GB2129289A

GB2129289A - Garment hanger

Info

Publication number: GB2129289A
Application number: GB08328487A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gabriele Lorenzi
Original assignee: INCOMAT BV
Current assignee: INCOMAT BV
Priority date: 1982-11-03
Filing date: 1983-10-25
Publication date: 1984-05-16
Also published as: LU85063A1; FR2535192A1; NL8303644A; DE3338421A1; GR79684B; DK502383D0; GB8328487D0; DK502383A

Abstract

A plastics hanger, particularly for skirts and/or trousers, comprising a bar (1) provided with a suspension hook (3) and formed from two outwardly extending arms (4) each provided with teeth (5) in which there engages an arm (9) on a gripping element (6) which is slidable along the relative arm and is provided with a downwardly extending substantially rigid portion (12) for insertion into the article of clothing to be suspended. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Garment hanger This invention relates to a plastics clothes hanger, particularly for skirts and/or trousers.

Plastics hangers are known, which in their various forms satisfy many requirements of the clothes manufacturer, the seller and the user.

Hangers are currently available commercially in forms which are either suitable for supporting trousers or suitable for supporting skirts. The invention seeks to provide an improved hanger, one form of which is multi-purpose, i.e. which can be used for supporting a pair of trousers or for supporting a skirt with or without an elastic waistband.

According to the invention a plastics clothes hanger comprises a bar formed by two arms extending in opposite directions from a suspension hook, each arm having an associated gripping element which is slidable along the respective arm, each gripping element being provided with a downwardly extending, substantially rigid garment retention portion for insertion into an opening in the article of clothing to be suspended.

Preferably each locking means comprises a series of teeth formed on the respective bar, and means on the associated gripping element engageable with any related one of the teeth.

The garment retention portion may take any one of a number of different forms. Thus, it may include a curved tongue attached thereto, resiliently biased towards the remainder of said portion to form therewith garment-gripping jaws.

It may include two separate garment retaining members arranged side by side transversely of the respective bar, and each such member may have an associated tongue so as to form a jaws arrangement. Each garment retention portion may have an outer surface facing away from the hook, which surface has a garment gripping formation thereon.

The invention will be better understood from the following description of specific embodiments thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a first embodiment of hanger according to the invention; Figure 2 is a front view thereof on the line Il-Il of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows one end of a second embodiment of hanger, which can be used for supporting skirts; Figure 4 is a front view thereof on the line IV--IV of Figure 3; and Figure 5 shows the end of a further embodiment of hanger.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 1 the hanger consists of a generally flat horizontal bar 1 provided centrally with a flat portion 2 to which a conventional suspension hook 3 is fitted. The hanger is generally symmetrical about a longitudinal vertical plane and is manufactured from plastics material apart from the hook 3, which will generally be of metal. The flat portion 2 can carry publicity notices and the like. The two arms 4 which form the bar 1 are provided on the upper edges with sawtoothed toothing 5, having inclined portions rising towards the outer end of the bar, i.e. that end remote from the hook, and vertical faces facing towards the outer end.On each arm 4 there is mounted a gripping element 6 also of plastics construction, which can slide along said arm and is provided on its upper part with a resilient member 7 which is articulated in the manner of a rocker lever on a rod 8 integral with said element 6. The inner arm 9 of the resilient member 7 is configured in such a manner as to engage in the corresponding teeth 5, whereas the outer arm 10 extends essentially horizontally to facilitate operation by the user. On each gripping element 6 there are also provided two vertical projections 11 which act as limit stops against further downward movement of the outer arm 1 0 of the resilient member 7.Each gripping element 6 extends downwardly in the form of two substantially rigid vertical garment retention portions 1 2 provided on their outer edge with small teeth 13 for the purpose of improving the retention of the article of clothing to be suspended on the hanger.

Each vertical garment retention portion 1 2 is also provided with a resilient curved gripping tongue 14, forming a pair of jaws with the part 1 2.

