Bust-developing Means

Abstract

A bust developing brassiere having a pair of cups made from a stiff, semi-rigid plastic fitted with rims of a relatively soft, rubbery character, adapted to fit snugly against the chest, around the breasts, and seal the cups against substantial leakage of air when the brassiere is worn. Each of the cups has an opening in its upper side, and the opening is covered by a small piece of thin resilient material partially attached to the cup above the opening, so that the piece of material lies naturally over the opening unless forced out of this position by air pressure within the cup. The brassiere is fitted with straps over the shoulders and around the back so that it can be worn in the same way as a conventional brassiere. The brassiere cups should be sufficiently large to hold the wearer's breasts with a certain amount of room left over. When the brassiere is worn, the natural breathing of the wearer creates a massage action on the breasts. Thus, when the wearer breathes in, her chest expands and pushes some of the air out of the cups through the upper openings covered by the resilient flaps. When the wearer breathes out, her chest contracts, and the air pressure on the outside of the cups holds the flaps in position over the openings. The flaps are not held tightly over the openings, however, so that some air leaks into the cups, to repressurize them, as the wearer is breathing outward.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to bust developers, and more particularly to such a bust developer uniquely designed to provide a massaging effect on the breasts of a wearer as a result of her natural breathing habits.

It has long been known that the application of suction to certain parts of the human body stimulates circulation of the blood through those parts to develop and strengthen them. While various devices have been developed over the years for the application of suction to female breasts, all of which I am aware require the manipulation of accessory equipment attached to breast cups for the creation of suction in the cups. This accessory equipment has varied from rubber bulbs which produce suction when they expand after being squeezed, to foot-operated means for applying suction to the breasts. In the latter case, the foot-operated means is connected to the breast cups through hoses, and the operator holds these cups in position as she works a foot pedal to operate a suction pump mechanism. These various suction creating devices are normally, of course, used only in privacy, and, in addition to requiring a certain amount of manual effort, they are somewhat grotesque in appearance, and rather awkward to use. Another approach to the application of suction to the breasts was proposed many years ago in the form of a pair of brassiere-like cups having check valves through which the air could be evacuated by means of a suction pump. The cups had straps attached to permit them to be worn like a brassiere, and the wearer merely fastened these cups in position over her breasts, and evacuated the air. She then wore the cups as a brassiere, during which time her breasts were under partial vacuum. No massage action, of course, resulted from the wearing of these evacuated breast cups.

It will thus be apparent that the value of suction massage, or just plain suction, for breast developing purposes has long been known. In spite of this, however, past efforts to provide means of accomplishing such massage, or applying such suction, to female breasts, have required manual effort on the part of the user, sometimes of a rather bizarre character, or have maintained constant suction, with no massaging effect, during usage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

I have now, in the unique bust developing brassiere of this invention, provided means whereby the wearer of the brassiere can apply suction massage to her breasts merely through her normal breathing action. The brassiere is thus a massaging device, having essentially the appearance of a normal brassiere, with no awkward or ungainly accessories which must be manipulated by the wearer for carrying out of the suction massage. My bust developing brassiere can be used at night, while the wearer is sleeping, or in public with regular street clothes.

In its preferred form, the brassiere has two breast holding cups of a relatively stiff, but non-rigid, plastic material adapted to hold their shape in use, and fitted with rims of a relatively soft, rubbery material adapted to fit against the chest, around the breasts, in substantially airtight contact when held firmly thereagainst. Each of the cups has a small opening in its upper half through which air can escape, covered by a small piece of thin resilient material fastened to the outer wall of the opening. This piece of thin resilient material lies normally over the opening, to substantially close it, and serve as a flapper valve during utilization of the brassiere, as will be explained below. The fit of the flapper valve over the opening is not completely airtight, so that there is some leakage of air when the valve is closed. This is intentional, since leakage is required for proper functioning of the breast developing brassiere. The brassiere is fitted with suitable straps by means of which it can be fastened around the back, and over the shoulders, for wearing. The cup size for the individual wearer should be such as to contain her breasts with some room left over to provide spaces in which the air pressure can be caused to fluctuate for breast massaging purposes. The massaging of the breasts takes place automatically as a result of a woman's natural breathing as she is wearing the brassiere. As she breathes in, her chest expands, with the result that the free space within each of the brassiere cups is diminished, and air is pushed out of the opening in the cup, past the flapper valve. As the woman next exhales, her chest contracts, expanding the space within the cups. This creates a partial vacuum within the cups, with beneficial effect on the tissues of the breasts. At the same time the partial vacuum is being created, some air is leaking slowly into the cup through the imperfectly sealing flapper valve to gradually build up the air pressure within the cup. By the time the woman inhales again, the pressure within the cup is substantially the same as it was when she started her previous inhalation. As she inhales, her chest expands, to again drive air out of the cups, and create a partial vacuum, or suction, therewithin, when she next exhales. This sequence of the creation of alternate conditions of pressurization and suction within each of the brassiere cups takes place continuously when the brassiere is worn, and results in continuing, gentle massage of the woman's breasts. As previously indicated, this massage action can take place at any time the brassiere is worn, even while the woman is sleeping.

