US3164154A - Brassiere - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 5, 1965 c. G. SIMONSEN BRASSIERE Filed June 22, 1962 INVENTOR. Gar! 6. Simansen BY 9 a Attorney United States Patent 3,164,154 BRASSIERE Carl G. Siinonsen, 826 5. Winchester Road, San Jose, Calif. Filed June 22, 1962., Ser. No. 204,488 1 Claim. (Cl. 123-486) This invention relates to improvement in brassieres, or bust supports.

An object of the invention is to provide a brassiere, or bust support, which will give firm yet yielding uplift while allowing the breasts of the wearer to assume a substantially normal condition although a shoulder strap support may be pulled out of a normal uprightsupport position by turning, twisting, stooping, or other body movements of the wearer.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provided a hammock type breast support having a looped hanger ribbon which is supported medially thereof and above a breast by a trapeze type keeper secured at the end of a shoulder strap.

It is a further object of the invention to prevent the rolling into a string of a ribbon hanger as the garment is worn, and specifically to provide an ironing action upon a hanger ribbon as the garment is worn.

The novel features of the invention will be best understood from the following description when taken together with the accompanying drawing in which an embodiment of the invention is disclosed, and in which the separate parts are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a brassiere embodying the principles of the invention; and

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmented detail of the shoulder strap keeper ending and hammock hanger ribbon.

This invention will best be understood in a background of information concerning prior developments. For information only, and not with the intention to compare one garment with another, reference is made to United States Patent No. 2,470,847 issued May 24, 194-7, and No. 3,003,206 issued May 8, 1962. These patents illustrate a type of structure of a nature somewhat similar to the present invention with looped suspension ribbons. The looped support ribbons are sewn in a fixed position to the ends of the shoulder straps or slide in cloth eyes in the strap ends. Hence, as the wearer flexes her shoulders, the shoulder straps place an uneven pull upon the support ribbons which cannot adjust in any manner, or the hanger straps roll into the form of a round cord.

In contrast with these prior types of structures, which referenced structures are only two of a plurality of such which could be used as illustrative of the prior art, reference is had to the illustrations of the accompanying drawing in conjunction with the following description.

In the brassiere, breast cups 10, 11 and their backward extensions 12, 13 form covers for the breasts and the pectoris lateralis, respectively, of the wearer. The extensions are joined together across the back of the wearer by hooks 14 sewed to one of the extensions and eyes which cooperate with such hooks, and which eyes are secured to an adjacent one end of an elastic strip 15 which is sewed at its other end to the other extension, and which strip extends across the back of the wearer to tension the brassiere to and around the chest of the wearer.

Arranged within the cups 10, 11 are primary shelf like supporting members 17, 18 which are designed to contact and support the breasts of the wearer. These members are, preferably, composed of a stiff material having a soft inner face like that of a flannel fabric, and are considerably heavier than the outer covering cups 10, 11. The upper edges 19, 20 of the shelves l7, 18 are rounded longitudinally so that each such edge conforms to a breast 3,164,154 Patented Jan. 5, 1965 ice slightly below its nipple and so that each member conforms to one of the breasts of the wearer of the garment. Each of the shelves 17, 18 is joined along its lower edge to a band 21 which is held against the inframmales portion of the wearers chest. This band is sewed to the backward extensions 12, 13 of the cups along its lower edge and thereby integrated therewith.

The support of this inner contoured shelf is achieved by an improved shoulder strap and hanger construction, including a left shoulder strap 25 and a right shoulder strap 26 adapted to lie on and over opposite and respective shoulders of a person wearing the brassiere and to thereby provided primary suspension therefor. Strap 25 is sewn to the top edge of the backward left extension 12 at 27 and strap 26 is sewn to the top edge of the other extension 13 at 28. Each strap 25 and 26 ends in a buckle 29, 30, just adjacent the top of the hammock structure.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged detail of the left breast buckle 29 and its attachments, fragmented and reversed in view from FIGURE 1, and it will be seen clearly from this enlarged figure that each of the buckles 29, 30 carries a short length of cloth 35 referred to as a link strap. The link straps 35 is secured to the upper bar of and supports a double loop, three bar, keeper, 36 having a central trapeze bar 37. The nomenclature of trapeze bar will be obvious when it is considered that this keeper and its bars are free to swing and twist in the manner of a trapeze.

The improved and novel suspension which provides a degree of comfort heretofore unavailable by prior constructions, is achieved by the use of such trapeze bars and flat ribbon hangers 38 and 39 carried by such bars. Left breast shelf hanger 38 is sewn at its right end to the mesne area of the shelf structure at 40, and hanger 39 is sewn at its left end to the same area at 41. Thisarea being where the two shelves 17, 18 are joined together over the sternalis of the wearer. The right breast shelf ribbon hanger 39 is sewn at its right end to the right end portion of the shelf 17 at the area indicated by the reference character 42. The extreme left end of the left ribbon hanger 38 is sewn to the left end portion of the left shelf portion 18, but this area is obstructed from view in FIGURE 1 by the left cup extension 12.

