WO2003059098A2

WO2003059098A2 - Seamless lace lingerie article

Info

Publication number: WO2003059098A2
Application number: PCT/FR2003/000162
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pierre-Jean Querquant
Original assignee: Sara Lee Corporation
Priority date: 2002-01-18
Filing date: 2003-01-20
Publication date: 2003-07-24
Also published as: MXPA04000329A; YU72903A; CN100398020C; US20050159078A1; NO20033992L; ZA200405662B; JP2005514536A; AU2003216740A1; FR2834864A1; CA2453923A1; EA200400964A1; MA26383A1; BR0302721A; IL162875A0; BG108552A; EP1465506A2; WO2003059098A3; NO20033992D0; TNSN04119A1; PL369443A1

Abstract

The invention concerns a lace lingerie article for maintaining and supporting part of a woman's body, characterized in that said lace is an elastic material capable of being simultaneously thermoformed, welded and heat-bonded to at least a reinforcing element, said material capable of being subjected without damage of the yarn to a permanent deformation by thermoforming during a moulding process for producing lingerie in all the standard sizes, and preserving after deformation a mechanical strength and elasticity such that said articles preserve their aptitude to support and maintain the part of the body on which they are worn.

Description

SEAMLESS LACE LINGERIE ARTICLE

The present invention relates to an item of lace lingerie allowing the maintenance, the support, even the protection of a part of the female body on the one hand, and its manufacture on the other hand. Mainly, the articles concerned are bras, panties, briefs and thongs, the purpose of which is to carry out at least one of the abovementioned functions.

In the lingerie sector, manufacturers must at all times meet a triple challenge: ensuring maximum wearing comfort for the user, preserving an optimal ability to support and maintain, and presenting an aesthetic that meets the tastes of consumers. the last criterion is not the least important.

In the past, lingerie articles were generally made from flat pieces of fabric or lace assembled to constitute the finished product usable, that is to say ready to be coated. The seams of the various pieces made it possible in particular to obtain three-dimensional volumes, for example necessary for the production of the cups of the bras. Said seams, however, form excess thicknesses which can irritate the skin, and which are generally a drawback which the manufacturers have sought to avoid. Thus, bonding, welding, etc. technologies have been developed and applied to this field in order to reduce or even eliminate the existence of seams.

However, these technologies have never been extended to articles made entirely of lace, which also pose special problems in relation to the more technical support and maintenance functions to be fulfilled by these articles. To satisfy them, these must imperatively be made of a material or of a mixture of materials ensuring a mechanical resistance in adequacy with the specific stresses which they undergo as much during the manufacture as during their life. This is particularly the case for the cups of bras, especially in large sizes, for example for the depths referenced D, which must define a volume whose importance is proportional to that of the constraints to be managed.

However, the tulle which forms the basic mesh of the lace is by definition a very light, openwork material, comprising a reduced number of fibers. In the particular example of large bras, a relatively small number of fibers must therefore be able to withstand the same constraints as in conventional products made of a "full" textile material. Still in the example of brassiere cups, the three-dimensional shape of the cups is generally obtained by molding, and said fibers must consequently also be able to withstand the deformation imparted during the molding operation. Finally, said mechanical strength must not only be ensured in the sole support zone of the part of the female body which it covers, but also allow a distribution of the forces over almost the entire article which takes particular account of the constraints. exercised on its different parts, so as to promote maximum comfort and durability of the product. The production of a lingerie article consisting entirely of lace therefore poses a certain number of particular problems, in particular in the choice of materials to be used, which the present invention has resolved. One of the major difficulties is that these problems are interdependent, and that the solution proposed by the invention must respect a compromise leading to a most balanced overall resolution.

To this end, the lace lingerie article of the invention is characterized in that the lace is made of an elastic material that is simultaneously thermoformable, weldable and suitable for laminating at least one reinforcing element, said lace being able to undergo without deterioration of the lace thread a permanent deformation by thermoforming during a molding operation for the production of lingerie articles in all the usual sizes, and retaining after deformation a mechanical strength and an elasticity such that said articles preserve their ability to support and to maintain the part of the body which they cover. The conditions and criteria to be fulfilled for the material chosen as lace thread are therefore multiple, and required numerous validation tests before obtaining articles which correctly perform their function whatever their size. The problem of brassiere cups, especially in large sizes, being obviously the most critical, it will constitute the central example to which reference will be made throughout the text of this description.

