Patent Application
20190090675
The present disclosure relates generally to molded plastic garment hangers as are widely used for the purpose of shipping and displaying garments. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a garment hanger, which can be selectively used and reused with two different garment size indicators to provide a versatile garment hanger. As a result, the garment hanger can be reused to save materials, and thus, is environmentally advantageous.
In the area of retail garment sales, so-called Garment-On-Hanger (GOH) programs have become preferred by retailers. In a GOH program, garments are delivered to retail merchants already suspended from hangers, where upon arrival at the retail location the garments are immediately placed on display for sale.
In particular, retailers have specified particular hangers or hanger characteristics among suppliers in order to achieve uniformity on their sales floors. To this end, standards as to hanger size, shape, performance characteristics, etc., are maintained, for example, by organizations such as the Voluntary Inter-industry Commerce Standards Association (VICS). Intimate apparel hangers, pinch grip hangers, top garment hangers and so on are among the standardized hangers under the VICS standards.
Additionally, and interrelated to the promulgation of GOH programs, retailers and their customers desire to have the hanger itself display some indicia regarding the item carried upon it. Categories of indicia include origin of manufacturer, materials of the garments and prices of the garments, but mostly the sizes of garments. Among the various means developed for accomplishing this, so-called lower neck size indicators are widely applied and recognized in the industry. Lower neck size indicators are secured to the hanger at or adjacent the intersection of the hook and the hanger body, to provide a displaying surface on which garment sizes are printed.
Typically, a type of hanger is designed only to be usable with a specific type of size indicator. With the increasing need to display more information related to garments, more types of size indicators have been designed, which in turn requires more types of hangers to be molded. As known in the hanger-molding industry, whenever a new mold is created for making hangers, significant cost associated with designing, testing and revising the mold will be incurred. Thus, it is desirable in the industry to provide a versatile hanger, which can be used and reused with different size indicators to save material and cost of manufacture.
According to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, a garment hanger is provided. The hanger includes a body and a hook extending upright from the body. The intersection of the body and the hook defines a lower neck region of the garment hanger. The hanger further includes a sizer attachment mechanism provided at a side of the lower neck region. The sizer attachment mechanism is configured to engage a sizer for selectively attaching and detaching the sizer with respect to the hanger. The sizer attachment mechanism includes a first web having a first surface and an opposite second surface. The first web includes at least one fixed latch formed on the first surface of the first web, and a pivotable latch pivotable with respect to the at least one fixed latch through a hinge. The sizer attachment mechanism further includes a second web connected to the first web and a rib connected to the second web. The rib extends angularly between the body and the hook. The sizer attachment mechanism also includes a void in the sizer attachment mechanism to provide a discontinuity in the second web and the rib.
According to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, a sizer is provided. The sizer includes a front wall having a top edge and a bottom edge. The sizer further includes a rear wall opposite the front wall. The rear wall has a top edge and a bottom edge. Both the front wall and the rear wall are substantially trapezoidal. The sizer further includes a bottom wall connecting the bottom edge of the front wall with the bottom edge of the rear wall. Additionally, the sizer includes a first inwardly extending protrusion provided at the top edge of the front wall and a second inwardly extending protrusion provided at the top edge of the rear wall.
According to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, a combination of a garment hanger and a sizer is provided. The garment hanger includes a body and a hook extending upright from the body. The intersection of the body and the hook defines a lower neck region of the garment hanger. The hanger further includes a sizer attachment mechanism provided at a side of the lower neck region. The sizer attachment mechanism is configured to engage the sizer for selectively attaching and detaching the sizer with respect to the hanger. The sizer attachment mechanism includes a first web having a first surface and an opposite second surface. The first web includes at least one fixed latch formed on the first surface of the first web, and a pivotable latch pivotable with respect to the at least one fixed latch through a hinge. The sizer attachment mechanism further includes a second web connected to the first web and a rib connected to the second web. The rib extends angularly between the body and the hook. The sizer attachment mechanism further includes a void for providing a discontinuity in the second web and the rib.
The sizer includes a front wall having a top edge and a bottom edge. The sizer further includes a rear wall opposite the front wall. The rear wall has a top edge and a bottom edge. Both the front wall and the rear wall are substantially trapezoidal. The sizer also includes a bottom wall connecting the bottom edge of the front wall with the bottom edge of the rear wall. Additionally, the sizer includes a first inwardly extending protrusion provided at the top edge of the front wall and a second inwardly extending protrusion provided at the top edge of the rear wall. When the sizer is being attached to the hanger, the first inwardly extending protrusion is engageable with the at least one fixed latch and the second inwardly extending protrusion is engageable with the pivotable latch to implement a secured attachment of the sizer to the hanger. When the sizer is not attached to the hanger, the void allows a secondary sizer to be removably engageable with the first web of the sizer attachment mechanism to attach the secondary sizer to the hanger.
