TREA

Clothes hanger adapter

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Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6206255
  • Patent Number
    6,206,255
  • Date Filed
    Monday, October 25, 1999
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, March 27, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Mohanty; Bibhu
    Agents
    • Sperry; Robert M.
Information
Abstract
Improved clothes hanger adapters comprising a pair of spreader means joined by connector means which are adjustable to fit a conventional wire clothes hanger to accurately fit a variety of sizes of clothing and to enable the user to hang related items, such as neckties, suspenders, belts and the like on the hanger along with the clothing items.
Description




FIELD OF INVENTION




This invention relates to clothes hangers and is particularly directed to adapter means for making clothes hangers more suitable for heavy items, such as suits, dresses and the like.




PRIOR ART




Clothes hangers have long been used to facilitate storing clothing, such as suits, dresses and the like, in closets and other storage facilities. However, most clothes hangers are formed of relatively thin wire and are provided in a “one-size-fits-all” form which does not, in fact fit all sizes. Consequently, heavy clothes, such as men's suits, tend to deform the hangers, due to their weight, and sometimes result in the hanger collapsing and dropping the clothing on the floor. Alternatively, the weight of the clothing causes the hangers to form undesired and unsightly creases and lines in the clothing, which often do not shake out and, hence, mar the appearance of the clothing. Wooden, plastic of formed metal hangers can reduce these problems, but often fail to do so and are relatively expensive. Adapter devices have been proposed heretofore to overcome these problems. However, most of the prior art hanger adapters have been expensive to purchase or have been complex and difficult to install and use. Thus, none of the prior art clothes hanger adapters have been entirely satisfactory.




BRIEF SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF INVENTION




These disadvantages of the prior art are overcome with the present invention and improved clothes hanger adapters are provided which are inexpensive to produce and purchase and which are simple and easy to install and use, yet which avoid the problems of conventional wire clothes hangers and which allow the hanger to be adapted to fit a wide variety of sizes and styles of clothing and to be used with a wide variety of types of clothes hangers.




These advantages of the present invention are preferably attained by providing improved clothes hanger adapters comprising a pair of spreader means joined by connector means which are adjustable to fit a conventional wire clothes hanger to accurately fit a variety of sizes of clothing and to enable the user to hang related items, such as neckties, suspenders, belts and the like on the hanger along with the clothing items.




Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved adapters for clothes hangers.




Another object of the present invention is to provide improved adapters for wire clothes hangers.




An additional object of the present invention is to provide improved adapters for clothes hangers which are inexpensive to produce and purchase.




A further object of the present invention is to provide improved adapters for clothes hangers which are simple to install and use.




Another object of the present invention is to provide improved adapters for clothes hangers which prevent the wire hanger from creasing the clothing.




An additional object of the present invention is to provide improved adapters for clothes hangers which are adjustable to accurately fit a wide variety of clothing sizes.




A further object of the present invention is to provide improved adapters for clothes hangers which enable the user to store accessory items, such as neckties, suspenders, belts and the like on the hanger together with the related clothing items.




Another object of the present invention is to provide improved adapters for use with a wide variety of types of clothes hangers.




A specific object of the present invention is to provide improved clothes hanger adapters comprising a pair of spreader means joined by connector means which are adjustable to fit a conventional wire clothes hanger to accurately fit a variety of sizes of clothing and to enable the user to hang related items, such as neckties, suspenders, belts and the like on the hanger along with the clothing items.




These and other objects and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, taken with reference to the figures of the accompanying drawing.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING





FIG. 1

Is a. a front elevation showing an adapter embodying the present invention mounted on a wooden clothes hanger;





FIG. 2

is a plan view of the adapter of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is a rear view of the adapter of

FIG. 1

;

FIG. 4

is an exploded view of the adapter of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 5

is a front view of an alternative form of the adapter of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 6

is a view, similar to that of

FIG. 5

, showing the adapter of

FIG. 5

in an expanded position;





FIG. 7

is a front view showing another alternative form of the adapter of

FIG. 1

mounted on a plastic clothes hanger;





FIG. 8

is a front view showing the adjustability of the adapter of

FIG. 7

;





FIG. 9

is a view, similar to that of

FIG. 7

showing the adapter of

FIG. 7

mounted on a wire clothes hanger;





FIG. 10

is a front view of another alternative form of the adapter of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 11

is a view, similar to that of

FIG. 10

, showing the adapter in its expanded position;





FIG. 12

is a front view of yet another alternative form of the adapter of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 13

is an exploded view of the adapter of

FIG. 12

;





