Improvements in or Connected with Corsets.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 12th July, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 13th May, 1889-Accepted, 6th July, 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or Connected with Corsets.
We, JOHN ALSTON HART of Higher Bank, Blackburn, Lancashire, Engineer and
DOCTOR CHARLES BAYNES of Knuzdon House, Blackburn, Engineer do hereby declare
the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
The object of our Invention is to supply means in connection with corsets, for
confining supporting or subjecting to pressure the lower part of the abdomen below
the waist in such manner as not to unduly increase the pressure on, or interfere with
the relative freedom of the upper part of the body above the waist when the wearer
is bending, stooping or otherwise moving the body, and to enable the use of excessively
strong and relatively stiff vertical busks or steels to be dispensed with.
In one form of our Invention we use a piece or combination of pieces of suitable
material, say of steel which are formed to the desired curves and of the desired
strength as a spring one end of such piece or combination of pieces terminating at
orlin close proximity to one hip joint and extending across the lower front part of the
abdomen the other end terminating at or in close proximity to the other hip joint, a
band or other suitable means is provided passing partly around the back of the
body, to adjust the curved piece or combination of pieces to the front of the
abdomen.
In another form of our Invention the said piece or combination of pieces extending
across the front of the abdomen as described may be practically rigid, while the band
which passing around the back connects the two ends of such cross piece or combina-
tion of pieces, may be elastic so as to adjust them as required.
The cross piece or combination of pieces forms a part of or is connected with a
corset and may be adjusted to a part of the corset by hooks, buckles or otherwise and
in some cases we may dispense with a separate band at the back by using a part of
the corset for such purpose.
In some forms of our Invention we may combine the cross piece or combination of
pieces passing across the front of the abdomen with the vertical busk or busks of the
corset and in such cases we may use a vertical busk or busks made so flexible as to
materially reduce the resistance to bending forward.
We may also apply the cross piece or combination of pieces extending. across the
front lower part of the abdomen over or under a suitable part of an ordinary corset
by suitable fixings.
As the lines which join corresponding points on the back and front parts respectively
as described all pass approximately through the axis of rotation of the hip joints, the
pressure on the abdomen will not be materially interfered with by rotation of the body
around such axis. In some cases we may combine the cross piece or combination of
pieces of suitable material extending across the front of the abdomen with somewhat
similar pieces extending across the back part of the abdomen coupled together as may
be convenient.

page_text: Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this Invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
The objects of our invention are to provide means in combination with Corsets
whereby those parts of the corset which press upon and support the front portion of
the abdomen which is situated below the waist, may be made to more efficiently
accomplish their object than in corsets as hitherto made, as well as to allow of greater
freedom and more regular distribution of pressure and support when the wearer bends
or stoops forward than is the case with ordinary corsets.
Some of these defects in the action of corsets as now made and which it is the
object of our Invention to entirely or materially obviate, arise from the use, for the
purpose of putting pressure upon and supporting the said part of the abdomen, of
excessively strong and relatively stiff busks or steels, placed in a direction from top to
bottom in and about the. front of the corset. Such busks or steels when the wearer
is in an upright position distribute pressure upon and so support the aforesaid portion
of the abdomen to a degree as regards uniformity and intensity which is materially
altered when the wearer bends forward, as in stooping. In such a case with ordinary
corsets, the busks or steels, or other means used for the purposes described practically
cease to uniformly distribute their pressure and support as before over the abdomen
and concentrate their pressing and supporting capacity upon a part of the abdomen
considerably nearer to the waist, and leave the lower part of the abdomen corre-
spondingly unsupported, thus causing great irregularity in the support or pressure,
, and in its distribution over the abdomen in various positions of the wearer, and thus
tends to abruptly distort the form of the busks or steels and break them, and also to
aggravate any abdominal weakness-a further defect which it is our object to remove
or materially reduce arises from that considerable increase of pressure which is put
upon the abdomen when stooping-reacting through the said busks or steels upon
the upper part of the body or chest of the wearer, thus considerably increasing the
pressure on, and congestion of, the organs of the upper part of the body which
naturally takes place when bending or stooping. A further defect arises from the
circumferential tightening of the lower part of the ordinary corset over the hips, which
tightening is used with the idea of preventing the tendency of the lower parts or
ends of the busks or steels to remove their pressure on the lower part of the abdomen,
caused by the distortion of the supports when the wearer leans forward or stoops, the
aforesaid circumferential tightening of the lower part of the corset, setting up a strain
tending to draw the hips or bones of the pelvis together and so preventing proper
growth and developement thereof as well as being uncomfortable to the wearer.
