Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2088233
GA~MENT HANGER
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hanger for articles of apparel,
and in particular to a hanger for displaying articles of
clothing, such as underwear, swimsuits, panties and the li~e
having a stretchable waistband.
Backaround of the Invention
A requirement in the merchandlsing industry i9 for a hanger
that will permit the direct display of articles of clothing for
visual and tactile inspection by a prospective customer, and
which can be hung on an appropriate rack or stand, thus
permitting a collection of such articles to be displayed in a
single location.
When dealing with articles having a stretchable waistband,
and articles having a relatively large waistband size, this poses
particular problems in that the hanger must be of greater width
than that of the partially stretched waistband for the garment
to be attached to the hanger, and supported thereon solely by the
elastic tension produced in the waistband. If the waistband is
of a large size, then, the hanger must be made correspondingly
wide, this in turn presenting a cosmetically unacceptable
- - . .. ... ... .
2~233
appearance in that the waistband must be stretched from its
contracted condition in order for the article to support itself
on the hanger. Also, due to the stretched condition of the
waistband, this pre~ents a cosmetically unacceptable distortion
of the article of clothing which, at that time, i5 stretched at
the waistband, while the depending portion of that article is in
a flaccid and unsupported condition.
This problem is addressed in U.S. Patent No. 4,703,878
issued November 3rd, 1987 in the name of Louw, which teaches a
garment hanger in which a stretchable waistband of a garment of
any waistband size can be stretched across a front face of the
hanger, then be folded around the ends of the hanger, and then
be stretched along the back face of the hanger, thus presenting
a partially folded condition of the article of apparel.
The waistband, which is then in the stretched condition, is
then hooked over downwardly extending fingers formed integrally
with the hanger, the fingers each extending at an angle of
inclination towards the center line of the hanger.
Hhile hangers of this type are eminently suited for the
hanging of articles of apparel for display purposes, they are
encumbered with the disadvantage that fabric immediately beneath
the wai~tband at the point of engagement with the fingers tends
20882~3
to become stretched, thus presenting an unsiqhtly appearance to
the prospective purchaser when the article of apparel is removed
from the hanger. 'rhis is particularly so in the case of fabrics
that take a "set" when subjected to localized pressure.
A development of the concept of the above patents is to be
found in U.S. 4,744,496 issued May 17th, 1988 in the names of
Blanchard, et al. That patent, to some extent, alleviates the
problem of local stretching and "setting" of the fabric of the
garment, and also provides for a bottom rail, which will further
stabilize the garment when it is hung on the hanger. The
teaching~ of this patent, however, are also encumbered with the
problem of localized stretching and "setting" of the fabric of
the garment at the turned bac~ ends of the waistband, this patent
also employing downwardly extending fingers formed integrally
with the hanger, and, which extend at an angle towards the center
line of the hanger.
Those fingers, as in the earlier patent, also cause
localized stretching and "setting" of the fabric at the point it
passes around the fingers, this being further aggravated by the
teachings in both of the patents of providing enlargements on the
lower ends of the fingers, the enlargements also extending
2088233
towards the center line of the hanger, and, which further
increase the localized pressure on the fabric ~f the garment at
that point, and which further exaggerates the "set~ in the
fabric.
SummarY of the Invention
It iB an object of this invention to provide a han~er for
an article of clothing, which, as is known in the art, will
accommodate any articles of clothing within a determined range
of waistband sizes, and which will display the article of
clothing in an extended substantially planar condition having an
outline simulating that of the human form, while at the same time
avoiding the disadvantages of fingers that extend inwardly
towards the center line of the hanger, and, fingers that must be
provided with enlargements at their lower ends.
According to the present invention, the hanger for articles
of apparel has downwardly extending fingers that extend
substantially parallel to each other, and also parallel to the
center line of the hanger. An upper portion of the hanger
providing a bridge between the respective fingers is formed for
it to be dominantly rigid, and secondarily flexible in a plane
: .
2088233
that includes the center line of the hanger. In an unstressed
condition of the hanger, the fingers conver~e at a small angle
of inclination upwardly towards the upper portion of the hanger.
