Patent Publication Number: US-7722433-B2

Title: Clothes with back part such as brassiere

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
   The present invention relates to a garment with a back part, provided with a back cloth having a fastening effect for making the garment be fixed by being fitted to an area from underarm parts through a back of a wearer, such as a brassiere, a bra-slip, a body suit, and a bathing suit. 
   BACKGROUND ART 
   A brassiere, which is a typical garment with the back cloth, is generally composed of left and right cup cloths, an under cup cloth to be sewn to a lower end portion of the cup cloths, left and right back cloths to be fitted and fixed to an area from the underarm part through the back part, and straps. 
   The brassiere composed of the above-mentioned parts can be put on and off by engaging and disengaging hooks with eyes. The hooks and the eyes are sewn onto tape fabric materials which are relatively thick and which are provided separately from the backcloths. That is, to an end portion of one back cloth, the tape fabric material provided with eyes which are arranged in a plurality of lines at constant intervals is sewn, and a hook tape fabric material provided with hooks to be engaged with the eyes is sewn to an end portion of the other back cloth. The hooks and the eyes are engaged and disengaged to enable the brassiere to be put on and off. 
   A tape provided with the eyes is provided with covering cloths for hiding an attachment base of the eyes, the eyes being arranged in three rows, which are an upper row, a middle row, and a lower row in order to allow an adjustment according to a size of a bust of a wearer when the brassiere is to be worn. The covering cloth for the upper row is sewn onto a surface of a base cloth tape, the covering cloth for the middle row is sewn onto the covering cloth for the upper row, and the covering cloth for the lower row is sewn onto the covering cloth for the middle row. By changing a position of the eyes with which the hooks are engaged or disengaged, a fastening level can be adjusted, and an eye tape that increases in thickness toward the lower row is commonly known (see, for example, JP 2002-28009 A). 
   The above-mentioned eye tape is made thick by overlapping a plurality of covering cloths, thereby requiring a preparation for facilitating sewing such as a creasing process prior to a sewing operation, which takes time and effort, and only a skilled person can perform the sewing operation. Further, a sewing thread used in sewing by a sewing machine appears on front and back surfaces of the tape, resulting in that contact of the sewing thread with skin provides an uncomfortable feeling, or that contact of a concave and a convex generated on a surface of the sewing thread causes skin disorders and an itch in some cases. Moreover, in a case of wearing a thin outerwear, there is a problem in that a bulge of the thick part appears on an outer surface of the wear, thereby deteriorating an appearance. 
   As means for eliminating such a defect, there is known a hook/eye tape of a type in which hooks/eyes are attached to a relatively thin tape fabric materials and the thin tape fabric materials are joined to the back cloth by thermal welding using a thermal adhesive film without being sewn thereto. The sewing thread does not appear on the outer surface of the hook/eye tape by sewing, so the hook/eye tape provides an excellent appearance and does not provide a feeling of stiffness with the thick material or uncomfortable feeling of wearing. Accordingly, the hook/eye tape has a good reputation (see, for example, Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3104261). 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Problem to be Solved by the Invention 
   However, the hook/eye tape of a type using the thermal adhesive film according to Patent Document 2 mentioned above is joined to an outer surface of one end portion of the back cloth, thereby appearing on the outer surface to provide an unfavorable appearance. Further, a portion of the backcloth and a portion with the hook/eye tape overlapped thereon become uneven providing a concave and a convex resulting in a problem in that uncomfortable feeling of wearing is caused. 
   The present invention has been studied and developed in view of solving the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a garment including a brassiere with a back part, in which the hook/eye tapes are not provided on the outer surfaces of the back cloths thereby generating no concave and convex, which are formed thin and has only a head parts of male and female engaging devices appearing on the outer surfaces of the back cloths, thereby providing a stylish appearance which is simple and neat and a comfortable feeling of wearing without generating feeling of discomfort. 
   Means for Solving the Problems 
   As means for solving the above-mentioned problems and attaining the object of the present invention, there is developed and adopted a garment including a brassiere with a back part, which can be put on and off by using male and female engaging devices provided on back cloths to be fitted to an area from underarm parts through a back of a wearer, in which the male and female engaging devices are integrally attached to inner surfaces of the back cloths and head parts of the male and female engaging devices are exposed to an outside through slits. 
