Reconfigurable post-surgery brassiere

Abstract

A post-surgery brassiere comprises at least two catches for engaging two ring assemblies that detachably couple to collection bulbs and detachably couple to the two catches.

Claims

1. A post-surgery brassiere comprising: two breast cups; a back band that couples to the two breast cups; a first shoulder strap and a second shoulder strap, wherein a first end of each shoulder strap is coupled to a respective breast cup and a second end of each shoulder strap couples to the back band; an aperture disposed along a side of the post-surgery brassiere and sited so that when the brassiere is in use by a wearer, the aperture aligns with a respective axilla of the wearer; at least two catches, with a minimum of one catch disposed proximal to a bottom of each breast cup; and at least two ring assemblies that detachably couple to the at least two catches, wherein each catch, via the at least two ring assemblies, is capable of coupling a collection bulb to the post-surgery brassiere.

2. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 1 wherein each ring assembly comprises a hook, a loop, and a ring, wherein the ring is detachably coupled to the loop, and the hook is attached to the loop, and wherein the at least two catches are each dimensioned and arranged to receive each hook, one hook to one catch.

3. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 1 further comprising a base band attached to and disposed below the two breast cups, wherein the two catches are attached to the base band.

4. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 1 wherein each catch comprises an eyelet.

5. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 1 wherein the post-surgery brassiere has four catches, wherein a first two of the four catches are disposed to the left of a midline of the brassiere proximal to a bottom of a respective breast cup, and a second two of the four catches are disposed to the right of the midline of the brassiere proximal to a bottom of the respective breast cup.

6. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 1 wherein the aperture comprises a placket.

7. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 1 wherein the post-surgery brassiere has two apertures, each aperture disposed along a respective side of the post-surgery brassiere and sited so that when the brassiere is in use by a wearer, each aperture aligns with a respective axilla of the wearer.

8. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 7 wherein at least one of the apertures comprises a placket.

9. A post-surgery brassiere comprising: two breast cups; two apertures, one disposed along each side of the post-surgery brassiere and sited so that when the brassiere is in use by a wearer, each aperture aligns with a respective axilla of the wearer; at least two catches, with a minimum of one catch disposed proximal to a bottom of each breast cup; and at least two ring assemblies for coupling to collection bulbs, wherein each ring assembly is coupleable to a catch, wherein, in use of the post-surgery brassiere, none, one, or two of the ring assemblies can be coupled to a respective none, one or two of the catches.

10. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 9 wherein the post-surgery brassiere has four catches, wherein a first two of the four catches are disposed to the left of a midline of the brassiere proximal to a bottom of one of the breast cups, and a second two of the four catches are disposed to the right of the midline of the brassiere proximal to a bottom of the other of the breast cups.

11. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 10 wherein the post-surgery brassiere has four ring assemblies, wherein, in use of the post-surgery brassiere, none of the ring assemblies, or any one or more of the four ring assemblies can be detachably coupled to a respective number of catches.

12. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 9 wherein each ring assembly comprises a hook, a loop, and a ring, wherein the ring is detachably coupled to the loop, and the hook is attached to the loop, and each of the at least two catches are dimensioned and arranged to receive, one each, the hook of each ring assembly.

13. A kit comprising: a post-surgery brassiere having: two breast cups; an aperture disposed along a side of the post-surgery brassiere and sited so that when the brassiere is in use by a wearer, the aperture aligns with a respective axilla of the wearer; and at least two catches, with a minimum of one catch disposed proximal to a bottom of each breast cup; and at least two ring assemblies for coupling to collection bulbs, wherein each ring assembly is detachably coupleable to one of the catches.

14. The kit of claim 13 wherein the post-surgery brassiere has four catches, wherein a first two of the four catches are disposed to the left of a midline of the brassiere proximal to a bottom of one of the breast cups, and a second two of the four catches are disposed to the right of the midline of the brassiere proximal to a bottom of the other of the breast cups.

15. The kit of claim 14 wherein the post-surgery brassiere has four ring assemblies for coupling to drain bulbs, wherein each ring assembly is detachably coupleable to one of the catches.

16. A post-surgery brassiere comprising: two breast cups; an aperture disposed along a side of the post-surgery brassiere and sited so that when the brassiere is in use by a wearer, the aperture aligns with a respective axilla of the wearer; and at least two eyelets, with a minimum of one eyelet disposed proximal to a bottom of each breast cup, and wherein each eyelet is capable of coupling a collection bulb to the post-surgery brassiere.

17. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 16 further comprising at least two ring assemblies that detachably couple to the at least two eyelets.

18. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 17 wherein each ring assembly comprises a hook, a loop, and a ring, wherein the ring is detachably coupled to the loop, and the hook is attached to the loop, and wherein the at least two eyelets are each dimensioned and arranged to receive each hook, one hook to one catch.

19. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 16 further comprising a base band attached to and disposed below the two breast cups, wherein the two eyelets are attached to the base band.

20. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 16 wherein the post-surgery brassiere has two catches in addition to the two eyelets, wherein one of the eyelets and one of the catches are disposed to the left of a midline of the brassiere proximal to a bottom of a respective breast cup, and a second of the eyelets and a second of the catches are disposed to the right of the midline of the brassiere proximal to a bottom of the respective breast cup.

21. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 16 wherein the aperture comprises a placket.

22. A post-surgery brassiere comprising: two breast cups; an aperture disposed along a side of the post-surgery brassiere and sited so that when the brassiere is in use by a wearer, the aperture aligns with a respective axilla of the wearer, wherein the aperture is a placket; and at least two catches, with a minimum of one catch disposed proximal to a bottom of each breast cup, and wherein each catch is capable of coupling a collection bulb to the post-surgery brassiere.

23. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 22 further comprising at least two ring assemblies that detachably couple to the at least two catches.

24. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 23 wherein each ring assembly comprises a hook, a loop, and a ring, wherein the ring is detachably coupled to the loop, and the hook is attached to the loop, and wherein the at least two catches are each dimensioned and arranged to receive each hook, one hook to one catch.

25. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 22 further comprising a base band attached to and disposed below the two breast cups, wherein the two catches are attached to the base band.

26. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 22 wherein each catch comprise an eyelet.

27. The post-surgery brassiere of claim 22 wherein the post-surgery brassiere has four catches, wherein a first two of the four catches are disposed to the left of a midline of the brassiere proximal to a bottom of a respective breast cup, and a second two of the four catches are disposed to the right of the midline of the brassiere proximal to a bottom of the respective breast cup.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 depicts a front view of prior-art post-surgery brassiere 100.

(2) FIG. 2 depicts a side view of prior-art post-surgery brassiere 100, wherein the bra is supporting the bulb of a JP drain.

(3) FIG. 3 depicts reconfigurable post-surgery brassiere 300 in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(4) FIG. 3 depicts post-surgery brassiere (bra) 300. In the illustrative embodiment, bra 300 includes cups 102A and 102B, shoulder straps 104A and 104B, back band 108, and base band 120, arranged as shown.

(5) In the illustrative embodiment, brassiere 300 comprises five release points: medial closure 110 (disposed between cups 102A and 102B), superior closures 106A and 106B (one along each of respective shoulder straps 104A and 104B), and side closures 116, one of which is disposed between backband 108 and cup 102A and the other between the backband and cup 102B. In the illustrative embodiment, all such closures comprise paired strips of hook and loop fastener, such as Velcro brand, available from Velcro Co. of Manchester, N.H. Alternatively, the closures can comprise hooks and hook-compatible fabric. Other types of closures can suitably be used (e.g., hook-and-eyelet, etc.).

(6) Cups 102A and 102B and back band 108 comprise a compressive fabric, such as, without limitation, Lycra brand spandex fiber or Tencel brand fiber. In some embodiments, the compressive fabric includes an anti-stain treatment.

(7) Apertures 114 are formed at the site of side closures 116. The aperture is sited so that when the brassiere is in use, each aperture aligns with the side of the patient underneath the respective axilla (i.e., arm pit). Apertures 114 enables the flexible tubing of a drain (e.g., JP drain, etc.) to pass through bra 300.

(8) As in applicant's aforementioned ELIZABETH PINK SURGICAL BRAS and the post-surgery bra disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,545,124, apertures 114 are implemented as plackets. Using plackets, as opposed a hole through the bra, enables a user to don or remove bra 300 without having to remove the drain's collection bulb. Also, if a hole (rather than a placket) were sized to permit passage of a collection bulb for a specific type of drain, it might be undersized to permit the passage of other bulbs from other types of drains. This would require that the user remove the collection bulb of the drain to remove the bra.

(9) Band 120 comprises an elastic material that is attached to the bottom edge of the cups 102A and 102B and back band 108. By virtue of its elasticity, band 120 ensures that the bottom of the bra remains tight to the body when in use.

(10) With the exception of the features discussed below, the structure of bra 300 is essentially the same as that of the ELIZABETH PINK SURGICAL BRA.

