U.S. patent application number 13/816832 was filed with the patent office on 2013-06-06 for brassiere for containing dressings and/or for correcting asymmetries.
This patent application is currently assigned to UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI ROMA "LA SAPIENZA". The applicant listed for this patent is Francesca Romana Grippaudo. Invention is credited to Francesca Romana Grippaudo.
Application Number | 20130143469 13/816832 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43739775 |
Filed Date | 2013-06-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130143469 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Grippaudo; Francesca
Romana |
June 6, 2013 |
BRASSIERE FOR CONTAINING DRESSINGS AND/OR FOR CORRECTING
ASYMMETRIES
Abstract
A brassiere comprising two cups, each one shaped like a shell
containing inside a detachable padding. The outer shell is
pre-shaped, that is without seams, made of natural or synthetic
tissue and has no inserts made of metallic material in order not to
exert any compression onto the mammary region. The inner shell is
made of breathable and extensible elastic fibres, to allow
supporting the healthy breast and keeping in seat the dressing
without constricting. The cup shape is so as to be similar to that
of a usual brassiere wholly containing the mamma, so as not to
reveal the presence of dressing or shape or volume asymmetries even
under light dresses.
Inventors: |
Grippaudo; Francesca Romana;
(Riano, IT) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Grippaudo; Francesca Romana |
Riano |
|
IT |
|
|
Assignee: |
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI ROMA "LA
SAPIENZA"
Roma
IT
|
Family ID: |
43739775 |
Appl. No.: |
13/816832 |
Filed: |
June 20, 2011 |
PCT Filed: |
June 20, 2011 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/IB11/52689 |
371 Date: |
February 13, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
450/3 ;
450/57 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41C 3/148 20130101;
A41C 3/0035 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
450/3 ;
450/57 |
International
Class: |
A41C 3/00 20060101
A41C003/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 17, 2010 |
IT |
RM2010U000149 |
Claims
1. A female underwear adapted to cover a mammary region,
comprising: a pair of cup-like members, each one adapted to contain
a respective mamma and, in turn, having a first outer layer
pre-shaped so as to define a recess for receiving one mamma and a
second elastically deformable inner layer, whereby a pocket-like
seat is defined between the first outer layer and the second
elastically deformable inner layer; and at least one filling
member, adapted to be removably received in said pocket-like
seat.
2. The female underwear according to claim 1, wherein said second
elastically deformable inner layer is made of a breathable
material.
3. The female underwear according to claim 1, wherein said
pocket-like seat has an access opening arranged at a side portion
of a respective cup-like member.
4. The female underwear according to claim 3, wherein said access
opening is adapted to be reclosable in a reversible way.
5. The female underwear according to claim 1, wherein said at least
one filling member is made of a breathable material.
6. The female underwear according to claim 1, wherein said at least
one filling member is made of a material which can be easily
shaped.
7. The female underwear according to claim 1, comprising a
plurality of filling members each one adapted to be removably
received in said pocket-like seat.
8. The female underwear according to claim 1, wherein the female
underwear is a brassiere or a corset.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a brassiere containing
dressings and/or correcting temporary dysmorphae.
[0002] Several operations of mammary surgery or breast medical
treatments generally determine a permanent or temporary asymmetry,
between volume, shape and/or general sizes of the two mammas, in
some cases even linked to the presence of bulky dressings.
[0003] These asymmetries in particular occur in case of: [0004]
tissue deficits consequent to ablative surgery operations of the
mammary region during the breast reconstruction
(post-quadrantectomy, reconstruction with tissue expansion
procedure, reconstructive procedures with lipofilling), or [0005]
encumbrances due to the post-quadrantectomy dressings or those
needed to keep and consolidate the result obtained after the nipple
surgery (nipple reconstruction after mastectomy, procedures for
correcting the introflexed nipple).
[0006] Due to such asymmetries, the patient experiments huge
inconveniences, of psychological and social nature, above all
linked to the impossibility of adopting an underwear allowing to
dissimulate the asymmetries themselves, however without interfering
with possible ongoing treatments. In fact, it is to be noted that
inappropriate underwear articles not only may not result however
satisfying from an aesthetical point of view, but above all they
may have a negative impact on the above-mentioned treatments, thus
compromising for example the dressings' efficiency and/or implying
the application of unsuitable stresses on mamma(s).
[0007] An additional difficulty takes place then in case the
asymmetries can vary with time.
[0008] The underwear articles of known art do not allow to meet to
the above mentioned needs adequately.
[0009] Therefore, the technical problem placed and solved by the
present invention is to provide a female underwear apt to cover the
mammary region, in particular a brassiere, corset or the like,
allowing to meet to the above-mentioned needs and to obviate the
above illustrated drawbacks of the known art.
[0010] Such problem is solved by an underwear according to claim
1.
