Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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- v GARMENT.IiANGER ~ - a
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to garment hangers, arid more
particularly to a garment hanger that has a feature formed as part of a body
portion
thereof that permits reception of a fastener, such as a twist tie or other
type of flexible tie
member, for connecting two or more hangers together.
BACKGROUND
There are a number of different types of garment hangers that are used to
hold a number of different articles of clothing or other types of articles,
such as linens or
other household fabrics. Typically, garment hangers are.either formed, of a
plastic-
material or a-metal--rr~~atet-ia~!-or-a-cot~bve~iot~-tt~et-ldat--as~ly-do-
garment hangers
come in, a variety of different sizes but they also come in a number of
different styles
which have different types of construction to accommodate different articles
which are
carried by the hangers.
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For example, one type of garment hanger construction is designed to
secure knitwear, blouses, slips, strapped garments, including dresses and
lingerie.
Another type of garment hanger construction is designed to also secure
blouses,
dresses and other light garments, while another type of garment hanger is
designed to
s secure heavier knitwear, blouses, pants and light weight pant suits. Yet
another type of
garment hanger is designed to secure coats, jackets and outerwear. The
foregoing
types of garment hangers can be generally classified as being top garment
hangers,
while another class of garment hangers is pant hangers, which are those
hangers that
are designed to secure pants, skirts, and other outfits together. Often times,
pant
~o hangers incorporate some type of clamp mechanism to securely grasp and hold
the
articles of clothing. one wil! appreciate that there are even more types of
garment
hangers (e.g., bra/panty hanger) that are intended for particular
applications.
Referring first to Figs. 1A-1 B, a conventional garment hanger 10 is
illustrated. The garment hanger 10 includes a body portion 12 (cross bar)
having two
is opposing ends 14, 16 and a hook member 20 that is attached to the body
portion 12.
The exemplary garment hanger 10 is of the type that includes a clamp or grip
assembly
30 formed at each of the first and second ends 14, 16. The grip assemblies 30
are
integrally formed with body portion 12 at the first and second ends 14, 16.
The illustrated garment hanger 10 is of a swivel hook type construction in
?o that the hook member 20 is swivably or pivotally attached to the body
portion 12 at a
location that is generally at a midpoint along the body portion 12. The hook
member 20
is pivotally received within a bore that is formed in a base structure 30 that
is integrally
attached at one end to an upper edge 13 of the body portion 12. The bore
therefore
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has a complementary shape as the hook member 20 and thus, for the illustrated
embodiment, the bore is annular in shape to complement the circular shape of
the hook
member 20. The overall shape of the base structure 30 is not critical and it
can assume
any number of different shapes. For example, while the illustrated base
structure 30
s has a rectangular or square cross-section, it will be appreciated that the
base structure
30 can have a number of different shapes, such as circular, oblong, etc. The
hook
member 20 is thus frictionafly fit within the bore; however, it is permitted
to swivel freely
__ therein when a user applied a force to the hook member 20 to produce such
movement.
According to the present invention, the base structure 30 includes first and
Lo second side elements 32, 34 that extend outwardly therefrom and are
integral with the
body portion 12. More specifically, each of the first and second side elements
32, 34
has a first end 31 that is integrally Connected to the base structure 30 and
an opposing
second end 33 that is integrally connected to the upper edge 13 of the body
portion 12.
A space 40 is formed between each of the first and second side elements 32,,34
and
~s the base structure 30 and upper edge 13. The side elements 32, 34 served as
structural support elements in that they further strengthened the base
structure 30 and
therefore, in the conventional design, the space 40 is very small and can not
readily
aceornmodatevitems.
Many,consumers utilize a dry cleaning facility for dry cleaning and
:o pressing of their clothing. As consumers are aware, many,types of articles
of clothing
can not be machine washed and pressed but rather must be taken to the
dry.cleaning
facility. Thus, it is common for a consumer to bring in a number of different
articles
during each visit to the dry cleaning facility. More specifically, the
consumer brings in a
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number of dress shirts, pants, as welt as other clothing, such as knitwear,
and also
potentially brings house linens, etc., in the same visit. The dry cleaning
facility tags
each consumer's articles and after dry cleaning, the articles are typically
individually
placed on their own garment hangers and loosely arranged and then a garment
cover
s and a garment bag is placed over a bundle of cloths or all of the articles,
depending
upon how many items are present.