According to our Invention we obviate or in great measure obviate the foregoing
defects, by providing means for distributing and delivering support or pressure, as
desired, upon and over the front and back lower parts of the abdomen below the
waist, which means shall conform to considerable variation in the alteration in shape
of such parts both in a horizontal and vertical direction due to the movements of
the wearer. We also provide means for causing a suitable pressure either upon the
back or front or upon both the back and the front parts of the abdomen of the
wearer, and also means for causing a pressure acting on the means for supporting
the front parts, to react upon the means for supporting the back parts of the abdomen
or vice versa, and this without any necessity for the excessively strong or relatively
stiff busks or steels hitherto used so that these busks or steels may be in part or
altogether done away with as regards any use thereof for pressing or supporting the
lower part of the abdomen; if they be used, for instance as a convenient means for
attaching the corset fastenings, they may be made so small and flexible as not to
unduly interfere with the freedom of the body, and at the same time not be capable
of practically acting injuriously upon the upper part of the body or chest when the
wearer bends forward.
The means for supporting the back and front lower parts of the abdomen as afore-
said, are or may be practically independent of, and do not necessitate the use of

page_text: excessive or any circumferential strain being put upon the lower part of the corset,
which passes over the hips, and thus the pressure which tends to draw together the
hips and each side of the pelvis may be either in part or altogether removed if desired
so allowing free scope for growth and developement in width across the hips and
pelvis.
The accompanying drawing illustrates manners in which our Invention may be
carried into effect but we do not limit ourselves to the precise details sbewn.
Figure 1 shews in perspective and Figure 2 in sectional plan an arrangement wherein
the corset is provided with a band or steel a or bands or steels or combinations
thereof at back, and with a band or steel bor bands or steels or combinations thereof
at front, extending across the part of the abdomen to be supported and connected
across the hips by straps or bands c (which may be elastic) this mode of connection
allowing of the forward movement or stooping of the body without materially altering
the points of bearing on the lower part of the abdomen. The bands or steels or
combination of bands or steels should be of such form and strength as to deliver and
distribute the pressure and support over the abdomen as desired and as herein
described. There are vertical or approximately vertical bones or steels extending
from top to bottom at d which take the pressure of the steels or bands b and distribute
it. The parts a and b may be secured to the corset in any desired way as by attaching
the back band or steel a to the corset and, leaving the band or steel 6 free to be
passed over and strapped to the corset by the straps c. The band or steel b may be
caused to engage with a projection from the front part of the corset, and this projec-
tion may be part of one of the corset fastenings if desired, or the band or bands a b
and 62. Figure 1. 2. 3 may be formed in parts so that their ends may overlap each
other, and be enclosed in a suitable socket or sockets at or about the centre of the
front and back of the corset respectively for the purpose of facilitating the fixing of
the corsets on the body of the wearer, and in some cases, when the. vertical steels or
bones d d are not used, to distribute the pressure over the surface of the abdomen, as
for instance when the bands 62 are placed on the inner side or enclosed in the material
of the corset and when there are no vertical steels or bones d, d, or when it is desired
not to use them for the purpose of distributing the pressure and support over the
front of the abdomen, we may arrange the bands 62 Figure 3 to distribute such
pressure or support as desired with the object that such means shall practically
conform to considerable alteration in the shape of the abdomen when bending as
in stooping forward in some cases it may not be considered necessary to use a
combination of steels or bands a at the back of the abdomen, as illustrated and
described with reference to Figure 1 and 3 in which case the bands or straps may be
either fixed to the corsets or carried completely around the back, so distributing the
pressure over the vertical bones or steels usually placed therein; this system of
adjusting the front bands or steels in Figure 1, and 62 in Figure 3 will in part
tend to put pressure upon the sides of the hips or pelvis, and in many cases may be
found sufficiently efficient for practical purposes.
Figures 4 and 5 are perspective and horizontal sectional views shewing the supports
as consisting of steels e acting as springs and capable of giving and distributing the
pressures on back and front of the abdomen as desired and as before mentioned,
enclosed in the substance of the corset or otherwise attached thereto or enclosed
therein each pressing in front on the parts of the abdomen most requiring support
and passing over, or in proximity to the hips and bearing directly or indirectly on the
back of the wearer. In some cases when a pressure or support is desired to be
increased in an upward direction, when the wearer bending, as in stooping forward,
the back part of the abdomen acted upon by the steel or combination of steels a
as in Figure 2, or the equivalents in Figure 1, 3 and 4 may be raised as desired
above the level of the front part of the abdomen acted upon by the steels or combina-
tion of steels, and by arranging that the position of the front and back parts of the
abdomen supported as described be approximately in a plane of rotation passing
through the centres of the hip joints, the regularity of pressure and support will be
more constant than hitherto.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is:-
First. In combination with or as an attachment to corsets; springs, bands or
supports for bearing on the front and back of the abdomen, and arranged substantially
as and for the purpose described and illustrated with reference to Figure 1, 2, 3 of
the drawings.
Second. In combination with, or as an attachment to; corsets; springs and supports
for bearing on the front and back of the abdomen, and arranged substantially as and
for the purpose described and illustrated with reference to Figure 4 and 5 of the
drawings.