Abstrict An improvement for a typical brassiere, halter or bra garment comprises
a pair of wide, unidirectional elastic, plush pile, fabric breast
bands each affixed to a lateral side section of the garment on opposite
sides of the person's thoracic torso. Hook fastener material is
secured transversely across to the exterior surface at the distal
of one breast band, and transversely across to the interior surface
at the distal end of the other breast band for allowing a wearer,
alternatively, (i) to secure the breast bands together in an overlapping
fashion across her front torso over the upper (pole) portion of
her breasts for restraining upward movement of breast mass and any
associated implants, or (ii) to secure the breast bands together
in an overlapping fashion across her back torso when such upward
restraint is not desired.
Claims I claim:
1. In a brassiere, halter or bra garment, including, a) a left
and a right garment piece each having, (i) a front section, (ii)
a back section, and (iii) a lateral side section for joining the
front and back sections under an arm of a woman's thoracic torso;
b) a vertically oriented front closure structure incorporated into
an inelastic, edge seam of each front section having means for fastening
the respective left and right front sections of the garment pieces
together; c) a vertically oriented back closure structure incorporated
into an inelastic, edge seam of each back section having means for
adjustably fastening the respective left and right back sections
of the garment pieces together; d) an unidirectional elastic, base
torso band for encircling the woman's thoracic torso below her inframammary
skinfolds formed in two sections each having an upper edge seamed
to a bottom edge of one of the left and right garment pieces and
having distal ends terminating and seamed respectively to the front
and back closure structure; and e) shoulder straps respectively,
adjustably joining the front and back sections of the left and right
garment pieces together over the woman's shoulders,
an improvement comprising in combination therewith,
a pair of wide, unidirectional elastic, plush pile, fabric breast
bands each having one end affixed by a seam to a lateral side section
of one of the left and right garment pieces and a free distal end
with hook fastener material secured transversely across the band
for engaging the plush pile fabric of the other band, the hook fastener
material being on an outside surface of one breast band and on an
inside surface of the other breast band for allowing the woman,
alternatively, to secure the breast bands together in an overlapping
fashion across her front thoracic torso over upper portions of her
breasts for adjustably restraining upward inertial movement of her
breast mass and any associated breast implants independent of her
thoracic torso, and to secure the breast bands together in an overlapping
fashion across her back thoracic torso when such upward restraint
is not desired.
2. The improvement for a brassiere, halter or bra garment of claim
1 wherein each breast band has a relaxed unstretched length less
than half a minimum circumference of the two piece garment and a
stretched length at most equal to a circumferential distance between
the respective seams securing the breast bands to the lateral side
sections of the garment.
3. The improvement for a brassiere, halter or bra garment of claim
2 wherein each breast band has a unidirectional elastic response
directed longitudinally along the length of the band.
4. The improvement for a brassiere, halter or bra garment of claim
1 wherein each breast band has a width of at least two inches.
5. The improvement for a brassiere, halter or bra garment of claim
4 wherein each breast band has a width of at most of 5 inches.
Description BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to bras for positioning and stabilizing
breast implants post-operatively and for restraining vertical (inertial)
bounce of breast tissue during times of vigorous physical activity.
2. Background of the Invention
A woman's breast are composed predominantly of malleable fatty
tissues supported by skin tissue and ligaments. Both the supporting
skin tissue and the ligaments are somewhat elastic and do stretch.
However, the elastic response of the supporting skin tissue and
ligaments deteriorates with undue, or excessive stress, and with
age.
Historically, since the late 1800s women have used brassieres (bras)
to prevent undue or excessive stress on the supporting skin and
ligament due to the mass or weight of their breasts. Such typical
brassieres are adequate for "everyday" relative sedate
activities. However typical bras are neither designed for providing
the support, nor the restraint needed to position and stabilize
breast implants post-operatively. In particular, normal bras allow
disfiguring upward migration of breast implants.
Sports bras and halters designed for restraining and protecting
women's breasts against excessive stress during times of vigorous
physical activity have been typically based on one or two underlying
principles: encapsulation and compression. Encapsulation bras seek
to firmly and individually confine each breast within a cup-like
structure, and have a disadvantage of chafing with torso movement.
