ASYMMETRIC BRASSIERE FOR USE WITH A PROSTHETIC BREAST

Abstract

An asymmetric brassiere for use with a prosthetic breast is disclosed. The asymmetric brassiere provides a front closure, which provides greater support for the front of the user's body, and enables fastening without shifting the position of the prosthetic. Further, a conductive fabric is provided which cups under the prosthetic. The asymmetric brassiere provides a user's pre-surgery appearance and equilibrium at a reasonable cost.

Claims

1. An asymmetric brassiere which is intended for use with a prosthetic breast supplied by the user, providing a front closure with a fastener, and a prosthetic cup for the prosthetic breast.

2. The asymmetric brassiere of claim 1, wherein the prosthetic cup is manufactured from a conductive fabric which cups under the prosthetic breast.

3. The asymmetric brassiere of claim 1, wherein different versions of the asymmetric brassiere are provided with a prosthetic cup on the left side, the right side, or both sides.

4. The asymmetric brassiere of claim 1, wherein the user may snap open the fastener and put on the asymmetric brassiere, position the prosthetic breast comfortably within the prosthetic cup, and close the fastener.

5. The asymmetric brassiere of claim 1, wherein the asymmetric brassiere is manufactured from flexible, durable materials which are easily cleaned, such as cotton fabric or a cotton/polyester blend.

6. The asymmetric brassiere of claim 1, wherein the fastener is manufactured from a rigid, durable material, such as steel, plastic, or aluminum alloy.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate various embodiments of the present disclosure. The drawings contain representations of various trademarks and copyrights owned by the Applicants. In addition, the drawings may contain other marks owned by third parties and are being used for illustrative purposes only. All rights to various trademarks and copyrights represented herein, except those belonging to their respective owners, are vested in and the property of the applicants. The applicants retain and reserve all rights in their trademarks and copyrights included herein, and grant permission to reproduce the material only in connection with reproduction of the granted patent and for no other purpose.

[0018] Furthermore, the drawings may contain text or captions that may explain certain embodiments of the present disclosure. This text is included for illustrative, non-limiting, explanatory purposes of certain embodiments detailed in the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a front view of an asymmetric brassiere, in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a top view of the asymmetric brassiere of FIG. 1.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a right side view of the asymmetric brassiere of FIG. 1.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a left side view of the asymmetric brassiere of FIG. 1.

[0023] FIG. 5 is a top right-side perspective view of the asymmetric brassiere of FIG. 1.

[0024] FIG. 6 is a top left-side perspective view of the asymmetric brassiere of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] As a preliminary matter, it will readily be understood by one having ordinary skill in the relevant art that the present disclosure has broad utility and application.

[0026] As should be understood, any embodiment may incorporate only one or a plurality of the above-disclosed aspects of the disclosure and may further incorporate only one or a plurality of the above-disclosed features. Furthermore, any embodiment discussed and identified as being preferred is considered to be part of a best mode contemplated for carrying out the embodiments of the present disclosure. Other embodiments also may be discussed for additional illustrative purposes in providing a full and enabling disclosure. Moreover, many embodiments, such as adaptations, variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements, will be implicitly disclosed by the embodiments described herein and fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0027] Accordingly, while embodiments are described herein in detail in relation to one or more embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is illustrative and exemplary of the present disclosure and are made merely for the purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure. The detailed disclosure herein of one or more embodiments is not intended, nor is to be construed, to limit the scope of patent protection afforded in any claim of a patent issuing here from, which scope is to be defined by the claims and the equivalents thereof. It is not intended that the scope of patent protection be defined by reading into any claim a limitation found herein that does not explicitly appear in the claim itself.

[0028] Thus, for example, any sequence(s) and/or temporal order of steps of various processes or methods that are described herein are illustrative and not restrictive. Accordingly, it should be understood that, although steps of various processes or methods may be shown and described as being in a sequence or temporal order, the steps of any such processes or methods are not limited to being carried out in any particular sequence or order, absent an indication otherwise.

[0029] Indeed, the steps in such processes or methods generally may be carried out in various different sequences and orders while still falling within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of patent protection is to be defined by the issued claim(s) rather than the description set forth herein.

[0030] Additionally, it is important to note that each term used herein refers to that which an ordinary artisan would understand such term to mean based on the contextual use of such term herein. To the extent that the meaning of a term used hereinas understood by the ordinary artisan based on the contextual use of such term-differs in any way from any particular dictionary definition of such term, it is intended that the meaning of the term as understood by the ordinary artisan should prevail.

[0031] Furthermore, it is important to note that, as used herein, a and an each generally denotes at least one, but does not exclude a plurality unless the contextual use dictates otherwise. When used herein to join a list of items, or denotes at least one of the items, but does not exclude a plurality of items of the list. Finally, when used herein to join a list of items, and denotes all of the items of the list.

[0032] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or similar elements. While many embodiments of the disclosure may be described, modifications, adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the elements illustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may be modified by substituting, reordering, or adding stages to the disclosed methods. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limit the disclosure. Instead, the proper scope of the disclosure is defined by the appended claims. The present disclosure contains headers. It should be understood that these headers are used as references and are not to be construed as limiting upon the subjected matter disclosed under the header.

[0033] The present disclosure includes many aspects and features. Moreover, while many aspects and features relate to, and are described in, the context of an asymmetric brassiere, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to use only in this context.

[0034] FIG. 1 is a front view of an asymmetric brassiere 10, in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment. The asymmetric brassiere 10 includes one or more of a fastener 11, a prosthetic cup 12, and a prosthetic breast 13. FIG. 2 is a top view of the asymmetric brassiere 10. FIG. 3 is a right side view of the asymmetric brassiere 10. FIG. 4 is a left side view of the asymmetric brassiere 10. FIG. 5 is a top right-side perspective view of the asymmetric brassiere 10. FIG. 6 is a top left-side perspective view of the asymmetric brassiere 10.

[0035] The asymmetric brassiere 10 is intended for use with the prosthetic breast 13 supplied by the user. The asymmetric brassiere 10 includes the front fastener 11, which provides greater support for the front of the user's body, and enables fastening without shifting the position of the prosthetic breast 13. The fastener 11 provides front closure of the asymmetric brassiere 10.

[0036] The prosthetic cup 12 is provided for the prosthetic breast 13. The prosthetic cup 12 may be manufactured from a conductive fabric which cups under the prosthetic breast 13. Further, different versions of the asymmetric brassiere 10 may be provided with the prosthetic cup 12 on the left side, the right side, or both sides. The asymmetric brassiere 10 may be provided in a full range of sizes and colors.

[0037] In order to use the asymmetric brassiere 10, the user may snap open the fastener 11 and put on the asymmetric brassiere 10, position the prosthetic breast 13 comfortably within the prosthetic cup 12, and close the fastener 11.

[0038] Further, the asymmetric brassiere 10 may be manufactured from flexible, durable materials which are easily cleaned, such as cotton fabric or a cotton/polyester blend. The fastener 11 may be manufactured from a rigid, durable material, such as steel, plastic, or aluminum alloy.

[0039] Components and methods listed above are preferable, but artisans will recognize that alternate components and methods could be selected without altering the scope of the invention.

[0040] Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.