BRA WITH CLEAVAGE SPILLAGE PREVENTION FUNCTION

Abstract

Most bras focus on the push up function along the lower half of the bra band while lacking effective retaining measures along the neckline. Breast cleavage spillage is very common and difficult to prevent. The bra disclosed herein provides an elegant solution to this long standing common problem. The bra disclosed herein comprises a patch that is positioned close to the neckline with a surface that is capable of retain breast upon contact. When put on, the patch of the bra retains the breast and successfully preventing breast cleavage spillage. The bra can be stand alone or a built-in bra of a garment such as a swim suit, a camisole, or an exercise bra.

Claims

1. A bra with a cleavage spillage prevention function, comprising, a bra cup comprising a breast facing surface having a neckline, an apex, and a center front gore, and a patch having, a width and a length that is longer than the width, a first and a second end that is on the opposite end of the patch longitudinally, sandwiching a middle section, wherein at least the first and the second ends of the patch are secured to the breast facing surface of the bra with the first end close to the apex and the second end close to the center front gore such that the patch is positioned between the apex and the center front gore and close to the neckline, and wherein the patch is coated with a material that is capable of retaining the breast upon contact.

2. The bra of claim 1, wherein the length of the patch matches at least 70% of the neckline of the bra cup.

3. The bra of claim 1, wherein the middle section of the patch comprises at least about 60% of the patch lengthwise.

4. The bra of claim 1, wherein the middle section of the patch is movable relative to the bra cup.

5. The bra of claim 1, wherein the middle section of the patch is not movable relative to the bra cup.

6. The bra of claim 1, wherein the length of the patch is at least 10 cm and the width is at least 1.5 cm.

7. The bra of claim 1, wherein the patch is about 2 inches wide and about 10 inches long.

8. The bra of claim 1, wherein the patch is secured to the bra cup through sewing, gluing, coating, stamping, buttoning, fastening or a combination thereof.

9. The bra of claim 1, wherein the patch is detachably secured onto the bra cup through a loop-and-hook fastener.

10. The bra of claim 1, wherein the patch is coated with silicone.

11. A method of using the bra of claim 1 to prevent breasts of a living subject from spilling or overflowing from the neckline of a bra cup of the bra, the method comprising, putting the bra on to cover at least part of a breast, and adjusting the patch relative to the breast such that the patch forms a gripping barrier between the breast and the bra cup to keep the breast from overflowing or spilling over the neckline of the bra cup, and optionally repeating the above process of a second bra cup of the bra to prevent both breasts from overflowing or spilling over the necklines of the bra.

12. A garment having a cleavage spillage prevention function, comprising, a built-in bra having a bra cup comprising a breast facing surface having a neckline, an apex, and a center front gore, and a patch having a width and a length that is longer than the width, a first and a second end that is on the opposite end of the patch longitudinally, sandwiching a middle section, wherein at least the first and the second ends of the patch are secured to the breast facing surface of the bra cup with the first end close to the apex and the second end close to the center front gore such that the patch is positioned between the apex and the center front gore and close to the neckline, and wherein the patch is coated with a material that is capable of retaining the breast upon contact.

13. The garment of claim 12, wherein the length of the patch matches at least 70% of the neckline of the bra cup.

14. The garment of claim 12, wherein the middle section of the patch comprises at least about 60% of the patch lengthwise.

15. The garment of claim 12, wherein the middle section of the patch is movable relative to the bra cup.

16. The garment of claim 12, wherein the middle section of the patch is not movable relative to the bra cup.

17. The garment of claim 12, wherein the length of the patch is at least 10 cm and the width is at least 1.5 cm.

18. The garment of claim 12, wherein the patch is about 2 inches wide and about 10 inches long.

19. The garment of claim 12, wherein the patch is secured to the bra cup through sewing, gluing, coating, stamping, buttoning, fastening or a combination thereof.

20. The garment of claim 12, wherein the patch is detachably secured onto the bra cup through a loop-and-hook fastener.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale, and certain features may be shown exaggerated in scale or in a somewhat generalized or schematic form in the interest of clarity and conciseness. For more complete understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention, reference is now made to the detailed description of the invention along with the accompanying figures, wherein:

[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure and parts of a bra.

[0012] FIG. 2 is a photo showing a breast cleavage spillage when a common bra is worn.

