Zonal Mesh Support Garment for Breathability and Easy Donning
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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 traditional textile structures and compositional materials to provide compression and support, then support function is improved, but moisture absorption and retention increase, reducing breathability and comfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a mesh construction with open cellular structure that allows air circulation and reduces moisture retention. The mesh panels create porous pathways for breathability while maintaining structural support through the geometric configuration of the mesh pattern, resolving the contradiction between support function and moisture management.
Solution Approach 2:
The garment combines multiple materials with complementary properties: power mesh panels for structural support and compression, elastomeric materials for stretch and recovery, and breathable fabrics for moisture management. This composite approach allows different zones to perform different functions simultaneously, achieving both support and breathability.
2Strength
If conventional support garments use dense textile structures to provide compression and support, then support function is improved, but breathability decreases, reducing comfort
Solution Approach 1:
The mesh construction with its open cellular structure provides inherent breathability by allowing air flow through the garment. The porous design maintains support through the tension and geometry of the mesh pattern rather than relying on dense material packing, thus achieving both support and thermal regulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The garment is divided into zones with different mesh densities and material properties. High-support areas use tighter mesh configurations while lower-support areas use more open structures, allowing breathability to be optimized in regions where full compression is not required, thus resolving the contradiction between support and breathability.
3Strength
If conventional support garments use traditional textile constructions to provide support, then support function is improved, but ease of donning and doffing decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The garment incorporates elastomeric materials and flexible mesh constructions that provide dynamic stretch and recovery. This allows the garment to expand during donning and return to its original shape for support during wear, making it easier to put on and take off while maintaining support function. The elastic properties enable the garment to adapt to body movements without compromising structural integrity.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional support garments use uniform textile structures throughout, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but zonal support properties decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The garment features varying mesh densities, panel configurations, and material compositions in different zones to provide targeted support. The underband, cup panels, and side panels each have optimized constructions suited to their specific functional requirements, allowing zonal support properties while using standardized manufacturing techniques for each component.
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.