Compression bras are essentially designed to force or `compress`
the breasts against the chest wall as a single mass, and are neither
comfortable nor suited for big breasted women.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an improved brassiere, halter or bra having
a pair of laterally affixed, wide, unidirectional elastic, plush
pile, fabric breast bands each with hook fastener material at its
distal end for engaging the plush pile fabric of the other band
allowing a wearer, alternatively, either to secure the breast bands
together in an overlapping fashion across her front thoracic torso
over the upper portion of her breasts for adjustably restraining
upward movement of breast tissue and any associated implants, or
to secure the breast bands together in an overlapping fashion across
her back torso when such upward restraint is not required.
In more detail, a pair of wide, unidirectional elastic, plush pile,
fabric breast bands each with hook fastener material across its
distal end are permanently secured (stitched to) forming seams at
opposite left and right lateral side sections of a typical brassiere
or bra. The breast bands have a relaxed (unstretched) length less
than half the minimum circumference of the brassiere/halter/bra
and a stretched length at most equal to the circumferential distance
between the respective seams securing the breast bands on opposite
sides of the garment. The wearer overlaps and fastens the wide,
unidirectional elastic, plush pile, fabric breast bands together
over the upper surfaces of her breast to provide, and adjust, an
elastic force urging each breast downward and laterally against
her underlying muscle tissue (pectoralis major) on her chest wall
without significantly constricting circulation or breathing.
A significant advantage of the invented improved brassiere, halter
or bra is that the wearer can also overlap and fasten the wide,
unidirectional elastic, plush pile, fabric breast bands across her
back when restraining downward restraint of the breast is not needed
or desired. In this instance the overlap of the breast bands can
be adjusted to comfortably provide an enhanced elastic response
for conventional support of the breasts as well as aid distribution
of forces due to breast mass or weight to and around the woman's
thoracic torso.
Another significant feature of the invented improvement for brassiere,
halter or bra is that the hook fastener material extends perpendicularly
across its width at the distal ends of the wide, unidirectional
elastic, plush pile, fabric breast bands allowing for adjustment
of both the orientation of, and the overlap of the breast bands
to provide restraining elastic forces, which, in combination with
those provided by support components of conventional bra structures,
are ideal for stabilizing and positioning breast implants post-operatively,
i.e., to prevent upward migration breast implants and a resulting
disfiguring displacement of the inframammary skinfold or crease,
i.e., the skinfold under the breast constituting the transition
between a woman's breasts and her thoracic cage.
Another feature of the invented improvement for brassiere, halter
or bra is that in `sports` or exercise surroundings, the pair of
wide, unidirectional elastic, plush pile, fabric breast bands secured
(stitched) forming seams at opposite left and right lateral sides
of a conventional sports bra or jogging halter, allow the wearer
to modestly adjust the degree restraint necessary to prevent, undue,
possibly painful breast bounce during exercise or strenuous physical
activity.
Another aspect of the invented improvement for brassiere, halter
or bra relates to creation of a design mechanism enabling fine tuning
of the restraining and supporting forces provided by the unidirectional
elastic response of the wide, plush pile, breast bands in combination
with the underlying brassier/bra structure. In particular, the lateral
seam anchoring the respective breast bands can be oriented relative
to both the unidirectional elastic response of the breast bands
and the elastic response of the lateral sections of the brassiere/halter/bra
to provide a desired distribution of forces.
The adjustability of wide, unidirectional elastic, plush pile,
fabric breast bands of the invented improved bra or brassiere renders
it equally suited for both smaller and larger breasted women. In
particular, when overlapped and secured across a woman's front thoracic
torso over the upper portion of her breasts, the wide, unidirectional
elastic, plush pile, fabric breast bands urge the base of the breast
and associated conically rising tissue downward and inward which,
in combination with the base/torso band of a conventional brassiere
or bra encircling the torso just below the inframammary crease,
works to extrude and confine the conically rising breast tissue
in the cup of the brassiere or bra, hopefully chosen to be adequate
to receive the breast mass.
Still other objects, features aspects and advantages of the invention
will become apparent from the following description, taken in connection
with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration
and example, an embodiment of a preferred embodiment of the present
invention is disclosed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1A is a right front perspective rendering of the invented
improved brassiere illustrating the overlapping engagement of the
wide, unidirectional elastic, plush pile, fabric breast bands or
bra across the front torso over the upper portion of a woman's breasts.
FIG. 1 is a slightly different right front perspective rendering
of the invented improved brassiere again illustrating the overlapping
engagement of the wide, unidirectional elastic, plush pile, fabric
breast bands or bra across the front torso over the upper portion
of a woman's breasts.