For cups referenced D, the thermoforming carried out at the time of molding the volume of the cup is much more important than for a cup of smaller size. It is however essential that the intrinsic qualities of the fibers are nevertheless preserved after the corresponding deformation, because the weight of the breast to be supported by the cup is, in this hypothesis, much greater than that of the breasts supported by cups having undergone less significant deformation . This is the reason why this deformation must, in the first place, not deteriorate the wire, nor must it not significantly affect "its mechanical characteristics.

Following tests, it appeared that the adequate lace to respond to this problem is composed of a mixture of polyamide and elastane. More precisely, in proportions of the following order: 60 to 80% of polyamide and 20 to 40% of elastane.

The best result was actually obtained with an elastic lace composed of 76% polyamide and 24% elastane. More preferably, said polyamide, according to recurrent tests carried out by the applicant, must be of type 6.6.

As will be seen in more detail below, the use of suitable materials is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the manufacture of the lingerie articles according to the invention. The embodiment of lace, and in particular its preforming which gives it part of its ability to deform, are also preponderant.

In most cases, the lingerie articles are coated with reinforcing elements such as linings, plastron, protections, etc. In this case, this or these reinforcing elements must of course be mechanically linked to the lace forming the outside of the article, and able to undergo the same constraints.

Thus, according to the invention, the adhesive material used for the lamination of the reinforcing element or elements is elastic and thermoactivable at a temperature such that it can then undergo thermoforming while preserving the quality of the bonding and retaining after deformation a holding mechanical and elasticity compatible with the support and the maintenance of the part of the body which the article of lingerie covers.

One of the essential properties that this adhesive must have is of course to guarantee the connection between the outer layer and the inner layer, that is to say to prevent untimely take-offs between the lining and the lace.

Preferably, the adhesive material is a polyurethane adhesive meltable at a temperature below the temperature of the thermoforming, and which remains active during the latter. Even more precisely, this adhesive is meltable from 180 ° C. According to the generic definition given above, the third essential part of the lingerie articles according to the invention consists of internal reinforcing or protective elements, which moreover also have an impact on wearing comfort. According to the invention, these consist of a material capable of undergoing the deformation induced by thermoforming while preserving after deformation a mechanical strength and an elasticity compatible with the support and the maintenance of the part of the body that the article of lingerie they equip. In fact, the same basic condition obviously applies to the three superimposed layers, where they exist. It is worth remembering, as has been posed for lace, that these conditions must apply as well for large cups as for those of small cut. Consequently, the large deformations applied to the first cities must in no case alter the mechanical properties of the reinforcement or the adhesive material, any more than those of the outer lace, for daily use.

According to one possibility, the material used for said reinforcing elements is an elastic jersey allowing a substantially identical elongation longitudinally and transversely. The jersey stitches are therefore stretchable in the same way in two directions.

This mechanical behavior, which has a form of isotropy on two axes of perpendicular shape, is justified because it avoids slipping during molding. Indeed, the lining of the bra is generally not maintained during molding in its upper part. A mesh that does not have enough elongation would therefore slide on the lace instead of accompanying it during the action of the mold, and it would come off.

More precisely, this jersey is made of 85 to 95% of polyamide and 5 to 15% of elastane. Tests have shown that, quite preferably, when the jersey is made of 89% polyamide and 11% elastane, the results are the best.

With the temperature constraints necessary for molding and laminating, it also appears that, if the polyamide is of type 6.6, the wire is not damaged.

The lining being intended to reinforce the welds of the articles and the cups of the brassieres, it must have characteristics of sufficient nervousness to accompany the deformations which affect them during daily use. This nervousness, which is defined as the force exerted to obtain an elongation of 40%, is approximately 1.1 N ± 0.5 N longitudinally and transversely, that is to say in the two directions mentioned above. v

The problem of the choice of materials is not the only one that must be taken into account: the method of manufacturing lace is also decisive.

