U.S. patent application number 09/780320 was filed with the patent office on 2002-08-15 for seamless brassiere shoulder strap.
Invention is credited to Johnson, Donald C., Spilfogel, Jeffrey.
Application Number | 20020111119 09/780320 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25119262 |
Filed Date | 2002-08-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020111119 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Johnson, Donald C. ; et
al. |
August 15, 2002 |
Seamless brassiere shoulder strap
Abstract
A method of manufacturing a brassiere shoulder strap using as
construction material superposed strips of fabric and plastic
content and simultaneously fusing and removing as selvage the
opposite edges of the strips thereby obviating an inturned
edge-manifested seam in the shoulder strap.
Inventors: |
Johnson, Donald C.;
(Wellington, FL) ; Spilfogel, Jeffrey;
(Wellington, FL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MYRON AMER, P.C.
Suite 310
114 Old Country Road
Mineola
NY
11501
US
|
Family ID: |
25119262 |
Appl. No.: |
09/780320 |
Filed: |
February 12, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
450/86 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41F 15/005
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
450/86 |
International
Class: |
A41C 003/00 |
Claims
what is claimed is:
1. A seamless shoulder strap of a brassiere comprising a superposed
cooperating pair of an upper and of a lower elongated strip of
fabric construction material in facing relation to each other
bounding therebetween a correspondingly elongated internal
compartment, each said strip preliminarily having a cut raw edges
therealong delimiting therebetween a similar selected first
transverse dimension, an intermediate strip of thermoplastic fibers
construction material having an interposed operative position
disposed lengthwise in said internal compartment, said intermediate
strip preliminarily having cut new edges therealong delimiting
therebetween a selected transverse dimension slightly in excess of
said first transverse dimension of said upper and lower fabric
strips correspondingly preliminarily causing laterally outwardly
extending opposite selvage edges due to said size differences of
said first and second transverse dimensions, and removed selvage
edges of said upper, lower and intermediate fabric strips, whereby
said cut raw edges thereof without an inturned seam are obviated in
the resulting shoulder strap.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates generally to improvements for
a brassiere shoulder strap in which, more particularly, the
improvements result in a seamless construction which contributes to
the aesthetics and comfort of the strap.
[0002] As an article of manufacture, a brassiere strap is an
assembly of superposed elongated fabric strips, each typically
removed from a fabric panel and thus, unavoidably, each having raw
cut edges occasioned by the removal. These edges require a
finishing treatment, and the treatment of choice is to turn the raw
cut edge inwardly upon itself. Adjacent thusly treated or finished
edges is a manifested seam in the strap construction and is a
shortcoming obviated in the seamless shoulder strap of the present
invention.
EXAMPLES OF THE PRIOR ART
[0003] A turned in fold of a brassiere elongated fabric strip may
be located along a side edge of a shoulder strap construction, as
exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,513 for "Laterally Stabilized
Bra Strap" issued to Woods on Jan. 27, 1987, or located more
frequently centrally of the strap surface in contact with the
wearer's shoulder, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,153,246 for
"Embossed Shoulder Straps" issued to H. Silverman on Oct. 20, 1964
and by U.S. Pat. No. 3,616,148 for "Laminated Shoulder Strap"
issued to Irving Edelman on Oct. 26, 1971. In being folded in, or
under itself, the raw cut edge is removed from sight and touch, but
the bulk of a two ply configuration resulting from the fold remains
as a possible pressing source of discomfort against the shoulder of
the wearer. Moreover, a cooperating pair of inturned folds are
typically operatively arranged in facing or abutting relation to
each other, thus forming a seam which both from an appearance and
touch or "hand", i.e. the feel of fabric construction material of
the strap, are undesirable.
[0004] Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide
a seamless brassiere shoulder strap construction overcoming the
foregoing and other shortcomings of the prior art.
[0005] More particularly, it is an object in the assemblage of
shoulder strap work-in-process fabric strips to remove the selvages
thereof without imparting at the site of removal a raw cut nature
to edges of the strips, thus obviating any need of seams, or of
processing otherwise of the shoulder strap in any significant
extent in order to avoid unsightliness and discomfort during wear,
all as will be better understood as the description proceeds.
[0006] The description of the invention which follows, together
with the accompanying drawings should not be construed as limiting
the invention to the example shown and described, because those
skilled in the art to which this invention appertains will be able
to devise other forms thereof within the ambit of the appended
claims.
[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shoulder strap-supported
brassiere;
[0008] FIG. 2 is an isolated partial sectional view, on an enlarged
scale, of a prior art shoulder strap as might be typically used in
the wearing support of the brassiere of FIG. 1; and
[0009] FIG. 3 is a perspective view, partially in phantom
perspective, of a brassiere shoulder strap construction according
to the present invention.
[0010] Shown in FIG. 1 is a brassiere, generally designated 1,
having a front pair of breast-covering cups 2 and 3, and left and
right shoulder straps 4 and 5 which are looped over the wearer's
shoulders (not shown) for supporting the brassiere 1 during use.