According to yet an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, a method of using a hanger with a first sizer and reusing the hanger with a second sizer is provided. The first sizer has a dimension that is different from a dimension of the second sizer. The method includes attaching the first sizer to a sizer attachment mechanism of the hanger. The sizer attachment mechanism includes a first web having a first surface and an opposite second surface. The first web includes at least one fixed latch formed on the first surface of the first web and a pivotable latch pivotable with respect to the at least one fixed latch through a hinge. The sizer attachment mechanism further includes a second web connected to the first web and a rib connected to the second web. The rib extends angularly between a body and a hook of the hanger. The sizer attachment mechanism also includes a void in the sizer attachment mechanism to provide a discontinuity in the second web and the rib. The attaching the first sizer to the sizer attachment mechanism includes engaging the first sizer with both the at least one fixed latch and the pivotable latch and at least partially positioning the first sizer in the void. The method further includes detaching the first sizer from the sizer attachment mechanism. The method also includes attaching the second sizer to the sizer attachment mechanism. The attaching the second sizer to the sizer attachment mechanism includes engaging the second sizer with both the at least one fixed latch and the pivotable latch and covering the void with the second sizer.
According to still another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, a garment hanger is provided. The hanger includes a body and a hook extending upright from the body. The intersection of the body and the hook defines a lower neck region of the garment hanger. The hanger further includes a sizer attachment mechanism provided at a side of the lower neck region. The sizer attachment mechanism is configured to engage a sizer for attaching the sizer to the hanger in an un-detachable manner. The sizer attachment mechanism includes a first web having a first surface and an opposite second surface. The first web includes at least one fixed latch formed on the first surface of the first web, and a pivotable latch pivotable with respect to the at least one fixed latch through a hinge. The sizer attachment mechanism further includes a second web connected to the first web and a rib connected to the second web. The rib extends angularly between the body and the hook. The sizer attachment mechanism also includes a void in the sizer attachment mechanism to provide a discontinuity in the second web and the rib.
According to another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, a garment hanger is provided. The hanger includes a body and a hook extending upright from the body. The intersection of the body and the hook defines a lower neck region of the garment hanger. The hanger further includes a sizer attachment mechanism provided at a side of the lower neck region. The sizer attachment mechanism is configured to alternatively engage a first sizer or a second sizer for attaching the first or second sizer to the hanger in an un-detachable manner. The first sizer and the second sizer have different dimensions. The sizer attachment mechanism includes a first web having a first surface and an opposite second surface. The first web includes a first fixed latch formed on the first surface of the first web and a second fixed latch formed on the second surface of the first web. The sizer attachment mechanism further includes a second web connected to the first web and a rib connected to the second web. The rib extends angularly between the body and the hook. A void is provided in the sizer attachment mechanism to provide a discontinuity in the second web and the rib.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of using a hanger selectively with a first sizer and a second sizer. The first sizer has a dimension that is different from a dimension of the second sizer. A sizer from the first sizer and the second sizer is selected to be attached to the hanger. The selected sizer is attached to a sizer attachment mechanism of the hanger. The sizer attachment mechanism includes a first web having a first surface and an opposite second surface. The first web includes a first fixed latch formed on the first surface of the first web and a second fixed latch formed on the second surface of the first web. The sizer attachment mechanism further includes a second web connected to the first web and a rib connected to the second web. The rib extends angularly between a body and a hook of the hanger. A void is provided in the sizer attachment mechanism to provide a discontinuity in the second web and the rib. The attaching the selected sizer to the sizer attachment mechanism of the hanger includes engaging the selected sizer with both the first fixed latch and the second fixed latch in a un-detachable manner.
Although this invention is applicable to numerous and various types of hangers, it has been found particularly useful in the environment of garment hangers having a hook for suspending the garment hanger from a display. Therefore, without limiting the applicability of the invention to these types of hangers, the invention will be described in such environment.