Therefore, it is no surprise that because most consumers bring a number
of articles of clothing to the dry cleaning facility that when they pick up
the cleaned
articles, they are provided with a number of loosely held garment hangers.
Because
lo different types and sizes of garment hangers can be arranged loosely
together, the
hangers do not necessarily lie flush against one another and therefore, it may
be
cumbersome for the user to carry the articles of clothing by the garment
hangers. Thus,
the user may grasp one group of similar garment hangers and fail to completely
grasp
one or more other garment hangers, which is then subject to falling within the
bag
is resulting in wrinkling of the garment or in a worst case, the garment may
fall onto the
ground and be spoiled.
It is therefore desirable for one or more types of garment hangers to have
a feature formed as a part thereof that permits coupling or securing of the
individual
garment hangers together.
.o
SUMMARY
A garment hanger is provided and includes a body having first and second
ends and an upper edge and a hook member extending upwardly from the hanger
body
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for suspending the hanger from a support location. The hook member is coupled
to a
base member that is attached to the upper edge of the body.
The hanger also includes a structure that extends between the upper edge
~f the hanger body and the base member so as to define a space therebetween:
The
s space is of sufficient size to receive a fastener therethrough for securely
linking at least
one additional garment hanger to the hanger body. In one preferred embodiment,
the
fastener is a twist tie and the space has an area of at least about .~5 cm2.
By being securely connecting or linking individual garment hangers to one
another, the problems that were often associated with carrying multiple loose
hangers
to are overcome since all of the hangers are joined to one another. Therefore,
if the
consumer loses grasp of one of the garment hangers when carrying the entire
load, the
garment hanger may slip slightly but it is prevented from completely falling
to the bottom
of the surrounding bag (if present) or to the ground surface when no
protective bag
surrounds the garments due to the presence of the fastener.
Is Further aspects and features of the exemplary apparatus disclosed herein
can be appreciated from the appended Figures and accompanying written
description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION 4F THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following
~o drawings which are for illustrative purposes only:
Fig.-1A is a side elevational view of a conventional garment hanger;
Fig. 1 B is an enlarged, partial side elevational view of the garment hanger
of Fig. 1 A taken around the circle 1 of Fig. 1 A;
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Fig. 2A is a side elevational view of a garment hanger according to one
exemplary embodiment;
Fig. 2B is an enlarged, partial side elevational view of the garment hanger
of Fig, 2A taken.around the circle 2 of Fig. 2A;
s Fig. 3 is an enlarged, partial side elevational view of two or more garment
hangers connected together by a fasteners received through a feature formed as
part of
the hanger body;
Fig. 4A is an enlarged, partial side elevational view of a garment hanger
according to another exemplary embodiment in which a fastener receiving
feature is
to itlustraf<ed; and
Fig. 4B is an enlarged, partial side elevational view of a garment hanger
according to another exemplary embodiment in which a fastener receiving
feature is
illustrated.
is DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring first to Figs. 2A-2B, a garment hanger 100 according to one
exemplary embodiment is illustrated. The garment hanger 100 includes a body
portion
110 (cross bar) having two opposing ends 112, 114 and a hook member 120 that
is
attached to the body portion 110. The exemplary garment hanger 100 is of the
type that
o includes a clamp or grip assembly 130 formed at each of the first and second
ends 112,
114. The grip assemblies 130 are integrally formed with body portion 110 at
the first
and second ends 112, 114. Each grip assembly 130 includes a front grip member
140
and a rear grip member 150 with the front grip member 140 having a first
gripping
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feature (not shown} and the rear grip member 150 having a second gripping
feature (not
shown}. The article of clothing is placed between the front and rear grip
members 140,
150 when they are opened and then the user closes the front grip member 140
with
respect to the rear grip member 150. Preferably, the front grip member 140 is
pivotally
s attached to the body portion 110 in an integral manner. The. first and
second gripping
features serve to grip the article of clothing and can be. in form of shaped
protrusions
that mate with one another. In one exemplary embodiment, the first and second
gripping features are a series of protrusions (nubs, etc.} arranged on the
surface.
As is known, each grip assembly 130 also includes a movable clip
io member 160 that is movable between an open position and a closed position.