Thus, the lingerie article according to the invention is made from a strip of preformed lace for the article to which it is allocated, the edges of said lace strip being reinforced to eliminate the need for laying d elastic (s) on said article, which is produced by cutting at least one piece from one of the reinforced edges without reaching the other edge, welding the said piece (s) and laminating at least one element reinforcement. The preforming is different depending on the use of the article in a bra on the one hand, panties, briefs or thong on the other hand. It consists in fixing the dimensions in width and in length of a lace during a passage in oar under conditions of temperatures close to 185 ° C. This operation is carried out prior to dyeing, it allows the articles not to be degraded during subsequent treatments, in particular mechanical, during manufacture (molding) as well as during the succession of wash / wear cycles during life. of the product.

The preforming thus makes it possible to differentiate the lace, that which is intended for bras whose manufacturing process contains a hot molding being different from that intended for thongs or briefs, the manufacture of which does not require molding.

Thus, the lace intended for bras has more potential elongation in the direction of the width, in order to be able to mold without problem the great depths of cups. During this molding, an elongation of material is certainly produced in length and in width, but the shape of the cups implies a greater stretching in the width.

The reinforced edges of the band have mechanical properties which allow them to replace an elastic band, either around the waist for briefs or thongs, or around the bust, under the breasts, for bras. Preferably, the welding of the various parts obtained by cutting from one of the reinforced edges is by ultrasound, which makes it possible to reduce the number of seams on articles made entirely of lace.

When the lingerie article according to the invention is a bra, it is made from a strip of preformed lace so that its nervousness, the force exerted to obtain an elongation of 40%, or 3, 7 N ± 1.2 N lengthwise in the middle of the strip, 5.7 N ± 1.7 N lengthwise on the reinforced edges, and 10.5 N ± 3.2 N across the width of the strip. In this case, the lace band has a width of about 30 cm. It should be noted that the nervousness of the reinforced edges is greater than that of the middle of the strip, which clearly indicates that their function is to replace an elastic band.

In most cases, the cups of the bras of the invention are reinforced with a laminated lining.

According to a characteristic specific to the invention, the cups can also be made up of two identical pieces of shape such that the reinforced edges marking the bottom of each cup are arranged in a chevron after welding from one to the other. The realization of said chevron from the lace panels has the function of improving the fit by facilitating the plating of the lower part of the bra on the female bust.

Secondly, the invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a bra meeting the preceding characteristics, comprising the following steps: preforming for bras of a lace band of about 30 cm in width; cutting parts to be assembled to form said bras; welding of said parts; coating of the reinforcement material with points of non-thermoactivatable polyurethane coIle; bonding a film of heat-activatable adhesive material to said material; cutting of reinforcing elements; bonding said reinforcing elements to the lace by thermoactivation of the adhesive material; thermoforming of the cups at a temperature between 190 and

200 ° C.

Alternatively, the lingerie article according to the invention may relate to panties, briefs or a thong, made from a lace band which is then preformed in a different manner, to adapt it to the constraints specific to these articles.

It can thus be preformed so that its nervousness is 3 N ± 1 N lengthwise in the middle of the strip, 4 N ± 1, 2 N lengthwise on the reinforced edges, and 18.5 N ± 5.5 N across the width. ,,

The lace band in this case has a width of about 34 cm, to allow all sizes of briefs or thongs to be made. For these items, the lace has less stretching capacity but greater nervousness in the width direction than in the version for bras. No part being molded, it is the welded parts which are reinforced by a laminated lining.

As for bras, the invention relates, on a secondary basis, to a process for manufacturing panties, briefs or a lace thong meeting the above characteristics, and comprising the following steps: preforming for panties, briefs or thongs of a lace band about 34 cm wide; cutting of at least one piece constituting the panties, the briefs or the thong; welding of said part or parts; - coating of the reinforcement material with dots of non-thermoactivatable polyurethane adhesive; bonding a film of heat-activatable adhesive material to said material; cutting of reinforcing elements; bonding of said elements on the lace by thermoactivation of the adhesive material.

In the manufacturing processes of a bra on the one hand, of panties, underpants or a thong on the other hand, the arrangement and the layout of the parts intended to form these articles are of course optimized on their respective lace bands, as will appear in more detail in the detailed description which follows.