The hanger shown in Figure 1 and 2 can be used either as a trouser hanger or as a skirt hanger. When used as a trouser hanger, the vertical garment retention portions 1 2 of each gripping element 6 are inserted one into the lower opening of each trouser leg. The two gripping elements 6 are then slid outwardly, i.e. moved apart, in order to stretch the ends of the trousers. During this phase the movement apart of the two elements 6 is made easier by the presence of little portions 15, which protrude upwards to be engaged by the thumbs of the user. It is apparent that when the stretched position has been attained, this is maintained by the engagement of the arms 9 of the gripping elements 6 in the corresponding toothed portions 5 of the arms 4, and the trousers are firmly retained on the hanger.To remove the trousers it is necessary only to press on the outer arm 10 of the resilient appendices 7, so disengaging the gripping elements 6 from the toothed portions 5, and then pushing the gripping element inwards.

The trousers may then be released from the jaws 14, 12.

In use as a skirt hanger (and in this case a single hanger can be used to support two skirts, provided they are substantially of equal size), the vertical portions 1 2 of the gripping elements 6 are inserted into the skirts so as to hold them at their waistband.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the hanger shown in Figures 1 and 2 offers numerous advantages, and in particular: it can be used either as a trouser hanger or as a skirt hanger; it is of small overall size; it is practically universal in the sense that it is suitable for articles of clothing of any size; it does not damage the article of clothing, not even when they are made of delicate fabric, because the clamping action is exerted from the inside; it is of extremely low production cost; it makes the engagement and release of the article of clothing extremely rapid and simple; it keeps the suspended article of clothing in a perfectly ironed state.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 and useful only for skirts, the gripping elements 6 extend below the arms each in the form of a single profiled portion 1 6 having an outer profile that is inwardly convex in order to facilitate the fitting of the skirt. This profiied portion 16 also extends upwardly to form two recesses 1 7 in which skirt suspension loops, if present, can be engaged.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 5 the gripping elements 6, which can be of a single type (for skirts) or comprise two side-by-side transversely spaced members as in Figure 2 (for trousers) extend downwardly and have a toothed portion 1 8 facing outwardly, the teeth diverging downwardly.

On the so-formed steps one can simply support the thick band of a skirt or the lower thick edges of a pair of trousers. This embodiment, in addition to certain of the advantages described above, and due to the fact that the skirt or trousers only rest on the gripping elements 6, avoids bending stress on the tongues 14 which otherwise, especially when it is warm, could bend downwardly and cause the disengagement of the skirt or trousers.

Claims

1. A plastics clothes hanger comprising a bar formed by two arms extending in opposite directions from a suspension hook, each arm having an associated gripping element which is slidable along the arm, each gripping element being provided with a downwardly extending substantially rigid garment retention portion for insertion into an opening in the article of clothing to be suspended.

2. A hanger as claimed in claim 1 in which each locking means comprises a series of teeth formed on the respective bar, and means on the associated gripping element engageable with any related one of the teeth.

3. A hanger as claimed in claim 2 in which the teeth are of sawtooth formation having inclined portions rising towards the end of the bar that is remote from the hook and vertical faces facing towards said end.

4. A hanger as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which each gripping element is provided with a resilient member articulated to the gripping element to be capable of rocking relative thereto, the resilient member having an inner arm engageable with the teeth to effect locking and an outer arm extending to the opposite side of the region of articulation.

5. A hanger as claimed in claims 4 in which the inner arm of each resilinet member is formed with a portion protruding above the outer arm for engagement by a thumb of the user during relative displacement of the two gripping elements above the bars.

6. A hanger as claimed in claim 4 or claim 5 in which each resilient member is provided with a limit stop limiting rocking movement of the resilient member on disengagement of the resilient arm from the teeth.

7. A hanger as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which each garment retention portion has a curved tongue attached thereto, resiliently biased towards the remainder of said portion to form therewith garment-gripping jaws.

8. A hanger as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 in which each garment retention portion includes two separate garment retaining members arranged side by side transversely of the respective bar.

9. A hanger as claimed in claim 8 in which each garment retaining member has a curved tongue attached thereto, resiliently biased towards the rest of the member to form therewith garmentgripping jaws.

10. A hanger as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 in which each garment retention portion has an outer surface facing away from the hook, which surface has a garment-gripping formation thereon.

11. A hanger as claimed in claim 10 in which each garment-gripping formation is a toothed or corrugated surface.

12. A hanger as claimed in claim 10 in which each garment-gripping formation is a toothed surface extending down the outer surface of the garment retention portion, with each tooth lying closer to the hook than the tooth immediately below.

13. A plastics clothes hanger substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 and 2, Figures 3 and 4 or Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.