FIG. 2 is a left front perspective rendering of the invented improved
brassiere with the wide, unidirectional elastic, plush pile, fabric
breast bands disengaged showing details of the underlying brassiere.
FIG. 3 is a left rear perspective rendering of the invented improved
brassiere illustrating overlapping engagement of the wide, unidirectional
elastic, plush pile, fabric breast bands across the back torso of
a woman's thorax.
FIG. 4 is a left rear perspective rendering of the invented improved
brassiere with the wide, unidirectional elastic, plush pile, fabric
breast bands disengaged again showing details of the underlying
brassiere.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED AND EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
Looking at the drawings, with particular attention to FIGS. 2 and
4 a typical brassiere, halter or bra garment 16 may include, in
combination:
(i) a vertically oriented, inelastic, front closure structure 14
such as a vertical row, respectively of hooks and eyes each sewn
or incorporated into an inelastic edge seam adapted for joining
left and right front sections of the brassiere/halter/bra garment
16 centrally between a woman's breasts (not shown);
(ii) a vertically oriented, inelastic, back closure structure 15
such as a vertical row of hooks sewn or incorporated into an edge
seam of one of the back sections of the brassiere/halter/bra garment
16 and a plurality spaced vertical rows of eyes sewn or incorporated
into a wide inelastic edge seam of the other of the rear sections
of the brassiere/halter/bra garment 16 adapted for joining the left
and right back sections of the brassiere/halter/bra garment 16 together;
(iii) a base or torso band 17 for snuggly, preferably elastically,
encircling the woman's thoracic torso with the upper or top edge
of the band 17 vertically located on a woman's front thoracic torso
at or slightly below the inframammary crease;
(iv) lateral or side sections respectively joining the right, front
and back and the left, front and back sections of the brassiere/halter/bra
garment 16 together laterally around the woman's thoracic torso
under her arms; and
(v) shoulder straps 13 respectively joining the right, front and
back and the left, front and back sections of the brassiere/halter/bra
garment 16 together over the woman's shoulders.
As illustrated in the drawings, the respective right and left front
sections, back sections, lateral sections, and shoulder straps 13
of the brassiere/halter/bra garments 16 are each shown as a single
or unitary piece of a relatively flexible, bidirectional `stretchy`
material such as nylon spandex which yields slightly, elastically,
in all directions in the fabric plane, framed by a stronger, unidirectional
elastic, reinforcing seam material 18 that elastically yields slightly
only longitudinally in the direction of the seam. The base or torso
band 17 is formed in left and right sections of a strong, wider,
unidirectional elastic band each seamed along its upper edge respectively,
to the right and left, front, lateral and back sections of the brassiere/halter/bra
16. The ends of the respective sections of the base/torso band 18
are incorporated into and terminate at the edge seams of the front
and back closure structures 14 and 15. The unidirectional elastic
response of the bands forming the base/torso band 17 is longitudinal
aligned with the band not horizontally across the band.
While not shown in the drawings, the shoulder straps 13 of such
brassieres/halters/bras 16 typically are adjustable, allowing a
wearer to establish and adjust the vertical position of the base
or torso band 17 around her thoracic torso to a comfortable point
below her inframammary skinfold. There are many different types
of mechanisms for adjusting the shoulder straps 13. One particularly
suited for the brassiere/halter/bra garments 16 of the type illustrated,
would be a strap formed or joined by a Velcro.RTM. system with,
for example, hook fastener material secured (sewn) to a tab end
of a front shoulder strap section, overlying and engaging a longitudinal
section of pile or loop material secured (sewn) down the length
of the strap from an end of a back shoulder strap section.
The invented improvement to such a typical brassiere/halter/bra
16 comprises a pair of laterally affixed, wide, unidirectional
elastic, plush pile, fabric breast bands 11 each with hook fastener
material 12 secured (sewn) transversely across its distal end for
engaging the plush pile fabric of the other band. The hook fastener
material 12 is secured on the exterior surface of one breast band
11 and on the interior surface of the other breast band 11 allowing
a wearer, alternatively, either to secure the breast bands 11 together
in an overlapping fashion across her front torso over the upper
portion of her breasts for restraining upward movement of breast
mass and any associated implants, or to secure the breast bands
together in an overlapping fashion across her back torso when such
upward restraint is not required, or desired. In particular, the
breast bands 11 are preferably, rectangular strips of a unidirectional
elastic textile material having plush or pile (plush pile) on both
surfaces (interior and exterior) that can engage or fasten to hook
fastener material. (See U.S. Pat. No. 2717437 G. de Mestral.)
