In retail stores, there are a variety of types of garments for sale, including pants, shirts, underwear, etc. Furthermore, each such type of garment comes in a larger number of models, sizes, colors, etc. To assist shoppers at these retail stores in identifying various characteristics of the garments of interest to the shopper, the garments are displayed in a variety of ways.
Garments suspended on hangers and installed side by side on a rack or a display are mostly only visible by their side portion. A shopper must make space between the garments to appreciate the details or find the appropriate size. Under these circumstances it is difficult to maintain a clean and ordered rack presenting the garments.
Tags can be applied to hangers so as to identify the sizes of garments, e.g. shirts or pants, which are suspended from these hangers. Such tags can be color-coded to provide such information about the garments. Larger tags can also be installed on the pole supporting the hangers to separate different sizes of the same garment. These tags can display limited information to the shopper and most of the time do not prevent the potential buyer from displacing the garments to seek additional information.
Standard racks or displays presenting garments are designed to accommodate standard size garments. Standard racks are not particularly space efficient for storing and presenting specific size garments. The loss in storage space translates into a poor use of the space available in the line of sight of shoppers.
Standard racks offer very few different ways to show the garments. The possibilities available are often not optimal for a specific type of garments and may not show the product in its most attractive layout.
In order to address the above and other drawbacks, a display system organizing garments in such a way that a shopper can appreciate specific details of garments without having to manipulate the garments is provided.
One object of the present invention provides a storage module for storing a plurality of garments and adapted for mounting on a support frame, each of the garments suspended from a hanger, the module comprising a plurality of garment receiving sections, each of the sections separated from an adjacent section by a separator; an elongated hanger support disposed horizontally and spanning each of the sections; and a plurality of displays, each of the displays associated with a corresponding one of the sections.
Another object of the present invention provides a system for displaying a plurality of garments, each of the garments suspended by a hanger, the system comprising a support frame; a garment display secured to the frame; wherein the display comprises a plurality of garment receiving sections, each of the sections separated from an adjacent section by a separator; an elongated hanger support disposed horizontally and spanning each of the sections; and a plurality of displays, one of each of the displays associated with a corresponding one of the sections.
One other object of the present invention provides a garment display system for organizing garments having distinctive features not visible from the line of sight of a shopper when garments are supported by the garment display system and presenting the distinctive feature of the garments such that the shopper would know the location of each garment in the garment display system without manipulating the garments, the garment display system comprising: a frame; a first garment display module secured to the frame; and a second garment display module secured to the frame and disposed under the first garment display module; wherein each garment display module comprises a plurality of garment receiving sections, each of the garment receiving sections separated from an adjacent garment receiving sections by a separator; an elongated hanger support disposed horizontally and spanning each garment receiving section; and a means for identifying a distinctive feature of the garments contained in each of the garment receiving sections.
Another object of the present invention provides a method for presenting a plurality of garments having distinctive features in a garment display system, the method comprising the steps of: installing a first visual representation of a first distinctive feature of a first garment in a first garment identification section of the display system; suspending a first garment on a hanger in a first garment receiving section of the garment display system, the first garment being in a position which precludes the first distinctive feature of the first garment from directly being in the line of sight of a buyer; installing a second visual representation of a second distinctive feature of a second garment in a second garment identification section of the display system; and suspending a second garment on a hanger in a second garment receiving section of the garment display system, the second garment being in a position precluding the second distinctive feature of the second garment to directly be in the line of sight of a buyer.
Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in combination with the appended drawings, in which:
It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals.
Referring to
The garment display system 10 includes a support 12 providing interconnection between the garment receiving modules 40, 50. Two receiving modules connected to support 12 are depicted on
The support 12 includes two main vertical members manufactured from a rigid material such as metal within which a plurality of openings 36 are machined or otherwise formed. These openings 36 are sized and designed to cooperate with hooks 34 disposed on the rear portion of each module 40, 50. Each hook 34 enters in a respective opening 36 on the support 12. The distribution of openings 36 on the sides of the vertical members of the support 12 allows various vertical positioning of the garment receiving modules 40, 50.
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Each garment identification section 44 generally comprises a two-dimensional graphic representation related to the garment 14 located in the garment receiving section 42 located adjacent thereto and associated therewith as set forth hereinafter. In the illustrative embodiment the garment identification section 44 can accommodate one graphic representation of a garment in various configurations. A flat garment identifier insert 72 is installed in a frame 74 via a frame opening 76. A curved, convex or concave (not shown) garment identification section 44 could also be used for representing a specific aspect of a garment contained in an associated garment receiving section 42. More than one garment identification insert 72 can be installed in a single garment identification section 44 thus identifying more than a single type of garment located in a single garment receiving section 44 without departing from the scope of the present invention. For instance, two flat identification inserts 72 can be installed in a forwardly extending “V” supported by a metallic frame having also a forwardly extending “V” shape (not shown) performing substantially the same functions as frame 74.
The spatial relationship between the garment identification section 44 and the garment receiving section 42 informs a shopper which garment identification section 44 relates to a corresponding garment receiving section 42. In the present embodiment the garment identification section 44 is disposed on top of its corresponding garment receiving section 42. Illustratively, the consistent vertical alignment between garment receiving and identifying sections 42, 44 creates a recognizable relationship between the receiving and identifying sections 42, 44. As a result, it is easier for a shopper to see the specifics of different types of clothes displayed on garment identification sections 44 and associate them with a corresponding garment receiving section 42. The shopper thus can remove the desired garment from the selected garment receiving section 42. In other words, the garments 14 bearing a same design “A” will be placed in a given garment receiving section 42 and the garment identification section 44 associated therewith will include a corresponding representation of design “A”. Other positioning between a garment identification section 44 and a corresponding garment receiving section 42 is considered within the realm of the present invention.
Still referring to
In the illustrative embodiment the elongated hanger support 30 is perpendicularly disposed in relation to separator 18. The position of the hangers suspended on the elongated hanger support 30 in garment receiving section 42 is dictated by the position of the elongated hanger support 30 in the garment receiving section 42. Illustratively, a series of T-shirts 14 suspended on hangers supported by the elongated hanger support 30 are disposed in a parallel array between separators 18 in the garment-receiving sections 42 and are mainly only visible from the side. The design printed on the T-shirt 14 is thus hidden from the shopper's view. This becomes even more difficult if the T-shirts as in 14 are tightly disposed within the garment-receiving sections 42 to maximize floor space. Furthermore, for a shopper to be able to see each available design, he/she would have to go through the garments 14 of each garment receiving section 42. However, with the garment display system 10, the design printed on the T-shirt 14 is identified by the garment identification section 44. The shopper is thus capable of selecting the desired garment without manually forcing away every T-shirt 14 from one another so as to reveal their respective designs.
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Each garment identification section 44 further includes an identifier portion 26. The identifier portion 26 is sized and designed to accommodate a price tag or a bar-code label providing additional information about the garment contained in their associated garment receiving section 42. The additional information provided on the identifier portion 26 may help to quickly and precisely refer to a specific garment.
Referring now to
Illustratively, the upper garment-receiving module 50 is substantially similar to the lower garment receiving module 40 described hereinabove. However, significant differences exist in the structure of the upper garment identification section 54 compared to the structure of the lower garment identification section 44. As best seen on
The upper garment identification section 54 comprises a different connecting structure than that of the lower garment identification section 44. The upper garment identification section 54 is secured significantly higher on the support 12 and this is typically difficult, if not impossible, to update the garment identification inserts 72 without using a step-ladder. The upper garment identification section 54 is secured to the upper garment receiving section 52 via a proximal end of a first track member 62 that is slidable, on its distal end, onto a second track member 60. The movement is guided by an insert 64 secured to the distal end of the first track member 62 and moving along a slot 58 in the second track member 60. Other ways of removably securing or moveably fastening the garment identification section 44 to the garment receiving section 42 are intended to fall within the scope of the present invention.
Referring now to
Referring to
Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that variations or modifications may be made to the garment display system disclosed in the specification and drawings without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the garment display system described and illustrated merely represents the best mode of implementing the invention known to the Applicant; however, it should be understood that other mechanisms or configurations, using similar or different components, can be used to implement the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments of the invention described above are only intended to be exemplary. The scope of the invention is limited solely by the claims.
This United-States nonprovisional application relates to and claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/764,777 filed Feb. 3, 2006, titled GARMENT DISPLAY SYSTEM, included herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60764777 | Feb 2006 | US |