Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A GARMENT HANGER WITH IMPROVED TAB HOLDER
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention broadly relates to garment hangers. More specifically,
the invention relates to a tab holder for a garment hanger.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is desirable to provide a plastic garment hanger that can show information
about the merchandise on display. Several types of garment hangers having an
information tab on the base of the hook connecting it to the body of the
hanger,
are known. For instance, they are often used for displaying children clothes.
The
information tab used on each of these hangers are often times irremovable. For
the ones that are removable, they are usually adapted to be used specifically
with
one type of hanger.
US 5,611,469 is concerned with an identification clip adapted to be secured
on a garment hanger. The ident~cation clip according to the invention is not
manually removable. Furthermore, it is made to fit the clip holder of the
garment.
US 5,199,608 is concerned with an identification tab that is irremovably
secured to a garment hanger. The purpose of providing such tab is to prevent
accidental removal of the tab from the garment hanger, once it is mounted on
the
latter by a store clerk.
US 4,115,940 is concerned with a removable and changeable tab for a
garment hanger. The tab is simple in structure in that it is moulded in one
piece.
However, it does not seem to be designed to fit a wide range of tab holders.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved garment
hanger.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a garment hanger that
facilitates the installation of an information tab thereon yet being secure
against
accidental disengagement.
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More specifically, in accordance with the present invention, these objects
are achieved with a garment hanger that is adapted to receive a removable
information tab. The garment hanger comprises a body, a hook member
connected to the body; and a tab holder operatively connected to the hanger.
The
tab holder comprises two opposites surfaces, each of the opposite surfaces
have
an edge, and first and second engagement elements. The engagement elements
are substantially parallel to one another and are disposed substantially
perpendicular to the edge. The engagement elements are further shaped and
sized to cooperatively engage with an information tab. Each of the opposite
surfaces further have a first groove that is defined between the first and
second
engagement elements.
According to another object of the invention, it is provided a garment hanger
adapted to receive a removable information tab. Such a garment hanger
comprises a body, a hook member connected to said body, a tab holder
operatively connected to said hanger. The tab holder comprises two opposites
surfaces, each of said opposite surfaces have an edge, and first, second and
third
engagement elements. The engagement elements are substantially parallel to one
another and are disposed substantially perpendicular to the edge. Furthermore,
each of the engagement elements comprises first, second and third projecting
members. The first projecting member is adjacent to the edge of the opposite
surtace. Each of the engagement elements further comprises a first valley
defined
between the first and second projecting elements, and a second valley defined,
between the second and third projecting element. Finally, each of the
engagement
elements comprises a first groove that is defined between the first and third
engagement elements and a second groove that is defined between the second
and third engagement elements.
Furthermore, another object of the invention is to provide a garment hanger
as defined above with a universal information tab.
An advantage provided by the garment hanger of the invention is that its
configuration makes it difficult to remove the tab mounted thereon, and
especially
against a child.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective side view of the information tab according to a
preferred embodiment of the present invention, that is ready to be slid in a
corresponding portion of the hanger.
Figures 2 to 4 are a cross sectional views of the information tab of Figure 1
mounted on different prior art tab holders.
Figure 5 is a side view of the garment hanger according to a preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the garment hanger
shown in Figure 5, illustrating a tab holder according to a preferred
embodiment of
the invention.
Figure 7 is a cross sectional view of the tab holder of Figure 6.
Figure 8 is a side view of the garment hanger shown in Figure 5 with an
information tab mounted thereon.
Figure 9 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the garment hanger
shown in Figure 8, which better illustrates the tab securely mounted onto the
tab
holder.
Figure 10 is a cross sectional view of the tab holder of Figure 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As can be seen in Figure 1, the universal tab 1 of the present invention is
adapted to be secured on a tab holder 3 on a garment hanger. The information
tab
1 is clipped on the tab holder 3 in a conventional manner.
Referring now to Figures 2 to 4; the information tab 1 comprises a U-
shaped bracket which includes two legs 11,13 extending substantially parallel
to
each other. The two legs 11,13 are connected at one end to a bridge 15 which
extend perpendicularly with respect to the legs. The U-shaped bracket defines
an
inner surface 17 which is adapted to be removably secured on the tab holder 3
of
the garment hanger.
