Patent Abstract:
A cover can be installed on an undergarment having a back strap and a pair of shoulder straps. The cover has a casing for covering the back strap. The casing is adapted to extend from one of the pair of shoulder straps to the other. An outer garment can be worn over the undergarment that is fitted with the cover.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to apparatus in the field of undergarments, and in particular, to a device for covering portions of an undergarment that might be exposed through an outer garment with a relatively open back. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Brassieres come in various styles. Many brassieres have a horizontal strap with releasable closures in the back or in the front which circles the chest of the wearer. 
     In  FIG. 1  outer garment  10  is a top with an open back  12  bordered at the neck with a cinch  10 A. The wearer P is also wearing an undergarment  14 , namely a brassiere (bra) with a backstrap  16  that can be fastened/unfastened at clasp  16 A. Undergarment  18  is shown with the conventional shoulder straps  18  and  20  attached to the left and right, respectively, of backstrap  16 . It will be noticed that backstrap  16  and portions of shoulder straps  18  and  20  are visible through open back  12 . 
     The bodice of many women&#39;s garments in modern style have this open back, which exposes the horizontal bra strap  16 . Exposure of this strap is often considered unattractive or aesthetically unpleasant. Moreover for many of these styles, the exposure of the bra&#39;s shoulder straps is also considered aesthetically undesirable. 
     See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,945,576; 5,144,696; 6,406,354; 8,357,025; and 8,469,772; as well as US Patent Application Publication Nos. 2011/0269376; 2012/0045597; and 2012/0324631. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the illustrative embodiments demonstrating features and advantages of the present invention, there is provided a cover for an undergarment having a back strap and a pair of shoulder straps. The cover includes a casing for covering the back strap. The casing is adapted to extend from one of the pair of shoulder straps to the other. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for covering a back strap of an undergarment having a pair of shoulder straps. The method employs a casing. The method includes the step of placing the casing about the back strap to cover it at least partially. Another step is extending the casing along the back strap from one of the shoulder straps to the other. The method also includes the step of donning an outer garment over the undergarment. 
     By employing apparatus and methods of the foregoing type, a novel cover is provided for covering portions of an undergarment that might be exposed through the open back of an outer garment. For example, one can cover the backstrap of a brassiere that would otherwise be exposed through a garment that has a relatively open back. To install the cover, the backstrap, when open, is threaded into a tubular cover. The backstrap can then be closed and the cover stretched to reach from one shoulder strap to the other. This cover can be made of an attractive material and can be adorned with decorative elements, so others see a relatively attractive article instead of a utilitarian and less-than-attractive rear bra strap. 
     The cover may be fastened to the shoulder straps to ensure full coverage from shoulder strap to shoulder strap. In one case snaps are attached to the rim of the openings of a tubular cover. At each end the snaps may be pulled past the shoulder strap to a position just above the bra&#39;s backstrap, before being snapped together. This not only provides full coverage, but applies an outward pressure to the shoulder straps, causing them to bow outwardly and slide under portions of the outer garment adjacent to the open back. 
     In some embodiments the ends of a tubular cover can be fastened to the bra&#39;s shoulder straps with a releasable tether. The tether can be affixed to the end of the tubular cover and can wrap around the shoulder strap before being fastened back onto the cover. 
     In some embodiments a relatively stiff panel is laminated onto an inside face of the cover. This panel tends to stretch the cover longitudinally so the cover will bear against the bra&#39;s shoulder straps. 
     Some bras are fastened in the front and therefore the backstrap does not open. In that case the cover may have a longitudinal split that allows the cover to be wrapped around the backstrap before closing the cover along the longitudinal split. The closure at the longitudinal split may be a zipper, snaps, or other means. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above brief description as well as other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments in accordance with the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a rear elevational view of a person wearing an outer garment over an undergarment, in accordance with the prior art. 