Each strap 4, 5 is of an elongated strip configuration having a
width, typically approximately 1 inch wide, delimited by opposite
side edges 6 and 7. When prepared as a work-in-process component,
the fabric construction material of a strap 4, 5 is cut
longitudinally while being urged in a machine direction during
being unwound from a fabric source put up in a supply roll to a
cutting station, and this results in a cut raw nature in the edges
6 and 7 exiting from the cutting station. Both aesthetically and to
obviate a possible source of discomfort, the cut raw nature of the
edges 6 and 7 require a finishing treatment.
[0011] As shown in FIG. 2, the common practice in the prior art of
finishing the cut raw edges, individually and collectively
designated 10, of an upper fabric strip 12 and lower fabric strip
14 is to turn in, as at 16 and 18, these edges so that outwardly
facing semi-circular configurations, individually and collectively
designated 19, are visible to satisfy the aesthetic requirement and
are smooth to the touch to obviate any discomfort by contact. For
completeness sake, it is noted that mono-filament threads 26, 28 in
response to the application of heat are effective to bond the
inturned edges 16 and 18 in place as illustrated in FIG. 2, and
that the assembly per se is held in their cooperative FIG. 2
arrangement with each other by the fusion of a strip of synthetic
plastic material in the form of a web of thermoplastic fibers 24
having an interposed operative position between filler fabric
strips 20, 22, all as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,217,906 for
"Shoulder Straps" issued to Perron on Aug. 19, 1980, the fall text
of which patent will be understood to be incorporated herein by
this reference pursuant to MPEP 2163.07(b).
[0012] Underlying the present invention is the recognition that
using to advantage a known heat sealing and cutting technique
common in plastic bag-manufacturing, as exemplified by U.S. Pat.
No. 5,711,751 for "Hermetic Seal For A Plastic Bag" issued to
Harmanoglu on Jan. 27, 1998, similarly incorporated herein by
reference pursuant to MPEP 2163.07(b), that raw cut edges of
work-in-process edges of assembly fabric strips of a brassiere can
be finished to aesthetic and comfort standards in a desirable
"seamless" construction, wherein by "seamless" is meant without
inturned edges which, unavoidably, are manifested bulk on opposite
sides of a clearance defining the seam.
[0013] As best shown in FIG. 3, there is illustrated an isolated
length portion of a brassiere seamless shoulder strap, generally
designated 30, having a superposed cooperating pair of an upper 32
and of a lower 34 elongated strip of fabric construction material,
the upper 32 being nylon or polyester for appearance and the lower
possibly being a plain fabric, such as 40 denier tricot providing a
softer, more velvety feel known in trade parlance as "plush", i.e.
a fabric in which one surface has been processed by brushing or
other means so as to raise a nap which, in this case, would
contribute to comfort in wearing contact against the shoulder.
[0014] The upper and lower elongated fabric strips 32 and 34 by
virtue of their facing relation to each other bound a
correspondingly elongated internal compartment 36 and preliminarily
are of selected width 38 which, as will be explained are narrowed
in the final strap construction, but until such narrowing have raw
cut edges 40. Positioned in the compartment 36 between the strips
32 and 34 is an intermediate strip 42 also having opposite cut raw
edges 44 and of a slightly oversized selected width 46 presenting,
by virtue of the differences in sizes 38 and 46, laterally
outwardly extending opposite selvage edges 48. Intermediate strip
42 is, in the parlance of the trade, known as "stitchbond" and is a
woven polyester fabric which is comprised of synthetic plastic
material in the form of a web of thermoplastic fibers 50, similar
to the previously noted construction of panel 24 of FIG. 2.
[0015] In the construction of the shoulder strap 30, using as
previously noted the known heat sealing and cutting technique
common in plastic bag-manufacturing, the assembled superposed
arrangement of upper, intermediate, and lower fabric strips 32, 34
and 42 are urged in a machine direction 52 in processing relation
past a rotary fusing or welding means 54 and past a rotary cutting
means 56, the former producing side weld lines 58, and the latter
removing from the assembly the opposite selvages 48 at the site of
the weld lines 58 which, in practice has been found to be free of
fraying or any other fiber manifestation detracting from a neat
finished appearance in a cut and seal line 60 at the side locations
of the shoulder strap 30. The resulting approximately 1 inch wide
brassiere shoulder strap 30 is thus without a telltale seam but
also with finished side edges 60. Optionally use can be made of a
fusible web adhesive 62 commercially available from
Spunfab/Keuschel Associates of Cayuga Park, Ohio to increase the
bonding together of the FIG. 3 shoulder strap assemblage.
[0016] While the brassiere shoulder strap herein shown and
disclosed in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and
providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be
understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently
preferred embodiment of the invention and that no limitations are
intended to the detail of construction or design herein shown other
than as defined in the appended claims.
* * * * *