Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02578899 2007-02-20
VARIABLE LENGTH CHILDRENS WEAR HANGER
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
100011 The present invention relates to the field of garment hangers, and more
particularly to
an interchangeable garment hanger system for coordinated garment sets with a
variable length
attachment.
2. Description of Related Art
[0002] In the field of retail garment sales it is often desirable to display
and sell a plurality of
garments as a coordinated set and thus to hang them from a unitary hanger.
This is particularly
the case when the set of garments are sold using a so-called Garment-On-Hanger
(GOH)
program. GOH programs have become preferred to retailers. In a GOH program,
garments are
suspended from hangers by the manufacturer at the manufacturing site, and are
shipped as such
to retail merchants. Whereupon arrival at the retail location, the garments
may be placed on the
retail floor for display and sale without additional effort. Formerly,
retailers accomplished the
task of hanging garments from hangers with labor provided at their own
expense.
[0003] Towards this end, certain special-purpose hangers have been developed
to
accommodate and display a coordinated set of garments. Among these are a
double hanger,
disclosed in United States Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0188475,
published 30
September 2004, by the present inventor and commonly assigned with the present
application,
the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by its reference for all
purposes. Another is
a so-called bow hanger, particularly adapted for children and infants'
clothing, illustrated in
United States Design Patent No. Des. 498,936, issued 30 Nov 2004 to the
present inventor and
commonly assigned with the present application, the entire disclosure of which
is hereby
incorporated by its reference for all purposes. Yet another is a coordinate
loop hanger, having a
provision for supporting a second hanger from a loop provided beneath the body
of the first, for
example as disclosed in United States Patent No. 6,875,932, issued 05 April
2005 to Olk, et al.,
and commonly assigned with the present application, the entire disclosure of
which is hereby
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incorporated by its reference for all purposes. Finally, a coordinate gripper
or similar style
hanger has a loop in substitution for a hook, the loop being adapted to depend
from the base of
the hook of another hanger. A coordinate gripper hanger is illustrated for
example in United
States Design Patent No. Des. 502,011, issued 22 February 2005 to the present
inventor and
commonly assigned with the present application, the entire disclosure of which
is hereby
incorporated by its reference for all purposes.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Provided according to the present invention is a coordinate set hanger
having a
primary hanger with a first body, a hook extending upward from the first body,
a first means for
suspending a garment from the first body, and a first connection tab extending
downward from
the body, operative to releasably suspend a dependent hanger therefrom. A
connection link
having a locking end at each end thereof, the locking end having at least one
snap lock with at
least one horizontal surface is releasably attachable to at least a connection
tab of a primary
hanger. A dependent hanger has a body and a second means for suspending a
garment from the
second body, and a second connection tab extending upward from the second
body. The second
connection tab is operative to releasably secure the locking end of the
connecting link therein. In
this regard, reference may be made to copending U.S. Provisional Patent
Application No.
60/775,310; filed February 21, 2006, the contents of which is incorporated
herein in its entirety.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
100051 These and other features, advantages and benefits of the present
application will be
made apparent with reference to the following detailed description and
accompanying figures,
and wherein:
[0006] Fig. 1 illustrates a front elevation exploded assembly view of a
variable length
coordinate childrens wear hanger set according to the present invention;
[0007] Fig. 2 illustrates a front elevational view of the components of Fig. 1
in their
assembled condition; and
[0008] Fig. 3 illustrates, on an enlarged scale, a cross-section taken along
line 3-3 in Fig. 1.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, illustrated in front elevation is an
exploded assembly
view of a variable length childrens wear set hanger 10 according to the
present invention. The
childrens wear set hanger 10 comprises a primary hanger 20, a dependent hanger
22, and a
connection link 24. The primary hanger 20 includes a hook 26 extending
upwardly from a
central body portion 28, and with lateral arms 28, 30 extending outwardly from
the body in
generally coplanar opposite directions. The primary hanger 20 also includes a
connection tab 32
for receiving and engagingly retaining a first locking end 34 of the
connection link 24.
[0010] Primary hanger 20, in this example, is a garment top hanger, especially
for childrens
wear, such as shirts, blouses, sweaters, coats, jackets, and the like, but in
actuality can be
designed in nearly any hanger style. In this case, the arms comprise a
structure for suspending a
garment from the primary hanger 20 and may have garment-engaging recesses 36
formed in the
upper surfaces of the arms 28, 30. However, in alternate embodiments (not
shown), such
structure for suspending a garment from the hanger may comprise plural finger
grippers on the
dependent hanger 22 among other resilient garment clip styles, a trouser bar,
or pinch grips, in
any of the many forms as are known in the art.