In
At a side of the junction of the hook 110 and the body 120, a sizer engagement mechanism 200 is provided for removably and selectively securing two different sizers to the hanger 100. The detailed implementation of the sizer attachment mechanism 200 is depicted in
The pivotable latch 220 is defined by a continuous slot 222, which is formed through the first web 201 from the front surface thereof to the rear surface thereof. The pivotable latch 220 is further defined by a living hinge 224. The continuous slot 222 and the living hinge 224 together define a substantially triangular shape of the pivotable latch 220 as shown in the embodiment and allow the pivotable latch 220 to pivot with respect to the living hinge 224 when a force is applied to the pivotable latch 220. The pivotable latch and the slot defining the shape thereof, can have any shape, such as rectangular, without departing from the scope or spirit of the present disclosure.
A dimple 226 is provided at the tip of the pivotable latch 220. The dimple 226 is configured to engage a tool that is used to apply a releasing force to remove a sizer from the sizer attachment mechanism 200. The sizer attachment mechanism 200 further includes a guard 230 formed at the front side of the hanger 100, as shown in
The sizer attachment mechanism 200 further includes a second web 202 and a rib 203 continuous with the second web 202, as shown in
The pivotable latch 220′ is defined by a continuous slot 222′, which is formed through the first web 201′ from the front surface thereof to the rear surface thereof. The pivotable latch 220′ is slightly pivotable with respect to the fixed latch 210′, through the resilience of the material for forming the pivotable latch 220′. The pivotable latch 220′ can have a substantially triangular shape. However, other suitable shapes, such as rectangular, can be provided without departing from the scope or spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, the sizer engagement mechanism 200′, according to this embodiment, is different from the sizer engagement mechanism 200, in that there is no dimple formed at the tip of the pivotable latch 220′. As such, the sizer engagement mechanism 200′, according to this embodiment, does not allow removal of a sizer, once the sizer is securely attached to the sizer engagement mechanism. Accordingly, the hanger, which includes the sizer engagement mechanism 200′, provides a non-removal option for users.
The sizer attachment mechanism 200′ further includes a second web 202′ and a rib 203′ continuous with the second web 202′, as shown in
The sizer attachment mechanism 200″ further includes a second web 202″ and a rib 203″ continuous with the second web 202″, as shown in
As shown in
At the side of the first side panel 310, the first sizer 300 includes a first inwardly extending finger 312 provided at an end of the first side wall 310 opposite the middle panel 330. For example, the first inwardly extending finger 312 can be substantially perpendicular to the first side panel 310. At the same side, the first sizer 300 further includes a first inwardly sloped projection 314. The first side panel 310, the first inwardly extending finger 312 and the first inwardly sloped projection 314 can be formed (such as, molded) integrally. The first inwardly extending finger 312 has an inner surface 313. The first inwardly sloped projection 314 has a first sloped surface 315. As shown in
At the side of the second side panel 320, the first sizer 300 includes a second inwardly extending finger 322 provided at an end of the second side wall 320 opposite the middle panel 330. For example, the second inwardly extending finger 322 can be substantially perpendicular to the second side panel 320. At the same side, the first sizer 300 further includes a second inwardly sloped projection 324. The second side panel 320, the second inwardly extending finger 322 and the second inwardly sloped projection 324 can be formed (such as, molded) integrally. The second inwardly extending finger 322 has an inner surface 323. The second inwardly sloped projection 324 has a second sloped surface 325. As shown in
The first sizer 300, as described above, can be readily attached to the hanger 100 in a secured manner. The secured attachment of the first sizer 300 to the hanger 100 satisfies the relevant industry requirements to provide a so-called “child-proof” product, which is preferred or required in the hanger-molding industry. In addition, the details of the first sizer 300, the “child-proof” attachment of the first sizer 300 to the hanger 100, and the optional removal of the first sizer 300 from the hanger 100 can be found in Applicant's commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,264,075, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated into the present discourse for all purposes.
Both the first protrusion 414 and the second protrusion 424 can be made of a resilient material to allow certain deformation of the protrusions. The front wall 410, the rear wall 420 and the bottom wall 430 can be made of a resilient material, such that certain deformation of the sizer is allowed in addition to the deformation of the protrusions. An opening 440 defined between the first protrusion 414 and the second protrusion 424 can be expanded, when the sizer 400 is deformed, to admit certain structures of the sizer attachment mechanism 200.
