US2285368A - Shoulder protector for garment supporters - Google Patents

Description

June 2, 1942. 2,2853%v SHOULDER PROTECTOR FOR GARMENT suPPoR'rE Filed June 6, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 2, 1942- G. SM|TH 2,285,368

SHOULDER PROTECTOR FOR GARMENT SUPPORTERS Filed June 6, 1940 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 2, 1942 V V z SHOULDERIPROVTEGTOR non GARMENT f SUPPORTERS.

was Goodrich Smith, Atlanta, Ga. Application uliet, 1940; Serial No. 339,175 5:0laims (01. 2-3

This invention relates to garment'supporters and particularly toshoulderstraps for supporting womens garments, such as brassires and corselets, which in some'cases are required to carry considerable weight.

the shoulder str'apspressin'g too strongly 'on the shoulder, especially at the highest point or ridge,

form into practically a stringwhich causes; as much discomfort as a narrow band. Further more, such wide bands are unsightly, and'thus undesirable particularly. for evening wear when, depending on the particular fashion .in vogue, the shoulders are more or less exposed. Another,

attempt to solve this difiiculty has been by the use of two straps for each shoulder. In practice, however, it is found that the two straps will move together to the lowest point ofthe shoulderso In such cases the 'wearer, has oftentimes been subjected to discomfort from 1 per portion of the body of a woman wearing 'a brassiresupported by shoulder straps according to oneembodiment of the invention;

. Fig. 2 is an enlarged View, of part of the shoulder' strap of a brassiere or corselet showing a rigid weight-distributing member adjusted and secured at one position;

Fig. 3 is a View similar to 2 with the rigid weight-distributing m 'mber secured at a different angle to suit the wearer;

Fig; 4 is a plan viewof part of a garment shoul der strap accordingto another embodiment of the invention, the ends of the transverse rigid memher being located inpockets but not. fixedly secured in position, and showing in broken lines another position of adjustment of the rigid momher; a Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view. on theline 5.-5 of Fig. 4;

i Fig. 6 is a plan view of a detail of one end of the rigid member secured in adjusted position by that all of the weight is carried alonga single line just as if only one'strap were provided. Furthermore, even if the two straps were kept apart by frequent adjustment, it would be found that most of the time all of the weightwould be car-, ried by only one of the straps,'dependi ng on the position of the shoulder at the particular instant;

An object of'this invention is to provide shoul der straps for womens garments which will not cause discomfort to the wearer.

Another object of this invention is to provide,

a shoulder strap which will eliminate the discomfort by "properly distributing (the weight carriedby the strap over a larger areaof the shoulder at the portion thereof where the discomfort would be likely to arise. v 7

A further object ofthis invention is to control the direction of the, distribution of the weight along the ridge of the shoulder-,I and to suit the direction of distribution to the"conform ity of the shoulder of the. individual perspn. V

Still another object of this inventionis to provide means for distributing the weight carried by garment shoulder straps to avoid discomfort, which means is relatively. j inconspicuous and which is adapted to bemade'attractive and ornamental.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate several embodiments of the invention f Fig. 1, is a diagrammatic view showing the.up-

stitching, the rest of the device being omitted for simplicity;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a modified means for attaching an end of a rigid member in adjusted position;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a further modification of weight-distributing device attached to an undivided shoulder strap; I I v Fig. 9 is a sectional view on line 9 -9 of Fig. 8; and

'Fig. 10 is a view from the underneath side of a modified form of the device which is attachable to an undivided shoulder strap by snap fasteners.-

In the drawings, numeral 1 indicates a womans 'garmentadapted to support the breasts and is herein shown as a brassiere, but it is to be understood that other garments for this purpose,

, the inventionin which a flat rigid member 4 is secured at its middle portion to a shoulder strap 2 by means of a strip of cloth or a patch 6 sewed to the shoulder strap 2 at its ends by lines of stitches 1. It is to benoted that the rigid mem ber' l lies at an oblique angle with respect to the 2 direction of the shoulder strap, and it is secured in this position by lines of stitches 8 extending along its edges. The angle of the rigid member with respect to the strap should be adapted to best suit the individual who will wear the garment, and to this end the stitches 8 are usually omitted when the garment is manufactured and are applied either by the purchaser or by the merchant at the time of sale. Ordinarily the wearer will want the rigid member to extend as nearly as possible along the highest ridge of the shoulder. Fig. 3 shows the rigid member secured at a different angle.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 4 the shoulder strap 2 is itself divided at a position where it passes over the ridge of the shoulder, and each part 2 of the divided strap is folded over on itself along a longitudinal line and the edges are stitched together as indicated by numeral 9 except toward the center II where the edges are left free so as to form open pockets I 2 for reception of the ends of the rigid member 4. The lengths of the free open ends are greater than the width of the ends of the rigid member 4 so that the rigid member can be adjusted angularly to the proper position to suit the individual. rigid member in another position of adjustment. Fig. 6 shows one end of the ends of the rigid member secured in position by stitching [3. The partsZ include forward sections 3 and 3*, arranged upon the forward side of the member 4 and converging forwardly from the member 4. The parts 2 also-include rear sections 3 and 3 arranged upon the rear side of the member 4 and converging rearwardly. The section 3 is shorter than the section 3 while the section 3 is longer than the section 3 whereby the pockets 12 are staggered and will hold the member 4 transversely inclined with respect to the shoulder strap 2.