Each of the ribbon hangers 38, 39 is led to the middle trapeze bar 37 of its respective keeper 36, and there caused to pass over and around the middle bar in a half twist of the ribbon so that the opposite end portions of the ribbon will present opposite faces of the ribbon to the skin surface of the wearer as the ribbon diverges from the trapeze bar. The ribbon is slidably engaged over the trapeze bar and, hence, as the body movements of the wearer cause the shoulder strap to move, the ribbon hanger may slide over the trapeze bar so that it will give support where needed without placing undue strain upon either the garment or the wearer. Hence, comfort is achieved both by a full support and equal tension along the ribbon at all times Without any binding action, and by the fact that each support ribbon has no tendency to roll up into a skin irritating cord or string but rather is constantly ironed into a fiat condition as the garment is worn. The bottom bar of the three of the keeper 36 is outside of the adjacent ribbon portions and away from the wearer. This bottom bar aids in keeping the ribbon flat. The ribbon hangers are of a length so that each will conform to and lie adjacent the upper edge of its respective breast. By this means of supporting each shelf with a ribbon having an end secured to the shelf at opposite sides of the breast of a wearer, the shelf acts somewhat as a hammock for the support of the breast.

In the particular embodiment of the invention disclosed, each of the cups 10, 11 is held upwardly in position to cover a breast by the provision of a small loop which is not visible in the drawing, and by hooking this loop over 3 a book 45 of a shoulder strap buckle 29, 30 which, also supports the link strap 35.

The illustrated and described garment is the result of actual testing over a considerable period of time and the description hereafter of its operation is proven by experience. The shelf structure 17, 18 is attached only. in the pectoris lateralis regions to the outer cover cup extensions 12,13 and, hence, is a free support with respect to the cups 10, 11. The inner shelf structure is suspended on the ribbons 38, 39 which act as hangers extending to spaced apart areas of each of the independent shelf por tions 17 and 18. The ribbons hang on a trapeze bar 37 by a half twist loop. That is, when a ribbon is extended through the keeper 36 and over the trapeze bar 37, it would normally hang on opposite sides of the bar in the usual manner. These ends then are directed in opposite directions to the places where they are secured. Thus, it will be seen that opposite face surfaces of the ribbon contact the body of the wearer according to which side of the trapeze bar the ribbon is on. Furthermore, this dividing point is shiftable according to the pull of the shoulder strap or of the shelves l7, 18. The important thing is that shifting is available and that the shifting actually causes the ribbon to be ironed as it moves over the trapeze bar. Thus, the ribbon is not only held across a bar to prevent its rolling into a string, but the movement continually irons the ribbon, keeps it fiat, and avoids stringing of the ribbon. Formation of ribbons into a string is a common situation in prior efforts wherein a free suspension has been attempted. Such stringing makes the garment absolutely unbearable to the wearer, and, hence, such garments have been quickly discarded. The present invention operates smoothly and the ribbons stay in a flat condition. The invention gives freedom of movement with absolute comfort.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be aiforded the full scope of the claim, inwhich, I claim:

A brassiere having a breast supporting hammock inner structure and a covering cup outer structure having backward extensions, said hammock structure including a contoured shelf formed into two adjacent sections joined to gether at a mesne area and each adapted to assume a rounded pocket form to undergird a breast of a wearer, and each said section having a top edge curved lengthwise thereof and extending from a position lateral of a breast When Worn to said mesne junction area, a pair of shoulder straps, each strap having a back end and a front end, each shoulder strap adapted to loop over an opposite shoulder of a person wearing such brassiere, each strap having its back end secured to a backward extension and a length adjusting buckle secured to the front end of such strap for adjustment of the buckle along such strap, each said buckle having a plurality of spaced apart bars parallel to each other so that said buckle has exterior bars interior bars, and such strap being looped around one of said interior bars of such buckle, a double loop keeper having two exterior bars and an interior bar, a link strap loop looping an exterior bar of said keeper and an interior bar of said buckle and not looping other bars, a pair of fiat ribbon hangers, one each slidably looped over the interior bar but not an exterior bar of said keeper, each ribbon hanger formed with a half twist from end to end thereof, one end of each of said ribbon hangers being secured to said mesne area and the other ends to separate lateral extensions of said shelf, and means for securing one of said covering cups to an exterior bar of each of said buckles.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,454,153 11/48 Glick 128-483 2,632,168 3/53 Kaufman l285ll 3,033,206 5/62 Ramsell l28484 LOUIS R. PRINCE, Primary Examiner.

ADELE NI. EAGER, Examiner.

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