As shown in
The first side surface 417, the first side surface 427 and the first side surface 432 can be formed to substantially co-planar, such that when the second sizer 400 is attached to the hanger 100, the first side surfaces of the sizer 400 can engage the top flange 128 of the hanger body 120, as shown in
As shown in
The second sizer 400, as described above, can be readily attached to the hanger 100 in a secured manner. The secured attachment of the second sizer 400 to the hanger 100 satisfies the relevant industry requirements to provide a so-called “child-proof” product, which is preferred or required in the hanger-molding industry. In addition, the user has the option to selectively attach the second sizer 400 directly to the hanger 100, without having to attach and detach the first sizer 300.
The second sizer 500, as described above, can be readily attached to the hanger 100 in a secured manner. The secured attachment of the second sizer 500 to the hanger 100 satisfies the relevant industry requirements to provide a so-called “child-proof” product, which is preferred or required in the hanger-molding industry.
Another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes a methodology of strategically using the hanger 100 (having the sizer attachment mechanism 200, the sizer attachment mechanism 200′, or the sizer attachment mechanism 200″) with the first sizer 300 and/or the second sizer 400/500 depending on the various circumstances of application, thereby achieving certain technological, logistical and economical advantages and benefits not provided by the known hangers and sizers.
One embodiment of the methodology is directed to using the hanger 100, having the sizer attachment mechanism 200, with the first sizer 300 and subsequently, with the second sizer 400/500, or vice versa, to allow the same hanger to be reusable with the same sizer or different sizers. According to this embodiment, the first sizer 300 is initially attached to the sizer attachment mechanism 200 of the hanger 100 for displaying a first garment identified by the first sizer 300. The first sizer 300 is subsequently removable by applying a sizer releasing force to the dimple 226 of the sizer attachment mechanism 200. Once the first sizer 300 is removed, the second sizer 400/500 can be attached to the sizer attachment mechanism 200 of the hanger 100 for displaying a garment identified by the second sizer 400/500.
Optionally, the second sizer 400/500 can also be removed by applying a sizer releasing force to the dimple 226 and, subsequently a first sizer 300 can be attached to the sizer attachment mechanism 200 of the hanger 100. Thus, pursuant to this embodiment, a so-called reusable hanger with sizer-detaching mechanism is provided, which allows replacing the first sizer 300 with the second sizer 400/500 or vice versa. In each of these cases, the sizer can be removed and replaced with a same or different sizer. The versatility of the hanger improves the product design to save materials and energy and, concomitantly, reduce the manufacturing costs. In the hanger molding industry, millions of plastic hangers are manufactured each year. The reusable hanger, as shown and described above, is considered environmentally friendly and provides a commercial advantage to the manufacturers, transporters and retailers in the industry.
Another embodiment of the methodology is directed to using the hanger 100, having the sizer attachment mechanism 200′ or 200″, alternatively and independently with the first sizer 300 or the second sizer 400/500 in a substantially un-detachable manner. The sizer attachment mechanism 200′ or 200″ does not have a structure for applying a sizer releasing force. Thus, once a sizer is attached to the hanger 100, the sizer cannot be readily removed.
The hanger 100, as shown and described above, can be used selectively with the first sizer 300 and the second sizer 400 (or the second sizer 500) having different dimensions, depending on the circumstances of applying the sizers. Thus, a so-called reusable hanger can be provided. The versatility of the hanger improves the product design to save materials and energy and, concomitantly, reduce the manufacturing costs. In the hanger molding industry, millions of plastic hangers are manufactured each year. The reusable hanger, as shown and described above, is considered environmentally friendly and provides a commercial advantage to the manufacturers, transporters and retailers in the industry.
Furthermore, regardless of which sizer a user has selected to be used with the hanger, only one hanger type needs to be molded. As known in the hanger-molding industry, whenever a new mold needs to be created for making a new type of hanger, significant cost associated with designing, testing and modifying the mold will be incurred. Thus, the ability to use a same mold to mold hangers, which can be used with two different sizers, significantly reduces the cost associated with designing, testing and modifying a new mold.
In addition, in the industry, it is common for a retailer to offer different types of garments, which are placed and displayed in different departments of a shopping center, respectively. Thus, the hanger as described above provides the retailer an option to use different sizers with the same hangers in different departments.
The hanger of the present disclosure can be formed of one or more of polystyrene, SAN, ABS, PPO, nylon, polypropylene (PP), polyethylene, PET, polycarbonates (PC), acrylics, K-resin, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) among others.
From the foregoing illustrations it is readily apparent that the present disclosure is directed to an improved garment hanger suitable for industry mass production. The present disclosure offers reliable mechanical performance and structural integrity to the hangers, satisfying industry standards, such as, the VICS standards.
