Patent Application
20120080460
Not Applicable
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of garment storage. More specifically, the invention comprises an expandable coat hanger which can be selectively expanded to accommodate a wide range of garment sizes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Prior art coat hangers generally have two arms extending outward from a hanging hook. A pants bar connects the free ends of the two arms. The arms may then be used to suspend a garment such as a jacket. Slacks may be folded over the pants bar for storage.
Most prior art hangers are fixed in size. They are dimensioned to accommodate the majority of garment sizes. However, garments made for large people do not hang well on such hangers. As an example, the shoulders of a sport coat made to fit a very large individual will extend well beyond the free ends of the hanger arms. Portions of the coat will therefore fold during storage, which may ruin its appearance and longevity.
Standard hangers also cause problems for unusually small garments. A sport coat made for a small individual will be too narrow for the arms of a standard hanger. The hanger arms will then protrude into the sleeve areas—again compromising the appearance and longevity of the garment.
Several prior art inventions have addressed these concerns by providing adjustable clothes hangers. These prior devices have been unattractive in appearance and deficient in function. Accordingly, the present invention seeks to provide an adjustable clothes hanger having superior functionality and a pleasing appearance.
The present invention comprises an expandable clothes hanger. The hanger includes a first and second fixed arm attached to a hanging hook. A first telescoping arm selectively extends from the first fixed arm, while a second telescoping arm extends from the second fixed arm.
A fixed pants bar connects the free ends of the first and second fixed arms. A telescoping pants bar connects the free ends of the first and second telescoping arms. Soft shoulder pads are preferably attached to the free end of each of the telescoping arms. A detent mechanism is preferably provided so that the hanger will stay in a state of expansion set by the user.
The user expands the hanger by grasping the two shoulder pads and pulling outward. The two telescoping arms—and the telescoping pants bar—extend in unison to increase the overall size of the hanger.
Support needed - *****shoulder pad extending above telescoping arm -> Must define this to mean that when the hanger is suspended from a rack and a garment is placed on it “above” means “above” in this orientation. (Also need examples of detent mechanisms other than ball plungers); support for nature of dovetail joints (male dovetail in female dovetail channel), ball detent protruding into dovetail slot and plurality of reliefs positioned to engage it; explain detents “regulating the sliding action of”; mention that detent mechanism could put ball plunger on telescoping arms and have detents on fixed arms;
However, expandable hanger 10 includes additional features which allow its size to be adjusted. First telescoping arm 22 is slidably received within first fixed arm 16. Second telescoping arm 24 is likewise slidably received within second fixed arm 18. The telescoping arms selectively slide in and out of the fixed arms in order to adjust the size of the hanger, as will be explained in more detail subsequently.
Each telescoping arm has a first end which is engaged within a fixed arm and a second end which extends outward from the free end of the fixed arm. First shoulder pad 32 is attached to the second end of first telescoping arm 22. Second shoulder pad 34 is attached to the second end of second telescoping arm 24. The first and second shoulder pads are preferably soft and pliable. However, since the outer surface of these components is subject to wear, they should have a reasonably tough exterior surface.
Telescoping pants bar 26 connects the second end of first telescoping arm 22 to the second end of second telescoping arm 24. The embodiment of the telescoping pants bar shown includes inner member 28 slidably received within outer member 30. This engagement allows the telescoping pants bar to lengthen appropriately as the first and second telescoping arms are drawn out of the fixed arms.
The result is depicted in
The sliding engagement between the two fixed arms and the two telescoping arms can assume many forms. One approach is to provide a rectangular hole through the middle of the fixed arm which engages the rectangular exterior of a telescoping arm. It is preferable, however, to provide a very stable engagement which will not tend to warp or flex as the telescoping arm is moved in and out. In addition, it is preferable to provide an engagement which can easily be manufactured in wood (since wood is the preferred material for high-quality garment hangers).
First telescoping arm 22 (or at least a large portion thereof) has a male dovetail cross section which is sized to be a close sliding fit with dovetail channel 36. The same arrangement is used for the second fixed arm and second telescoping arm.
Those skilled in the art will know that the dovetail engagement shown provides a smooth and stable sliding engagement. In addition, dovetail channel 36 may easily be cut into a wooden fixed arm using a rotating dovetail cutter.
It is also preferable to provide a detent mechanism which holds the expandable hanger in a desired state of expansion. The phrase “detent mechanism” should be broadly understood to mean any device which tends to retain the sliding engagement in one of a plurality of user-selectable positions. One approach to creating a suitable detent mechanism is the use of ball plungers located in the fixed arm. The spring-loaded balls of these ball plungers then extend into suitably located reliefs in the telescoping arms.
Ball 42 projects upward into the dovetail channel as shown. One or more reliefs 48 are provided on the underside of first telescoping arm 22. When one of these reliefs passes over the ball plunger, ball 42 pops up into the relief and tends to hold the telescoping arm in position. The ball plunger characteristics are selected so that the user may easily overcome the engagement of ball 42 with relief 48. Thus, although this detent mechanism locks the telescoping features in a given position, the user may preferably push or pull the telescoping features to another position without undue effort.
It is preferable to provide a ball plunger in each of the two dovetail channels 36. In fact, in some large embodiments, it is preferable to provide two ball plungers in each dovetail channel. One can also mount the ball plungers in the telescoping arms and provide the reliefs in the bottom of the dovetail channels. Numerous other permutations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Of course, the ball plunger illustrated is only one type of detent mechanism. One could also use a bowed spring popping up into the reliefs on the telescoping arms.
The reader will thereby understand that the proposed invention provides an expandable hanger which a user may adjust to suite a wide variety of garments. The size adjustment is preferably made by simply pulling outward or pulling inward on the telescoping arms (typically by gripping the soft shoulder pads). Although the preceding descriptions contain significant detail, they should properly be viewed as disclosing examples of the inventions' many possible embodiments rather than limiting the scope of the invention. For instance, the present invention can be made from a variety of different materials, including injection molded plastics or stamped sheet meal. In such a case the sliding configuration might be something other than the dovetail engagement that was described in detail. Many other embodiments are possible, with the scope of the invention properly being defined by the claims rather than any example provided.