FIG. 14

is a front view of still another alternative form of the adapter of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 15

is an exploded view of the adapter of

FIG. 14

;





FIG. 16

is a front view of an additional alternative form of the adapter of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 17

is an exploded view of the adapter of

FIG. 16

;





FIG. 18

is a front view of another alternative form of the adapter of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 19

is an exploded view of the adapter of

FIG. 18

;





FIG. 20

is a front view of a further alternative form of the present invention;





FIG. 21

is a view, similar to that of

FIG. 20

, showing the adapter of

FIG. 20

in its expanded position;





FIG. 22

is a front view of another alternative form of the adapter of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 23

is an exploded view of the adapter of

FIG. 22

;





FIG. 24

is a front view of a further alternative form of the adapter of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 25

is a view, similar to that of

FIG. 24

, showing the adapter of

FIG. 24

in the expanded position;





FIG. 26

is a front view showing the adapter of

FIG. 24

folded for convenient storage;





FIG. 27

is a front view showing a plurality of shoulder pieces of the adapter of

FIG. 1

nested for convenient storage;





FIG. 28

is a front view showing another alternative form of the adapter of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 29

is an exploded view of the adapter of

FIG. 28

;





FIG. 30

is an exploded view of the center member of the adapter of

FIG. 28

;





FIG. 31

is a front view showing the adapter of

FIG. 28

with the shoulder pieces in the extended position;





FIG. 32

is a front view of the adapter of

FIG. 28

showing a hanger being inserted into the adapter;





FIG. 33

is a front view of the adapter of

FIG. 28

showing the hanger fully inserted into the adapter;





FIG. 34

is a front view of a further alternative form of the adapter of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 35

is a view of the adapter of

FIG. 34

, shown with the central cap removed;





FIG. 36

is a front view showing the adapter of

FIG. 28

being folded for storage; and





FIG. 37

is a front view of the adapter of

FIG. 28

, shown in the fully folded position.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




In that form of the present invention chosen for purposes of illustration,

FIG. 1

shows a clothes hanger adapter, indicated generally at


10


, mounted on a wooden or plastic clothes hanger


12


. As shown, the adapter


10


comprises a pair of shoulder pieces


14


and


16


joined by a connecting member


18


which enables the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


to be adjustably positioned to accurately fit a wide variety of clothing. As best seen in

FIG. 2

, the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


have wide upper surfaces


20


and


22


which serve to support an article of clothing out of contact with the hanger


12


and to distribute the load of the article of clothing to prevent unsightly creases from being formed in the article of clothing by the hanger


12


. As best seen in

FIG. 4

, the adapter


10


comprises a pair of shoulder pieces


14


and


16


having relatively wide upper surfaces


20


and


22


and having inwardly extending projections


24


and


26


formed with studs


28


and


30


. The connecting member


18


is formed with a pair of arms


32


and


34


each having a plurality of openings


36


to receive the studs


28


and


30


of the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


and to allow the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


to be adjustably positioned on the connecting member


18


to accurately fit a wide variety of clothing sizes. Also, the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


are formed with openings


38


and


40


to enable the user to hang accessory items, such as belts, suspenders, neckties and the like on the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


or a net bag, as seen at


33


, for holding articles, such as bow ties and the like. In addition, the arms


32


and


34


of the connecting member


18


are formed with recesses


42


to enable ladies to hang dresses having straps or the like on the adapter


10


. If desired, the connecting member


18


may be formed with a hollow cup-like projection


35


having a removable cap


37


. The cup-like projection


35


serves to retain loose articles, such as cuff links, tie tacks and the like, and the cap


37


serves to retain the articles in the cup-like projection


35


, yet is removable, at will, to provide access to these articles. Obviously, the cap


37


may carry a trademark, logo or decorative material, as seen at


39


.





FIG. 5

shows an alternative form of the adapter


10


wherein the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


are releasably attached to the connecting member


18


by means of bolts


44


which project through the openings


36


of arms


32


and


34


of the connecting member


28


and through suitable openings formed in projections


24


and


26


of the shoulder pieces to engage suitable nuts, not shown. As seen in

FIG. 6

, by extending the bolts


44


through appropriate ones of the openings


36


of arms


32


and


34


of the connecting member


18


, the positions of the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


may be adjusted with respect to the connecting member


18


to accurately accommodate a wide variety of clothing sizes.