It is thus a principal object of this invention to provide a bust developing brassiere which serves to effectuate gentle massage of a woman's breasts, for bust development and tissue toning purposes, while being worn, even when the wearer is asleep.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a bust developing brassiere which automatically effectuates its massage action on the breasts without any manual effort, or the manipulation of accessory equipment, by the wearer.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the light of subsequent disclosures herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of bust developing brassiere in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the FIG. 1 brassiere.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the cups of the brassiere, taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2, and showing a flapper valve on the cup in an open position.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but showing the flapper valve closed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Considering now the drawing in greater detail, with emphasis first on FIG. 1, there is shown generally at B a preferred form of bust developing brassiere in accordance with this invention. Brassiere B has a pair of breast holding cups 10 and 12 of generally similar size and character, consisting of a pair of cups 13 and 15 formed from a relatively stiff, but nonrigid, plastic material, such as, for example, polyethylene plastic, in the general shape of the idealized female breast, fitted with a pair of soft, resilient suction rings 14 and 16 sealingly secured to the rims of the cups. Cups 13 and 15 have a pair of beads extending radially outwardly around their open rims (one of which is shown at 19 in FIGS. 3 and 4), and the suction rings 14 and 16 have mating annular, receptive hollows for these beads which permit the rings to be snapped onto the beads with a substantially airtight fit of the type illustrated at 21 in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The brassiere cups 10 and 12 are joined together in the middle by an elastic bridge 22, and the brassiere is fitted with an elastic back strap 24 sized to fit around the back of the wearer and hold the cups firmly against her chest. Two shoulder straps 26 and 28 run from the top of each cup to the back portion of the back strap 24. The bridge 22 and back strap 24 are formed from the same elastic material as the suction rings 18 and 20, and are integral with these rings. Suction rings 18 and 20 should be sufficiently soft and elastic to fit firmly against the chest and form a substantially airtight seal therewith. While a certain amount of elasticity is desired in the material from which the rings are made (which can be soft rubber, polyethylene, or the like) so that bridge 22 and back strap 24 can stretch enough for confort, the bridge and back strap must not be so elastic as to permit them to expand to the same degree as the wearer's chest does when she is breathing. The back strap, in particular, should be stiff enough to hold the brassiere cups tighter when the wearer inhales than when she exhales so that her chest expands within the cup areas during inhalation to force air from the cups at that time. Those skilled in the art will have no difficulty, in the light of present teachings, in striking the proper balance between elasticity for comfort and stiffness for good massaging effect in the back strap of a bust developing brassiere in accordance with this invention. It goes with-out saying, of course, that the back strap, or its equivalent, must be sufficiently tight to hold suction rings 18 and 20 firmly enough against the wearer's chest to provide the above-indicated sealing contact therewith.

The shoulder straps 26 and 28 are secured, at the rear, to back strap 24 by sewing means, as indicated at 23 and 25, respectively, on FIG. 1. The shoulder straps are secured to the tops of suction rings 14 and 16 of cups 10 and 12 in any suitable manner, as, for example, with a suitable epoxy, or other, adhesive. Shoulder straps 26 and 28 are adjustable for length, by means of conventional sliding fasteners such as shown at 35 and 36 in FIG. 2.

Brassiere B is utilized for breast massaging purposes by merely placing it in position so that the breasts are held by cups 10 and 12, and suction rings 14 and 16 of the cups are firmly secured against the chest with a substantially airtight seal. As previously indicated, the cups should be large enough to hold the breasts with room to spare. The breasts will normally rest in the bottom portions of the cups so that the excess space occurs in the upper portions of the latter. Each of the cups has a small opening in its top, such as shown at 32, for cup 12, in FIGS. 3 and 4. Fixedly secured to the outer wall of each cup is a small piece of thin resilient material (such as soft rubber) hereinafter referred to as a flapper valve, the flapper valve for cup 12 being shown at 34 in the drawing. This flapper valve fits down over the opening in the cup and is fastened to the outer wall of the cup above the opening by means of a suitable adhesive, such as, for example, an epoxy adhesive. Tye flapper valve is designed to lie over the opening in the cup at all times except when the air pressure within said cup exceeds the ambient air pressure, at which time the valve will open to permit the expulsion of air, in the direction indicated by the arrows on FIG. 3, from the cup. The flapper valve fits fairly tightly, but not with an airtight seal, over the opening which it covers. Since the flapper valve does not make a perfect seal, there is leakage of a small amount of air therethrough when a pressure differential exists between the outer and inner sides of the cup walls.

