Abstract:
A brassiere designed to alleviate pain and discomfort of the breast area that frequently occurs subsequent to lactation and nursing of a child. The brasserie includes a pair of cup members having an inner an outer layer. Disposed between the inner layer and outer layer of each cup member is a receiving slot. The receiving slot is configured to receive a pain relieving device that is generally annular in shape. The pain relieving device further includes an aperture concentrically mounted thereon for receiving therein the nipple area of a user&#39;s breast. The brassiere further includes a support band and shoulder straps.

Description:
PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. §119(e) &amp; 37 C.F.R. §1.78  
       [0001]     This nonprovisional application claims priority based upon the following prior U.S. provisional patent application entitled: Soothing breast, Application No.: 60/628,025, filed Nov. 15, 2004, in the names of Ana M. Nunez and Pedro Nunez JR., which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to women&#39;s undergarments, more specifically but not by way of limitation to a brassiere designed to provide comfort for breasts that are sore, such as occurs when nursing or after surgery.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     Over the last two decades, the number of women who engage in nursing a newborn after giving birth has dramatically increased. Data has increasingly demonstrated the health benefits of natural breast milk from a mother nursing her child as opposed to formula bottle feeding. Typically new mothers will nurse their infants for a period of up to the first 6 months of newborn&#39;s life.  
         [0004]     A significant problem exists for women that choose to breast-feed their newborn. As newborns require to be fed every 3-4 hours, this consistent nursing can be the cause of severe discomfort for the nursing mother. The hours per day of nursing the newborn create a substantial discomfort of the mother&#39;s breast. The mother&#39;s breast and nipples often become swollen and very sore which results in an uncomfortable nursing experience. This condition can be extremely painful for the mother.  
         [0005]     Another problem exists with newborn mothers who choose not to nurse their child or are unable to nurse their child or use a breast pump within the regularly scheduled feeding intervals. A mother&#39;s breast will become engorged with milk, either because of her inability to feed the child at the regularly scheduled interval or during the first few weeks after birth. During this time period, the breasts are very sore and sensitive creating an extremely uncomfortable and painful situation for the new mother. Typically, a mother will use cool materials such as ice to temporarily alleviate the painful situation. This is usually accomplished by the mother wrapping a towel with ice around the breast. In order to do this, the mother must remain in a private area and be temporarily confined to a chair or bed. As the mother is responsible for the care of a newborn, this time period creates a significant inconvenience for the new mother, as the demands of caring for a newborn require a significant amount of time.  
         [0006]     Accordingly, there is a need for a brassiere that can be worn by women that contains a method of alleviating temporary pain and discomfort of a woman&#39;s breast, caused by but not limited to, nursing a newborn.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     It is an object of the present invention to provide a brassiere, which can have inserted into it, a gel pack capable of maintaining a temperature dissimilar to that of its surroundings that substantially surrounds the breast cup in order to alleviate pain caused by nursing a newborn.  
         [0008]     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a brassiere that can receive a gel pack capable of maintaining a temperature dissimilar to that of its surroundings that is substantially annular in shape and can be releasably secured to the inside of the brassiere.  
         [0009]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a brassiere that has an alternative embodiment of the gel pack that comprises two essentially equal crescent shaped hemispheres that are removably secured inside the brassiere.  
         [0010]     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a brassiere that is comfortable to wear. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]     A more complete understanding of the present invention may be had by reference to the following Detailed Description and appended claims when taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings wherein:  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention with a first alternative of a pain relieving device; and  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0014]     Referring now to the drawings, wherein the various elements depicted therein are not necessarily drawn to scale and wherein like elements are designated with identical numbers, and in particular to  FIG. 1  there is illustrated a brassiere  100  constructed according to the principles of the present invention.  
