Front Panel for a Brassiere

This application claims priority to Singapore Patent Application No. 10202401819R, filed Jun. 21, 2024, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

This application relates to a front panel for a garment, in particular a brassiere, and methods of creating the front panel.

Conventional brassieres (including sports brassieres) are not suitable for exercising as they do not provide adequate support to a user's breasts.

Therefore, there exists a need for improved brassieres/sports brassieres to provide support and also improve the overall comfort of the user.

The inventors seek to provide a solution to the problem above, by developing a front panel for a brassiere (e.g. a sports brassiere) that provides support, especially during exercising, and also increases the overall comfort for the user in the following ways:

In embodiments herein, the word “comprising” may be interpreted as requiring the features mentioned, but not limiting the presence of other features. Alternatively, the word “comprising” may also relate to the situation where only the components/features listed are intended to be present (e.g. the word “comprising” may be replaced by the phrases “consists of” or “consists essentially of”). It is explicitly contemplated that both the broader and narrower interpretations can be applied to all aspects and embodiments of the present invention. In other words, the word “comprising” and synonyms thereof may be replaced by the phrase “consisting of” or the phrase “consists essentially of” or synonyms thereof and vice versa.

The phrase, “consists essentially of” and its pseudonyms may be interpreted herein to refer to a material where minor impurities may be present. For example, the material may be greater than or equal to 90% pure, such as greater than 95% pure, such as greater than 97% pure, such as greater than 99% pure, such as greater than 99.9% pure, such as greater than 99.99% pure, such as greater than 99.999% pure, such as 100% pure.

As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term “about” as used herein can allow for a degree of variability in a value or range, for example, within 10%, within 5%, within 1%, within 0.5%, within 0.1%, within 0.05%, within 0.01%, within 0.005%, or within 0.001% of a stated value or of a stated limit of a range, and includes the exact stated value or range.

The term “fabric” refers to a flexible material formed by a network of natural or artificial fibres, such as a yarn or thread. This network of fibres may be created in any suitable manner, such as by weaving, knitting, spreading, crocheting, bonding, etc. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of a natural or artificial fiber to produce long strands.

The term “coupled” as used herein refers to elements that are connected or attached by stitching, bonding, fastening, adhering etc. The term “attached” is to be considered as meaning “fixedly attached”, unless stated otherwise. Many methods for attaching elements together are known in the art, and include, for example, adhesive bonding (e.g. laminate bonding), pressure bonding, thermal bonding, ultrasonic bonding, mechanical fastening, and the like. The means by which the elements are attached is preferably heat stable up to at least 40° C. or 190° C., which may enable the bra to be washed and/or dried multiple times.

When used herein, the term “front panel” refers to a portion of a garment (e.g. brassiere) that covers the front of the body of a user, while the term “back panel” refers to a garment (e.g. brassieres) that covers the back of the user. When the garment is a brassiere, the front panel may include a bra cup, a neckline region, a cradle/wing region (adjacent to the bra cup away from the centre) and an under-breast region (below the bra cup, may include waist band). The bra cup may be formed from the foam layers of the front panel. When used herein, the term “inner fabric layer” refers to the fabric that is in contact with the skin of the user when worn while the “outer fabric layer” refers to the fabric that is facing away from the skin of the user when worn.

The front panel of the present invention comprises two fabric layers and two foam layers, each of the foam layer is coupled to a fabric layer, wherein the two fabric layers are outward facing while the two foam layers are inward facing (opposite each other). The two foam layers define a cavity, which is an empty space that can accommodate additional material, for example, a power mesh material, to provide additional support to the breasts of the user, if necessary. The cavity is bounded by the outer perimeter of the front panel due to its construction. Specifically, at the outer perimeter or hem/edge section of the front panel, one of the front inner fabric layer or front outer fabric layer comprises a peripheral attaching element that folds over a peripheral edge of the first foam layer and a peripheral edge of the second form layer and couples/affixes to the other fabric layer.

