HANGING SEPARATOR TO BE USED FOR SEPARATING ARTICLES OF CLOTHING HANGING IN A CLOTHES CLOSET, AND A PLURALITY OF HANGING SEPARATORS FORMING A SYSTEM FOR SEPARATING ARTICLES OF CLOTHING HANGING IN A CLOTHES CLOSET

Abstract

A clothing separator is disclosed that can be readily hung upon a horizontally oriented clothing bar mounted within a clothes closet for separating articles of clothing hanging upon the clothing bar within the closet, or to be hung upon the clothing bar within the closet, or to be removed from the clothing bar of the closet, by facilitating the removal or insertion of the article of clothing from the clothing closet. A separator can be interposed between a pair of adjacent articles of clothing, or conversely, a single article of clothing can be interposed between a pair of adjacent separators. Furthermore, a multiplicity of separators can effectively define a separator system within the closet wherein a separator is interposed between each pair of adjacent articles of clothing, or conversely, each article of clothing is accommodated within a separate compartment or space defined between adjacent pairs of separators. Alternatively, several articles of clothing, that is, a small group of articles of clothing, can be interposed between adjacent hanging separators.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to clothing accessories, and more particularly to a clothing separator that can be readily hung upon a horizontally oriented clothing bar mounted within a clothes closet for separating articles of clothing hanging upon the clothing bar within the closet, or to be hung upon the clothing bar within the closet, or to be removed from the clothing bar of the closet. The separator effectively facilitates the ease in which articles of clothing may be removed from the clothing bar and from the closet, or deposited onto the clothing bar and into the closet, when it is desired to remove an article of clothing from the closet, or to insert an article of clothing into the closet. In this manner, the article of clothing can be readily removed from or hung upon the clothing bar of the closet with relative ease and without disturbing or encountering other articles of clothing within the closet which would otherwise inhibit the removal or insertion of the article of clothing from or onto the clothing bar when removing or inserting the article of clothing from or into the closet. A separator can be interposed between a pair of adjacent articles of clothing, or conversely, a single article of clothing can be interposed between a pair of adjacent separators. Furthermore, a multiplicity of separators can effectively define a separator system within the closet wherein a separator is interposed between each pair of adjacent articles of clothing, or conversely, each article of clothing is accommodated within a separate compartment or space defined between adjacent pairs of separators. Still further, a plurality of separators can be disposed at particular locations within the closet so as to separate a plurality of articles of clothing, that is, a group of articles of clothing can be interposed between a pair of separators if spatial parameters within the clothing closet permit such usage. Tab members can be attached to the separators so as to facilitate manual separation of the separators with respect to each other when, for example, an article of clothing is to be removed from or inserted into the closet, or to identify particular articles or types of clothing. The tab members may be color-coded for facilitating, for example, types of clothing, such as, for example, shirts, suits, dresses, jackets, and the like. Still further, spacers may be attached to adjacent pairs of separators so as to effectively define the size of the space or compartment formed between the pair of adjacent separators so as to optimally accommodate particular articles of clothing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When a clothes closet is full of clothes hanging in a suspended mode from a horizontally oriented clothing bar mounted within the closet, the individual articles of clothing are normally tightly compressed together with respect to each other. This disposition of the individual articles of clothing makes it difficult to either remove a particular article of clothing from the array of clothing disposed within the closet, or conversely, to insert a particular article of clothing into the closet and between two articles of clothing already hanging upon the clothing bar within the closet. For example, when it is desired to remove an article of clothing from the clothing bar and closet, one must first try to move those articles of clothing, disposed to the left or to the right of the article of clothing to be removed, to one side so as to effectively enlarge the space within which the article of clothing, that is desired to be removed from the closet, is disposed, so as to facilitate the removal of the particular article of clothing out from that space within the clothing array. When it is similarly desired to insert an article of clothing into the closet so as to in fact hang the particular article of clothing upon the clothing bar, the process is effectively the same, that is, articles of clothing must be moved toward the left or toward the right so as to effectively establish an enlarged space in order to facilitate the insertion of the article of clothing into the array of clothing already present within the closet. Furthermore, even when the enlarged space, for removing or inserting the article of clothing out from or into the closet, has effectively been established, the selected article of clothing will still engage the article of clothing to its immediate left or to its immediate right as considered within the array of clothing. This engagement with or interference between the articles of clothing also renders the removal or insertion process somewhat difficult. Still further, such engagement or interference during the removal or insertion process, as well as when all of the articles of clothing are disposed in static hanging positions within the closet, can lead to undesirable creasing or wrinkling of the clothing garments.

A need therefore exists in the art for a new and improved clothing separator that can be readily hung upon the horizontally oriented clothing bar that is mounted within the clothes closet, for separating individual articles of clothing, hanging upon the clothing bar within the closet, or to be hung upon the clothing bar within the closet, or to be removed from the clothing bar of the closet, so as to effectively facilitate the ease in which articles of clothing may be removed from the clothing bar and from the closet, or deposited onto the clothing bar and into the closet.

