Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02665406 2009-05-05
BRA STRAP WITH STABILIZING MATERIAL
This application claims priority based on United States Patent Application
12/163,156 entitled "BRA STRAP WITH STABILIZING MATERIAL" filed June 27, 2008,
which is herein incorporated by reference.
Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to shoulder straps for upper torso garinents.
Background
A properly designed shoulder strap for an upper-torso garment achieves several
goals
to obtain widespread consumer acceptance. Load-bearing capability, strap
stability, and end-
user comfort are some considerations taken into account in developing a
sboulder strap.
These attributes are balanced against the appearance of the shoulder strap,
manufacturability,
cost, and varying consumer preferences. While load-bearing is an important
consideration in
the design of a shoulder strap for upper torso garments, such as brassieres,
stabilizing a strap
is a well known problem. "Stabilizing" with respect to shoulder straps means
that the
shoulder straps should distribute load efficiently, while minimizing twisting
and curling, and
thus improving comfort. Comfort may also be improved by reducing strap
slippage. Thus,
twisting, curling, slippage, and load-bearing are aspects of the stability of
a shoulder strap.
Finding a balance between the stability-comfort dichotomy can be difficult in
light of
varying and changing consumer preferences in upper torso gannents.
Attempts have been made to improve and stabilize shoulder straps for upper
torso
garments. Some have attempted to fold the shoulder strap longitudinally to
create a
stiffening rib, thereby improving stability. Others have incorporated foam
materials into the
confined areas of a shoulder strap to improve the comfort of the wearer.
Others extend the
foam insertion concept by using silicon gels as cushioning devices. The
addition of plastic
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stays also has been attempted. Each mechanism employed to date, however, has
disadvantages.
Various features and aspects of the invention will become apparent upon review
of
the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the
accompanying
drawing figures, which are briefly described as follows.
Brief Description of the Drawinp_s
Figure 1 is a top plan view of a stabilizing shoulder strap of the present
invention.
Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of a stabilizing shoulder strap.
Figure 3 is a side view showing a section of a stabilizing shoulder strap.
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a stabilizing shoulder strap taken along
line 4-4
in Figure 3.
Figure 5 is an environmental view showing a chest panel of a brassiere
employing a
stabilizing shoulder strap.
Figure 6 is an environmental view showing a back panel of a brassiere
employing a
stabilizing shoulder strap.
Detailed Description
Certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described below and
illustrated in the accompanying figures. The embodiments described are only
for purposes
of illustrating the present invention and should not be interpreted as
limiting the scope of the
invention, which, of course, is limited only by the claims below. Other
embodiments of the
invention, and certain modifications and improvements of the described
embodiments, will
occur to those skilled in the art, and all such alternate embodiments,
modifications and
improvements are within the scope of the present invention.
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The present invention is directed to a stabilizing shoulder strap for an upper
torso
garment. An "upper torso garment" refers to a garment such as a brassiere,
sports brassiere,
one-piece swimsuit, two-piece swimsuit, tank-top, etc.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a stabilizing shoulder strap 10 comprises tliree
portions:
a first end portion 12, an intermediate shoulder portion 14, and a second end
portion 16. The
first end portion 12 may be described as a chest portion of a stabilizing
shoulder strap of an
upper torso garment. A "chest portion" refers to the segment of a stabilizing
shoulder strap
that contacts the chest of a wearer of an upper torso garment. The second end
portion 16
may be described as a back portion of a stabilizing shoulder strap of an upper
torso gai-ment.
A "back portion" refers to the segment of a stabilizing shoulder strap that
contacts the back
of a wearer of an upper torso garment. Depending on the gannent type, the
first end portion
12 may be either a chest portion or a back portion of a stabilizing shoulder
strap 10.
Alternatively, the second end portion 16 may be either a chest portion or a
back portion of a
stabilizing shoulder strap. The stabilizing shoulder strap 10 may be further
characterized by
a shoulder strap material 18 with hems 20 extending down longitudinal
peripheral edges of
the stabilizing shoulder strap. The first end portion 12, the intennediate
shoulder portion 14,
and the second end portion 16 may all be formed of the selected shoulder strap
rnaterial 18.
The first end portion 12 and the second end portion 16 alternatively may be
foi-ined from
different materials. For example, the second end portion 16, or a back
portion, may be an
adjustable elastic strap, or a woven fabric. Thus, Figures 1 and 2 show a
stabilizing shoulder
strap 10 with a first end portion 12, an intermediate shoulder portion 14, and
a second end
portion 16, each portion formed of the same material 18, with hems 20 along
each portion.