When used herein, the term “moulding” refers to a process of creating three-dimensional shapes or foams from a fabric or foam by subjecting the fabric or foam to compression moulding (i.e. by applying pressure, and optionally heat the fabric or foam) for a suitable period of time to form the desired three-dimensional shape.

When used herein, the term “power mesh material” refers to a type of mesh that is more elastic and more suited for shapewear than normal nylon or polyester mesh.

In a first aspect, the invention provides a front panel for a brassiere, the front panel comprising an inner fabric layer with a first and second surface, and an outer fabric layer with a first and second surface, a first foam layer coupled to the first surface of the inner fabric layer and a second foam layer coupled to the first surface of the outer fabric layer, wherein the first foam layer and second foam layer are disposed between the first surface of the inner fabric layer and the first surface of the outer fabric layer, the inner fabric layer and outer fabric layer each having an outer perimeter, wherein the outer perimeter of the inner fabric layer and/or the outer fabric layer comprises a peripheral attaching element that folds over a peripheral edge of the first foam layer and a peripheral edge of the second foam layer, and wherein the peripheral attaching element is coupled to the outer perimeter of the other fabric layer, optionally comprising a cavity between the first foam layer and the second foam layer.

Advantageously, the front panel compresses the breasts, thereby minimising the movement of the breasts, especially when the user exercises. In addition, (a) the front panel may be moulded (e.g. by compression moulding) to form a three-dimension shape that corresponds to the chest region (e.g. breast region) of a user such that the chest region is supported by the front panel (the “encapsulation” approach).

The additional materials that may be disposed within the cavity may provide additional support, for example, by compressing the breasts, thereby minimising the movement of the breasts, especially when the user exercises. For example, the additional material may be a power mesh or an under breast supporting element, such as a bra underwire.

In an embodiment, the peripheral attaching element extends along a neckline edge, an underarm edge and an under-breast edge of the inner fabric layer or outer fabric layer; and/or wherein the peripheral attaching element is coupled to the outer perimeter of the other fabric layer by stitching or bonding means, optionally wherein the peripheral attaching element is coupled to the neckline edge, the underarm edge and the under-breast edge of the other fabric layer by stitching or bonding means, further optionally wherein the peripheral attaching element is coupled to the outer perimeter of the other fabric layer by bonding means selected from an adhesive or ultrasonic bonding, for example, wherein the bonding means is an adhesive selected from an adhesive tape (e.g. double-sided adhesive tape), liquid glue, or hotmelt powder glue.

In an embodiment, the first foam layer is coupled to the first surface of the inner fabric layer by a bonding means; and/or wherein the second foam layer is coupled to the first surface of the outer fabric layer by a bonding means, optionally wherein the bonding means is an adhesive or ultrasonic bonding, for example, the bonding means may be an adhesive selected from an adhesive tape (e.g. double-sided adhesive tape), film adhesive (e.g. a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) adhesive film), liquid glue, or hotmelt powder glue, optionally wherein the adhesive tape is a dot adhesive or a mesh adhesive.

In an embodiment, the first foam layer and second foam layer each have a three-dimensional shape that is configured to conform to a user's chest region, optionally wherein the three-dimensional shape of the first foam layer and second foam layer are formed by compression moulding of the first foam layer and second foam layer.

In an embodiment, the first foam layer and second foam layer are each formed from a foam material, optionally wherein the first foam layer and second foam layer are each formed from a polyurethane foam; and/or wherein the first foam layer and second foam layer each have a thickness of from about 2 mm to about 8 mm, for example from about 3 mm to 5 mm thick (e.g. about 4 mm thick).

In an embodiment, the front inner fabric layer and front outer fabric layer are each independently formed from one or more yarns selected from the group consisting of a polyurethane yarn (e.g. elastane), a polyester yarn, a polyamide yarn (e.g. nylon), cotton yarn, silk yarn, and a combination of two or more thereof, optionally wherein the fabric is a spacer fabric (e.g. a fabric comprising at least fabric layers connected by spacer yarn and/or pile yarns), optionally wherein the inner fabric layer and outer fabric layer are formed from:

In an embodiment, the weight of the inner fabric layer and outer fabric layer are each independently from about 200 g/mto about 240 g/m, for example, about 220 g/m.