The respective breast bands 12 should have a relaxed (unstretched)
length less than half the minimum circumference of the brassiere/halter/bra
garment 16 and a stretched length at most equal to the circumferential
distance between the respective seams securing the breast bands
16 to the opposite lateral side sections of the brassiere/halter/bra
16. However, as discussed below the unidirectional elastic response
of the particular material of the breast bands 11 will actually
determine a desired ratio of relax to stretched length of the bands
11. The basic idea is to provide the wearer with the ability to
vary the range of tension of the stretched bands 11 by varying the
degree of overlap of the bands across her front thoracic torso over
the upper section of her breasts as necessary to restrain and dampen
upward inertial bounce of breast tissue independent of her underlying
thoracic cage.
The width of the breast bands 11 can range from 2 inches to 41/2
inches and even wider for very large, massive breasted women. In
any case, for any particular brassiere/halter/bra cup size or configuration,
the width of the breast bands 11 should be chosen to be sufficient
to span from the top base or upper junction of the breasts with
the thoracic cage smoothly downward across approximately the upper
third of each conically pyramiding breasts toward the nipple when
the breast bands 11 are engaged in an overlapping fashion across
the woman's upper front torso for retraining upward movement of
the breast mass. The desired goal is for the overlapping, engaged
breast bands 11 to provide a force for urging (extruding) the malleable
breast masses downward into the slightly expansible breast cups
formed by the respective left and right front sections of the brassiere/halter/bra
16. The breast cups are anchored at a vertical position on the woman's
thoracic cage by the combination of the base or torso band 17 and
the shoulder straps 13 of the brassiere/halter/bra. When so confined,
by the combination of the overlapping, engaged breast bands 11 and
the structural support elements of a typical brassiere/halter/bra
16 the breast masses inertially move with, rather than independent
of the woman's thoracic torso. On the other hand, the breast bands
11 should not be so wide that the overlapping bands simply squash
the breast mass against the underlying muscle tissue and chest wall
causing or allowing the brassiere/halter/bra garment 16 and associated
breast bands 11 to float on the breast mass above the woman's thoracic
torso.
The idea is for the breast bands 11 to mechanically anchor or couple
the upper portion of the breast masses to the woman's thoracic torso,
and for the encircling base/torso band 17 in combination with the
shoulder straps 13 to mechanically anchor or couple lower portion
of the breast masses to the woman's thoracic torso. The respective
left and right, front and lateral sections of the brassiere/halter/bra
garment 16 being composed of a relatively flexible, bidirectional
`stretchy` material elastically expands slightly to accommodated
the additional beast mass. The limited elastic response of left
and right, front and lateral sections of the brassiere/halter/bra
garment 16 receiving the breast mass also effectively limits and
dissipates/dampens inertial bounce of the breast masses between
the overlapping, engaged breast bands and base/torso band 17.
Both for reasons of health and comfort, the invented, improving
wide, unidirectional elastic, plush pile, fabric breast bands 11
should not be a conventional, tightly woven, unidirectional elastic
textile material, but rather a breathable unidirectional elastic,
textile material that allows air circulation and cooling vaporization
of perspiration (See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4344999 D. J.
Gohlke; 5695868 A. L. McCormack and related art.)
An example of a suitable unidirectional elastic, textile material
for the breast bands 11 would be a plurality of spaced apart parallel,
spandex (elastane) plush pile fiber strips woven/bonded onto an
array of transversely oriented, closely spaced, nylon monofilaments
to form a band. A producer of such spandex fiber (elastane) is Dupont.RTM.
Textiles and Interiors.
As described in the art, spandex fiber (elastane) is, . . . "a
polymer chain that is a segmented block copolymer containing long,
randomly coiled, liquid, soft segments that move to a more linear,
lower entropy, structure. The hard segments act as "virtual
cross-links" that tie all the polymer chains together into
an infinite network. This network prevents the polymer chains from
slipping past each other and taking on a permanent set or draw.
