible but also somewhat stiff and inelastic second patch fixed to the other of the wing ends and provided with a fastener member engageable with the members of the first patch. A stiff bar extending transversely of the centerline is fixed to the second patch and concave toward a wearer of a brassiere having the wings. 
   Thus this bar ensures that the wing ends will not curl outward at the fastener and that instead the wings of the brassiere will lie flatly against the user&#39;s back. This prevents the unattractive bump or outcurling that occurs here and that is frequently visible through the wearer&#39;s clothing. 
   Furthermore according to the invention the wing ends are elastic and the patches each include an inelastic backing sheet. The combination includes extending around perimeters of the backing sheets securing the sheets in a continuous line to the respective wing ends so that the sheets substantially eliminate the ability of the respective wing ends to stretch inward of the respective perimeters. Typically the patches are secured by perimeter welds. 
   The backing sheets in accordance with the invention are flexible and the bar is of a rigid synthetic resin bonded to the respective backing sheet. Furthermore bar is between the respective backing sheet and the respective wing end. Thus it is neither visible nor can it directly engage the wearer. 
   The fastener members according to the invention are arrayed in pairs with the fastener members of each pair transversely flanking the centerline. They therefore assist the wing ends to lie flat on the wearer. 
   According to another feature of the invention one or both of the patches is of a shape that is longest parallel to the centerline than transversely offset therefrom so that the second patch reduces longitudinal elastic deformation of the respective wing end at the centerline more than offset therefrom. This further enhances the tendency of the wing ends to flatten themselves against the user since, when tensioned longitudinally, the tension will be greater in the less stretchable center of the wing ends and they will be pulled flat against the wearer. 
   More particularly, the second patch has a triangular portion with a corner generally on the centerline. More particularly the second patch can have a rectangular portion carrying the respective fastener members and a triangular end with a corner that points away from an outer end of the respective wing end. Such a patch is extremely easy to manufacture and install, and gives substantially better results than the prior-art rectangular patches. 
   This structure with the longer central dimension is further enhanced by use of the above-described stiffener bar. 
   Furthermore according to the invention the fastener members of one of the patches are formed with stiff but elastically deformable heads fittable with the fastener members of the other of the patches and formed with notches open parallel to the centerline. This makes it possible to unite the fastener members by sliding the two wing members apart as in a standard hook/eye fastener, but allows them to be separated by simply pulling back the rear wing end to pop the fastener open. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     The above and other objects, features, and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a rear view of two unjoined wing ends with the closure according to the invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a front view of the two unjoined wing ends as in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a detail front view of the stiffened closure patch according to the invention; 
       FIGS. 4 and 5  are sections taken along respective lines IV-IV and V-V of  FIG. 3 ; and 
       FIG. 6  is a large-scale perspective view of the male part or post of the closure in accordance with the invention. 
   

   SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION 
   As seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2  the ends of a pair of standard wings  10  and  11  made of elastic stretch fabric are provided with respective closure patches  12  and  13  and both extend along and are centered on a longitudinal centerline L. An unillustrated strap and cup structure as shown in  FIG. 11  of above-cited application &#39;581, which is wholly incorporated herewith by reference, is attached to the two stretch wings  10  and  11 . 
   The patch  13  is generally identical to that in above-cited application &#39;581. It has a rounded-corner rectangular backing sheet  14  of inelastic material secured by an annular perimeter weld  15  (or stitching) to the respective wing end  11  at a spacing from its edges and at two transverse intermediate line welds  16  (or stitch rows) subdividing it into three longitudinally spaced zones each carrying two female fastener members  17  of U-shape open away from the end of the wing  11 . 
   The patch  12  according to the invention comprises a backing sheet  18  with a main rectangular region  19  spaced slightly inward of the edges of the end  10  and a region  20  of isosceles-triangular shape centered on the line L and pointed away from the free end of the wing end  10 . This sheet  18  is also made of flexible and inelastic material, like the sheet  14 , and is bonded to the wing end  10  by a perimeter weld  21  (or stitching) and a crosswise strip weld  22  between the regions  19  and  20 . A pair of male fastener members or posts  23  are fixed to the region  19  and transversely spaced identically to the pairs of female members  17  of the patch  13  so that they can be joined therewith in the manner known in the art. 
   As further shown in  FIGS. 3 ,  4 , and  5 , the patch  12  is provided generally at the edge of the region  20  closest to the region  19  with a crosswise stiffening bar  24 . This bar  24  is formed of a stiff but moderately flexible plastic and is not of planar shape, but instead is slightly arcuate and concave forward, that is toward the wearer of the brassiere incorporating the wings  10  and  11 . The bar  24  is bonded to the back face of the sheet  18  so that, when the sheet  18  is in turn secured to the front face of the wing  10 , it is wholly contained between the sheet  18  and wing  10 . The bar  24  is of right-trapezoidal shape and extends perpendicular to the line L, with its angled sides parallel to but set in from the adjacent edges of the triangular region  20 . 
   The fastener members  26  as shown also in  FIG. 6  each are made unitarily of stiff but elastically deformable plastic with a circular base disk  25  from the center of which extends a short cylindrical post  26  having a horseshoe-shaped head  27  with a notch  28  open outward parallel to the line L. The notch  28  opens inward, away from the free end of the respective wing  10 , and allows the head  26  to compress somewhat in its plane transversely of the line L so that it can be snapped out of the fastener member  17  it is fitted to. The bottom of the post  26  projects through the sheet  18  and has four small tabs  29  ( FIG. 3 ) that allow it to be welded solidly to this sheet  18 . 
   With this system the heads  27  of the fastener members  23  can be pulled in the plane of the two wings  10 , that is parallel to the line L, to fit in the members  17  and lock the two wings  10  together just like a standard hook/eye connection. On the other hand, if the two wings  10  and  11  are pulled apart perpendicular to their plane, that is perpendicular to the line L and the plane of the view in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the heads  27  will compress and snap out of the members  17 . The wearer therefore dons the brassiere like a standard brassiere, and it will stay secured as solidly as a standard brassiere because tension pulling the two wings  10  apart in their plane is as solidly resisted as by a standard hook/eye fastener, but the wings  10  and  11  can be simply separated by peeling the rear wing end  10  back away from the front wing end  11 . Since this type of separation is never likely to happen accidentally, it means that the brassier stays fastened like a standard brassiere, but is easier to remove. 
   Furthermore the combination of the arcuate stiffener  24  and the shape of the backing sheet  18  ensures that longitudinal tension applied to the two wings  10  and  11  when they are secured together by the fastener members  17  and  23  will cause the wings to lie flatly on the wearer&#39;s back. This is in part caused by the shape imparted to the structure by the stiffener  24 . It is also created by the differential stretching of the wing  10  caused by the fact that the nonstretchable backing sheet  18  is longer in its central region on the line L than outward therefrom. This will cause tension to be somewhat greater in the center of the wing  10  because its stretchability is centrally reduced by the backing sheet  18 , and will cause it to pull tight and press the edge regions against the user. The rear wings will therefore lie comfortably flatly against the wearer&#39;s back.