United States patent number:848479



CHARLES MUNTER, OF NEW YORK N. Y.

=BODY-CONFORMER.= No. 848,479. Specification of Letters Patent. Patented March 26, 1907 Application filed January H, 1906 Serial No. 296,324.

To call, whom it may concern: Be it known that I, CHARLES MUNTER a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Man-hattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Body-Conformer, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. The purpose of the invention is to pro-vide a corset device particularly adapted for rectifying the shape of the human body at the hips and at the lower portion of the trunk, wherein a pliable material, such as cotton or silk cloth fabric, is cut in such a way as to be given a skin-tight fit to the body at such points by reason of the peculiar shape of the device and, further, by reason of a sim-ple arrangement of laces running through eyelets, the individual laces being joined to belt-straps connected by a buckle or its equiv- alent at the front of the device. A further purpose of the invention is to so construct the device that by drawing the belt-straps together at the front of the per-son the tendency will be to place the body in such a position as to render the base of the spine the center of gravity, thereby leaving the weight of the upper structure above the hip-line so perfectly centered as to relive the various individual parts of the body all cumbersome weight, since the whole body when the device is applied is practically lifted up, and, furthermore, to prevent the body from sinking down or sagging into the space designed for the hip-bones. The gradual lifting of the body and uniform pres-sure of the device cause a gradual reduction in the size of the portion of the person sur-rounded by the conformer, since by the manipulation of the belt-straps and con-nected lacings each and every part of the de-vice has even tension there being a total absence of concentrated tension at any par-ticular spot. Another purpose of the invention is to so construct the device that when worn the pressure is thrown across the shoulders, making the shoulders carry the weight of the body instead of the pit of the stomach or the diaphragm This condition relieves the pressure on the shoulder-blades, which re-lief in itself allows the lungs to inflate through the vacuum which is formed therein, and it also causes the lungs to rise by reason of their becoming lighter through inflation, and thus the bony structure is distended, allow-ing the heart free action and providing a space into which the stomach may recede upward and backward under the protection of the ribs in its natural position. The above conditions cause a relief below the waist-line of the body, and with such conditions prevailing the space across the front of the body at the waist-line to the pelvis-bones becomes empty naturally re-ducing the size around the entire abdomen at such point without or any- uncomfortable pressure from without or any inconvenience from within. The major portion of the above results is accomplished by reason of the formation of the aforesaid lacings, which when the belt-straps are pulled together shorten themselves through an automatic process, being pulled in opposite directions without individual force or strain, but in a general uniform and cooperative manner. By throwing the body back on the spine and relieving the pressure on the front of the person deep breathing is possible, which when the the lungs inflate forces the loose cover-ing of skin on the body to draw upward and backward, raising upward the bust of the body in either a man or a woman and giving thereby a correct figure and graceful car-riage. Another purpose of the invention is to provide a device which will act with rela-tion to the male or the female body to relieve all the vital organs from internal pressure without injuring the stomach, spine, ribs, or other important organs. The invention consists in the novel con-struction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fullyset forth, and pointed out in the claims. Reference is to be had to the accompany-ing drawing, forming a part of this specifica-tion, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the fig-ures. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the im-proved device placed upon a parson viewed partially form the side and partially form the rear. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the de-vice, illustrating it as partly unfastened for removal form the person. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the device shown upon the per-son, illustrating the manner in which it is tightened thereon. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the device in set or adjusted position upon the person, the view being taken partly from a side and from the front. Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of the device upon a person, the device being shown in set or adjusted po-sition; and Fig. 6 is an enlarged horizontal section through the device.

