Foldable Self-Supporting Bra Cup for One-Handed Nursing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional nursing bras often cover a large portion of the chest and neck area, making it difficult to wear certain clothing styles, and their design can be uncomfortable and unsightly, particularly when the clips are hard to operate with one hand and expose more breast tissue than desired during nursing.
Innovation Solution
A bra design featuring self-supporting or non-self-supporting cups that are foldable along a specific line, allowing for easy exposure of the nipple for nursing while maintaining stability in both positions, with straps and bands that facilitate one-handed operation and reduce the bra's profile, eliminating the need for wide shoulder straps and upper bust panels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional nursing bras are designed to provide full breast coverage and support, then support function is improved, but clothing versatility and aesthetics deteriorate due to large coverage area and visible structure
Solution Approach 1:
The bra is divided into separate functional components: self-supporting cups that maintain breast support independently, and a minimal bridge connecting them. This segmentation allows the cups to provide full support while the reduced bridge structure minimizes visibility under clothing, resolving the contradiction between support strength and clothing versatility.
2Stability of the object's composition
If traditional nursing bras include clips and wide shoulder straps for support, then structural stability is improved, but ease of operation and comfort deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The complex clip mechanism traditionally used to secure cups is completely removed. Instead, the cups are designed with inherent stability through their self-supporting structure and strategic attachment points on the bridge. This extraction of the clip component enables one-handed operation while maintaining structural stability through the cup's own design and connection geometry.
3Strength
If traditional nursing bras include upperbust panels that extend over the breast, then support is improved, but comfort and profile visibility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The upperbust panel that traditionally extends over the breast tissue is completely removed. Breast support is achieved instead through the self-supporting cup structure itself, which maintains its shape and support function without requiring additional panels. This extraction eliminates the source of discomfort and visibility issues while preserving the essential support function.
4Stability of the object's composition
If traditional nursing bras use clips to hold cups closed, then cup stability is improved, but ease of operation and aesthetics deteriorate due to difficult one-handed operation and visible clips
Solution Approach 1:
The clip mechanism is completely removed from the design. Cup stability is maintained through the self-supporting structure of the cups themselves and their strategic attachment to the bridge at positions that provide inherent stability. This eliminates the need for clips, enabling easy one-handed operation while improving aesthetics by removing visible hardware.
5Ease of operation
If traditional nursing bras allow cups to open fully for nursing, then nursing accessibility is improved, but breast tissue exposure increases beyond desired levels
Solution Approach 1:
The cup design incorporates dynamic folding capability along predetermined lines, allowing the cup to transition between closed and open states. When opened for nursing, the cup folds in a controlled manner that provides necessary accessibility while naturally limiting exposure to appropriate levels. This dynamic behavior resolves the contradiction between nursing accessibility and controlled exposure.
Data Source
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AI summary
In one aspect a bra is provided, and includes a pair of cups that are self-supporting, a strap connected to each cup, a bridge connecting the inboard ends of each cup, and a band extending from the outboard end of each cup and configured to extend around the back of a wearer of the bra. Each cup is foldable along a fold line between an unfolded position wherein the cup covers a nipple of the wearer and a folded position wherein the cup exposes the nipple of the wearer, wherein, when the bra is worn by the wearer, each cup is stable in both the unfolded position and the folded position. In another embodiment a bra is provided with cups that are stable in both the folded and unfolded positions wherein the cups are not self supporting.