100111 Dependent hanger 22, in this exemplary embodiment, is a trouser-
suspending hanger,
but in practice may be nearly any hanger style. Dependent hanger 22 has a
connection tab 40
extending centrally upward from body portion 42, whereby connection tab 40 is
inverted, but
otherwise identical to connection tab 32 on the primary hanger 20, and
receives and latchingly
engages a further locking end connection 44 at the opposite end of the
connection link 24.
[0012] As shown, the connection link 24 has the locking end connection 44 at,
respectively,
each end thereof, and a shaft 46 joining the locking connection end. Shaft 46
may be any
arbitrary suitable length. In preferred embodiments, a variety of connection
links 24 may be
provided in multiple lengths adapted to be interchanged as dictated by the
needs of the
application.
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[0013] As described, connection tabs 32, 40, and locking ends 34, 40, and
locking ends 34,
44 are configured as complementary mating parts of an interlock system,
generally female and
male, respectively. However, without departing from the scope of the present
invention, the
components may be reversed, i.e., either or both the connection tabs 32, 40
configured as the
male component, and either or both locking ends 34, 44 configured as the
female components.
Moreover, connection tabs 32, 40 and/or locking ends 34, 44 can be configured
for universal
adaptability as either or both female and male ends, further increasing
utility. Further, the
mating parts may be of any detail or configuration which permits interlocking
the connection
tabs with the locking ends.
[0014] Referring now to Fig. 3, illustrated is a cross-section taken along
line 3-3 of Fig. 1.
Connection tab 32 has two generally coplanar retaining surfaces 50 vertically
separated from one
another and an offset retaining band 52 out of the plane of the retaining
surfaces 50. Retaining
band 52 is joined to the connection tab 32 by at least one, extension 54, or
preferably two, with
one on each end of the retaining band 52, as in the exemplary embodiment.
[0015] The associated locking end 34 of connection link 24 has a snap-lock 56
extending
from one side. The snap-lock 56 has a horizontal surface 58 on an underside.
To engage the
connection link 24 with the connection tab 32 on hanger 20, the locking end 24
is inserted into
the connection tab 32 between the retaining surface 50 and the offset
retaining band 52. Either
of both of the snap-lock 56 and the retaining surface 50 deflect to be able to
pass one another
upon insertion of the locking end 34. This deflection is aided by a sloped
surface 60 of the snap-
lock 56 and a material void or space 62 formed in the locking end 34 opposite
the snap-lock 56,
either or both of which may optionally be present in the locking end 34.
[0016] Once the snap-lock 56 is located above the lowermost retaining surface
50, the
horizontal surface 58 of the snap-lock 56 engages a complementary horizontal
surface 66 of the
connection tab 32. This interlock between surfaces 58 and 66 is generally
resistant to removal
without the application of a considerable pulling force, or through the use of
a tool, which is
specially designed for that purpose, and is therefore considered child-proof
according to industry
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standards, for example those promulgated by the Voluntary Inter-industry
Commerce Standards
Association (VICS) or Bureau Veritas Consumer Product Services, Inc.
[0017] In the illustrated embodiment, connection tab 32 is inverted with
respect to
connection tab 40, but is otherwise identical in form and function. The
connecting link 24 has
locking ends 34, 44 at both ends thereof, and can function in either vertical
or inverse
orientation. Optionally, the locking end 34, 44 may be provided with a snap-
lock on both the
front and back side thereof, so that the locking end 34 can engage the
connection tab 32 in any of
an upright, inverted, front-facing or rear-facing orientation. Moreover,
dependent hanger 22 can
include a further connection tab (not shown) depending from beneath the body
thereof for the
attachment of additional connection links and/or depending hangers. The mating
parts of the
locking end and connection link may be of any detail or configuration that
permits interlocking.
Further, the connection link and locking ends can be reversed, inverted,
duplicated or in any
configuration to permit interlocking with all alternatives of this feature at
either end.
[0018] As is typical in the industry, garment hangers or any portion thereof
disclosed herein
may be formed in whole or in part of an injection molded plastic, more
commonly a rigid plastic
such as polystyrene, SAN, ABS, PPO, nylon, polypropylene (PP), polyethylene,
PET,
polycarbonates (PC), acrylics, K resin, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) among
others.
[0019] The present invention has been described herein with reference to
certain exemplary
or preferred embodiments. These embodiments are offered as merely
illustrative, not limiting, of
the scope of the present invention. Certain alterations or modifications may
be apparent to those
skilled in the art in light of instant disclosure without departing from the
spirit or scope of the
present invention, which is defined solely with reference to the following
appended claims.