The device practically in its entirety is made of cotton, silk, or fabric of a similar nature and comprises primarily an upper or body section A and a lower or skirt section parts A and B may be made from two parts A suitably cut and gored, or the two parts A and B may be separately cut and joined to-gether, or the two parts A and B may consist of any desired number of pieces properly joined together. The skirt-section B ex-tends around the body from the waist-line downward, covering the hips and the lower part of the abdomen, and is suitably shaped to such portions of the body of the person, while the upper or body section A of the de-vice is shaped to that portion of the wearer above the waist-line and is carried entirely around the body, extending from said waist-line to about a point just below the breast in front and to about an equal height at the back. The combined body A and the skirt B are open at the front from top to bottom, as is shown at 11 in Figs. 2 and6, and at said front opening 11 the parts are connected when the garment is worn by means of any suitable form of fastening devices 12--for in-stance, separable buttons or clips. At the central portion of the back of the garment a vertical opening 13 is produced, extending through the lower edge of the skirt across the waist-line 10 and terminating at a point adjacent to the upper edge of the said device or garment, as is illustrated at 14 in Figs. 3 and 5. In connection with the skirt-section B at the back a cross-lacing C is em-ployed, utilized in connection with two belt-straps, designated, respectively, as D and D', and which are adapted to extend along the waist-line to the front and to meed at the front of said waist-line, as is best shown in Fig. 4. To that end a series of eyelets 15 is formed in the material of the skirt-section B at each side of the opening 13, the eyelets being in transverse alinement. The said eye-lets commence at a point near the lower edge of the skirt and terminate at a point just be-low or slightly below the waist-line 10. In order that the material shall be strength-ened where the eyelets 15 are placed, stay- strips 16 are introduced into pockets formed at the opposite sides of the eyelets 15, as is shown in Figs. 3, 5 and 6. These stays are the only stays employed in the construction of the device, as the soft material of the de-vice is so skilfully shaped as to be relied upon to hold the body in the desired position and healthfully and scientifically modify the gen-eral contour of the parts of the body of the wearer they are intended to inclose. The lacing C consists, of a series of indi-vidual laces 18 of graduated length, and in applying these laces one lace, as is shown in Fig. 3, for example, is attached to the lower rear edge of the belt-strap D and is then car-ried down and is passed through the lower most left-hand eyelet of the skirt-section B, as is shown at x in said Fig. 3, and this lace is then carried through the second, lowermost eyelet on the right-hand side of the skirt across the section extending from the strap D and to an engagement with the left-hand strap D at a point near its rear lower edge. Thus it will be observed that the lace just described is secured at one end to the lower portion of the 'right-hand belt-strap and at its opposite end adjacent to the lower por-tion of the left-hand belt-strap. The next lace is passed through the last eyelet x' at the right-hand side of the skirt and is carried up to an attachment to the left-hand belt-strap D' at its lower rear edge or just below the point where the first-named lace was se-cured. The second lace is then made to cross the first lace at the opening 13 and is then passed up through the second eyelet at the left-hand side of the opening, and cross-ing the opposite strand of the same lace it is carried up to an engagement with the right-hand belt-strap and secured thereto just above the point where the first-named lace was as attached. In this manner individual laces are passed through alining eyelets, forming cross-lacing at the inside of the gar-ment and cross-lacing at the outside; but the cross-lacing at the outside is an inter-lace, since all of the strands of the laces com- ing from the left-hand side of the device are attached to the belt-strap at the right-hand side and all the strands of the laces coming from the eyelets of the right-hand side of the device are attached to the belt-strap at the left-hand side. In operation the garment is placed upon the person and is fastened at its front edge. Then the belt-straps D and D' are drawn for-ward and upward at the same time, placing the body of the wearer in the positions which have been described, and after the person has been thus properly straightened or posed the ends of the belt-straps at the front of the device are connected at the waist-line by a buckle 19 or any equivalent thereof. It will be observed that when the right-hand belt-strap is drawn upon it exerts a gentle pulling influence on the right-hand side portion of the skirt, and when the left-hand portion of the skirt-section of the device is to be tight-ened to any particular extent the left-hand belt-strap is more strongly drawn upon or more forcibly placed under tension. Thus it will be observed that the body of the wearer at the hips may be lifted more on one side than on the other, if required, and that the lifting and confining action may be rendered equal all around by simultaneously drawing equally on each of the belt-straps D and D'. Under all conditions of operation, however, tension on the belt - straps causes a grad-ual and uniform contraction of the device throughout its area. The upper end portion 14 of the body of the device, or where the open-ing 13 in the back stops, acts in conjunction with the strengthening-strips 16 and 17 in similar manner to a pivot-point and in a great measure regulates how much or how little the body of the wearer needs to be straightened. I desire. it to be distinctly understood that each end of each lace 18 is individually attached to one or the other of the belt-straps D or D'. Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent--

A body-conformer constructed of pliable material and consisting of a body-section shaped to fit the body of the wearer above the waist-line and extending to a point just below the breast, a skirt-section shaped to fit the body below the waist-line and extending over the hips and the lower part of the ab-domen, the sections being secured together, forming a corset-like garment adapted to fit the body skin-tight and having an opening in its front extending from the top to the bot-tom and a rear opening extending from the bottom to a point near the upper edge the rear opening being provided along its edges with eyelets extending from the bottom to within a short distance of the waist-line, strengthening stay-strips on either side of each row of eyelets and being the only stays in the garment, fastening devices for the front opening, a series of individual laces graduated in length and laced through the eyelets at the sides of the rear opening, the lowermost lace being the longest and the up-permost one the shortest, and belt-straps, one of which is provided with a buckle at its front end and to the rear ends of each of which an end of each lace is attached, the belt-straps being adapted to be pulled upwardly and for-wardly toward the waist-line, passes around the waist and buckled together at the front. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. CHARLES MUNTER. Witnesses:

J. FRED. ACKER, JNO. M. RITTER.