Support Garment Mesh Structure for Breathable Zonal Support
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional support garments, such as bras, often suffer from issues of moisture absorption and retention, discomfort due to lack of breathability, and difficulty in donning and doffing, while also failing to provide adequate support during physical activities.
Innovation Solution
A support garment with a lightweight, breathable mesh construction featuring elongated members that intersect to form a grid of cells, varying in spacing and cross-section to provide zonal properties, allowing for customizable support and ease of manipulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional support garments use compressive textile structures and elastomeric yarns to provide support, then support function is improved, but moisture absorption and retention increase, reducing breathability and comfort
Solution Approach 1:
The support garment employs a mesh construction with elongated members intersecting to form cells, creating a porous structure that provides mechanical support through the geometry and arrangement of the mesh rather than through compressive textile density. The porous nature allows air circulation and reduces moisture retention while maintaining the necessary support function.
2Strength
If conventional support garments use dense textile structures to provide support, then support function is improved, but breathability decreases, causing discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The mesh construction with intersecting elongated members forming cells creates a porous structure that enables breathability through air circulation while maintaining support function. The open cell structure allows moisture vapor transmission and cooling while the geometric arrangement of the mesh provides the necessary mechanical support.
3Strength
If conventional support garments use traditional textile construction, then coverage and support are provided, but ease of donning and doffing is reduced due to difficulty in manipulation
Solution Approach 1:
The mesh construction with elongated members provides dynamic stretch properties that allow the garment to easily deform during donning and doffing operations. The intersecting members can flex and rearrange under stress, enabling the garment to stretch over body parts and then return to its original configuration, facilitating easy manipulation while maintaining support when worn.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional support garments use uniform textile construction, then manufacturing is simplified, but zonal support properties cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The mesh construction allows for variation in the spacing, size, and cross-section of elongated members across different zones of the garment. This enables different cell sizes and mesh densities in different areas, providing zonal support properties where specific regions require different levels of compression or stretch while maintaining a relatively simple overall manufacturing process.
Data Source
AI summary
A support garment (e.g., upper-torso support garment, such as a bra) includes a mesh textile that is integrally formed and that is lightweight and breathable with zonal properties. For example, the mesh can include elongated members, which intersect with one another at nodes to form a grid of cells, and the mesh can continuously extend throughout one or more multiple portions of the support garment. In at least some instances, the mesh construction and/or the elongated members can vary from one portion of the support garment to another portion of the support garment, and the variation of the mesh and/or the elongated members can contribute to zonal properties.