         FIG. 2  is perspective view of a cover in accordance with principles of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the cover of  FIG. 2  installed on an undergarment; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a rear elevational view of a person wearing an undergarment outfitted with a cover as shown in  FIG. 4 , the cover being adorned with decorative elements; 
         FIG. 6  is a fragmentary, perspective of one end of a cover that is an alternate to that shown in the above Figures; 
         FIG. 7  is fragmentary, perspective of one end of the cover of  FIG. 6  shown installed on an undergarment; 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of a cover that is an alternate to that shown in the above Figures; 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of a cover that is an alternate to that shown in the above Figures; 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of a cover that is an alternate to that shown in the above Figures; 
         FIG. 11  is a plan view of a cover that is an alternate to that shown in the above Figures; 
         FIG. 12  is a fragmentary, elevational view of one end of the cover of  FIG. 11  that is folded but unfastened; and 
         FIG. 13  is fragmentary, perspective of one end of the cover of  FIG. 11  shown installed on an undergarment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the illustrated cover  22  is a tubular casing (also referred to as a tube or jacket) with an opposing pair of openings  24 . Cover  22  can be made from any of a variety of fabrics, including knit or weaved fabrics, plastic sheets or sheets made from entangled fibrous material. To give cover  22  some stretchability, some embodiments may use knit nylon or polyester blended with spandex. In some cases the cover  22  will be fabrics of nylon, polyester or other fibers that stretch due to the design of the knit. Other embodiments may use rubberized materials or flexible plastics such as polyethylenes and thermoplastic polyurethanes. Any of the forgoing material may be blended or laminated together to form a composite. In particular the outer surface of cover  22  may have a pleasant appearance and may be a layer of actual or imitation cotton, silk, chiffon, crepe, denim, etc. In some cases the outer surface of cover  22  may be a smooth surface suitable for printing, embossing, coloring, receiving appliques or charms, etc. 
     A pair of fasteners  26 A and  26 B are installed near the annular rim of opening  24  (left end of  FIG. 2 ) at locations that are angularly spaced about 120° apart (two o&#39;clock and 10 o&#39;clock positions), although other angular spacings may be employed in other embodiments. A complementary pair of fasteners are installed at the opposite (right) end, again 120° apart, only one of them (fastener  28 A) being visible in this Figure. Fasteners  26 A,  26 B, and  28 A are releasable snaps. 
     Cover  22  is adorned with a number of decorative elements  22 A. While elements  22 A are illustrated as small round objects, in some embodiments they may be larger objects with an arbitrary outline. Elements  22 A may be plastic emblems, metal studs, stickers, decals, printed indicia, small mirrors, three dimensional typographic characters, sequins, relief images, real or artificial jewels (precious or semiprecious), etc. In some cases elements  22 A may be molded items depicting celebrities, historic buildings, sports equipment, team logos, classic automobiles, common household items, pets, etc. In some cases, the decorative elements may be a single element that spans across cover  22 , banner-like. In still other cases, cover  22  can be a fabric (or a fabric sheath) with a pleasant color or pattern, and will not have separate, distinct decorative elements. 
     In some cases, elements  22 A may be LEDs or other types of lights that are illuminated continuously or intermittently. These lights can flash randomly to produce a twinkling effect or can be illuminated in a sequence to produce a ticker tape effect. If densely packed, these lights can be used to produce images that are either static, changing, or animated. 
     In some embodiments the cover  22  may have a different appearance on the opposite side and may be reversed, right to left, or rotated 180° along its axis to present this other appearance. In addition, in some embodiments the inside of cover  22  may have a different appearance and the cover may be turned inside out to present that other appearance. In still other embodiments, the appearance of cover  22  may be varied by using a replaceable skin that is secured by adhesive, hook and loop fasteners, etc. 
     To facilitate an understanding of the principles associated with the foregoing apparatus, its operation will be briefly described with reference to  FIGS. 1-5 . In  FIG. 3  previously mentioned back strap  16  ( FIG. 1 ) is shown threaded through cover  22  and emerging from its opposite ends  24 . This threading is achieved by opening back strap  16  at clasp  16 A and threading one side of the unclasped back strap through cover  22 , before closing clasp  16 A and stretching the cover so it reaches between shoulder straps  18  and  22 . 
     Snaps  26 A and  26 B ( FIGS. 2 and 3 ) are then pulled past shoulder strap  18  and snapped together above back strap  16 . Likewise, snap  28 A and its mate are snapped together above back strap  16  and to the outside of shoulder strap  20 . Thus, snap  26 A and its mate (snap  28 A and its mate) form a passageway for shoulder strap  18  ( 20 ) and another passageway for back strap  16 . These passageways are also referred to as annular entranceways. 