   Further, according to the present invention, in the garment with the back part such as the brassiere structured as described above, there are provided a garment including a brassiere with a back part, in which the back cloth is a thin fabric material obtained by thermally welding a stretch front fabric material and a stretch back fabric material using a thermal adhesive film, a garment including a brassiere with a back part, in which the back cloths are formed so as to have no concave and convex in portions to which the male and female engaging devices are attached, a garment including a brassiere with a back part, in which the thermal adhesive film is provided with an opening portion along a longitudinal direction thereof, and a garment including a brassiere with a back part, in which the male and female engaging devices are composed of a hook and an eye. 
   Effects of the Invention 
   According to the present invention, the male and female engaging devices are integrated in inner surface portions of the back cloths and only the head parts of the male and female engaging devices appear on the outer surfaces of the back cloths, so there is no concave and convex which are found in a case of the conventional hook/eye tape and the whole garment is formed to be uniform in thickness and thin. Therefore, the garment according to the present invention eliminates the feeling of discomfort due to biting into skin of a wearer or a partially applied pressure and fits a body with a moderate fastening force. Further, a slim appearance of the backcloth provides a neat and elegant appearance of the garment, and the garment does not stand out even in a case of wearing a thin outerwear. Moreover, the thermal adhesive film is provided with a window portion in the longitudinal direction thereof, so air permeability is not impaired when a front fabric material and a back fabric material are joined therethrough, thereby providing a comfortable feeling of wearing, and there is an advantage that stretchability and strength of the garment can be freely changed. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a front view of a brassiere. 
       FIG. 2  is a back view of a back part. 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded view of a main part of the back part. 
       FIG. 4  is a front view of a left backcloth. 
       FIG. 5  is a front view of a right backcloth. 
       FIG. 6  is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line A-A of  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 7  is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line B-B of  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 8  is a sectional view taken along the line C-C of  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 9  is a front view of an eye tape. 
       FIG. 10  is a sectional view taken along the line D-D of  FIG. 9 . 
       FIG. 11  is a front view of a hook tape. 
       FIG. 12  is a sectional view taken along the line E-E of  FIG. 10 . 
       FIG. 13  is a front view of a thermal adhesive film. 
       FIG. 14  is a front view of another thermal adhesive film. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Hereinafter, a garment with a back part according to an embodiment of the present invention will be explained by taking a brassiere as a typical example. As shown in  FIG. 1 , a brassiere main body  1  is composed of a pair of left and right cup cloths  2  for covering breasts (i.e. a front of a wearer), an under cup cloth  3  connected to the pair of cup cloths  2 , back cloths  4  (i.e., back bands) to be put on an area from underarm sides of the cup cloths  2  to a back of a wearer, and straps  5  for connecting upper ends of the cup cloths  2  and upper sides of the back cloths  4 . 
   All of the cup cloths  2 , the under cup cloth  3 , and the straps  5  are the same as those conventionally known, so descriptions of those will be omitted, and the back cloths  4  will be described. That is, as shown in  FIGS. 3 to 5 , a portion along the back of the wearer is formed into a narrow band  6  and the back cloth  4  is formed so as to gradually increase in width between upper and lower sides from the narrow band  6  toward the cup cloth  2 . An end portion of the backcloth  4  is formed into an arcuate surface  7  to be sewn to a side edge portion of the cup cloth  2 . An upper side portion of the backcloth  4  is formed to have a protruding part  8  connected to the strap  5 . 
   While the back cloth  4  has stretchability in both warp and weft directions, a stretch warp knitted fabric material having larger stretchability in the weft direction such as a power net is suitable therefor. The back cloth  4  has upper and lower sides and both lateral sides which are resistant to fraying, and formed into a thin fabric material having a thickness of about 1.0 mm with a front fabric material and a back fabric material thermally welded to each other through an intermediation of a urethane elastomer film  11  therebetween. 