Fig. '7 shows a part of an embodiment of the general type in which the strap is divided at the portion passing over the shoulder somewhat similar to that shown in Figs. 4 and 5, but instead of the divided portions being folded on themselves to form the pockets for the ends of the rigid member 4, the pockets are formed by strips or patches of fabric [4 being sewed to the strap portions 2 by stitching along the ends l6 and along the outer edges IT. The inner edges are left free for adjustably receiving the ends of the rigid member, and after the rigid member is placed in proper angular position to suit the individual, the ends are made fast against movement by applying stitching 18 extending along the edges of the ends of member 4.

In Fig. 8- an embodiment of the invention is shown which differs from some of the preceding embodiments in that the straps of the garment are not divided at the shoulder ridges, but special securing wing straps l9 are secured by their ends to the garment straps 2 by sewing at 2|. The wing straps [9 are doubled over longitudinally, and the edges are sewed together except at the center portions thereof where pockets are left for reception of the ends of rigid members 4.

The pockets may initially be left oversized similarly as explained in connection with the previous embodiments, and upon or after sale the ends are secured in the required position by transverse stitching with the rigid member at the proper angle for the individual who will wear the garment. Obviously, instead of the straps 19 being folded over longitudinally, the straps The dotted lines illustrate the shown in Fig. 9. The wing straps 19 include forward sections 19 and I9, disposed upon the forward side of the member 4 and converging forwardly from the same. The wing straps l9 include rear sections [9 and I9 disposed upon the rear side of the member 4 and converging rearwardly from the same. The same pockets l2 are provided at the meeting ends of the sections 19 19; and l9, I9 The forward section l9 is shorter than the forward section l9 while the section I9 is longer than the section 19 The pocket I2 to the left, Figure 8, is therefore nearer the forward ends of the sections I9 and I9 than the pocket l2 to the right, Figure 8.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 10 the arrangement is similar to that of Fig. 8 except that the ends of wing straps l9 are secured together and are removably attached to strap 2 by snap fasteners 22. The wing straps l9 are identical with the wing straps l9, except for the manner of attachment with the shoulder strap 2. One wing strap l9 includes the sections I9 and 19 and the pocket l2. And the other wing strap 19* includes the section l9 and I9 and the pocket 12. The lengths and arrangements of the sections of the wing straps and of the pockets in Figure 10 is identical with that shown in Figure 8.

What I claim is:

1. A pull distributing device for use in connection with the shoulder strap 'of a bust supporter or the like, said device comprising wing straps, said wing straps including forward sections which converge forwardly and are of different lengths and rear sections which converge rearwardly and are of different lengths, a stiff member secured to one wing strap adjacent to the inner ends of the sections of such wing strap and secured to the other wing strap adjacent to the inner ends of the sections of such other wing strap, the outer ends of the forward sections being adapted to be secured to the shoulder strap, and the outer ends of the rear sections being adapted to be secured to the shoulder strap, the arrangement being such that the stiff member may be arranged beneath the shoulder strap and held by the wing straps in an inclined transverse position with respect to the shoulder strap.

2. A pull distributing device for use in connection with the shoulder strap of a bust supporter or the like, said device comprising wing straps, each wing strap having forward and rear sections of different lengths, the short section of one wing strap being disposed adjacent to the long section of the other wing strap, the forward sections of the wing straps converging forwardly toward their outer ends and the rear sections of the wing straps convergingrearwardly toward their outer ends, said wing straps having pockets adjacent to the inner ends of their sections, a stiff member having its ends held within the pockets, the forward ends of the forward sections being adapted to be secured to the shoulder strap, and the rear ends of the rear sections being adapted to be secured to the shoulder strap, the arrangement being such that the stiff member may be arranged beneath the shoulder strap and held by the pockets in an inclined transverse position with respect to the shoulder strap. v

3. A pull distributing device for use in connection with-the shoulder strap of a bust supporter or the like, said device comprising wing straps, each wing strap having forward ama rear sections of different lengths, the short section of one wing strap being disposed adjacentf'to the long section of the other wing strap, theforward sections of the Wing straps converging forwardly toward their outer ends and having theirjouter ends secured to the shoulder strap and the rear sections of the wing straps converging rearwardly toward their outer ends and having suchouter ends secured to the shoulder strap, said wing straps having pockets adjacent to the inner ends of their sections, and a stiff member having its ends held within the pockets, the arrangement being such that the stiff member will beheld by the pockets in an inclined transverse position with respect to the shoulder strap.

4. The combination with the shoulder strap, of a bust supporter or the like which extends over the ridge of the shoulder and passes to the, front and back of the body of a pull device from the shoulder strap and disposed adjacent to and ex- V neaththe shoulder strap adjacent to the ridge of tending longitudinally of the shoulder strap, said 7 device comprising a stiff member disposed bethe shoulder and extending transversely of the shoulder strap outwardly beyond the longitudinal edges of the shoulder strap, a pair of flexible straps extending longitudinally of the shoulder strap and having their intermediate portions secured to the member near its ends,

and mean for attaching the ends of the longitudinal straps upon each side of the stiff mem-v ber with theshoulder strap at a point remote from the stiff member. I

5. A supporting device comprising a shoulder strap extending over the ridge ofthe'shoulder and passing to the front and back of the body, a stiff member disposed beneath the shoulder strap adjacent to the ridge of the shoulder and extending transversely of the shoulder strap outwardly beyond the longitudinal edges of the shoulderstrap, wing straps extending longitudinally of the shoulder strap and having theirintermediate portions secured to the still" member, the wing straps having forward forwardly convergingsections and rear rearwardly converging sections, means for securing the outer ends of the forward sections to the shoulder strap, and means for securing the outer ends of the rear sections to the shoulder strap.

LOUISE GOODRICH SMITH.

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