The
exemplary clip member 160 is formed of metal and is generally U-shaped with a
first
section that travels within a guide track formed on an exterior surface of the
rear grip
member 150 and a second section that travels within a guide track formed in
the
exterior surface of the front grip member 140. In the open position, the
second section
is of the clip member 160 engages a beveled feature of the guide track formed
in the
exterior surface of the front grip member 140 so that the front and rear grip
members
140, 150 are locked in the closed position with the article of clothing being
securely held
therebetween.
ft will be appreciated that this type of grip assembly 130 is merely one
20 exemplary type and that a number of other types of grip assemblies 130 can
be used.
The body portion 110, including the grip assemblies 130 with the
exception of the clip member 160, is preferably made as a single piece, molded
in
plastic using a plastic injection molding machine, as understood by those
skilled in the
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art. Any appropriate plastic can be used, such as styrene, which provides a
clear,
virtually transparent hanger and alternatively, the hanger 100 can be molded
using
polypropylene, such as H.l. styrene polypropylene, polypropylene;
polyvinylchloride,
ABS or other suitable thermoplastics and/or mixtures thereof. As understood by
those
s skilled in the art, the plastic mixture used'to mold the hangers can include
additional
resins for added strength and reinforcement.
The illustrated garment hanger 100 is of a swivel hook type construction in
that the hook member 120 is swivably or pivotally attached to the body portion
110 at a
location that is generally at a midpoint along the body portion 110. The hook
member
io 120 is pivotally received within a bore that is formed in a base structure
170 that is
integrally attached at one end to artwpper edge 111 of the body portion 110.
The bore
therefore has a complementary shape as the hook member 120 and thus, for the
illustrated embodiment, the bore is annular in shape to complement the
circular shape
of the hook member 120. The overall shape of the base structure 170 is not
critical and
is it can assume any number of different shapes. For example, while the
illustrated base
structure 170 has a rectangular or square cross-section, it wilt be
appreciated that the
base structure 170 can have a number of different shapes, such as circular,
oblong, etc.
The hook member 120 is thus frictionally tot within the bore; however, it is
permitted to
swivel freely therein when a user applied a force to the hook member 120 to
produce
:o such movement.
According to the 'present invention, the base structure 170 includes first
and second side elements 172, 174 that extend outwardly therefrom and are
integral
with the body portion 710. More specifically, each of the first and second
side elements
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172, 174 has a first end 176 that is integrally connected to the base
structure 170 and
an opposing second end 178 that is integrally connected to the upper edge 1 'f
1 of the
body portion 110. While, the precise connection points between the first ends
176 and
the base strucfure 170 and the second ends 178 and the body portion 110 can
vary, it is
s important that a space 180 of sufficient size is formed between each of the
first and
secor;d side elements 172, 174 and the base structure 170 and upper edge 111.
In the illustrated embodiment, the first and second side elements 172, 174
are elongated, planar walls that extend from the upper edge 111 to an upper
end of the
base structure :170. The width of the first and second side elements 172, 174
and the
lo base structure 170 is preferably the same or about the same. An angle is
thus formed
between each of the first and second side elements 172, 174 and the upper edge
111.
In this embodiment, the space 180 is generally triangular shaped. The frst
arid second
elements 172, 172 do not have to have a linear, planar construction, as it
will be
appreciated that the first and second side elements 172, 174 can have an
arcuate
s shape. In other words, the first and second side elements 172, 174 can have
a curved
surface (resulting in space 180 having an irregular space) so long as the
space 180 is of
sufficient size (e.g., Fig. 4A).
Space 180 is of a sufficient size when a fastener 200, shown in Fig. 3, can
be received therethrough. For example, one exemplary fastener 200 is a
conventional
twist tie that is disposed through one of the spaces 180 and is then passed
through
other garment hangers and the free ends of the fastener 200 are brought
together and
tied so as to connect two or more garment hangers together. As is known, a
conventional twist tie 200 is formed of an elongated wire that is encased
between a
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paper strip so that the user does not contact the metal wire itself and any
sharp ends of
the metal wire ate eliminated. Space 180 therefore is in contrast to space 50
which is of
insufficient size to pass a fastener therethrough. Thus, the conventional
hanger 10 of
Fig. 1 had the associated disadvantage that the user or dry cleaner can not
pass a
s fastener 200 therethrough for linking a number of hangers together.
In one exemplary embodiment, the space 180 has an area of greater than
.25 cm2. In other embodiments, the space 180 has an area of at least .3 cm2;
.4 cm2;
and .5 cm2, respectively. However, these values ace merely illustrative of the
various
embodiments.