~ t their outer ends, the respective arms of the hanger are
extend downwardly in outwardly curved portions, the distance
between the outer edges of the downwardly extending portions
being greater than that of the distance between the o~ter ends
of the bridging portion.
By constructing the hanger in this manner, the following
beneficial effects occur during assembly of the article of
clothing onto the hanger, which is done firstly by looping one
side portion of the waistband around an appropriate one of the
downwardly extending fingers, and by then passing it over the end
of the hanger and stretching it towards the opposite end o~ the
hanger.
This stretching motion produces the beneficial result of
moving the downward extension of the hanger at one end thereof
towards the center line of the hanger, which in turn, results in
stressing of that portion of the hanger supporting the downward
extension, and, flexure of that arm of the hanger in a direction
to cause the respective fingers to move towards each other, for
them to securely entrap that portion of the waistband that is
looped around one of those fingers.
208~233
The garment is then stretched over the opposite end of the
hanger, and, the downwardly extending portion is pulled outwardly
to a small extent, thus opening the gaps between the respective
fingers of the other arm of the hanger, and, permitting the easy
looping of the waistband over a selected one of the fingers of
that arm.
The downward extension is ~hen released, allowing that
downward extension to move towards the opposite downward
extension, this in turn causing the fingers adjacent that
downward extension also to move towards each other, and, to
securely entrap the waistband on the selected finger.
The garment can then be smoothed on the hanger, at which
point it has become subtended between the downwardly extending
portions in a tensioned condition, thus presenting a flattering
appearance to the prospective purchaser of what the garment would
appear like on the purchaser's torso.
This spring-like action of the hanger acts to firmly attach
the garment to the hanger in the substantial absence of
localized stretching of the fabric of the garment. The fingers
themselves preferably are of greater length than the width of a
waistband elastic of the garment to be supported.
.
20g8233
DESCRIPTION OF THE bRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be
described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 i5 a front elevation of one form of the hanger of the
invention;
Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the hanger of Fig. 1 showing
a garment attached to that han~er;
Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2; and
~ Fig. 4 is a front elevation of another preferred embodiment
of the hanger of the present invention;
DETAILED DESCRIPTIO~ OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring now to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the hanger of the
invention is indicated generally at 10, the hanger having a
central body portion 12 which is utilized to indicate the size
of the garment that i9 surmounted by a hook 14 by means of which
the hanger can be hung from a display rack. Conveniently, a
display panel 16 is formed integrally with the hook 14, thus
providing for the convenient display of the manufacturer's logo.
Extending on opposite sides of the central body 12, and in
co-planar relationship with the central body 12, are arms 18 and
20 which are specifically formed for them to be of controlled
flexibility in the said medial plane.
'' ,
' ,' ' ` . .- ' ,' ~ ' '. :
'
2088233
Preferably, the entire hanger structure is reinforced
against displacement out of ~the medial plane by a continuous
beating 22 that extends throughout the entire periphery of the
hanger, the central body 12 and the arms 18 and 20 then being
formed of relatively thin cross-section, in order to effect
weight and cost economies in the manufacture of the hanger. This
is illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, which shows a cross-
section through the hanger.
The arms 18 and 20 terminate at their outer ends in
relatively inflexible downwardly extending portions 24 and 26,
the arms 18 and 20 each including downwardly extending fingers
28 that are spaced inwardly equidistantly along the length of the
respective arms, and, which define slots that terminate in close
proximity to the upper edges of the arms 18 and 20, thus to
provide weakened sections of the respective arms that permit
controlled flexure of the respective arms in the medial plane of
the hanger.
As will be observed in Fig. 1, in an unstressed condition
of the arm~ 18 and 20, the respective arms diverge upwardly from
the central body portion 12, the respective fingers extending
substantially perpendicular to the respective arms 1% and 20,
thus to provide slots between the respective arms that converge
sli~htly in an upward direction.
20~8233
.
As will be appreciated, flexure of the respective arms 18
and 20 in a downwards direction, will in turn cause the fin~ers
28 to move towards parallelism with each other, in which
condition the respective slots 30 extend parallel to one another,
the upwards convergence of those slots having been eliminated by
flexure of the respective arms.