[0011] Preferred features of the present invention are present in
the claims depending from the same.
[0012] The present invention provides some important advantages.
The main advantage consists in the fact that it allows
dissimulating asymmetries, which can even vary with time, of the
mammary region, allowing to act in a simple way onto the volume of
the underwear cups so as to modify it as a consequence of the
volumetric defect (asymmetry) to be corrected, at the same time
allowing, if necessary, the correct positioning and keeping in
place of the dressing of the operated mamma or nipple so as not to
exert compressions onto the tissues.
[0013] Furthermore, the invention allows sustaining the
counter-side healthy mamma in an efficient way, so as to guarantee
a normal wearability to allow keeping privacy with respect to the
subjected operation.
[0014] The invention even results to be extremely versatile with
respect to the type of asymmetry to be corrected.
[0015] Other advantages, features and application modes of the
present invention will result evident from the following detailed
description of some embodiments, shown by way of example and not
for limitative purpose. The figures of the enclosed drawings will
be referred to, wherein:
[0016] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a
brassiere according to the present invention; and
[0017] FIG. 1A shows a view in longitudinal section of the
brassiere of FIG. 1, performed according to the line A-A If this
last figure.
[0018] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 1A, a brassiere according to a
preferred embodiment of the invention is designated as a whole with
1.
[0019] The brassiere 1 has a conventional structure as a whole, in
the sense that it includes a first and a second cup-like member,
respectively 21 and 22, each one apt to contain a respective mamma
and towered above by a respective shoulder band, or shoulder strap,
31, 32. Furthermore, laterally to the cup-like members 21 and 22
two chest bands depart, respectively 41 and 42.
[0020] Preferably, the shoulder straps 31 and 32 can be adjusted
and moved so as to be worn in traditional way onto the shoulders or
laced to the neck or even crossed behind the back in order to allow
wearability even with dresses with necklines of American type.
[0021] The just described members 31, 32 and 41, 42 are however
well known and then they will not be further described.
[0022] Preferably, the brassiere 1 has front opening means 10
arranged between the two cup-like members 21 and 22, in order to
ease the opening/closing procedures which could result to be
difficult due to post-surgical pain.
[0023] The invention mainly relates to the manufacturing of the
above-mentioned cup-like members 21 and 22.
[0024] In particular, each cup-like member 21, 22 has a
substantially multi-layered shell-like structure, in particular
formed by: [0025] a first outer layer 201, pre-shaped according to
an outwardly convex shape so as to define a seat or recess 203 for
receiving the respective mamma; and [0026] a second elastically
deformable inner layer 202, apt to arrange adjacent to the subject
body and to conform to the local morphology thereof.
[0027] Preferably, the inner layer 202 is made of breathable and
extensible elastic fibres, for example one or more of the materials
known with the trade names of spandex, lycra.RTM., lycra soft.RTM.,
elastan, Tactel.RTM., Weftlock or other, in order to allow
supporting the healthy breast and keeping the possible dressing in
the seat without constricting.
[0028] Preferably, the outer layer 201 does not have seams and it
is made of natural or synthetic tissue, for example cotton,
elastam, polyamide, nylon, tactel, microfibres, spandex, polyesther
or other, and it has no inserts made of metallic material in order
not to exert any compression onto the mammary region.
[0029] The shape of each cup-like member 21, 22 is so as to be
similar to the one of a usual brassiere wholly containing the
mamma, so as not to reveal the presence of dressings or shape and
volume asymmetries even below light dresses.
[0030] The two layers 201 and 202 are made integral at a prevailing
portion of its own periphery or perimeter, however an access
opening 204 of a pocket-like seat 200, defined between the two
layers 201 and 202, remains at such peripheries or perimeters. Such
opening 204 is preferably placed at an outer side portion of the
respective cup-like member 21, 22 and it can even result to be able
to be selectively closed, for example by means of velcro or
equivalent reversible closing means.
[0031] The brassiere 1 of the present embodiment then, for each
cup-like member 21, 22, comprises a respective removable filling
members, or padding 5, and in particular apt to be removably
received in a respective pocket-like seat 200. In the present
configuration, which is symmetrical, the two filling members 5 are
interchangeable, in the sense that each one thereof can be received
indifferently in one of the two pocket-like seats 200.
[0032] Preferably, each filling member 5 is made of a light,
breathable, smooth synthetic material, which does not favour the
heat stagnation and which does not compress, for example one or
more of the known materials such as Vlies, polyurethane, latex,
foam rubber or other. In such way, the member 5 does not exert
pressure onto the tissues, it does not weigh and it does not favour
the occurrence of cutaneous irritations.
[0033] Preferably, the filling member 5 has a thickness within a
range of about 0.5-1.0 cm.
[0034] However, the number of filling members 5 provided with the
brassiere 1 can vary from one to a plurality, and not necessarily
all filling members of such plurality result to have an equal shape
and/or volume.