     This installation of cover  22  may be performed while back strap  16  is located dorsally as shown in  FIG. 1 . Alternatively, the installation may be performed with back strap  16  positioned anteriorly. After this installation, bra  14  will be spun azimuthally 180°, before lifting into place shoulder straps  18  and  20  and the bra&#39;s front cups (not shown). 
     The fastened positions of snaps  26 A and  28 A and their mates tends to stretch the portion of opening  24  around shoulder straps  18  and  20  and the resulting tension tends to push the shoulder straps outwardly and down toward the back strap  16 . This is accompanied by wrinkling in regions W. Consequently, shoulder straps  18  and  20  bow outwardly causing them to slide behind outer garment  10  either completely (as in  FIG. 5 ), or partially. Therefore, open back  12  no longer reveals straps  16 ,  18  and  20 , and reveals instead the pleasantly decorated cover  22 . 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , alternative cover  122  may be a tube formed of materials as previously described. However, cover  122  has a fastener that is different from that described above. Specifically, a separate pair of tethers  130  are attached to each of the opposing ends  124  of cover  122 . The proximal end of tether  130  is affixed to cover  122  by stitches, staples, rivets, adhesive, or the like. Snap element  132 A on the distal end of tether  130  is designed to snap onto its mate  132 B on the opposite side of cover  122 . 
     As before, back strap  16  may be undone and threaded into cover  122  before closing the strap  16  at clasp  16 A. Cover  122  is then stretched to shoulder straps  18  and  22  and held in place using tethers  130 . Specifically, tether  130  is routed around the outside of shoulder strap  20  as shown in  FIG. 7 . Only shoulder strap  20  is shown in  FIG. 7  but the other shoulder strap  18  is tethered in a complementary fashion. 
     Installation of tethers  130  tends to stretch the portion of opening  124  around shoulder straps  18  and  22  and the resulting tension tends to push the shoulder straps outwardly and down toward the back strap  16 . As before, shoulder straps  18  and  20  bow outwardly causing them to slide behind an outer garment (garment  10  of  FIG. 5 ). Therefore, the pleasantly decorated cover  122  is exposed, but not the associated bra components. 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , alternative cover  222  may be a tube formed of the previously described materials and may have either the fastener of  FIG. 3 or 6 . Cover  222  has a stiffener  238  in the form of a panel attached to the inside of the cover by adhesives, stapling, riveting, etc. Stiffener  238  may also be secured by placement in pockets formed in the cover  222 . 
     Stiffener  238  will have some flexibility, but will be able to stretch cover  222  to reach the shoulder straps (shoulder straps  18  and  20  of  FIG. 1 ). Stiffener  238  may have a rectangular outline, but other outlines are anticipated as well. In some cases, the upper corners of stiffener  238  may be notched to provide clearance for the shoulder straps. The right and left end of stiffener  238  may be shaped to actually engage the shoulder straps and push them outwardly to conceal the straps below an outer garment. (See  FIG. 5 , showing concealment of shoulder straps). Stiffener  238  may be a sheet of plastic, metal, cardboard, composite materials, etc. In some embodiments the stiffener may be made as a row of flexible rods that are held together by glue, welds, a sheath, etc. 
     Cover  222  may be installed over back strap  16  in the manner described above, with stiffener  238  positioned to push the shoulder straps outwardly. 
     In some cases the bra will not have a clasp at the back strap, but will instead be clasped in the front. The embodiment of  FIG. 9  will accommodate such a bra. In  FIG. 9  cover  322  is shown as a tube with a longitudinal split  340 . Specifically, the longitudinal edges of split  340  overlap and are held together with snap elements  342 A and  342 B. Snap elements  342 A and  342 B may be a series of snaps equidistantly spaced along longitudinal split  340 . In this embodiment snap elements  342 A and  342 B are located on the inward side (skin side) of cover  322 , and decorative elements  322 A are attached on the outside. In some embodiments snap element  342 A may have a decorative head and will be positioned to the outside. 