The slots 30 preferably are of a width that will permit
multiple layers of cloth, such as exist in a waistband of a
garment, to be pushed upwardly into one of the slots, the
waistband during that movement being compressively held as it
moves upwards in the slot, this resulting in a greater pinching
effect by the associated pair of fingers 28 at the upper end of
the slot than exists at the lower end of the slot.
However, if the respective arms are then flexed downwardly,
the fingers 28 move into parallelism with each other, this in
turn de~reasing the angle of upwards convergence of the slots,
and in turn acting to distribute the pinching effect of the
fingers throughout the entire length of the fingers. In this
manner, the waistband is ~ently but firmly held, and this in the
total absence of any hooks, projections or other enlargements
formed on the edges o the fingers that extend in the said medial
plane of the hanger.
. i . .
20~233
The manner in which the arms 18 and 20 are flexed downwardly
will now be described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3 of the
drawings, Fig. 2 illustrating the hanger when properly
"tensioned", the arms 18 and 20 having moved into axial alignment
with each other, and, the fingers 28 having moved into
substantial parallelism with each other. In Fig. 2, a garment
i8 indicated generally at 32, the garment having a waistband 34,
that, with the garment with flattened condition has been threaded
o~e'r one of the fingers 28 of each of the arms 18 and 20, in the
manner now described with reference to Fig. 3.
Firstly, with the garment in a neatly flattened condition,
the waistband 34a at one edge of the flattened garment, is passed
over one of the fingers of the arm 18, so that the finger becomes
positioned within the waistband. The waistband is then stretched
laterally around the end member 24, and, the waistband is then
stretched across the front of the hanger and is then passed
around the end member 26 of the arm 20. The waistband is then
passed upwardly over one of the fingers 2~ associated with the
arm 20, as is indicated at 34b, and, the garment is then smoothed
by hand ready for hanging in a display rack.
.... . . . . . . ..... __
2088233
The stretching o~ the waistband across the end members 24
and 26 produce~ a force that moves those end members towards each
other for their outer edges to move into parallelism, and, in so
doing, causes downwards flexure of the associated arm, that
movement in turn resulting in movement of the fingers 28 into
parallelism with each other, and, gripping of the waistband
throu~hout its entire width in such a manner as to securely hold
the bight of the waistband firmly secured around the selected
finger 28.
Thus, even relatively rough handliny of the hanger with a
garment supported thereon does not result in dislodgement of the
garment from the hanger the garment being held by the hanger in
a secure manner that readily permits its display on a display
rack, and, as will occur, handling of the garment by a
prospective customer when the garment is so displayed.
This securement of the garment to the hanger, unlike prior
proposals, does not require knobs or hooks or other enlargements
to be provided on the ends of the fingers 28. Thus, setting of
the fabric o~ the garment while it is on the hanger, and, an
unsightly appearance of that garment when it is removed from the
hanger is virtually eliminated. The hanger illustrated in Figs.
1, 2 and 3, while being o~ utility in hanging any form of garment
.... . . . .. . . ..
208~233
.
having a stretchable waistband, does not provide support for the
folded lateral edges of the garment. Such support can readily
be provided, as illustrated in Fig. 4, by providing downward
extensions of the end members 24 and 26, as illustrated at 36 and
38 in Fig. 4. Such downward extensions have the beneficial
effects of amplifying the forces exerted on the arms 18 and 20
that act to bend those arms downwardly into axial alignment with
each other, and, additionally, can provide a pleasing contour to
the hung garment simulating that of the human form. Further, the
downward extensions 36 and 38 act to tension the front panel of
the garment for it to provide a flat and cosmetically acceptable
appearance.
The han~er of the invention can be manufactured from any
stiff but not brittle plastics material, and, conveniently can
be manufactured by an injection molding process, such as is well
known in the art. Thus, to provide a versatile and inexpensive
hanger. If desired, the han~er of the invention equally well
could be manufactured from metal by a stamping process, in which
event the peripherally extending ribs 22 could be replaced by
appropriate channeling of the metal, relatively soft metals such
as brass or aluminum being contemplated for such use.
12
