Garment hanger

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6672491
  • Patent Number
    6,672,491
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, January 24, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, January 6, 2004
    20 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Calvert; John J.
    Agents
    • Shapiro; Allan M.
Abstract
The garment hanger has first and second shoulder bars and has first and second telescoping arms thereon which permit shoulder width adjustment of the garment hanger for proper support of garments having different shoulder width. In one configuration, the hanger is supported by a support tube on the top of the hanger, with the support tube telescopically engaging on an outwardly directed hanger anchor in the closet.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




This invention is directed to an improved garment hanger which has adjustable garment shoulder supporting hanger arms so that the hanger can be adjusted to garment size. In one configuration, the hanger is supported by a support tube on the top of the hanger engaging on an outwardly directed hanger anchor in the closet.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




In order to maintain the good condition of garments when they are not being worn, garment hangers have been created. Garment hangers have been produced in various shapes and styles. Garment hangers are usually constructed with shoulder portions for supporting the shoulders in coats, shirts and dresses of similar construction. Garment hangers often have a cross bar upon which can be hung trousers, skirts and other similar garments. The upper part of the hanger usually has a hook between the shoulder-supporting bars by which the hanger can be hung on a bar or the like. Though there have been many changes in the construction of garment hangers, most of the prior garment hangers do not properly fit the shoulder of the garment. There is a need for a garment hanger configured to be adjustable in length to properly support the shoulders of the garment to be hung thereon.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




In order to aid in the understanding of this invention, it can be stated in essentially summary form that it is directed to a garment hanger which has garment shoulder supporting arms which are adjustable in length so that the garment hanger is suitable for garments of different sizes. In one configuration the garment hanger has a supporting tube above the support arms. This tube slides onto an outwardly-directed hanger anchor in the closet. The supporting tube is also suitable for hanging a skirt or trousers thereon.




It is thus a purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a garment hanger which has adjustable garment shoulder support arms so that the garment hanger can be adjusted to properly support garments of different shoulder widths.




It is another purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a garment hanger which is suitable for proper support of a shouldered garment, together with an additional garment such as skirt or trousers.




It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a garment hanger which can carry a garment on an upper tube with that tube also serving as a support for the garment hanger.











The features of this invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may be best understood by reference to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.




BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of the garment hanger of this invention, showing one garment hanger in association with the hanger anchor provided in the closet for supporting the garment hanger.





FIG. 2

is an enlarged side elevational view thereof, with parts broken away and parts taken in section.





FIG. 3

is a side elevational view of a second preferred embodiment of the garment hanger of this invention.





FIG. 4

is a side elevational view, with parts broken away and parts taken in section, of a third preferred embodiment of the garment hanger of this invention.





FIG. 5

is an enlarged broken-away portion of the section portion of FIG.


4


.





FIG. 6

is an enlarged transverse section taken generally along line


6





6


of FIG.


4


.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




The garment hanger


10


shown in

FIG. 3

has first and second tubular shoulder bars


12


and


14


angled downward from the center bar


16


at a conventional angle which is configured to engage within a garment having shoulder structure. The downward angle is chosen to best support the usual garment. The center part


16


spaces the shoulder bars and hook


18


is secured thereto. The hook is sized to be able to engage over a conventional closet bar. Cross bar


20


is secured to both shoulder bars adjacent their lower outer ends. A convenient structure for the portion of the garment hanger


10


thus described is making the shoulder bars and center bar out of one piece of tubular synthetic polymer composition material. The crossbar is also of such tubular material, but may be of a smaller diameter, as shown.




In order to provide adjustability of the garment hanger


10


for garment shoulders of different width, first and second telescoping arms


22


and


24


are provided. These arms are sized to fit within the tubular openings in the shoulder bars


12


and


14


, respectively. They are of a suitable tight fit to permit adjustment, but are held in place by the friction of the fit. The outer ends of the telescoping arms


22


and


24


, respectively, are provided with curved ends


26


and


28


which are curved more than 90° in order to prevent causing distortion in the garment which is hung thereon. The telescoping arms are pulled out or pushed in to provide the proper total overall hanger width for the garment in question. A large man's jacket would require a larger overall width for proper support than a smaller woman's jacket. The arms of hanger


10


can be adjusted to properly accommodate either.