The inner surFace 17 of the information tab 1 of the invention comprises an
integrally formed flange 31 projecting perpendicularly inwardly from each leg.
The
flange 31 is formed at a distance D1 from the first end of the leg. The
distance D1
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corresponds to a predetermined point along the leg. Preferably, D1 is
calculated to
be approximately at the middle point of each leg. Each flange is located on
the leg
so that they face each other and are separated by an open space having a width
W1 between the facing extremities of each flange.
As further shown in Figures 2 to 4, the inner surface 17 of the universal
information tab 1 of the invention also comprises an integrally formed gripper
41 at
the second end of each leg for preventing the tab holder 3 from slipping off
the
hanger. in the illustrated embodiment, the gripper 41 comprises a longitudinal
rib
which extends inwardly from the inner surface 17 so that it is able to grip
and hold
the tab holder 3.
Preferably, the legs 11, 13 taper inwardly from the bridge 15 in order to
enable the information tab 1 to be more strongly secured to the tab holder 3.
In
order to render this feature even more efficient; the information tab 1 may be
made
of a resilient moulded material or any suitable material, preferably PVC or
polystyrene.
Still shown in Figures 2 to 4, the information tab 1 may further comprise an
integrally formed set of grooves 51 projecting outwardly from the inner
surface 17
of the bridge 15. The groove 51 is designed to fit a corresponding extremity
of the
tab holder 3.
The information tab 1 is shaped to accommodate practically any existing tab
holder 3. Indeed Figures 2 to 4 show different types of existing tab holders
while
the sizer of the present invention is placed.
As can be seen more precisely in Figure 2, the information tab of the
present invention is able to receive and be secured on a pear-shaped prior art
tab
holder. The tab holder comprises an upper and a lower portions. The
information
tab is designed to receive and guide an extremity of the upper portion through
the
set of grooves 51 located in the inner surface 17 of the bridge 15. The
protruding
flanges 31 located in the inner surface of the legs 11, 13 are adapted to grip
the
area of the tab holder separating the upper portion from the lower portion.
The
flanges 17 play a crucial role in that by gripping the area between the upper
and
lower portions, it prevents the information tab to slip out from the tab
holder. This
is possible since most of the existing (prior art) tab holder are fashioned in
such a
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way as to have an upper and bottom portions that are separated by a thinner
"middle" area. Therefor, the upper and lower portions work as a blocking
means.
The grippers 41 located on the second end of each leg is designed to grip a
corresponding end of the lower portion.
5 Turning now to Figure 3, the prior art tab holder has a shape of an arrow.
The arrow comprises a point portion which is slid in the guides 51 provided in
the
inner surface 17 of the bridge 15. The arrow further comprises a shaft
portion. The
flanges 31 of the information tab is designed to grip the arrow at the
junction
where the point is connected to the shaft. In the illustrated embodiment, the
prior
art tab holder comprises a thin portion at the end of the shaft. The grippers
41 are
adapted to grip the thin portion of the arrow thereby temporarily locking the
information tab on the tab holder.
In figure 4, the tab holder has the general shape of a double arrow. The two
points being separated by a shaft portion. As seen in figure 3, the point of
the
upper arrow is secured in the guides 51 provided in the inner surface 17 of
the
bridge 15. The flanges 31 and the grippers 41 of the information tab are
designed
to grip the tab holder through corresponding shaft portions.
As can be seen, the information tab of the invention is advantageously
designed to fit any existing tab holder. Furthermore it is also advantageously
designed to be removable so that it may be easily reused on another hanger
when
the first is disposed of.
According to another aspect of the present invention and as shown in
Figure 5, a garment hanger 100 which is adapted to receive a removable
information tab 1 is also provided. The present invention further provides a
garment hanger 100 which include an information tab 1 removably secured
thereon as shown in Figure 8. The information tab 1 that is used in accordance
with the present invention is preferably a tab like the one described therein.
As
used herein, the term "removably secured" refers to a tab which cannot be
removed by a young child and cannot easily be removed by an adult without the
use of a tool. This is especially an important feature since it prevents, for
instance,
ingestion of the tab by a child: Moreover, the garment hanger of the present
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invention also offer the advantage of preventing inadvertent removing of the
tab,
therefore avoiding mislabelling of garments in a store.