[0035] In fact, the function of each filling member is to allow a
volume modulation of a cup-like member to allow compensating
possible reductions or increases in the counter-lateral mamma
volume or dissimulating shape anomalies of the mamma housed in the
cup-like member associated to the filling member itself. For
example, a filling member 5 can be arranged at the cup-like member
21 or 22 covering the mamma with minor volume. This can be the
operated mamma in case of total or partial mastectomy or the
healthy mamma in case of presence of cumbersome dressings on the
counter-lateral mamma.
[0036] As mentioned above, the whole construction is so that each
filling member 5 can be easily inserted/taken off through the
opening 204, so as to make the brassiere 1 useful for the surgery
of the right, left or bilateral breast.
[0037] Furthermore, preferably each filling member 5 results to be
easy to be shaped for example through cut with scissors or the
like, so as to be able to shaped according to the specific needs of
the subject wearing the brassiere. For example, a filling member 5
can be shaped so as to compensate the tissue defect result of the
mamma demolishing surgery. In such case, in fact, the mamma has a
temporary deficit of shape and/or volume which is variable during
the whole reconstructive procedure and which often requests some
months to be completed. The brassiere 1 allows the patient to
dissimulate the asymmetry variable with time in shape and volume of
the ill side, in order to obtain the same objective of natural
aspect of the mammary region. Such result, indeed, can be obtained
by shaping, if necessary, the filling member 5 so as to reduce with
time the volume thereof proportionally to the mamma volume increase
due to the reconstruction.
[0038] Then, at this point it will be better appreciated that the
brassiere 1 is an effective post-operative medical device at all
effects.
[0039] Based upon an embodiment variant, it can be provided under
the form of a kit incorporating a main brassier body and a
plurality of filling members associated thereto, in case having
different shapes and/or volumes to adapt to the needs of different
patients and/or of a same patient in different treatment
phases.
[0040] Furthermore, based upon an additional variant each filling
member can have means for connecting in a reversible way to the
corresponding pocket-like seat, this latter in turn being able to
have corresponding complementary connection means. Such reversible
connection means, for example, can be implemented under the shape
of complementary strips made of velcro, in case provided shielded
by an adhesive band which can be selectively removed upon use.
[0041] Some additional specific application example of the
brassiere 1 will be now shown.
[0042] The brassiere 1 finds a first application after the nipple
corrective and reconstructive surgery. After the surgical
procedure, in order to sustain the neo-nipple reconstructed after a
mastectomy, or after the operation for correcting the introflexed
nipple, in order to allow to keep in seat the acquired projection,
it is necessary to sustain the nipple with voluminous dressings,
for about three weeks. The brassiere 1 allows shaping the filling
member 5 related to the healthy mamma in a way adequate to the
encumbrance shown by the dressing. This, together with the
pre-shaped structure of the outer layer 201, allows keeping the
dressing in seat, supporting the healthy mamma and obtaining a
normal wearability, even if with a temporary increased mammary
aspect.
[0043] The same brassiere 1 finds a second application after
demolishing surgery of the mammas with programmed immediate or
deferred reconstruction, by using the tissue expansion procedure.
With this procedure an empty tissue expansor is inserted into the
seat subjected to mastectomy, which expansor is progressively
filled-up with a physiological solution in outpatient sessions,
thus extending the tissues standing above too. Once reached a
volume similar to that of the counter-lateral mamma, or a
satisfying volume in case of bilateral reconstructions, the tissue
expansor full of physiological solution is replaced by a definitive
mammary prostheses. Therefore, the mastectomized side is initially
flattened and then it can vary upon increasing the expansor volume:
consequently a continuous volume variation between the two mammas
takes place, which can be easily compensated by taking out the
brassiere padding from the not-operated breast side and by varying
the padding volume from the side subjected to the volume
increase.
[0044] A third application is used after quadrantectomy operations,
that is after the segmental removal of one single quadrant of the
mammary cone, with consequent shape and volume asymmetry. With the
brassiere 1 in a first moment it is possible facilitating to
position and keep correctly the dressings of the operated side by
guaranteeing at the same time to sustain the healthy breast, thus
allowing the patient to keep a wearability so as to dissimulate the
subjected operation. In a second time, during the reconstructive
procedure with lipofilling, that is reintegration of the mammary
tissue removed by pathology with autologous adipic tissue, it is
possible to shape and re-model the padding from the operated side,
by making it lighter gradually as the reconstruction proceeds until
obtaining a shape and volume symmetry between the two sides so as
to allow the wearability of a common brassiere.
[0045] The present invention has been so far described with
reference to preferred embodiments. It is to be meant that other
embodiments belonging to the same inventive core can exist, as
defined by the protective scope of the herebelow reported
claims.
* * * * *