         [0015]     The brassiere  100  comprises of two cup members  10  configured in a substantially dome shaped, each being configured to accommodate a women&#39;s breast therein. The cup members  10  are constructed of multiple layers having an outer layer  17  and an inner layer  19 . The outer layer  17  and inner layer  19  are manufactured from soft, pliable material such as but not limited to cotton, lycra, or polyester blends. The cup members  10  are constructed in standard conventional cup sizes of A, B, C, and D. Those skilled in the art will recognize that standard measurements for a size 34 “maiden form” brassiere the width of a cup A is six inches, the width of a cup B is seven inches, the width of a cup C is 8 inches and the width of a cup D is 9 inches. The cup member  10  consists of an upper portion  15  and lower portion  20 . The upper portion  15  is tapered in shape. Contiguous with the upper portion  15  and integrally formed therewith is the first end  23  of the shoulder strap  25 . The shoulder strap  25  is constructed of a soft, pliable and elastic material and is designed to support the cup member  10  in a generally upward direction. The shoulder strap  25  has a second end  24  that terminates at the support band  30  and is secured via a loop  27  to the support band  30 .  
         [0016]     A connection member  29  is intermediate each cup member  10 . The connection member  29  functions to provide the proper spacing of each cup member  10  when the brassiere  100  is worn by the user. The support band  30  has a first end, which is secured by conventional mechanical methods such as but not limited to stitching on the lateral portion  33  of each cup member  10 . The support band  25  extends outward from each cup member  10  opposite the connection member  29  and terminates at the second ends of the support band  25 , ends  31  and  32 . Ends  31 ,  32  may be joined together with any suitable attachment mechanism  40 . The support band  30  functions to releasably secure the brassiere  100  to the upper torso of the user. The attachment mechanism  40  is constructed of a conventional hook and loop fastener. Those skilled in the art will recognize that numerous different attachment mechanisms  40  could be used in place of and/or in conjunction with the attachment mechanism  40  described herein. More specifically but not by way of limitation, the attachment mechanism  40  could be snaps or Velcro™. Furthermore, those skilled in the art should recognize that while the illustrated embodiment depicts a rear-closure for the support band that a frontal-closure could be employed. The support band  30  is secured to the cup member  10  by conventional mechanical methods such as but not limited to stitching. The support band  30  is manufactured from conventional soft and elastic materials known in the art.  
         [0017]     Disposed in the upper portion  15  of each cup member  10  is a receiving slot  45 . The receiving slot  45  is integrally formed with the inner layer  19  of the cup member  10  and has an opening  47  designed to accommodate the pain relieving device  55 . The pain relieving device  55  is annular in shape having an aperture  60  concentrically located thereon. The aperture  60  is of sufficient size to accommodate a standard nipple area of a woman&#39;s breast therein. The opening  60  prevents additional pressure being applied to the woman&#39;s nipple area, as this area is particularly sensitive during the nursing period. The pain relieving device  55  consists of an outer layer  57  that is constructed of a durable pliable material such as rubber or plastic. The outer layer  57  is manufactured to prevent the material disposed within the pain relieving device  55  from propagating into the cup member  10  when in use. The pain relieving device  55  has substantially disposed therein a temperature controlling substance such as thermal gel. The thermal gel allows the pain relieving device  55  to be heated or cooled and subsequently maintains a temperature dissimilar to that of its surroundings for an extended period of time. Subsequent to altering the ambient temperature of the pain relieving device  55  to a desired temperature, the pain relieving device  55  is inserted into the opening  47  of the receiving slot  45  of each cup member  10 . Subsequent to insertion thereof, the pain relieving device  55  is adjacent to the woman&#39;s breast area disposed within the cup member  10  intermediate the inner layer  19  and the outer layer  17 . The pain relieving device  55  is designed to provide heating or cooling of the breast area disposed within the cup member  10  in order to alleviate pain and discomfort caused from nursing a newborn. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the pain reliving device  55  could be used to alleviate pain caused from numerous other issues in place of nursing. More specifically but not by way of limitation, the pain relieving device  55  could be used to alleviate pain and discomfort of a woman&#39;s breast area due to recent surgical procedure or infectious disease that has caused the breast to become swollen and painful.  
