Patent Publication Number: US-2015072592-A1

Title: Wireless bra

Description:
The invention relates to a wireless bra which comprises a back strap, for fastening the wireless bra around the chest, and two at least partially preformed cups. 
     Nowadays, many women wear underwired bras. However, underwired bras have many disadvantages. Underwires often feel uncomfortable. They can press into the skin, for example. In the case of underwired bras, it is very important to wear a bra with the correct cup size. However, for many women, the left and the right breast are not the same size. Since one bra cup is too large or too small for the breast, the skin at the height of the underwire which is too small or too large becomes irritated. Underwires can deform when washing and drying bras. The built-in underwire also frequently comes loose by piercing through the material which surrounds it. Underwires which come loose can cause damage to washing machines or dryers. 
     Underwired bras are particularly uncomfortable if the person wearing the bra needs to move a lot. Sports bras are therefore often wireless. Wireless bras provide the wearer with more freedom of movement than underwired bras. 
     Underwired bras have often been linked to breast cancer. It is currently not clear whether underwired bras can cause cancer. 
     Despite all of these disadvantages, many women continue to wear underwired bras because these bras offer adequate support to the breasts and ensure a good shaping of the breasts. 
     Since underwired bras have so many disadvantages, there are already many wireless bras on the market. The majority of wireless bras are sports bras. These wireless bras, including sports bras, do provide adequate support and freedom of movement but the shaping of the breasts is not as good as in underwired bras. There are already wireless bras with preformed cups. These preformed cups are usually thickened in their entirety with extra foam, to provide good support. However, this extra foam means that the breasts tend to be flattened and the shape of the breasts does not show up well. Moreover, said wireless bras are uncomfortable because the breasts are flattened. Omitting the extra foam is not an option since the support would then be adversely affected. 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a wireless bra which has the abovementioned advantages of an underwired bra, namely good support and good shaping of the breasts, but which does not possess the many disadvantages of an underwired bra. 
     This object is achieved by providing a wireless bra comprising a back strap, for fastening the wireless bra around the chest, and two at least partially preformed cups, wherein the underside of each cup is reinforced, and comprising a band which connects at least part of the left edge of the left cup to at least part of the right edge of the right cup. 
     There is at least as much support as in the case of underwires, due to the reinforcement on the underside of the cups and due to said band. Underwires are therefore no longer necessary for providing adequate support. The band holds the cups and therefore also the breasts together and in the correct position, by which the shape of the breasts is good. As there are no underwires provided in this case, this bra is suitable for women whose left and right breast are of different sizes. The band which is provided means that the bra is able to partly adapt to the size of the breasts. The back strap also helps to ensure that the breasts are adequately supported. 
     In one advantageous embodiment, said band is situated on the inside of the bra. The inside of the bra refers to that side of the bra which lies against the body when the bra is being worn. In this way, said band is situated between the cups and the chest when the bra is fastened around the chest. A band situated on the inside of the bra provides good support. Moreover, the shaping of the breasts is better than in an embodiment where the band is situated on the outside of the bra. In the case of a band on the outside of the bra, the cups are situated between the band and the body when the bra is being worn. The preformed cups are therefore flattened by the band, as a result of which the shape of the breasts is not so good. If said band is situated between the cups and the chest when the bra is being worn (thus on the inside of the bra), the cups are not flattened by the band and they keep their shape, as a result of which the breasts have a better shape. 
     Said band is preferably elastic. Since said band is elastic, the cups are held together even better and the band and therefore the entire bra can adapt even better to the size of the breasts. 