[0013] FIG. 3 is a photo showing the breast cleavage spillage is prevented when a bra according to one embodiment of the disclosure is worn.

[0014] FIG. 4 is a perspective back view of a bra showing the breast facing surface that has the breast retaining patches according to one embodiment of the disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of one of the bra cups of the bra of FIG. 4.

[0016] FIG. 6 is a front view of the bra of FIG. 4 being worn, showing the position of the patches.

[0017] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the entire length of a patch being secured and not movable relative to the bra cup of a bra.

[0018] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the entire length of a patch being secured and not movable relative to the bra cup of a bra positioned flush with the neckline.

[0019] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a swim suit with built-in bra cups according to another embodiment of the disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 10 is a back view of a camisole with a built-in bra according to an alternative embodiment of the disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 11 is a back view of a sports bra with a built-in bra according to one embodiment of the disclosure.

[0022] The figures are not necessarily to scale, and some features may be exaggerated or minimized, such as to show details of particular components. In some instances, well-known components, systems, materials or methods have not been described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the present disclosure. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Definitions

[0023] The terms a and an are defined as one or more unless this disclosure explicitly requires otherwise. The term substantially is defined as largely but not necessarily wholly what is specified (and includes what is specified; e.g., substantially 90 degrees includes 90 degrees and substantially parallel includes parallel), as understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art. In any disclosed embodiment, the terms substantially, approximately, and about may be substituted with within [a percentage] of what is specified, where the percentage includes 0.1-1, 1-5, or 5-10 percent.

[0024] The terms comprise (and any form of comprise, such as comprises and comprising), have (and any form of have, such as has and having), include (and any form of include, such as includes and including) and contain (and any form of contain, such as contains and containing) are open-ended linking verbs. As a result, a device that comprises, has, includes or contains one or more elements possesses those one or more elements, but is not limited to possessing only those elements. Likewise, a method that comprises, has, includes or contains one or more steps possesses those one or more steps, but is not limited to possessing only those one or more steps.

[0025] Any embodiment of any of the apparatuses, systems, and methods can consist of or consist essentially ofrather than comprise/include/contain/haveany of the described steps, elements, and/or features. Thus, in any of the claims, the term consisting of or consisting essentially of can be substituted for any of the open-ended linking verbs recited above, in order to change the scope of a given claim from what it would otherwise be using the open-ended linking verb.

[0026] The feature or features of one embodiment may be applied to other embodiments, even though not described or illustrated, unless expressly prohibited by this disclosure or the nature of the embodiments.

[0027] Further, a device or system that is configured in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but it can also be configured in other ways than those specifically described.

[0028] Throughout this application, various publications are referenced. The disclosures of these publications in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this application in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this pertains. The references disclosed are also individually and specifically incorporated by reference herein for the material contained in them that is discussed in the sentence in which the reference is relied upon.

[0029] The present disclosure may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of embodiments and to the Figures and their previous and following description.

General

[0030] Disclosed herein is a bra designed for breast cleavage spillage management or prevention and method of using the bra to manage or prevent breast cleavage spillage. The bra can be from a standalone bra or from a bra built into a garment such as a swimsuit or camisole. Because the bra can be used to manage or prevent breast cleavage spillage, it provides a simple and reliable approach to a long standing and difficult problem.

[0031] Structure or parts of a bra may vary from bra to bra, yet a few basic elements remain common to most all bras, including bras that are built into a garment. FIG. 1 shows a common bra 100 with basic elements such band 102, gore 104, cup 106, apex 108, neckline 110, and strap 112 labeled. The band 102 of a bra 100 is one of the most important parts of a bra. The bra band 102 runs around the rib cage of the wearer. The cups 106 are attached to the front of the bra band, the straps 112 to the back. The gore 104 of the bra is the center of the cups where a little bridge is formed. If the bra fits well, the gore 104 should touch one's torso. If the bra fits poorly, the gore 104 will not fully touch the body. The cup 106 is the part of a bra that holds the breasts. The volume of breast tissue each cup can hold varies between cup sizes, such as AA, D, or F, on each band size, for example 32, 34, or 40, in addition to bra cut or style. This volume of breast tissue each cup can hold is called bra cup volume, which is believed to be a more accurate reflection of the capacity of a bra cup compared to the reference of bra cup size alone. The apex 108 is the part of the cup 106 which connects to the strap 112. The part of the bra cup that is between the apex 108 and the gore 104 is generally known as neckline or cleavage rim where the neck and cleavage of a wearer would show through.