In an embodiment, any one of the following applies:

In an embodiment, the additional material is coupled to one or both the first foam layer and second foam layer by bonding means, optionally wherein the bonding means is an adhesive or ultrasonic bonding, for example, the bonding means may be an adhesive selected from an adhesive tape (e.g. double-sided adhesive tape), film adhesive (e.g. a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) adhesive film), liquid glue, or hotmelt powder glue, optionally wherein the adhesive tape is a mesh adhesive tape.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides for a method of manufacturing the front panel of claim, the method comprising:

Advantageously, the front panel compresses the breasts, thereby minimising the movement of the breasts, especially when the user exercises. In addition, (a) the front panel may be moulded (e.g. by compression moulding) to form a three-dimension shape that corresponds to the chest region (e.g. breast region) of a user such that the chest region is supported by the front panel (the “encapsulation” approach). The front panel comprises a cavity (a “floating space”) defined by two foam layers for the purpose of inserting additional material to provide additional support.

In an embodiment, at least one of the following applies:

In an embodiment, any one of the following applies:

In an embodiment, the weight of the inner fabric layer and outer fabric layer are each independently from about 200 g/mto about 240 g/m, for example, about 220 g/m.

In an embodiment, wherein step (c) further comprises:

In an embodiment, wherein the additional material is coupled to one or both the first foam layer and second foam layer by bonding means,

In an embodiment, wherein step (iii) comprises bonding (e.g. an adhesive or ultrasonic bonding) or stitching the back panel to the front panel.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides for a garment comprising a front panel according to claim. In an embodiment, the garment is a brassiere or bralette.

In an embodiment, the method comprises

Advantageously, the method provides a garment with a front panel that may be moulded (e.g. by compression moulding) to form a three-dimension shape that corresponds to the chest region (e.g. breast region) of a user such that the chest region is supported by the front panel (the “encapsulation” approach). In addition, the front panel compresses the breasts, thereby minimising the movement of the breasts, especially when the user exercises.

shows the exploded view of the front panel according to an embodiment of the present invention comprising an inner fabric layer (), a first adhesive layer (), a first foam layer (), a second foam layer (), a second adhesive layer () and an outer fabric layer (), wherein the first foam layer and the second foam layer define a cavity (). When the garment is worn by a user, the inner fabric layer () faces towards the user and the outer fabric layer () faces outwards.

The fabric can be a blend of combination of nylon and elastane, such as 84% Nylon and 16% Elastane. The weight of the fabric can be 220 GSM (grams per square meter). The first adhesive layer and/or the second adhesive layer may comprise a mesh adhesive for the front panel area; a film adhesive for the neck, armhole and bottom edges; and/or a film adhesive for the back panel. The first foam layer and/or the second foam layer may be 4 mm thick.

shows a front view of a garment () with a front panel (). The front panel () can form a portion of the front layer of the garment, or the entire front layer of the garment.shows a back view of the garment ().

shows a cross section view of the front panel comprising a floating space () between a first foam layer () and a second foam layer (). The first foam layer () faces a user's body and is adjacent a first adhesive layer () and an inner fabric layer (). The second foam layer () faces outwards and is adjacent a second adhesive layer () and an outer fabric layer ().

shows a cross section view of the hem/edge section of the front panel. In this section, a section () of the outer fabric layer () folds over the second foam layer (), floating space (), the first foam layer () and the inner fabric layer (). The section () is also called a “self-turn” construction. The overlapping section () can be secured to the inner fabric layer () by an adhesive, or an attaching means such as stitching or stapling.

shows parts of the front panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, including a neckline edge (), at least one underarm edge () and an under-breast edge ().

A detailed protocol for making a front panel of the present invention is as follows:

The invention is described by the statements below: