The apparatus described herein generally relates to the field of garment displays, and more specifically, to the field of adjustable garment display devices.
Clothing of high aesthetic or collector value is often put on public display for decorative or exhibition purposes. Several devices can be used to display clothing. Since the size, weight, and shape of clothing varies greatly, the various display solutions have varying applicability for any given garment.
For example, for certain styles of clothing, a mannequin is a suitable display device. Mannequins are especially suitable where the worn shape of the garment is of primary aesthetic importance. This is often the case for highly elaborate garments or garments that are on a sale display for potential wearers. However, mannequins are typically located on a floor, shelf, or podium and take up significant space on whatever surface they are placed.
Sometimes, the worn shape of a garment is of little importance compared to the colors, fabric, and writing on the garment. For example, athletic jerseys convey almost all of their virtues as aesthetic and collectable pieces when displayed in a flat hanging orientation. This orientation allows a viewer to immediately appreciate the athletic team and athlete associated with the jersey, as well as the attractive coloration and fabric of the jersey. The flat, hanging orientation is also an appealing display option because it takes up no floor space.
Several solutions exist for hanging garments from walls or ceilings. One solution is clothes hangers designed for storage. These have several drawbacks. Firstly, they are often too narrow to display all of the important information on the jersey or garment. The narrowness also detracts from the aesthetic quality of the display position because it creates folds at the edges of the hanger. Furthermore, some storage hangers have a curved profile, which also results in an unappealing hanging orientation. The size and shape of storage hangers are also not adjustable, so they cannot be adjusted to ideally conform to the garment they are hanging. Finally, the storage hangers themselves are usually not aesthetically pleasing which detracts from the appearance and overall impression of the garment display.
More sophisticated solutions include devices that are shape-adjustable but retain their shape by wire tension once adjusted. Such designs are inherently not size-adjustable because the wire is of a preset length. Furthermore, these devices are susceptible to losing their tension over time which makes them unsuitable for long-term display. Some garment hanging solutions are shape-adjustable in three dimensions. This may seem like an appealing feature, but is not ideal for flat hanging garments because it is difficult to set and retain those devices in a perfectly flat orientation. Any non-planar bends in their structure during display will detract from the display's appearance. Many of these shape-adjustable designs also have discontinuities at their adjustment joints. When the garment hangs on these joints, the joints can create visible unevenness and detract from the appearance of the display.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a device that allows for superior display of garments by wall hanging or suspension. For aesthetic purposes, the device should be designed to keep the garments flat. Furthermore, it should be size and shape adjustable to display a wide variety of garments in an ideal orientation. Despite this adjustability, the device should provide an even support surface for the garments in multiple positions. The device should also be extendable to a large size to accommodate large garments and maximize the displayed area of garments on display. The device should also be durable and capable of retaining its shape for long periods of display. Finally, the display device itself should have a high quality, purpose-built appearance so as to not detract from the garment display as a whole.
A garment display constructed in accordance with this invention has first and second support arms, each connected to a base and operable to support a portion of a garment. Each support arm has a plurality of links interconnected by link pivot joints. Each link has a disk and a socket. The disk is sized and shaped to pivotally, removably couple to a socket of an adjoining link to form a link pivot joint. Each link pivot joint provides for relative angular movement between adjoined links. Each link has a flange disposed between the socket and the disk of the link for supporting a portion of the garment spanning between the socket of the link and the socket of the adjoining link. Each link has a gap between the flange and the disk; the gap is sized and shaped to receive a free end of the socket of the adjoining link. The flange overlaps the free end of the socket of the adjoining link over a range of the relative angular movement between adjoined links. As a result, each support arm of the garment display provides a smooth and aesthetic support for the garment over a range of positions of the support arm.
A garment display may include a base and first and second support arms. Each support arm is connected to the base and operable to support a portion of a garment. Each support arm has a plurality of links interconnected by link pivot joints. The support arms are movable relative to the base, and movement of the support arms relative to the base is restricted to movement parallel to a common plane. The garment display provides a consistent aesthetic appearance of the garment through a range of motion of the support arms.
A garment display may include a base and first and second support arms. Each support arm is connected to the base and operable to support a portion of a garment. Each support arm has a plurality of links interconnected by link pivot joints. Each link has a longitudinal axis. Each link pivot joint provides for relative angular movement between adjoined links to a first limit position. The first limit position is where longitudinal axes of adjoined links are collinear. The support arms of the garment display can be readily arranged with the links thereof in an aesthetic linear configuration.
A garment display may include a base and first and second support arms. Each support arm is connected to the base and operable to support a portion of a garment. Each support arm has a plurality of links interconnected by link pivot joints. The support arms are movable relative to the base. Each link has a disk and a partially circular socket and has a longitudinal axis passing through a center of curvature of the disk and a center of curvature of the socket. Each link is asymmetric about the longitudinal axis. Each link is operable to be coupled to an adjoining link in an upright orientation and is operable to be coupled to the adjoining link in an inverted orientation by rotating the link about the longitudinal axis 180 degrees relative to the upright orientation.
A method for displaying a garment includes the steps of: (a) assembling a first support arm by joining a plurality of links by link pivot joints which are only capable of movement parallel to a common plane; (b) assembling a second support arm by joining a plurality of links by link pivot joints which are only capable of movement parallel to a common plane; (c) assembling a garment display device by connecting the first support arm and second support arm to a base; (d) supporting a garment on the garment display device; and (e) supporting the garment and garment display device on a support by the base of the garment display device.
As shown in
Each arm 22 is pivotally connected to the base 20 and is comprised of a number of preferably identical and interchangeable links 30 (for example 3-10 links 30 per arm 22). The links 30 of each arm 22 are interconnected by link pivot joints 50 to allow the arms 22 to be adjusted to various configurations. All or some of the portions of the device can be formed of a thermoplastic, such as Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), or another thermoplastic or another suitable material.
Referring
Each link 30 has a disk 40 with an outer periphery 60 and has a socket 42 with a channel 62. The outer periphery 60 of the disk 40 and the channel 62 of the socket 42 are each at least partially circular. The disk 40 is sized and shaped to pivotally, removably couple to the socket 42 of an adjoining link 30 to form a link pivot joint 50. Specifically, the disk 40 is received in the channel 62 of the socket 42 of the adjoining link. Preferably, the base portion 20 includes two base sockets 32 on opposed sides of the base 20 and the base sockets 32 have the same configuration as the sockets 42 of the links 30.
The disk 40 of the link 30 is closely received in the socket 42 of an adjoining link 30 and rotational friction between the outer periphery 60 of the disk 40 and the channel 62 of the socket 42 resists pivoting movement of pivot joint 50. The disk 40 and socket 42 are sized and shaped to permit relative movement of links 30 only when sufficient torque is applied to a link 30 and to prevent unintended movement under the weight of a garment 14. Preferably, about 1 to about 4 pound-foot of torque is required to pivot a link 30 relative to an adjoining link 30. The disk 40 and socket 42 are sized and shaped so that the socket 42 applies a small amount of clamping force on the disk 40 thereby creating friction between the channel 62 of the socket 42 and the outer periphery 60 of the disk 40, which prevents unintended movement. In other words, the disk 40 is press fit into the socket 42 to adjoin the links 30. As discussed more fully below in reference to
The socket 42 has two opposed, arcuate segments (46, 48), each in the form of a segment of a circle. Each segment 46, 48 has a free end. The channel 62 of the socket 42 is generally C-shaped and defines an arc ⊖1 (See
The outer periphery 60 of the disk 40 defines an arc ⊖2 (See
The channel 62 has a concave inner surface (on a cross section) and the outer periphery 60 of the disk 40 has a convex surface (on a cross section), complementary to the concave inner surface of the channel 62. As depicted in
A maximal inside diameter of the socket D1 (See
A radius of curvature of the concave inner surface of the channel 62 is substantially less than the inside diameter D1 of the socket 42.
Each link 30 has a generally flat shape and a center plane passes through a center of the link 30. Each link 30 is preferably symmetric across (i.e., on either side of) the center plane.
A longitudinal axis L of the link lies on the center plane of the link and passes through the center of curvature 72 of the disk 40 and the center of curvature 74 of the channel 62. The disk 40 is preferably symmetric about the longitudinal axis, but the socket 42 is preferably asymmetric about the longitudinal axis.
The socket 42 has an opening 54 between the free ends of the opposed segments (46, 48) of the socket 42. A center 52 of the opening 54 of the socket 42 lies on a midpoint between the free ends of the opposed segments of the socket 42. The center 54 of the opening 52 is angularly offset from the longitudinal axis L of the link by ⊖5 (about 20 to about 60 arcdegrees, and preferably about 30 arcdegrees), as measured from the longitudinal axis, clockwise (in
The angular offset of the opening 54 of the socket 42 forms a long segment 48 of the socket 42 and a short segment 46. The long segment 48 of the socket 42 preferably defines an arc ⊖3 (See
The opening 54 of the socket 42 has a width (the distance between the free ends) that is less than the outside diameter of the disk D2. The disk 40 is coupled to the socket 42 of an adjacent link 30 by pushing the links 30 together along an opening axis 56 passing in a radial direction through the center 52 of the opening 54 of the socket 42 and the center of curvature 74 of the channel, to urge the disk 40 through the opening 54 of the socket 42. The opening 54 of the socket 42 expands to receive the disk 40, by resilient flexure of the opposed segments (46, 48) of the socket 42. After insertion of the disk 40, the opening 54 of the socket 42 contracts to its original dimension. Preferably, the width of the opening 54 of the channel 62 is about 50 mm.
The disk 40 can be removed (de-coupled) from the socket 42 by pulling the links 30 apart in opposite directions along the opening axis 56, to remove the disk 40 from the socket 42. Again, the socket 42 expands to allow the disk 40 to pass through the socket opening 54 and, after removal of the disk 40, the socket 42 contracts to its original dimension.
Preferably, movement of each support arm 22 relative to the base 20 is restricted to movement parallel to a common plane (for example a vertical plane) so that the support arms 22 provide a consistent aesthetic appearance throughout a range of motion of the arms 22. The center plane of each link is preferably parallel to (which includes being coplanar with) the common plane when the arms 22 are connected to the base 20. Further, when the garment display device 12 is mounted to a vertical support wall, the movement of the arms 22 is preferably restricted to being substantially flush with and parallel to the support wall.
When a disk 40 of a link 30 is coupled to a socket 42 of an adjoining link 30, the socket 42 confines the disk 40 and prevents movement of the disk 40 relative to the socket 42 in all respects (when properly coupled) except pivoting movement about an axis of rotation 70 passing through both the center of curvature 74 of the channel 62 and the center of curvature 72 of the adjoined disk 40 (which are aligned). Preferably, this axis of rotation 70 is perpendicular to the common plane of movement of the arms 22. For example, if the common plane is vertical (e.g., parallel to a supporting wall), then the axis of rotation 70 would be horizontal (e.g., perpendicular to the supporting wall). Also, the axis of rotation of all link pivot joints 50 of an arm 22 (or of both arms 22) are preferably parallel (e.g., are all horizontal) such that movement of the support arms 22 is restricted to being parallel to the common plane.
Each support arm 22 of the garment display 12 has an upwardly-facing upper support surface 80 which forms a smooth support surface for the associated arm portion of garment 14. Preferably, the upper support surface 80 lacks any substantial scalloped profile (such as large peaks/valleys) which can cause an undulating appearance in the garment 14, which may be undesirable. Instead, each arm 22 provides a smooth support surface for the garment 14 over a range of positions and configurations of the arms 22.
Each link preferably includes a flange 44 for creating a smooth support surface between adjacent links 30 through a range of relative positions between links 30. The flange 44 supports a portion of a garment 14 that spans between the socket 42 of one link and the socket 42 of the adjoining link 30. The flange 44 is preferably connected to the socket 42 (or more precisely, to the long segment 48 of the channel 62 thereof) and is disposed between the channel 42 and the disk 40. A gap 58 is formed between the flange 44 and the disk 40 which is preferably sized and shaped to closely receive a free end of a segment (46, 48) of the socket 42 of the adjoining link 30. The flange 44 overlaps the free end of the segment of the socket 42 of the adjoining link 30 over a range of angular positions between adjoined links 30 of up to at least about 58.5 degrees so as to provide smooth support for the garment 14 over a range of positions.