(11) Eyelets 338 are disposed on bra 300 proximal to the bottom of each cup. In the illustrative embodiment, four eyelets are attached to base band 120, two on the left and two on the right of the midline of the front of bra 300. In some other embodiments, one eyelet 338 is disposed on each side of the midline; in yet some further embodiments, three or more eyelets 338 are disposed on each side of the midline.

(12) In the illustrative embodiment, each eyelet 338 projects outward from base band 120, forming a region or gap 339 defined between a portion of base band and the eyelet. Region 339 is used to snare hook 340. Since, in the illustrative embodiment, hook 340 is attached to loop 122, and the loop couples to ring 124, the ring can be removably coupled to bra 300. For use in this disclosure and the appended claims, the phrase removably coupled or detachably coupled (as well as inflected forms) means that something can be repeatedly coupled to and decoupled from something else. So, by virtue of this arrangement, rings 124 can be removably coupled to any eyelet 338, enabling them to be readily positioned where needed. Or one or more of rings 124 can be removed from eyelets 338 (and hence bra 300). A variety of arrangements of rings on eyelets are therefore possible.

(13) For, example, if there are two eyelets 338 on each side of the midline, one close to the midline (medial), and one further from the midline (lateral), and four rings 124 are available, then the following sixteen arrangements are possible (x indicates that a ring is coupled to an eyelet):

(14) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Possible Arrangements of Bulb-Supporting Rings Left Side Right Side medial lateral medial lateral x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
As will be appreciated by perusing Table 1, eyelets 338 and removably coupleable rings 124 imbue bra 300 with a far improved ability, relative to the prior art, to provide an ideal location for situating a collection bulb.

(15) In the illustrative embodiment, hook 340 is attached to loop 122; it will be appreciated, however, that other structural arrangements are possible. For example, in some embodiments, hook 340 can be directly attached to ring 124. In yet some further embodiments, hook 340 is not used; rather, ring 124 couples directly to eyelet 338. As used in this disclosure and the appended claims, the phrase ring assembly refers to either ring 124 alone, ring 124 and hook 340, or ring 124, loop 122, and hook 340. In some alternative embodiments, the bulb of the drain may be directly coupled to eyelets 338. For example, a safety pin can be pinned to loop 236 (see FIG. 2) of collection bulb 234 and to eyelet 338.

(16) It will be appreciated that other arrangements by which a collection-bulb supporting element (such as ring 124) is detachably coupled to bra 300 may suitably be used. As used in this disclosure and the appended claims, the term catch refers to a feature on the bra (e.g., eyelet 338, etc.) that is used to couple the collection bulb to bra 300. As used in this disclosure and the appended claims, reference to coupling a/the collection bulb to the post-surgery brassiere means that the collection bulb itself can be detachably coupled to the eyelets (i.e., directly), or that the bulb can be detachably coupled via other elements, such as the ring, and/or loop, and/or hook, etc. (i.e., indirectly).

(17) It is preferable not to use hook-and-loop material as the catch (particularly on the loop or ring), since it can irritate a user's skin. Also, it is important that the catch is located such that the bulb of the drain hangs below the patient's heart, thereby promoting drainage of fluids.

(18) The post-surgery brassiere disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,545,124 can be modified to be consistent with the present teachings. That is, rather than permanently attaching a loop of ribbon to the base band of the bra disclosed therein, eyelets 338 are attached to the bra as disclosed herein.

(19) Embodiments of the post-surgery brassiere disclosed herein can alternatively be considered to be a kit, the kit including the post-surgery brassiere and some number of ring assemblies.

(20) It is to be understood that the disclosure teaches just one example of the illustrative embodiment and that many variations of the invention can easily be devised by those skilled in the art after reading this disclosure and that the scope of the present invention is to be determined by the following claims.

(21) For example, in some embodiments, a post-surgery brassiere in accordance with the present teachings can include side panels as well as a back band. It will be appreciate that in such embodiments, a portion of back band 108 is simply replaced by such side panels, which would be disposed between the back band and the cups. In embodiments in which side panels are present, aperture 114 can be disposed in the side panels, as opposed to being in the back band. What is of more importance is that when the brassiere is in use, the apertures are positioned under each axilla of the wearer so that the aperture aligns with the insertion point (in the wearer's body) of the drain tubing.

(22) It is to be understood that many variations of the invention can easily be devised by those skilled in the art after reading this disclosure, and that the scope of the present invention is to be determined by the following claims.