FIG. 7

shows another alternative form of the adapter


10


wherein the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


are formed with inwardly projecting arms


46


and


48


each formed with a plurality of openings


50


. Studs


26


and


28


carried adjacent the ends of the arms


46


and


48


are insertable through the openings


50


of the opposite shoulder piece


14


or


16


to releasably connect the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


together to form the adapter


10


.

FIGS. 7 and 8

show this form of the adapter


10


mounted on plastic hangers


52


, while

FIG. 9

shows this form of the adapter mounted on a wire hanger


54


.





FIG. 10

shows another alternative form of the adapter


10


wherein the arm


46


of shoulder piece


14


is formed with a plurality of ridges


56


and arm


48


carries a ratchet-type member


58


which is slideable along arm


46


and has a resilient lever


60


which, when depressed, allows arm


48


to slide along arm


46


, yet which, when released, retains arm


48


in a desired position along arm


46


. Guide loop


62


, carried by arm


48


, serves to prevent separation of the arms


46


and


48


.





FIG. 12

shows an additional alternative form of the adapter


10


wherein stud


28


of arm


44


is replaced by a screw


64


which is insertable through the openings


50


of arm


46


and engages threaded opening


66


of arm


44


to releasably attach the arms


14


and


16


together.





FIG. 14

shows a further alternative form of the adapter


10


wherein the arms


44


and


46


of shoulder pieces


14


and


16


are provided with patches of hook-and-loop material


68


and


70


on their facing surfaces which are engageable to releasably connect the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


together to form the adapter


10


.





FIGS. 16 and 17

show another alternative form of the adapter


10


wherein magnets


72


and


74


are mounted on the facing surfaces of arms


44


and


46


to releasably connect the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


to form the adapter


10


.





FIGS. 18 and 19

show an additional alternative form of the adapter


10


wherein arms


44


and


46


of the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


are removed and shoulder piece


14


is provided with a ratcheted arm


76


and a guide arm


78


which are engageable by a retainer member


80


carried by shoulder piece


16


to releasably connect the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


together to form the adapter


10


.





FIGS. 20 and 21

show another alternative form of the adapter


10


wherein the arms


32


and


34


of connecting member


18


are externally threaded and are received by internally threaded bosses


82


and


84


carried by shoulder pieces


14


and


16


, respectively.





FIGS. 22 and 23

show an additional alternative form of the adapter


10


wherein arms


44


and


46


of the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


are provided with a plurality of relatively rigid hair-like projections


86


and


88


which are engageable to releasably connect the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


to form the adapter


10


.





FIGS. 24-26

show an additional alternative form of the adapter


10


wherein connecting member


18


is formed accordion-like and joins the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


in an expandable fashion to form the adapter


10


. As seen in

FIG. 26

, with this form of the adapter


10


, the shoulder pieces


14


and


16


can be folded together to nest into each other for convenient storage.





FIG. 27

shows a plurality of adapters


10


, of the type seen in

FIGS. 7-9

shown nested for convenient storage.





FIG. 28

shows an alternative form of the adapter


10


, indicated generally at


90


, comprising a connecting member


92


with shoulder pieces


94


and


96


. The connecting member


92


may be formed as a single unit, as seen in

FIG. 29

, or may be formed by a pair of members


98


and


100


, hingedly joined by a screw


102


or the like, as seen in FIG.


30


. As seen in

FIGS. 36 and 37

, screw


102


may be loosened and members


98


and


100


may be swung toward each other, as indicated by arrows


112


, to collapse the adapter


90


for storage in a minimum amount of space. The shoulder pieces


94


and


96


have a frictional fit with the connecting member


92


to enable the shoulder pieces


94


and


96


to be adjustably positioned along the connecting member


92


, as seen in

FIGS. 28 and 31

. Also, the shoulder pieces


94


and


96


may, if desired, be provided with suitable openings


38


and


40


, as described above with respect to

FIG. 1

, to retain belts, neckties and the like. The connecting member


92


and shoulder pieces


94


and


96


are generally U-shaped, having an open bottom


104


, and a hanger


106


may be inserted through the open bottom


104


of the connecting member


92


and shoulder pieces


94


and


96


, as seen in

FIGS. 32 and 33

.





FIGS. 34 and 35

show an alternative form of the adapter of

FIG. 28

having a generally cup-shaped container


108


formed on the connecting member


92


and having a releasable lid


110


which is frictionally engageable with the container


108


to retain loose articles, such as cuff links, tie tacks and the like.




Obviously numerous other variations and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, it should be clearly understood that the forms of the present invention described above and shown in the figures of the accompanying drawing are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.