     Cover  322  may be installed by wrapping it around back strap  16  and then closing snap elements  342 A and  342 B. This installation may take place before the bra is donned and secured by closing the bra&#39;s front clasp (not shown). 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , cover  422  is a tubular structure with a longitudinal split  440  that may be closed with a zipper, shown as complementary elements  444 A and  444 B secured to opposite edges of the longitudinal split. Cover  422  may be installed as previously described in connection with  FIG. 9 , except that split  440  is closed by closing the zipper  444 A/ 444 B in the conventional manner. 
     Referring to  FIG. 11 , the inside of alternate cover  522  is shown as a rectangular panel formed of any of the materials previously mentioned. The long upper edge and long lower edge of cover  522  is referred to as a first and a second longitudinal edge, respectively. The four corners of cover  522  are shown sharp, but may be rounded in some embodiments. 
     In a manner to be described presently, cover  522  may be rolled and closed using female snaps  542 A and male snaps  542 B to form a tube with a longitudinal split (similar to cover  322  of  FIG. 9 )  FIG. 11  shows the sockets of snaps  542 A and the base of snaps  542 B, that is, the reverse side of snaps  542 B have the lugs that will connect to the sockets of snaps  542 A. Snaps  542 A and  542 B are referred to herein as closure devices that are part of a closure. 
     Because it may not be sufficiently strong, the material of cover  522  is overlaid with reinforcing strip  547  before installing snaps  542 B. Strip  547  may be cloth, plastic, or other material adequate to reinforce snaps  542 B. The opposite edge of cover  522  has a reinforcing strip  548  that is placed in the fold of hem  522 B before installing snaps  542 A. Remaining in the fold of hem  522 B, reinforcing strip  548  extends to a position near the corners of cover  522  to reinforce female corner snaps  546 A (a closure implement whose socket side is visible in this view). 
     The purpose of the foregoing snaps is to form a tubular cover having at each end, a pair of passageways (such passageways are shown in  FIG. 3  with snap  26 A dividing opening  24  into two passageways for straps  16  and  18 ). In principle, the division into a pair of passageways could be performed with four snaps: two snaps at an end of cover  522  to form the tube, and two more to divide the tube opening into two passageways. That much snap hardware would tend to crowd the end of cover  522 , reducing the stretchability of the cover and leaving little room for the passage of a bra&#39;s backstrap and shoulder strap. 
     Instead, this embodiment gives previously mentioned snap  546 A two separate connection points, namely, snap fastener  546 B and aperture  550 . Specifically, two apertures  550  are formed in the corners opposite snaps  546 A and are reinforced with peripheral stitches  550 A, similar to a buttonhole. Male snaps  546 B (lug side shown in this view) are spaced from snaps  546 A about one quarter of the way toward apertures  550 . The snaps  546 B are installed on reinforcing strips  549 , which lie on cover  522 . 
     As will be described presently, cover  522  can be folded to embrace a backstrap (e.g. the portion of backstrap  16  of  FIG. 3  between shoulder straps  18  and  20 ). Referring specifically to  FIG. 12 , cover  522  is initially folded lengthwise so that at each end, snap  546 B is aligned with aperture  550 . 
     Comparing the progression from  FIG. 12  to  FIG. 13 , cover  522  has been folded a second time, halfway between snaps  542 A and  542 B before fastening those snaps together to form a tubular structure for capturing the bra&#39;s backstrap  16 . 
     The opening  524  at the end of cover  522  ( FIG. 13 ) is stretched to accommodate backstrap  16  and shoulder strap  20 . Specifically, the portion of cover  522  below elements  546 B and  550  is stretched to accommodate backstrap  16 . Likewise, the portion of cover  522  above elements  546 B and  550  is stretched to accommodate shoulder strap  20 . With cover  522  stretched in this manner and straps  16  and  20  positioned as shown in  FIG. 13 , snap  546 A may be folded down to connect to the lug of snap  546 B protruding through aperture  550 . 
     The foregoing stretching produces tension that tends to outwardly bow and conceal shoulder strap  20  in the manner previously described (see for example  FIG. 3 ). 
       FIG. 13  shows installation around right shoulder strap  20 , and a complementary installation will be performed on the left shoulder strap (similar to that shown in  FIG. 3 ).  FIG. 13  shows the inward facing side of cover  522 , although in some embodiments this side can face outwardly. As before, the outwardly facing side of cover  522  can be adorned with decorative elements (not shown). 
     Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0