Brassiere Cup Underwire And Manufacturing Method Therefor

Abstract

A brassiere cup underwire and method of manufacturing the underwire and cup therewith. The underwire comprises a plastic strip capable of providing desired “firmness” or “hardness” along its length and thereby providing desired degrees of support therealong. The plastic strip comprises at least one layer of polymer and at least one layer of a second material, wherein the at least one layer of polymer and the at least one layer of the second material are in the form of sandwich. Preferably, the plastic strip comprises at least two layers of polymer and at least one layer of the second material, with an adhesive applied therebetween to secure the layers to one another.

1 . A brassiere cup underwire comprising a plastic strip, the plastic strip including at least one layer of polymer and at least one layer of a second material. 
     
     
         2 . The underwire of  claim 1 , where the plastic strip comprises at least two layers of said polymer and the at least one layer of the second material is formed sandwiched between said at least two layers of said polymer. 
     
     
         3 . The underwire of  claim 1 , wherein the second material is selected from a group comprising a polymer, a fabric and a foam. 
     
     
         4 . The underwire of  claim 2 , wherein the plastic strip has a constant number of layers of said polymer and second material, so as to have a uniform crosswise dimension along its length. 
     
     
         5 . The underwire of  claim 2 , wherein the plastics strip has a variable number of layers of at least one of said polymer and second material along its length, so as to have a varied crosswise dimension along its length. 
     
     
         6 . The underwire of  claim 5 , wherein the dimension graduates from a minimum at one end of the plastic strip to a maximum at the other end of the plastic strip. 
     
     
         7 . The underwire of  claim 1 , where the polymer is selected from the group of an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), a resin, or a poly vinyl chloride (PVC). 
     
     
         8 . The underwire of  claim 2 , where the polymer is selected from the group of an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), a resin, or a poly vinyl chloride (PVC). 
     
     
         9 . The underwire of  claim 3 , where the polymer is selected from the group of an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), a resin, or a poly vinyl chloride (PVC). 
     
     
         10 . The underwire of  claim 2 , where the underwire is formed by cutting a desired shape from the plastic strip. 
     
     
         11 . The underwire of  claim 6 , where the underwire is formed by cutting a desired shape from the plastic strip. 
     
     
         12 . The underwire of  claim 1 , where the underwire is formed by molding. 
     
     
         13 . The underwire of  claim 1 , further including an adhesive material positioned at the interface between each layer of polymer and the at least one layer of the second material, for causing said layers to adhere to each other. 
     
     
         14 . The underwire of  claim 2  located in an edge region of a brassiere cup. 
     
     
         15 . The underwire of  claim 14  located between layers of material from which the brassiere cup is formed. 
     
     
         16 . A method of manufacturing a brassiere part with a plastic strip support feature, comprising the steps of:
 (a) providing at least one layer of a polymer;   (b) providing at least one layer of a second material on top of the layer of polymer;   (c) applying an adhesive at the interface between the at least one layer of polymer and the at least one layer of the second material, for causing said layers to adhere to each other and form a layered plastic strip.   (d) cutting the plastic strip support feature from the layered plastic strip, where the size and shape of the plastic strip support feature cut from the layered plastic strip corresponds to a desired size and shape for the plastic strip support feature of the brassiere part after application of heat as noted by Step (h);   (e) providing a mold for forming the brassiere part with a trough;   (f) laying down in the mold a brassiere part material from which the brassiere part is to be formed, such that some of the brassiere part material extends into the trough;   (g) positioning the plastic strip support feature cut from the layered plastic strip upon the brassiere part material that extends into the trough; and   (h) applying heat to the mold sufficient to soften the layer of polymer so that it consolidates into a desired shape as defined by the shape of the trough.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  where step (b) provides the second material from a group comprising a foam, a fabric and a polymer. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16  where the brassiere part is a cup and the plastic strip support feature is an underwire, and where during step (h) the plastics material consolidates in the trough to form the underwire so as to have either a variable or uniform width and/or depth from one end of the underwire to the other. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , where step (a) provides multiple layers of polymer. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , where steps (a) and (b) each provide multiple layers of their respective polymer and second material, until a plastic material of desired shape and thickness is complete. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 16 , where step (f) provides further layers of material for laying down, from which the brassiere cup is to be formed, so as to cover the plastic material in the trough before step (h).