[0032] The center gore 104 can be viewed as a part of the band 102. The bra band 102 is believed to contribute the most to a bra's fit because most of the weight of the breast is distributed throughout the bra band, especially the lower half of the bra band 102 that is highlighted with slanted lines. The top portion of the bra, including the bra cups 106 and necklines 110 therefore do not have known ways to retain breast tissue. In other words, the bras currently available on the market have strong emphasis on the push up function of a bra and lack functions for cleavage management. Spillage or disfiguration of breast cleavage when wearing a bra or a garment with built-in bra cups is very common.

[0033] A typical breast cleavage spillage or disfiguration in a bra is shown in FIG. 2. Breasts 202, 202 are supported by bra cups 204 and 204, respectively. The necklines or cleavage rims 203, 203 however, were not capable of holding the breasts down. As a result, instead of having an uninterrupted natural appearance, the breasts 202, 202 appear to be pinched by the necklines or cleavage rims 203, 203 of the bra cups 204, 204, respectively, causing spillage or disfiguration. Similar phenomenon could happen with built-in bras of garments as well. Breast cleavage appearance improves dramatically when a bra disclosed herein is used as shown in FIG. 3. Breasts 202, 202 appear uninterrupted and natural. The cleavage rims 203, 203 no longer pinch into the breasts 202, 202. The bra disclosed herein has solved a long standing and difficult problem of preventing breast cleavage spillage.

[0034] A back-perspective view of a bra 300 according to one embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the bra 300 disclosed herein comprises a bra cup 302 comprising a breast facing surface 304 having a neckline 306, an apex 308, a center front gore 310, and a patch 312. An enlarged view of the patch 312 is shown in FIG. 5. The patch 312 has a width W and a length L that is longer than the width W, a first end 312a and a second end 312b that is on the opposite end of the patch longitudinally, sandwiching a middle section 312c, with the first end 312a close to the apex 308 and the second end 312b close to the center front gore 310 such that the patch 312 is positioned between the apex 308 and the center front gore 310 and close to the neckline 306. At least the first and the second ends 312a and 312b of the patch 312 are secured to the breast facing surface 304 of the bra 300. The patch 312 can be secured to the bra cup 302 through sewing, gluing, coating, stamping, buttoning, fastening or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the patch is detachably secured onto the bra cup through a loop-and-hook fastener. In one embodiment, the middle section of the patch is movable relative to the bra cup. In other embodiments, the middle section of the patch is not movable relative to the bra cup. The middle section of the patch comprises at least about 60% of the patch lengthwise, for example, 60-62%, 62-64%, 64-66%, 66-68%, 68-70%, 70-72%, 72-74%, 74-76%, 76-78%, 78-80%, 80-82%, 82-84%, 84-86%, 86-88%, 88-90%, 90-92%, 92-94%, 94-96%, or 96-98%.

[0035] When the bra 300 is worn, the patch 312 forms close contact with breast 314 along the cleavage of the breast as shown in FIG. 6. Because the patch 312 retains breast upon contact, the patch 312 retains the breast 314 in place to prevent it from sliding out of the neckline or cleavage rim 306 to prevent cleavage spillage. In some embodiments, when the patch is made out of elastic material with the middle section 312c movable relative to the breast facing surface 304, the effectiveness of the bra 300 can be attributed to both material and mechanical factors. Namely, the material used on the surface of patch 312 retains breast 314 upon contact, while the elastic moveable portion of the patch 312 acts as a bungee that applies mechanical forces to breast 314 to hold the breast 314 in place. In one embodiment, the elastic material comprises elastomers including saturated and unsaturated rubber. In some embodiments, the entire patch is made out of silicone.