Claims
  • 1. Adapters for clothes changers comprising:a pair of spreader means joined by connector means which are adjustably connectable to fit a conventional clothes hanger to underlie and accurately fit a variety of sizes of clothing items and formed with means to enable the user to hang related items, such as neckties, suspenders, belts and the like on the hanger along with the clothing items.
  • 2. The adapter of claim 1 wherein:said connector means comprises arms projecting inward from said spreader means, and a central member having means releasably connectable with said arms to form said adapter.
  • 3. The adapter of claim 2 wherein:said central member is formed with a plurality of holes, and said arms each carry studs releasably insertable into the holes of said arms to connect said central member to said spreader means.
  • 4. The adapter of claim 1 wherein:each of said spreader means is formed with a wide upper surface to support clothing without causing wrinkles.
  • 5. The adapter of claim 1 wherein:said spreader means are formed with openings for releasably retaining elongated articles.
  • 6. The adapter of claim 5 further comprising:a net bag supported in at least one of said openings to releasably retain loose articles.
  • 7. The adapter of claim 2 wherein:said central member is formed with a cup-like projection having a removable cap for retaining loose articles.
  • 8. The adapter of claim 7 wherein:said cap carries a trademark.
  • 9. The adapter of claim 2 wherein:said connecting member is formed with recesses adjacent the ends thereof for supporting clothing by straps.
  • 10. The adapter of claim 2 further comprising:holes are formed in said arms and in said connecting member and threaded fastener means releasably connecting said shoulder pieces and said connecting member.
  • 11. The adapter of claim 1 herein:said spreader means are formed with inwardly projecting arms having releasable fastening means carried by said arms for connecting said spreader means together to form said adapter.
  • 12. The adapter of claim 11 wherein:said releasable fastening means are threaded fasteners.
  • 13. The adapter of claim 11 wherein:said releasable fastening means are patches of hook-and-loop material located on said arms.
  • 14. The adapter of claim 11 wherein:said releasable fastening means are magnets mounted on said arms.
  • 15. The adapter of claim 2 wherein:said arms are ratcheted and said connecting means carries a latch member which can be raised to allow sliding of said arms therethrough and can be depressed to lock said arms in a desired location.
  • 16. The adapter of claim 11 wherein:one of said arms is ratcheted, and the other of said arms carries a latch member which can be raised to allow sliding of said one arm therethrough and can be depressed to lock said arms in a desired location.
  • 17. The adapter of claim 11 wherein:said arms carry releasable fastening means for releasably connecting said spreader members.
  • 18. The adapter of claim 17 wherein:said releasable fastening means are threaded fasteners.
  • 19. The adapter of claim 18 wherein:said releasable fastening means are patches of hook-and-loop material.
  • 20. The adapter of claim 18 wherein:said releasable fastening means are magnets.
  • 21. The adapter of claim 11 wherein:one of said arms is ratcheted, and the other of said arms is formed with a retainer to releasably retain said ratcheted arm.
  • 22. The adapter of claim 2 wherein:said arms are externally threaded and said connecting member is internally threaded.
  • 23. The adapter of claim 11 wherein:each of said arms carries patches of relatively rigid hair-like members which are engageable with similar members carried by the other arm to releasably connect said spreaders.
  • 24. The adapter of claim 2 wherein:said connecting member is folded accordion-style to enable said spreaders to be adjustably separated.
  • 25. The adapter of claim 24 wherein:said connecting member can be folded on itself to allow said spreaders to be nested for storage.
  • 26. The adapter of claim 1 wherein:said spreaders can be nested for storage.
  • 27. The adapter of claim 11 wherein:said spreaders can be nested for storage.
  • 28. The adapter of claim 1 wherein:said connecting means is formed of a pair of hingedly joined members which can be folded toward each other for storage in a minimal space.
  • 29. The adapter of claim 28 wherein:said hingedly joined members are formed generally U-shaped having an open lower surface to allow insertion of a hanger therethrough.
RELATED CASES

This invention is disclosed in my copemding Provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/110,642, filed Dec. 1, 1998

US Referenced Citations (6)
Number Name Date Kind
1764427 Unker et al. Jun 1930
2042846 Hoffman Jun 1936
2813668 Griffis Nov 1957
2884171 Knuth Apr 1959
5390835 Murphy et al. Feb 1995
5718362 Silverman Feb 1998
Provisional Applications (1)
Number Date Country
60/110642 Dec 1998 US