   As shown in  FIG. 4 , in a left back cloth  4   a , loop parts  12   a  constituting head parts of eyes  12  protrude from longitudinal slits  13  arranged at predetermined intervals on the front fabric material  9  in one end portion of the narrow band  6 . In other words, as shown in  FIG. 3 , between the front fabric material  9  and the back fabric material  10 , there are provided a urethane elastomer film  11 , a tape cloth  14  to which leg parts  12   b  of the eyes  12  are attached using sewing threads as shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , and a urethane elastomer film  15  having a square shape which is the same in shape and size as the tape cloth  14 , with only the loop parts  12   a  of the eyes  12  being exposed to an outside through the longitudinal slits  13  provided in the front fabric material  9 , and heat is applied from the surface of the front fabric material  9  to integrate the whole. 
   On the other hand, as shown in  FIG. 5 , in a right back cloth  4   b , hook parts  16   a  constituting head parts of hooks  16  are exposed to the outside through the longitudinal slits  13  provided on the back fabric material  10  in one end portion of the narrow band  6 . In other words, as shown in  FIG. 3 , between the front fabric material  9  and the back fabric material  10 , there are provided the urethane elastomer film  15 , the tape cloth  14  to which a covering cloth  14   a  for covering leg parts  16   b  of the hooks  16  and the leg parts  16   a  of the hooks  16  are attached using the sewing threads as shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 , and the urethane elastomer film  15  having a square shape which is the same in shape and size as the tape cloth  14 , with only the hook parts  16   a  of the hooks  16  being exposed to the outside through the longitudinal slits  13  provided in the back fabric material  10 , and heat is applied from the surface of the front fabric material  9  to integrate the whole. 
   The urethane elastomer film  11 , for joining and integrating the front fabric material  9  and the back fabric material  10  with each other, is substantially the same in shape and size as the back cloth  4  as shown in  FIGS. 13 and 14 . A long opening  17  may be provided along a longitudinal direction of the film as shown in  FIG. 13 , or a plurality of openings  17  may be provided along the longitudinal direction thereof as shown in  FIG. 14 . When the front fabric material  9  and the back fabric material  10  are joined and integrated with each other, owing to presence of the openings  17 , portions of those are not welded, so air permeability is not impaired and stretchability and power of the back cloth can be freely changed. 
   Conditions of use of the brassiere as a typical example of the garment with the back part such as a brassiere according to the present invention formed as described above is explained in terms of advantages and effects. Between the front fabric material  9  and the back fabric material  10  at one end of the left back cloth  4   a , the tape cloth  14  to which the eyes  12  are attached is interposed, with the urethane elastomer film  11  sandwiched between the front fabric material  9  and the back fabric material  10 , and pressure is applied from an upper surface of a front cloth  2  by using an iron or the like, to thereby thermally weld the front fabric material  9  and the back fabric material  10  and integrate the eyes  12  as well, which are interposed between inner surfaces of those. Accordingly, the tape cloth  14  is hidden by the front fabric material  9  and the back fabric material  10  and does not appear on the outer surface, thereby providing a neat and elegant appearance. 
   In addition, the back cloth  4 , obtained by integrating the front fabric material  9  and the back fabric material  10  with each other by thermal welding, is a thin fabric material having a thickness of about 1.0 mm and has large stretchability in the warp and weft directions, and especially in the lateral direction. Therefore, fastening for an area from the underarm parts through the back part is moderate, and the brassiere fits a body even at a time of exercising without shift in position. 
   Further, in the backcloth, a concave and a convex are not generated even in positions to which the hooks and the eyes are attached, so there are substantially no irregularities. Accordingly, when worn, the brassiere provides excellent contact with skin and a comfortable feeling of wearing, and feeling of pressure or a feeling of discomfort is not generated. 
   It should be noted that, while in the above-mentioned embodiment a case where the eyes  12  are provided in three rows in the longitudinal direction, each line having two of them on the left and right, is described. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment. The eyes  12  may be provided in one line or two lines, and it goes without saying that various design modifications can be made as long as the object of the invention can be attained and the gist of the invention is maintained. 
   INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
   The present invention is not limited to a brassiere, and can be applied to a garment with a back part in general such as a bra-slip, a body suit, and a bathing suit.