[0036] The patch has a width that is at least 1.5 cm, and a length that is at least 8 cm long and matches at least 70% of the length of the neckline 306 or cleavage rim of the bra cup 302. The width of the patch can for example be 1.5-2 cm, 2-2.5 cm. 2.5-3 cm, 3-3.5 cm, 3.5-4 cm, or 4-5 cm. The length of the patch can for example be 8-9 cm, 9-10 cm, 10-11 cm, 11-12 cm, 12-13 cm, 13-14 cm, 14-15 cm, 16-17 cm, 17-18 cm, 18-19 cm, 19-20 cm, 20-21 cm, 21-22 cm, 22-23 cm, 23-24 cm, 24-25 cm, 25-26 cm, 26-27 cm, 27-28 cm, 28-29 cm, or 29-30 cm. In general, the length L of the patch 312 matches at least 70% of the neckline of the bra cup, for example, for example, 70-72%, 72-74%, 74-76%, 76-78%, 78-80%, 80-82%, 82-84%, 84-86%, 86-88%, 88-90%, 90-92%, 92-94%, 94-96%, 96-98%, or 98-100%. In one embodiment, the patch is about 2 inches wide and about 10 inches long.

[0037] The patch 312 is coated with a material that is capable of retaining the breast upon contact. The breast retaining material can for example be silicone. Besides the ability to retain skin upon contact, the raised temperature transmitted through breast warms the silicone, making it retains the skin even better. In some embodiments, the entire patch is made out of silicone material.

[0038] An alternative bra design 400 is illustrated in FIG. 7 when the entire length of the patch 402 is secured to the bra cup 404, with the middle section not movable relative to the breast facing surface 406. In some embodiments, a patch 502 is positioned flush with the neckline or cleavage rim 504 of a bra 500 as shown in FIG. 8. The entire length of the patch 502 is secured to the bra cup 506, with the middle section not movable relative to the breast facing surface 508. In these alternative bra designs, the elastic fabric and the breast facing surface can both be made out of silicone.

[0039] Generally, the method of using the bra disclosed herein comprises the steps of:

[0040] (1) putting the bra on to cover at least part of a breast,

[0041] (2) adjusting the patch relative to the breast such that the patch forms a gripping barrier between the breast and the bra cup to keep the breast from overflowing or spilling over the neckline of the bra cup, and

[0042] (3) optionally repeating the above process of a second bra cup of the bra to prevent both breasts from overflowing or spilling over the necklines of the bra.

[0043] Disclosed herein additionally is a garment with a built-in bra having a cleavage spillage prevention function. The garment can for example be a swim suit, an under wear, a camisole, or an exercise top. Similar to a standalone bra, the built-in bra of the garment comprises a bra cup comprising a breast facing surface having a neckline, an apex, and a center front gore, and a patch having a width and a length that is longer than the width, a first and a second end that is on the opposite end of the patch longitudinally, sandwiching a middle section, wherein at least the first and the second ends of the patch are secured to the breast facing surface of the bra cup with the first end close to the apex and the second end close to the center front gore such that the patch is positioned between the apex and the center front gore and close to the neckline, and wherein the patch is coated with a material that is capable of retaining the breast upon contact.

[0044] For example, the built-in bra can be part of a swim suit as shown in FIG. 9. Referring to FIG. 9, a perspective back view of a swim suit 600 shows a built-in bra 602 that has the patches 604 positioned between the apexes 608 and the center gore 606 of the bra, close to the necklines 610.

[0045] The built-in bra can also be part of a camisole as shown in FIG. 10. Referring to FIG. 10, a back view of a camisole 700 shows a built-in bra 702 that has the patches 704 positioned between the apexes 708 and the center gore 706 of the bra, close to the necklines 710.

[0046] The built-in bra can also be part of a sports bra as shown in FIG. 11. Referring to FIG. 11, a back view of a sports bra 800 that has a patch 802 positioned between the apexes 804, along the neckline 806. Because sports bra 800 does not have a distinct gore, the neckline 806 runs across the chest and only one patch 802 runs along the neckline 806.

[0047] Generally, a method of using a garment with built-in bra disclosed herein comprises,

[0048] (1) putting on the garment such that the built-in bra covers at least part of a breast,

[0049] (2) adjusting the patch relative to the breast such that the patch forms a gripping barrier between the breast and the bra cup to keep the breast from overflowing or spilling over the neckline of the bra cup, and

[0050] (3) optionally repeating the above process of a second bra cup of the built-in bra to prevent both breasts from overflowing or spilling over the necklines of the bra.

[0051] The embodiments above are intended to be illustrative and not limiting. Additional embodiments are within the claims. In addition, although the present disclosure has been described with reference to particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes can be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Any incorporation by reference of documents above is limited such that no subject matter is incorporated that is contrary to the explicit disclosure herein.