Brassiere with anti-slip feature

Abstract

There is provided a breast cup comprising an outer panel including an outer fabric layer, an inner panel including an inner fabric layer to be worn against a wearer's skin, the inner panel including an upper and a lower region, wherein the upper region is closest to and the lower region is furthest from a neckline of a user when the breast cup is worn by the user, and wherein the inner panel includes disposed on at least a portion of the lower region, a discontinuous layer of an elastomeric material to provide a region of high friction when worn against a user's skin. A method of making the same is also provided.

1 . A breast cup comprising:
 an outer panel including an outer fabric layer;   an inner panel including an inner fabric layer to be worn against a wearer's skin, the inner panel including an upper and a lower region, wherein the upper region is closest to and the lower region is furthest from a neckline of a user when the breast cup is worn by the user;   wherein the inner panel includes disposed on at least a portion of the lower region, a discontinuous layer of an elastomeric material to provide a region of high friction when worn against a user's skin.   
     
     
         2 . A breast cup according to  claim 1 , wherein the discontinuous layer of elastomeric material is disposed on the inner panel in a pattern having at least some visual appeal. 
     
     
         3 . A breast cup according to  claim 2 , wherein the pattern comprises a plurality of segments each comprising elastomeric material. 
     
     
         4 . A breast cup according to  claim 3 , wherein each segment of elastomeric material is no more than 20 millimetre 2  in area. 
     
     
         5 . A breast cup according to  claim 3 , wherein each segment of elastomeric material has a thickness of no more than 0.6 millimetres. 
     
     
         6 . A breast cup according to  claim 1 , wherein the elastomeric material comprises silicone rubber. 
     
     
         7 . A brassiere comprising:
 a pair of breast cups each including:
 an outer panel including an outer fabric layer; 
 an inner panel including an inner fabric layer to be worn against a wearer's skin, the inner panel including an upper and a lower region, wherein the upper region is closest to and the lower region is furthest from a neckline of a user when the breast cup is worn by the user; 
   an intermediate bridging region extending between the breast cups; and   a back strap extending from each of the breast cups;   wherein the inner panel includes disposed on at least a portion of the lower region, a discontinuous layer of an elastomeric material to provide a region of high friction when worn against a user's skin.   
     
     
         8 . A brassiere according to  claim 7 , wherein the discontinuous layer of elastomeric material is disposed on the inner panel in a pattern having at least some visual appeal. 
     
     
         9 . A brassiere according to  claim 8 , wherein the pattern comprises a plurality of segments each comprising elastomeric material. 
     
     
         10 . A brassiere according to  claim 9 , wherein each segment of elastomeric material is no more than 20 millimetre 2  in area. 
     
     
         11 . A brassiere according to  claim 9 , wherein each segment of elastomeric material has a thickness of no more than 0.6 millimetres. 
     
     
         12 . A brassiere according to  claim 7 , wherein the elastomeric material comprises silicone rubber. 
     
     
         13 . A method of making breast cups, the method comprising the following steps:
 forming an outer panel including an outer fabric layer;   forming an inner panel including an inner fabric layer to be worn against a wearer's skin, the inner panel including an upper and a lower region, wherein the upper region is closest to and the lower region is furthest from a neckline of a user when the breast cup is worn by the user;   applying a discontinuous layer of an elastomeric material on at least a portion of the lower region of the inner panel;   combining the outer panel and inner panel; and   trimming the combined panels to define one or more breast cups.   
     
     
         14 . A method of making a breast cup according to  claim 13 , wherein the outer panel includes an outer fabric layer laminated with a foam layer and the method further comprises the step of molding the outer panel to form a pair of breast cups. 
     
     
         15 . A method of making a breast cup according to  claim 13 , wherein the inner fabric layer is laminated with a foam layer and the method further comprises the step of molding the inner panel to form a pair of breast cups once the discontinuous layer of an elastomeric material has been disposed upon at least a portion of the lower region of the inner panel. 
     
     
         16 . A method of making a breast cup according to  claim 13 , wherein the discontinuous layer of elastomeric material is disposed upon the inner panel in a pattern having at least some visual appeal and the step of applying the discontinuous layer of the elastomeric material on at least a portion of the lower region of the inner panel comprises spraying the elastomeric material onto a film layer, the film layer including perforations corresponding to the pattern to be disposed thereon upon the inner fabric layer the film being positioned thereon. 
     
     
         17 . A method of making a breast cup according to  claim 16 , the method further including the step of passing the inner fabric layer through a heating apparatus after disposing the elastomeric material thereon. 
     
     
         18 . A brassiere comprising breast cups made by the method of  claim 13 .