The garment hanger


30


shown in

FIGS. 1 and 2

is similar to the garment hanger


10


. It has a center bar


32


to which are attached, or with which are unitarily formed, left and right shoulder bars


34


and


36


. The shoulder bars are strengthened with respect to each other by means of crossbar


38


. At least the outer ends of the left and right shoulder bars are tubular and telescoping arms


40


and


42


are adjustably mounted therein. Again, the telescoping arms can be moved in and out of the shoulder bars and there is a friction fit therebetween which holds the telescoping arms in place, when suitably adjusted. This permits the garment hanger


30


to be adjusted to the shoulder width of the garment to be hung thereon and supported thereby.




The support of the garment hanger


30


in the closet is different. Attached to the center bar


32


is a support tube


44


which is in the same plane as the shoulder bars


34


and


36


. The support tube is about as long as the width between the ends of the shoulder bars, as seen in FIG.


2


. The garment hanger


30


is supported in a garment storage location. As one example, a shelf


46


is positioned in a garment storage location, such as a closet. Mounting plate


48


is mounted under the shelf


46


by means of screws, or the like. A plurality of U-shaped hanger anchors is secured under the mounting plate, parallel to each other and in spaced relationship, as seen in FIG.


1


. Hanger anchor


50


is one of the hanger anchors shown in FIG.


1


and is shown in more detail in FIG.


2


. The U-shaped hanger anchor


50


has an upper leg


52


by which the hanger anchor is attached to the mounting plate


48


. Hanger anchor


50


also has a lower leg


54


which extends freely to the left, as seen in FIG.


2


. The upper and lower legs


52


and


54


are parallel and are spaced from each other and are joined at a bend at the right end. The lower leg


54


is of uniform thickness throughout its length and is sized to be received within the support tube


44


on the garment hanger


30


.




Thus, the garment hanger can be slipped onto the lower leg of the hanger anchor into the storage position shown in FIG.


2


. Support hook


56


is attached to the support tube


44


adjacent its outer end as shown in FIG.


1


. When the garment hanger is fully engaged on the lower leg


54


, the hook


56


engages over the outer end of upper leg


52


as seen in

FIG. 2

to provide additional weight-bearing support for the hanging elements of the garment hanger


30


. In the hanger


10


in

FIG. 3

, the trousers or skirt associated with the shoulder garment can be hung over the crossbar


20


. When using the garment hanger


30


, the shoulder garment is first placed on the shoulder bars and then the trousers or skirt are placed over the support tube


44


as illustrated by the garment


58


shown in dashed lines in FIG.


2


. This provides a greater length of straight support structure than is provided by the shorter crossbar


38


.




Garment hanger


60


shown in

FIGS. 4

,


5


and


6


is similar to the garment hanger


10


. The garment hanger


60


has a center bar


62


which carries a hook


64


by which the hanger can be supported from a closet bar or the like. Left and right shoulder bars


66


and


68


are joined to the center bar and extend downward at an appropriate angle for a garment hanger. As seen in

FIGS. 4

,


5


and


6


, the shoulder bars are tubular. As seen in

FIG. 6

, the shoulder bars have an irregular interior opening


70


, such as a rectangular opening.




In the garment hanger


60


the telescoping arms


72


and


74


are formed of a rod


76


with an outer cap


78


thereon. The rod and cap are of circular cross section. The lock member


80


is attached to the inner end of the rod


76


of the telescoping arm


72


. The lock member is noncircular but it is sized so that, when at one rotative position, the telescoping arm is free to move in and out and, in another rotative position, the telescoping arm is locked in position. This can be accomplished easily when the lock member is not round, such as the elliptical form shown. The major dimension of the elliptical lock member is larger than the distance between the walls of the opening


70


in a first direction and smaller than the distance between the walls of the opening


70


in a second direction at an angle to the first direction; as illustrated, the first and second directions are respectively horizontal and vertical. The material of the lock member is flexible and high friction, such as rubber, so that it can be rotated into a position wherein the lock member engages by friction on the walls of the opening


70


to hold the telescoping arm in the selected position. In order to enhance the appearance, the center bar and shoulder bars can be made of wood. Similarly, the caps and rods of the telescoping arms can be made of wood.




In each of these configurations the telescoping arms can be adjusted to the shoulder width of the jacket or dress to be hung thereon. This provides proper shoulder support for the garment so that the shoulders do not sag or are not stretched out. Superior clothing storage of these hangers is achieved.




This invention has been described in its presently contemplated best modes and it is clear that it is susceptible to numerous modifications, modes and embodiments within the ability of those skilled in the art and without the exercise of the inventive faculty. Accordingly, the scope of this invention is defined by the scope of the following claims.



Claims
  • 1. A garment hanger comprising:first and second oppositely directed shoulder bars, said shoulder bars being angularly downwardly directed so as to be suitable for hanging a shouldered garment thereon, said first and second shoulder bars respectively having first and second ends which define the width across said shoulder bars; support structure connected to said shoulder bars for supporting said shoulder bars; first and second telescoping arms, said first and second telescoping arms being respectively in telescoping interconnection with said first and second shoulder bars so that said telescoping arms can be moved outward to provide garment shoulder support of greater width than said width across said shoulder bars; said support structure comprising a support tube secured to said shoulder bars and a leg onto which said support tube is engaged in sliding relationship and hanger anchor structure for holding up said leg.
  • 2. The garment hanger of claim 1 wherein said leg is the lower leg of a U-shaped hanger anchor having an upper leg and a lower leg and there is attachment structure on said upper leg for attaching said upper leg to the underside of a shelf or the like and said lower leg is sized to receive said support tube thereon.
  • 3. The garment hanger of claim 2 wherein said lower leg of said hanger anchor is spaced sufficiently from said upper leg to permit hanging of a garment over said support tube and engaging said support tube over said upper leg, without the garment being disturbed by said upper leg of said hanger anchor.
  • 4. The garment hanger of claim 1 wherein said shoulder bars are tubular and said telescoping arms slide into said tubular shoulder bars to permit width adjustment of said garment hanger.
  • 5. A garment hanger comprising:first and second shoulder bars, said first and second shoulder bars being directed away from each other and being secured together, said shoulder bars being angularly directed so as to be suitable for the engagement thereon of the shoulders of a garment, said shoulder bars having ends which determine the width across said shoulder bars, said shoulder bars being tubular and being open at said ends; first and second telescoping arms respectively telescoped within said tubular shoulder bars, said telescoping arms being positionable so that they extend out of said first and second shoulder bars so as to increase the effective width of said garment hanger to support garments having wider shoulders; said first and second telescoping arms respectively having lock structure thereon so that they can be locked in a selected extended position.
  • 6. The garment hanger of claim 5 wherein each of said tubular shoulder bars has a non-circular tubular opening therein and said lock structure locks within said non-circular tube by rotating therein to lock and unlock said telescoping arm with respect to said shoulder bar.
  • 7. The garment hanger of claim 6 wherein said lock structure is a rubber-like member secured to said telescoping arm.
  • 8. The garment hanger of claim 7 wherein said telescoping arms have curved ends to avoid creasing of garments supported thereon.
  • 9. A garment hanger comprising:first and second shoulder bars, said first and second shoulder bars being directed away from each other and being secured together, said shoulder bars being angularly directed so as to be suitable for the engagement thereon of the shoulders of a garment, said shoulder bars having ends which determine the width across said shoulder bars, said shoulder bars being tubular and being open at said ends; first and second telescoping arms respectively telescoped within said tubular shoulder bars, said telescoping arms being positionable so that they extend out of said first and second shoulder bars so as to increase the effective width of said garment hanger to support garments having wider shoulders; said support structure comprising a support tube secured to said shoulder bar and there is a hanger anchor, said hanger anchor having an upper leg and a lower leg, said upper leg being for attachment for support and said lower leg being configured to receive said support tube on said garment hanger so that said support tube can be moved on and off said lower leg.
  • 10. The garment hanger of claim 9 wherein said support tube has a hook thereon, said hook being configured to engage over said upper leg when said support tube is engaged on said lower leg.
  • 11. The garment hanger of claim 9 wherein said upper and lower legs are sufficiently spaced from each other so that a garment may be hung over said support tube and said support tube can be engaged on said lower leg of said support bar without the garment engaging on said upper leg.
  • 12. The garment hanger of claim 11 wherein said support tube has a hook thereon, said hook being configured to engage over said upper leg when said support tube is engaged on said lower leg.
  • 13. The garment hanger of claim 5 wherein said shoulder bars and said telescoping arms are made of wood.
  • 14. The garment hanger of claim 5 wherein said shoulder bars and said telescoping arms are made of synthetic polymer composition material.
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915340 Freeman Mar 1909 A
1127782 Kurtzon Feb 1915 A
2061156 Humphrey Nov 1936 A
2675923 Humphrey Apr 1954 A
2814426 Miller Nov 1957 A
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4793495 Preu Dec 1988 A
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6068166 Kilian et al. May 2000 A