The flange 44 has a linear (i.e., straight), upwardly-facing supporting surface 45 which supports the portion of the garment 14 that spans between adjoined links. The supporting surface 45 of the flange 44 is fixed parallel to the longitudinal axis L of the link and is aligned tangent to the socket 42. Preferably, the supporting surface 45 is spaced from the longitudinal axis a distance greater than a radius of the outer periphery 60 of the disk 40 (that is, greater than one-half of diameter D2) and equal to (or substantially equal to) an outer radius of the socket 42. Further, the supporting surface 45 is preferably aligned tangent to the long segment 48 of the channel 62 of the socket 42 of the link. The supporting surface 45 is also tangent to the socket 42 of the adjoining link over a range of angular positions between adjoined links. The center plane of the link preferably passes through the supporting surface 45. The flange and socket of consecutive links provide for a smooth garment support across the full length of the support arm while accommodating adjustment of the configuration and position of the support arms.
As depicted in
Preferably, when a series of links 30 are arranged with their longitudinal axes aligned (i.e., collinear, as in
Referring to
Referring to
A link 30 can be coupled to an adjoining link 30 in an “upright” orientation or the link 30 can be coupled to an adjoining link 30 in an “inverted” orientation. In the “upright” orientation (depicted in
In the configuration depicted in
The link pivot joint 50 formed by adjoined links has a first limit position wherein the longitudinal axes of the adjoined links 30 are collinear which permits a chain of several links 30 to be readily and conveniently arranged in an aesthetically pleasing straight (collinear) configuration. The socket 42 portion of one of the adjoined links 30 forms a stop which contacts the free end of a segment (46, 48) of the socket 42 of the other link 30 when the link pivot 50 formed by the adjoined links 30 is in the first limit position. The stop is located at the base of the gap 58 formed between the flange 44 and the disk 40 of the link 30. When two links 30 are joined in the “upright” orientation, the free end of the long segment 48 of the socket 42 of one of the links will contact the stop of the other link when the links are arranged in the straight configuration.
Referring to
Using the devices described herein, an individual can perform a novel method for displaying a garment 14. The user assembles a first support arm 22 by joining a plurality of the links 30 by the link pivot joints 50. The user also assembles a second support arm 22 by joining a plurality of the links 30 by the link pivot joints 50. The user then assembles a garment display device 12 by connecting the first support arm 22 and second support arm 22 to a base 20. Next, the user inserts the garment display 12 into a garment 14 and adjusts the support arms 22 to the desired positions. As depicted, if the garment 14 is an upper-body garment such as a shirt or sports jersey, or another upper-body garment, the bracket 20 is located in a neck opening of the garment and the support arms are located in the sleeve portions of the garment. Finally, the user supports the garment 14 and garment display 12 on a support, by the base 20 of the garment display 12.
A user can further perform other steps when using the devices described herein. For example, the user can adjust the shapes of the first and second support arms 22 within a common plane to support the garment 14 in a desired shape or posture. A user can also adjust the length of one or both of the support arms 22 by altering the number of links 30 used to assemble that support arm 22. This allows a user to match the size of the garment display 12 to the size of the garment 14 desired to be displayed.
A user can also employ methods of garment displaying that involve using reversed links 30 on the support arms 22. The links 30 are capable of assuming a first or a second orientation within the common plane. This is because they can only pivot about the common plane and are therefore restricted to an “upright” or “inverted” position within that plane. Given the nature of the links 30, a user can either assemble the support arms 22 such that they contain all of the links in an “upright” orientation, or such that they contain some links in an “upright” and some in an “inverted” orientation. This capability allows a user to further tailor the garment display device 12 to the garment 14 to create a desired appearance once hung.
In addition, the garment display device 12 allows a user to easily and conveniently remove the garment 14 from the garment display 10 to allow the user to wear the garment, if desired, or for some other use.
Referring to
Preferably, the disk 40 has a first set of recesses 66 (for example four) on the bottom of the disk 40 and a second set of recesses (not shown) on the top of the disk (not shown). Further, the socket 42 preferably has a first projection 66 within the channel 62 adjacent the free end of the long segment 48 thereof and has a second projection (not shown) within the channel 62 adjacent the free end of the short segment 46 thereof.
Although the invention has been described with reference to embodiments herein, those embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention. Modifications to those embodiments or different embodiments may fall within the scope of the invention.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/114,870, filed May 24, 2011, which application is currently pending and which application is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 13114870 | May 2011 | US |
Child | 13251599 | US |