The invention will in fact now be described in more detail with reference to the appended figures, for which: FIG. 1 is a front view of a lace bra according to the invention, provided with a reinforcement plastron at the cups; - Figure 2 shows a strip of preformed lace for the production of bras, with the outline of the pieces intended to form the cups; Figure 3 schematically shows the assembly of the two chevron cups; - Figure 4 schematically illustrates a lace brief according to the invention; Figure 5 shows a string; and FIG. 6 illustrates, by way of example, the optimization in the layout of the pieces to be cut on a strip of preformed lace for the production of thongs. Referring to Figure 1, the lace bra of the invention has two parts symmetrical with respect to an axis (A) at which the ultrasonic welding of said parts takes place, in the zone referenced (1).

The bra is then made seamless, and there is more to add the fixing and adjustment devices, on the one hand at both ends side (2, 3) for attachment in the back, and on the other hand at the straps.

he

These consist of front portions (4, 5) intended to be connected to the rear portions (6, 7) by a mechanical device allowing a size adjustment, and accessible for example above the shoulder.

After welding, the bra therefore consists of a single piece formed entirely by lace, including the lower part which is constituted by the reinforced edge (8), which replaces, as previously mentioned, an elastic band. . The existence of this reinforced edge (8), by eliminating the need for the installation of an elastic, further optimizes the manufacture of the bra by eliminating the step that this installation would have required, and constitutes an advantage in terms of wearing comfort since it eliminates any seam in this tightening area around the bust. From an aesthetic point of view, the lower border of the bra, surrounding the female bust under the breasts, finally becomes lighter while retaining the mechanical efficiency of an additional elastic.

A reinforcing plastron (9) is disposed at the bottom of the cups, that is to say in the area which is subjected to the most significant mechanical stresses, due to the weight of the breasts.

This plastron (9) is located in the regions undergoing a molding (10, 10 ') for the creation of the volumes forming the cups of the bra. This molding, carried out by thermoforming, must not deteriorate the connection between the plastron (9) and the lace, and must not alter the mechanical qualities of the article in terms of support and support, whatever the size of the cups. to mold.

This is the reason why, as explained in detail before, the mechanical properties of the three layers, the lace, the adhesive material and the plastron (9) must be such that they can withstand without appreciable alteration of their mechanical properties the deformation resulting from thermoforming.

With reference to FIG. 2, the optimized layout of the cups (B1, B2), each from a reinforced edge (8), shows in particular that an angle greater than 90 ° is introduced between said reinforced edge (8) and the line (11) at which the attachment to the other cap is effected.

This line (11) is shown in dotted lines, because the portion which it delimits with the external line is intended to be cut before welding of the cups, as shown in FIG. 3. The existence of this upper angle at 90 ° makes it possible to conform the reinforced reinforced edge (8) of the front part of the bra in the shape of a chevron.

As shown in Figure 2, these reinforced edges are in fact scalloped, and therefore have a different nervousness than that of other regions of lace, to ensure its function, that is to say the replacement of an elastic.

The reinforced scalloped edge (8) is obviously located at the upper edge of the briefs shown in Figure 4, which is made from two separate pieces of lace welded to the hips, at the dotted lines (12, 12 ').

These areas are laminated with an inner reinforcing element, represented at the hips by the hatched areas (13, 13 ').

The same goes for the string shown in FIG. 5, which is however produced with a single piece welded at the dotted line (14), and which has only one reinforcing element, materialized by the hatched portion (15).

The layout of the single piece intended to form the thongs is represented in FIG. 6, in the preformed lace strip for the production of this article.

As with all the other articles, the said tracing is carried out from a reinforced scalloped border (8), in the direction of the other edge but without reaching it.

In all cases, the elastic function is indeed required, on the periphery of the female body, only in one place.

The examples of traces appearing on the lace bands on the one hand, as well as the shape of the lingerie articles shown in the figures on the other hand have of course only an illustrative value and cannot be considered as exhaustive of the 'invention. This includes, on the contrary, all the variants of form and embodiment that it is possible to implement with the lace bands, the characteristics of which have been specified previously.

Claims

1. An article of lace lingerie allowing the support and the support of a part of the female body, characterized in that the lace is made of an elastic material simultaneously thermoformable, weldable and suitable for laminating at least one reinforcing element, said lace being able to undergo without permanent deterioration of the lace thread a permanent deformation by thermoforming during a molding operation for the production of lingerie articles in all the usual sizes, and retaining after deformation a mechanical strength and an elasticity such as said articles ^r show their ability to the support and maintenance of the body part they assume.