         [0018]     It is further contemplated within the scope of the present invention that numerous materials could be used in place of and/or in conjunction with the thermal gel disposed within the pain relieving device  55  to achieve the desired functionality as described herein. It is also further contemplated within the scope of the present invention that the pain relieving device  55  could be numerous different shapes in place of and/or in conjunction with the shape described herein and achieve the desired functionality.  
         [0019]     Now referring in particular to  FIG. 2 , there is illustrated an alternative embodiment of a pain relieving device  200  of the present invention. The pain relieving device  200  is comprised of two arcuate shaped inserts  210 . The lower insert  215  and upper insert  220  each have an outer layer  225  that is manufactured from a durable, pliable material such as rubber or plastic. Each insert  210  of the pain relieving device has substantially disposed therein a temperature controlling substance such as but not limited to thermal gel. The outer layer  225  of each insert  210  is non-porous in order to prevent the material disposed within the insert  210  from propagating into the cup member  10 . Each insert  210  is designed to have its ambient temperature altered either positively or negatively and maintain a temperature dissimilar to that of their surroundings for an extended period of time.  
         [0020]     Proximate to the upper portion  15  each cup member  10  has an upper receiving slot  85  integrally formed with the inner layer  19  facilitating the placement of the pain relieving device  200  to be interposed the outer layer  17  and inner layer  19  of the cup member  10 . Each cup member  10  further includes a lower receiving slot  90  proximate to the lower portion  20  of the cup member  10  that is integrally formed within the inner layer  19 . The upper receiving slot  85  and the lower receiving slot  90  are of sufficient size to accommodate therein the upper insert  220  and lower insert  215  respectively.  
         [0021]     The upper receiving slot  85  and the lower receiving slot  90  are integrated into the inner layer  19  of the cup member  10  so that subsequent to insertion the hemispheres  210  will be interposed the inner layer  19  and outer layer  17  of the cup member and be removably secured adjacent to the breast area of a woman disposed within the cup member  10  in order to alleviate the pain and discomfort. The inserts  210  are intermediate the inner layer  19  and outer layer  17  subsequent insertions into the upper receiving slot  85  and lower receiving slot  90 .  
         [0022]     Although the cup member  10  is illustrated in the drawing submitted herewith as having a receiving slot  45  to accommodate the pain relieving device  55 , it is contemplated within the scope of the current invention that the cup member  10  could have a plurality of receiving slots to accommodate pain relieving devices of numerous shapes. More specifically but not by way of limitation, the cup member  10  could have integrated in a circular pattern up to 4 or 6 receiving slots  45  designed to accommodate a pain relieving device  55  therein. It is also contemplated within the scope of the present invention, that the brassiere  100  could be manufactured in a plurality of colors. More specifically but not by way of limitation tan, black or white.  
         [0023]     Now referring in particular to  FIG. 1 , a description of the operation of the present invention is as follows. The user places the pain relieving device  55  in a household freezer or microwave depending on whether or not the user wishes to apply heat or cold to relieve the discomfort of their breast area. Subsequent to altering the temperature of the pain relieving device  55 , the user inserts the pain relieving device  55  into the receiving slot  45  whereby the pain relieving device is intermediate the inner layer  19  and outer layer  17  of the cup member  10 . The user then puts the brassiere  100  on her in the usual manner as with a conventional brassiere. The user&#39;s breast area disposed within the cup member  10  are now adjacent to the pain relieving device intermediate the inner layer  19  and outer layer  17  of the cup member  10 . The pain relieving device  55  radiates its temperature to the adjacent breast area in order to alleviate the pain and discomfort of the breast. The process is repeated as necessary.  
         [0024]     In the preceding detailed description, reference has been made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments, and certain variants thereof, have been described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It is to be understood that other suitable embodiments may be utilized and that logical changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. The description may omit certain information known to those skilled in the art. The preceding detailed description is, therefore, not intended to be limited to the specific forms set forth herein, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as can be reasonably included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.