Now turning back to Figure 5, the garment hanger 100 of the present
invention comprises a body 102, a hook member 104 connected to the body 142
and a tab holder 3 operatively connected to the hanger 100. It will be
understood
that the term "garment hanger" used herein refers to hangers for clothing as
well
for non-clothing items. The hanger of the present invention can be provided
with
any shapes and made with any suitable materials known to one skilled in the
art.
Furthermore, the hanger of the invention is produced by using conventional
techniques, such as injection molding. It will be also understood that the
hook
member can take any shape and made with any suitable materials.
As mentioned above, the tab holder 3 is operatively connected to the
hanger 100. Preferably, the tab holder 3 interconnects the hook member 104 and
a portion of the body 102 of the hanger 100 as shown in figure 6. Although
this is a
preferred configuration contemplated by the present invention, the tab holder
may
be connected to other portion of the hanger as long as it fulfils its role
which is to
removably secured thereon an information tab, as best seen in figure 9.
Advantageously, the tab holder 3 is made integral to the hanger 100.
The tab holder 3 comprises two opposites surfaces 106 (only one is shown
in the figures). As shown in figure 6, each,surface 106 has an edge 108, first
110
and second 112 engagement elements that are substantially parallel to one
another and disposed substantially perpendicular to the edge 108. Furthermore,
the engagements elements are shaped and sized to cooperatively engage with an
information tab. Each surfaces also have a first groove 114 that is defined
between the first 110 and second 112 engagement elements. Such a groove is,
particularly an important feature of the invention since it allows a user to
easily
remove the tab from the tab holder with the aid of a tool. According to a
preferred
embodiment, each of the surfaces 106 further comprises a third engagement
element 116 disposed between the first 110 and second 112 engagement
elements. This preferable addition thus defines a second groove 118 that is
substantially parallel to the first groove 114. As it can be appreciated, the
presence
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of a third engagement element allows the information tab to be better secured
onto
the tab holder.
As best understood by viewing figure 6 in conjunction with figure 7, the
engagement elements preferably comprise first 120, second 122 and third 124
projecting members. Preferably, first 120 and second 122 projecting members
have a substantially triangular cross-section whereas the third projecting
element
126 has preferably a rounded conical cross-section. It will be understood that
the
first projecting member 120 is the one adjacent to the edge 108 of the
opposite
surface 106. Furthermore, the engagement elements also comprise a first valley
126 defined between the first 120 and second 122 projecting elements and a
second valley 128 defined between the second 122 and third 126 projecting
elements. As it will be explained herein below, the valley 126 plays a role in
the
engagement with portions of the information tab.
Figure 6 also shows that each of the surfaces 106 preferably comprises two
pegs 130 being disposed on either side of the engagement elements 110,. 112
and
substantially along the edge 108 of each of the opposite surfaces 106. These
pegs
further help in preventing inadvertent removing of the information tab.
As mentioned previously, Figure 8 shows the garment 100 of the present
invention with an information tab 1 mounted thereon. In order to provide such
a
garment hanger, a user has to mount usually by sliding or threading a tab unto
the
tab holder. As best viewed in Figure 10, the flanges 31 and the grippers 41 of
the
tab 1 cooperatively engage the first valley 126 and the second projecting
element
122 of the tab holder 3, respectively.
As one skilled in the art will appreciate, the second and third projecting
members play a beneficial role respectively in the mounting and securing of
the
tab unto the tab holder. Indeed, the second projecting member allows to force
the
tab to open, thus permitting the flanges to efficiently engage with the first
valley of
the tab holder. Preferably, in order to better open the tab, the second
projecting
member has a height greater than the one of the first projecting member. With.
respect to the third projecting element, it will be understood that because of
its
shape and size, the third projecting element makes it difficult to finger pry
the tab
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of the tab holder. Thus, the third projecting member is an important part of
the tab
holder that participates in the making of a "childproofi' hanger.
Although the present invention has been explained hereinabove by way of a
preferred embodiment thereof, it should be pointed out that any modifications
to
this preferred embodiment within the scope of the present description is not
deemed to alter or change the nature and scope of the invention.