2. Lace lingerie article according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said lace is composed of a mixture of polyamide and elastane.

3. An article of lace lingerie according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said lace is composed of 60 to 80% of polyamide and 20 to 40% of elastane.

4. Lace lingerie article according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said lace is composed of 76% polyamide and 24% elastane.

5. Lace lingerie article according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the polyamide is of type 6.6.

6. lace lingerie article according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adhesive material used for the lamination of the reinforcing element or elements is elastic and heat-activatable at a temperature such that it can then undergo thermoforming while preserving the quality of the bonding and retaining, after deformation, a mechanical strength and an elasticity compatible with the support and the maintenance of the part of the body which said article covers.

7. Lace lingerie article according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the adhesive material is a polyurethane glue meltable at a temperature below the temperature of thermoforming, and which remains active during said thermoforming.

8. Lace lingerie article according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the polyurethane glue is fusible from 180 ° C.

9. Lace lingerie article according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the reinforcing element or elements are made of a material which can undergo the deformation induced by thermoforming while preserving after deformation mechanical strength and elasticity compatible with the support and the maintenance of the part of the body which it covers.

10. Lace lingerie article according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said material is an elastic jersey allowing neither substantially identical elongation longitudinally and transversely.

11. An article of lace lingerie according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said jersey consists of 85 to 95% of polyamide and 5 to 15% of elastane.

12. Lace lingerie article according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said jersey is made of 89% polyamide and

11% elastane.

13. Lace lingerie article according to one of claims 11 and 12, characterized in that the polyamide is of type 6.6.

14. Lace lingerie article according to one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that the reinforcing elements are provided in a material whose nervousness, force exerted to obtain an elongation of 40%, is 1.1 " N ± 0.5 N longitudinally and transversely.

15. Lace lingerie article according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is made from a strip of preformed lace for the article to which it is allocated, the edges of said lace strip being reinforced to eliminate the need for the installation of elastic (s) on said article, which is produced by cutting at least one piece from one of the reinforced edges without reaching the other edge, welding the or said parts and laminating at least one reinforcing element.

16. Lace lingerie article according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the welding is ultrasonic.

17. Bra according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is made from a strip of preformed lace so that its nervousness, the force exerted to obtain an elongation of 40%, either 3.7 N ± 1.2 N lengthwise in the middle of the strip, 5.7 N ± 1.7 N lengthwise along the reinforced edges, and 10.5 N ± 3.2 N across the width of the strip.

18. Bra according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the lace band has a width of about 30 cm.

19. Bra according to one of claims 17 and 18, characterized in that the cups are reinforced by a laminated lining.

20. Bra according to one of claims 17 to 19, characterized in that the cups consist of two identical pieces of shape such that the reinforced edges marking the bottom of each cap are arranged in a chevron after welding from one to the other.

21. A method of manufacturing a bra meeting the characteristics of claims 17 to 20, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: preforming for bras of a lace band of approximately 30 cm in width; cutting parts to be assembled to form said bras; welding of said parts; "- coating of the reinforcement material with dots of non-thermoactivatable polyurethane glue; bonding of a film of thermoactivatable adhesive material on said material; cutting of reinforcing elements; bonding of said elements on the lace by thermoactivation of the adhesive material; thermoforming of the cups at a temperature between 190 and

200 ° C.

22. Panties, briefs or thong according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that it is made from a strip of preformed lace so that its nervousness is 3 N ± 1 N in the lengthwise in the middle of the strip, 4 N ± 1.2 N in the lengthwise direction on the reinforced edges, and 18.5 N ± 5.5 N in the widthwise direction.

23. Panties, briefs or thong according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the lace band has a width of approximately 34 cm. *

24. Panties, briefs or thong according to one of claims 22 and 23, characterized in that the welded parts are reinforced by a laminated lining.

25. A method of manufacturing panties, briefs or a lace thong meeting the characteristics of claims 21 to 24, characterized by the following steps: preforming for panties, briefs or thongs of a lace band d 'about 34 cm in width; cutting of at least one piece constituting the panties, the briefs or the thong; welding of said part or parts; - coating of the reinforcement material with dots of non-thermoactivatable polyurethane adhesive; bonding a film of heat-activatable adhesive material to said material; cutting of reinforcing elements; bonding of said elements on the lace by thermoactivation of the adhesive material.