~o It will be appreciated that fastener 200 is not limited to being a twist
tie but
also can be any other structure that is intended to be used to attach or
connect articles
to one another by manipulation of the fastener 200. Preferably, the size of
the space
180 is such that the fastener 200 .can easily be received therethrough and the
fastener
200 is permitted a degree of movement within the space 180. For example, the
space
~s 180 can be sized so that it can accommodate a plurality of fasteners 200
therethrough
even if in a preferred application, only a single fastener 200 is disposed
through the
space 180.
Fig. 3 illustrates garment hanger 100 being used with another garment
hanger 300 such that the two hangers 100, 300 are securely connected to one
another
'o using the fastener 200 in the following manner. First, it will be
understood that the
garment hanger 300 does not have to be of the same type as the garment hanger
100
and in fact most times, the garment hanger 300 is of a different type than the
garment
hanger 100. For example, the illustrated garment hanger 300 is a traditional
wire
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hanger. To securely connect the hangers, the fastener 200 is passed through
one of
the spaces 180 of the garment hanger 100 and then it is fed through a
contained,
bounded space that is formed in the garment hanger 300 and then the two free
ends of
the fastener 200 are brought to together and tied (e.g., twisted) so that the
two hangers
s 100, 300 are securely connected to one another. Tfie space in the other
hanger
through which the fastener 200 is disposed through can be identical to space
180 if the
other hanger is identical to hanger 100 or it can be a different space so long
as the
space is bounded completely around such that the movement of the fastener 200
is
restricted (i.e., fastener 200 can not slip out of space 180).
lo By being securely connected to one another, the problems that were often
associated with carrying multiple loose hangers are overcome since all of the
hangers
are joined or connected to one another. Therefore, if the consumer loses grasp
of one
of the garment hangers when carrying the entire load, the garment hanger may
slip
slightly but it is prevented from completely failing to the bottom of the
surrounding bag (if
is present) or to the ground surface when no protective bag surrounds the
garments due
to the presence of the fastener 200. The length of the fastener 200 can tie
varied since
these types of fasteners 200 can easily be shortened by using scissors.
For purposes of simplicity, the garment hanger 100 is illustrated in Fig. 3
as being used in combination with only one additional garment hanger 300;
however, it
to will be appreciated that in normal use, the garment hanger 100 will be
connected or
attached to two or more other garment hangers 300 or the tike byway of the
fastener
200. Once again, the additional one or more garment hangers 300 to which the
garment hanger 100 is connected can be of a different type (e.g., a standard
metal
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hanger, a plastic top hanger, etc.) than the garment hanger 100; which ire the
illustrated
embodiment, is a pant hanger.
1t will therefore be appreciated that the feature that is formed as part of
the
body portion of tk~e garment hanger for receiving the fastener 200 is not
limited to being
s formed as part of a garment hanger that has grasp (clamp) members or with a
hanger.
that has a swivable hook member since this feature can be incorporated into a
top
hanger design or any other garment hanger design.
Figs. 4A and 4B illustrate a garment hanger 400 according to another
embodiment. The,garment hanger 400 is very similar to the garment hanger 100
for
io merely purposes of illustration since it wilt be understood that the
garment hanger 400,
as with the garment hanger 100, can take any number of different forms so Tong
as the
fastener receiving feature is formed as part thereof. 1n this embodirnenf,
each of-the
first and second side structures 172, 174 does not extend to the upper edge
111 of the
body 110 but rather the ends of each of the first and second side structures
172, 174
~s are integrally attached to the base section 170. In Fig. 4A, the first and
second side
structures 172, 174 each has an arcuate shape with .the space 180 being formed
between the respective side structure 112, 174 and the base structure 170. In
Figs. 4B
and 4B, the first and second side structures 172, 174 each has a "C" or "U'
shape. In
both embodiments and unlike the embodiment of Fig. 2A-2B, both ends of the
fiirst and
zo second side structures 172, 174 are attached to the base structure 170.
In sum, the present garment hanger has a feature formed as.part of a
body portion thereof that permits reception of a fastener, such as a twist tie
or other type
of flexible tie member, for connecting two or more garment hangers together in
an easy
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and efficient manner. Because in the preferred embodiment, the structures that
define
the space extend between the base member and the upper edge of the hanger
body; the
structures act as reinforcing or strengthening elements for the hanger body
and more .
specifically for the:hook member portion thereof.
s While this invention has been particularly shown and described with
references to preferred emboeliments thereof, it will be understood by those
skilled in
the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without
departing
from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims.
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