     Stitching is preferably provided on said band in the longitudinal direction, said stitching extending substantially over the entire length of the band. Said stitching ensures that the band is no longer elastic at the places where the stitching has been provided. As a result of the loss of elasticity at the site of the stitching and the fact that the stitching is provided in the longitudinal direction, the band does not lose its tensile strength in the longitudinal direction while the bra is being worn and said tensile strength is also preserved even after the bra has been washed many times. However, the band retains its elasticity at the places where no stitching has been provided, so that the band can still adapt to the size of the breasts. 
     In a specific embodiment, said band comprises at least two releasably connectable parts. Further, the length of said band is also adjustable. In this way, the length of the band can be adapted to the size of the breasts. 
     In a preferred embodiment, said band is narrower in the centre than at the sides. This increases the comfort while the bra is being worn and reduces the visibility of said band. In the embodiment where the band is situated on the inside of the bra, the bra can be designed in such a manner that the band is entirely covered by the cups and optionally fabric which extends between the cups while the bra is being worn, as a result of which the band is no longer visible. 
     In a specific embodiment, each cup is completely preformed. In this way, the entire cup ensures good shaping of the breast. 
     Each cup preferably comprises a thickened portion which is situated on the underside of the cup and extends substantially over the width of the cup. Since the thickened portion is situated on the underside of the cup and extends substantially over the width of the cup, the breast rests on said thickened portion, as a result of which there is no risk of the breasts being flattened and the shaping of the breast is therefore good. Said thickened portion on the underside also provides extra support for the breast in addition to the support provided by the reinforcement on the underside of the cup and by the elastic band. As the thickened portion is situated on the underside, the upper part of the cup does not need to be preformed and/or it is also possible for the cups to have different shapes, for example cups which cover virtually the entire breast or cups which cover only the lower part of the breast, such as balconette bras. 
     In addition, said thickened portion on the underside of the cup can be substantially crescent-shaped. The natural shape of a breast fits into said crescent-shaped thickened portion, as a result of which the shape of the breast is even better. 
     In a specific embodiment, said thickened portion can contain foam. Foam is soft and comfortable. 
     In a preferred embodiment, each cup comprises a mesh which connects at least part of the edges of each respective cup. Said mesh pulls the left part and the right part of the cup together, which ensures even better shaping and extra support for the breast. 
     Said mesh is preferably elastic. This pulls the left edge and the right edge of the cup together in an even more efficient manner, as a result of which the shaping and also the support are improved. 
     In a more preferred embodiment, said mesh connects at least part of the left edge, the bottom edge and at least part of the right edge of each respective cup in a substantially continuous manner. In this way, the left edge and the right edge of the cup are pulled together in an even more efficient manner, as a result of which the shaping and the support are improved. 
     Said back strap preferably comprises reinforcements. These reinforcements ensure, inter alia, that the back strap cannot stretch too far. In this way, the cups are held in the correct position and the shaping of the breasts is good. The back strap does not become stretched even after the wireless bra has been washed a number of times and worn for a long time. A back strap also contributes to the support provided by a bra. It is therefore important that the back strap does not stretch, since a stretched back strap would result in a loss of support. The reinforcements of the back strap therefore provide both shaping and support. 
     The present invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of wireless bras according to the invention. The sole aim of this description is to present illustrative examples and to indicate further advantages and particulars of these wireless bras and can therefore not be interpreted as a limitation of the area of application of the invention or of the patent rights defined in the claims. 
    