When a woman has fitted the brassiere to her body, in the above-indicated manner, her natural breathing causes the device to function in such a manner as to subject her breasts to alternating conditions of air suction and repressurization. Thus, as she inhales, her chest expansion pushes air out of the openings in cups 10 and 12, past the flapper valves covering these openings. When she subsequently exhales, the contraction of her chest creates a partial suction within the cups and causes the flapper valves to close, because the atmospheric pressure on the outer side of the cups exceeds the suction pressure inside of the cups. While she is exhaling, however, there is simultaneous air leakage past the flapper valves, and into the cups. This results in eventual repressurization of the spaces within the cups. When the woman next inhales, her expanding chest agains pushes air out through the openings in the cups, to continue the cycle of air pressure fluctuation within the cups. Thus, so long as the woman keeps breathing, her breasts will be subjected to alternating cycles of air suction and repressurization. This results in gentle massage of the breasts, and consequent toning of the tissues and bust development. Although nothing has been said herein about the maximum pressures to which such a woman's breasts are subjected, while she is wearing my bust developing brassiere, there will normally be pressure peaks somewhat above atmospheric during this time since a certain amount of excess (above atmospheric) pressure will develop within the brassiere cups as the woman inhales. This pressure is subsequently dissipated, as the air is forced outwardly through the openings in the cups. There is thus marked contrast between the high and low pressure cycles within the cups to insure good massaging action on the breasts.

While the novel bust developing brassiere of this invention has been herein illustrated and described in what is considered to be a preferred embodiment, there are, as will be appreciated, permissible variations of this embodiment within the scope of the invention. For example, the brassiere could be made with only one cup (along with a simulated second cup) for use by a woman who has lost a breast to the surgeon's scalpel. The fastening strap arrangement for the brassiere could vary from that illustrated, by elimination of the shoulder straps, for example. Some sort of check valve, which would permit the flow of air out of each of the brassiere cups under pressure, and allow slow leakage of air back into the cups when closed, could be substituted for flapper valves 34 if desired. In summary, the scope of the present invention extends to all variant forms thereof encompassed by the language of the following claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. Bust treating means comprising at least one cup for a female breast, said cup being of sufficient rigidity to retain its shape when at least partially evacuated; and

at least one suction ring adapted for use in radially outward disposition from the rim of said at least one cup, said suction ring being of the proper shape and sufficiently soft and pliable to flatten against the skin around the breast and hold said at least one cup in position over said breast with a substantially airtight seal when said suction ring is held firmly against the chest;

said at least one cup having valve means through which air can pass outwardly, when internal pressure exceeds external pressure, but not inwardly, except that said valve means is adapted to seal imperfectly when closed to permit the leakage of air into said at least one cup when the external air pressure exceeds the internal air pressure;

whereby a woman with said breast treating means held firmly against her chest so that said at least one breast cup holds at least one breast with room to spare has said at least one breast subjected to massage action as a result of her natural breathing when said at least one cup is held more tightly against her chest during inhalation than during exhalation so that her chest can expand thereinto during said inhalation to pressurize the air within said at least one cup and cause it to escape through said valve means, and contract within said at least one cup during exhalation to create a partial vacuum therein into which air leaks through said valve means to increase the air pressure in said at least one cup before her next inhalation, whereby each inhalation and exhalation sequence has the effect of massaging said at least one breast by alternately subjecting it to air pressurization and suction.

2. Bust treating means in accordance with claim 1 in which said at least one cup for a female breast comprises a pair of cups and said at least one suction ring comprises a pair of suction rings, each of which rings extends radially outwardly around the rim of a separate one of said cups.

3. Bust treating means in accordance with claim 2 in which said valve means comprises valve means for each of said cups, said valve means being, in each case, situated in the upper half of a separate one of said cups.

4. Bust treating means in accordance with claim 3 in which said suction rings are formed separately from said breast cups and are associated therewith in use by interfit between mating parts of the cups and rings.

5. Bust treating means in accordance with claim 3 having back strap means for holding said suction rings against the chest with the right degree of firmness during all stages of breathing to provide a woman wearing said bust treating means of the proper size with breast massage action as a result of her natural breathing.

6. Bust treating means in accordance with claim 5 in which said suction rings and back strap means are integrally formed of an elastic material, and said back strap means is a band running continuously from the outer edge of one, to the outer edge of the other, of said suction rings, so as to encircle the back of the wearer of said bust treating means.

7. Bust treating means in accordance with claim 6 in which said cups are joined together, in the middle, by a bridge of suitable material between said suction rings.

8. Bust treating means in accordance with claim 7, including shoulder strap means for bust support purposes.

9. Bust treating means in accordance with claim 8 in which said shoulder strap means comprises a pair of shoulder straps interconnecting the tops of said suction rings with the back portion of said back strap.

10. Bust treating means in accordance with claim 9 in which said valve means comprises a thin piece of resilient material fastened at its top to the outer wall of each of said cups in position to overlie an area of the cup wall, and each of said cups has an opening through its wall in said area, whereby said piece of resilient material acts, in conjunction with the opening, as an incompletely sealing flapper valve permitting the expulsion of air under pressure from said cup and the slow leakage of air back into said cup when the piece of resilient material lies over and covers said opening.