When the stretching force is removed, the linear, low entropy, soft
segments move back to the preferred randomly coiled, higher entropy
state, causing the fiber to recover to its original shape and length.
Such segmented block copolymer is formed in a multi-step proprietary
process. It is extruded into a fiber as a monofilament threadline
or for most products into a multiplicity of fine filaments that
are coalesced shortly after they are formed into a single threadline."
Essentially, the elastic response of such woven/bonded spandex
fiber, plush pile strips is unidirectional in the longitudinal direction
of the strips.
Like the spandex, plush pile fiber strips, the breast bands 11
elastically stretch longitudinally but not transversely. However,
the skilled practitioner, should realize, that the unidirectional
longitudinal elastic response of the breast band only means that
the transverse dimension or width of the band does not significantly
change (elastically) as the band stretches longitudinally around
contours presented by a woman's thoracic torso and associated breasts.
However, a consequence is that the tensile force varies transversely
across the stretched band as a function of that contour. This means
that a skilled brassiere/halter/bra designer can orient and position
the transverse seams 19 securing/anchoring the respective breast
bands 11 on the lateral side sections of typical brassiere/halter/bra
garments 16 to achieve a desired distribution of forces (in combination
with the other structural and elastic forming elements of the particular
brassiere/halter/bra) for urging, shaping and restraining (locating)
one or the other of a woman's breast masses on her thoracic torso.
It also means that the wearer can adjust the engagement orientation
of the respective transverse strips of hook fastener material 11
at the distal ends of each breast band 11 across spandex fiber,
plush pile strips of other breast band 11 for a `sensed` comfort
level and effectiveness of restraint for her particular thoracic
torso for the chosen activity.
The invented improving pair of laterally affixed, wide, unidirectional
elastic, plush pile, fabric breast bands 11 for typical brassiere/halter/bra
garments 16 is also ideally suited for confining and restraining
breast implants post-operatively. As pointed out by F. G. Farino
in U.S. Pat. No. 5037348 and M. W. Corrado in U.S. Pat. No. 5098331
forces created by an encircling therapeutic brassiere structures
can be, and are used to position and restrain implants within the
breast mass. Corrado even describes an additional ". . . body
encircling strip 58 for exerting pressure on the upper surface 60
of the breasts 62 by pressing them toward the chest of the patient
. . . " for postoperative movement and distortion of the breast
mass with implant installed. In particular, the invented improvement
for brassiere/halter/bra garment 16 of a pair of laterally affixed,
wide, unidirectional elastic, plush pile, fabric breast bands 11
each with hook fastener material 11 secured (sewn) transversely
across its distal end for engaging the plush pile fabric of the
other band affixed (seamed) oppositely to the lateral side sections
of the garment 16 permit the surgeon, the caregiver and the patient
to easily adjust the degree of confining tension across the patients
upper thoracic torso by choosing the vertical position of, as well
as the degree of overlap of the breast bands the over the upper
sections or poles of the respective breasts to achieve a desired
configuration of forces (transmitted by overlying breast tissues)
for positioning and holding an implant in position post-operatively.
Also, as illustrated in the drawings, typical brassiere/halter/bra
garments 16 may have separate left and right, front, lateral/side
and back sections. Woman's breasts are seldom exact mirror reflections
of each other, i.e., seldom have exact parity. In instances where
one breast is reconstructed, the breasts will not even exhibit similar
inertial responses to movement of the thoracic torso. Accordingly,
it is an advantage for a woman to be able to `mix and match` left
and right, (two piece) front, lateral/side and back sections of
a brassiere/halter/bra garment 16 to her particular left and right
breasts. The invented improving pair of, wide, unidirectional elastic,
plush pile, fabric breast bands 11 laterally affixed to the respective
lateral/side sections of the brassiere/halter/bra garment 16 adds
greatly, to both the flexibility and the advantages of such two
piece brassiere/halter/bra garment systems.
As described the invented improvement of a pair of wide, unidirectional
elastic, plush pile, fabric breast bands 11 affixed to opposite
lateral sides of typical brassiere/halter/bra garments each with
hook fastener material 12 secured (sewn) transversely across its
distal end for engaging the plush pile fabric of the other band
allowing the bands to fasten together in an overlapping fashion,
can be adapted to many different confirmations and variations of
such breast confining garments. The specific details disclosed herein
are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as exemplary and
directed to design factors to be considered by those skilled in
the art for creating preferred designs for such garments.
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