    
     
       In this detailed description, reference numerals are used to refer to the attached drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows a rear view of the bra according to the invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows a rear view of the left cup; 
         FIG. 3  shows a rear view of the left cup, wherein only part of the band is situated in front of the mesh. 
     
    
    
     The wireless bra ( 1 ) as illustrated in  FIG. 1  comprises a back strap ( 2 ), for fastening the bra ( 1 ) around the chest, two completely preformed cups ( 3 ,  3   a,    3   b ) and two shoulder straps ( 10 ). The shoulder straps ( 10 ) are optional. Furthermore, various forms are possible, for example crossed shoulder straps ( 10 ) or a strap to go around the neck. The preformed cups ( 3 ,  3   a,    3   b ) preferably comprise foam and preferably already have a certain thickness. In  FIG. 1 , the right edge ( 6   b ) of the left cup ( 3   a ) is connected to the left edge ( 6   a ) of the right cup ( 3   b ) via extra material and the edges ( 6   b,    6   a ) touch one another at the top. These two cups ( 3   a,    3   b ) can of course also be fastened to one another in another way. It is therefore not necessary for the edges ( 6   b,    6   a ) to touch one another at the top, for example, and it is not necessary for the extra material to be embodied in a continuous manner, as shown in  FIG. 1 , for example. A simple strip between the cups ( 3   a,    3   b ) would be sufficient. However, the greater the extent to which the cups ( 3   a,    3   b ) are connected to one another, the better the cups ( 3   a,    3   b ) can be held together and therefore the better the shaping. 
     The preformed cups ( 3 ,  3   a,    3   b ) are reinforced on the underside and have a preformed crescent-shaped thickened portion ( 4 ) on the underside, which extends substantially over the entire width of the cup ( 3 ,  3   a,    3   b ). The thickened portion ( 4 ) contains foam and is thickened in respect to the preformed cup ( 3 ,  3   a,    3   b ) which preferably already has a certain thickness. It is of course possible for the thickened portion ( 4 ) to contain another material, for example silicone. The thickened portion ( 4 ) can furthermore also be arranged in other places, for example the sides of the cup ( 3 ,  3   a,    3   b ). This may be desirable if the person in question wants her breasts to seem somewhat larger. Moreover, there may also be a plurality of thickened portions ( 4 ) arranged on each cup ( 3 ,  3   a,    3   b ). It is therefore possible for a thickened portion ( 4 ) to be arranged on the underside, but also at the side, of the cup ( 3 ,  3   a,    3   b ). Said thickened portions ( 4 ) on the underside and at the side of the cup ( 3 ,  3   a,    3   b ) can also be embodied in a continuous manner. 
     The entire left edge ( 6   a ) of the left cup ( 3   a ) and the entire right edge ( 6   b ) of the right cup ( 3   b ) are connected by an elastic band ( 5 ) which is much narrower in the centre than at the edges ( 6   a,    6   b ). In  FIG. 1 , which illustrates a rear view of the bra ( 1 ), it can be seen that the band ( 5 ) is situated in front of the cups ( 3   a,    3   b ). The elastic band ( 5 ) is therefore situated on the inside of the bra ( 1 ). The band ( 5 ) also comprises stitching ( 8 ) in the longitudinal direction of the elastic band ( 5 ) which extends over the entire length of the band ( 5 ). The elastic band ( 5 ) comprises two releasably connectable parts. 
     Each cup ( 3 ,  3   a,    3   b ) further comprises a continuous elastic mesh ( 7 ) which connects part of the left edge ( 6   a ), the bottom edge ( 6   c ) and part of the right edge ( 6   b ) of each respective cup ( 3 ,  3   a,    3   b ). In  FIGS. 2 and 3 , it can be seen that the mesh ( 7 ) is only connected to the lower parts of the left edge ( 6   a ) and the right edge ( 6   b ) and to the bottom edge ( 6   c ) and therefore has a certain height. It is of course also possible for the entire left edge ( 6   a ) and right edge ( 6   b ) to also be connected or for the mesh ( 7 ) to simply be slightly higher. It is also possible for the mesh ( 7 ) not to be connected to the bottom edge ( 6   c ) of the cup ( 3 ,  3   a,    3   b ). The height of the mesh ( 7 ) depends on the purpose of the mesh ( 7 ). If the intention is solely for the left edge ( 6   a ) and the right edge ( 6   b ) of each cup ( 3 ,  3   a,    3   b ) to be pulled together, the mesh ( 7 ) does not need to be so high and a thin strip ( 7 ) between the left edge ( 6   a ) and the right edge ( 6   b ) of the cup ( 3 ,  3   a,    3   b ) is sufficient, in principle. If, however, the intention is to place a large prosthesis or a large padded insert between the mesh ( 7 ) and the cup ( 3 ,  3   a,    3   b ), the mesh ( 7 ) has to be somewhat higher. This is desirable if the intention is to achieve the effect of a larger breast or if the person in question has had one or two breasts amputated. 
     The padded insert or the prosthesis can be made from foam or silicone. Other materials are of course possible. Silicones better imitate the shape of a breast. The size of the mesh ( 7 ) can be adapted to the size of the padded insert which is provided. 
     It is of course also possible to manufacture bras ( 1 ) where either the left cup ( 3   a ) or the right cup ( 3   b ) is completely replaced by a prosthesis or the prosthesis is already built into the mesh ( 7 ) and where the other cup ( 3 ,  3   a,    3   b ) and the rest of the bra ( 1 ) is embodied according to the invention. This is desirable if the person if question has had one breast amputated. 
     Reinforcements ( 9 ) are applied to the back strap ( 2 ), in order to provide even better shaping and even better support. These reinforcements ( 9 ) can be reinforcement bands ( 9 ) with stitching which connect part of the lower side of the back strap ( 2 ) to part of the upper side of the back strap ( 2 ). The back strap ( 2 ) in  FIG. 1  is releasably connectable and adjustable in length. Of course, it is not necessary for the back strap ( 2 ) to be releasably connectable and/or adjustable in length. 
     The wireless bra ( 1 ) according to the invention ensures that the breasts are adequately supported without the breasts acquiring an unattractive shape. Moreover, the wearer of the wireless bra ( 1 ) according to the invention has sufficient freedom of movement. This wireless bra ( 1 ) has all the advantages of an underwired bra, namely support and shaping. However, since the bra ( 1 ) according to the invention does not have any underwires, this bra ( 1 ) does not possess the disadvantages of an underwired bra.