As shown in Figure 2, a panel 28 is attached to the intermediate shoulder
portion 14
between opposing longitudinal edges of the stabilizing shoulder strap 10. The
tenn
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"attached" refers to joining or affixing the panel 28 to the shoulder strap
material 18 by
sewing, stitching, serging, ultrasonic bonding, application of heat activated
adhesives,
application of a chemical binder, or other mechanism known in the art. The
hems 20
described herein may thus serve two functions in the present invention. First,
hems 20
secure the panel 28 to the intermediate shoulder portion 14. Second, hems 20
provide
smooth edges to the stabilizing shoulder strap 10. The smooth edges created by
hems 20
contribute to the comfort of the upper torso garment. The hem 20 may itself be
the material
18 forming the intermediate portion 14 folded around the longitudinal edges of
the panel 28.
The hem 20 may be sewn, stitched, serged, ultrasonically bonded, adhesively
bonded, or
chemically bonded, attaching panel 28 to the shoulder strap material 18.
Panel 28 provides the additional stability to improve the load-bearing
capacity, to
minimize twisting and/or curling, and to improve the comfort of stabilizing
shoulder strap
10. In one embodiment, pane128 is a knitted fabric. The knitted fabric forming
panel 28 is a
densely or tightly knitted construction. The dense construction provides a
level of rigidity
that is greater than the rigidity of the intermediate shoulder portion 14, and
which improves
the load-bearing capacity of the stabilizing shoulder strap 10, and more
evenly distributes the
load over the entire intermediate portion 14. The rigidity also minimizes
curling or twisting
of stabilizing shoulder strap 10 when worn. The knitted fabric forming panel
28, however,
remains sufficiently flexible enough to provide an adequate range of motion to
a wearer, thus
minimizing discomfort. In alternate embodiments, the panel 28 can be fonned
from woven
fabrics, nonwoven fabrics, laminates, or other suitable materials constructed
in a manner to
meet the objectives described herein.
Panel hems 30 may define the ends of panel 28 attached to the shoulder strap
material
18 and may be stitched, sewn, serged or ultrasonically sealed. The panel hems
30 help
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eliminate unraveling of yarns or fibers and provide smooth end edges to panel
28. The
panels hems 30 may also add additional rigidity to panel 28, thus further
stabilizing the
shoulder strap 10. In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, panel 28 is attached
to shoulder
strap material 18 on the underside of the shoulder strap 10 so that the panel
28 will be in
contact with the skin of the wearer.
Referring to Figure 4, panel 28 may be attached to shoulder strap material 18
only
along the hems 20. So attached, an open region may be created between the
shoulder strap
material 18 and the panel 28. Alternatively, the panel 28 may be attached or
secured to the
shoulder strap material over some of all of the inner surface area of the
panel 28 and/or
intermediate portion 14.
To provide enhanced stability, the width of the intermediate shoulder portion
14 inay
be greater than the width of the first end portion 12 and/or the second end
portion 16 of the
stabilizing shoulder strap 10. A smooth curvilinear shape for the intermcdiate
shoulder
portion 14 may be used. A "curvilinear shape" refers to a shape fonned,
bounded, or
characterized by curved lines.
Different material constructions for intermediate shoulder portion 14 and
panel 28
also may be used to improve the stability of the shoulder strap 10, or to
minimizc curling or
twisting when worn. This further improves comfort to the wearer of the uppcr
torso
garment. Panel 28, for example, may be thicker, more dense, or more rigid than
shoulder
strap material 18, as described above. In one embodiment, the panel 28 may
further
comprise a slip-resistant surface 36. Referring to Figure 4, the slip-
resistant surface 36 of
panel 28 is in contact with a wearer's skin. A "slip-resistant surface" refers
to a surface that
inhibits the tendency of the panel 28 to move or migrate across the skin of
the wearer. Such
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a slip-resistant surface 36 may result from the knitted structure or the
knitted density of the
pane128.
Referring now to Figures 5 and 6, the chest panel 40 and back panel 42 of an
exemplary upper torso gannent, such as a brassiere, are shown, respectively.
A"chest
panel" refers to a portion of an upper torso garment that covers the chest
area of a wearer. A
"back panel" refers to a portion of the upper torso garment that covers a
portion of the back
of the wearer. The chest panel 40 may be comprised of breast receiving cups
44. The
amount of coverage of the chest will depend on the specific type of upper
torso garment. For
example, a chest panel on a one-piece swimsuit would cover the chest area and
the abdomen
of the wearer. A pair of stabilizing shoulder straps 10 are connected to the
top of each breast
receiving cup 44 at the first end portion 12 of the stabilizing shoulder strap
10. The back
panel 42 may be connected to the second end portion 16 of the stabilizing
shoulder strap 10.
The amount of coverage of the back will depend on the type of upper torso
gannent
employed.
The invention has been described herein in terms of several embodiments and
constructions that are considered by the inventor to represent the best mode
of carrying out
the invention. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various
modifications,
variations, changes and additions can be made to the illustrated embodiments
without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. These and other
modifications are
possible and within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.
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