OVERALL OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The overall objectives of the present invention is to provide a new and improved clothing separator that can be readily hung upon the horizontally oriented clothing bar that is mounted within the clothes closet, for separating individual articles of clothing, hanging upon the clothing bar within the closet, or to be hung upon the clothing bar within the closet, or to be removed from the clothing bar of the closet, so as to effectively facilitate the ease in which articles of clothing may be removed from the clothing bar and from the closet, or deposited onto the clothing bar and into the closet. Alternatively, a plurality of separators may be utilized in pairs so as to separate individual articles of clothing by accommodating an individual article of clothing therebetween, or still yet further, pairs of separators may be utilized to separate a small number of articles, or a group of articles of clothing, from the remaining articles of clothing, or from other small numbers of articles of clothing, present within the closet, depending upon and to optimize spatial parameters.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed toward a new and improved clothing separator that is to be hung upon the horizontally oriented clothing bar of a clothes closet and interposed between two individual articles of clothing hanging upon the clothing bar. The separator is preferably fabricated from a suitable thermoplastic material, such as, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PETE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), or a polycarbonate (PC), such that the sides or major surfaces of the separator, disposed toward, facing, and in engagement with the articles of clothing disposed immediately adjacent to both sides or major surfaces of the separator, will effectively present relatively smooth and slippery surfaces toward the articles of clothing. Accordingly, when it is desired to remove a particular article of clothing from the closet, or to insert a particular article of clothing into the closet, the article of clothing will effectively move or slide along one of the smooth and slippery surfaces of the separator so as to be readily and easily removed from or hung upon the clothing bar of the closet with relative ease and without disturbing or encountering other articles of clothing within the closet which would otherwise inhibit the removal or insertion of the clothing article from or onto the clothing bar of the closet.

It is also envisioned that a plurality of separators be interposed between other individual articles of clothing such that each pair of separators, disposed immediately adjacent to each other, effectively define a pocket, recess, slot, or compartment within which a particular article of clothing can be readily and easily accommodated and inserted into, or removed from, the overall clothing array disposed within the closet, so as to be hung upon or removed from the clothing bar of the closet. Alternatively, in lieu of a pair of the plurality of separators being disposed immediately adjacent to each other so as to effectively define a pocket, recess, slot, or compartment effectively accommodating or separating a single or particular article of clothing from the remaining articles of clothing within the closet, a plurality or small group of articles of clothing may be separated from the remaining articles of clothing within the closet and confined or interposed between the two separators. In other words, it may not be necessary to separate each individual article of clothing from every other individual article of clothing, if spatial parameters within the closet permit, however, the overall objective of the invention may nevertheless be effectively achieved when two separators separate groups of, for example, two, three, or four articles of clothing from the rest of the array of clothing disposed within the clothes closet. Tab members can be attached to the separators so as to facilitate manual separation of the separators with respect to each other when, for example, an article of clothing is to be removed from or inserted into the closet, or to identify particular articles or types of clothing. The tabs may be color-coded as may be desired. Still further, spacers may be attached to adjacent pairs of separators so as to effectively define the size of the space or compartment formed between the pair of adjacent separators. In this manner, relatively smaller-sized compartments can be utilized to accommodate shirts and trousers, whereas larger-sized spaces or compartments can accommodate different types of dresses, such as gowns, or outer wear garments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various other features and attendant advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a new and improved clothing separator constructed in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention and adapted to be utilized by being hung from a horizontally oriented clothing bar disposed within a clothing closet so as to separate articles of clothing from each other in order to facilitate the removal or insertion of one of the articles of clothing from or into the clothing closet;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the separator, illustrated within FIG. 1, as disposed in a hanging mode from the horizontally oriented clothing bar disposed within the clothing closet;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a plurality of separators, as illustrated within FIGS. 1 and 2, as disposed in hanging modes from the horizontally oriented clothing bar disposed within the clothing closet such that each pair of adjacent separators defines a space or compartment within which at least one article of clothing can be accommodated;

FIG. 4 is a schematic exploded perspective view showing a pair of separators, as illustrated within FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein the separators have spacers adapted to be fixedly connected thereto so as to effectively define the widthwise dimensional size of the space or compartment defined between the pair of separators whereby the particular size of the space or compartment can therefore accommodate different articles of clothing having, for example, different bulk dimensions;

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view, similar to that of FIG. 4, wherein differently sized spacers and separators have been affixed together so as to in fact define differently sized spaces or compartments for accommodating the differently sized articles of clothing between adjacent separators; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a tab member that can be utilized in conjunction with any one of the hanging separators.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, a new and improved clothing separator, for separating articles of clothing within a clothing closet, is illustrated and is generally indicated by the reference character 100. More particularly, it is seen that the clothing separator 100 is seen to comprise a body member 102 having a substantially rectangular configuration with the oppositely disposed long side front and rear edge portions 104 thereof disposed vertically and the oppositely disposed short side upper and lower edge portions 106 thereof disposed horizontally. Alternatively, the separator can have a substantially square-shaped configuration. The separator is preferably fabricated from a suitable thermoplastic material, such as, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PETE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), or a suitable polycarbonate (PC), and it is seen that a substantially C-shaped hook member 108 is integrally affixed to or formed with the upper edge portion 106 of the body member 102 so as to permit the clothing separator 100 to be suspendingly mounted upon a horizontally oriented clothing bar 110 as can best be seen, for example, within FIG. 2. As a result of being fabricated from the aforenoted thermoplastic materials, such as, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PETE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), or a suitable polycarbonate (PC), it can be readily appreciated that each side surface portion of the body member 102 of the separator 100 will effectively exhibit smooth and slippery surface characteristics.

Accordingly, when a clothing separator 100 is suspendingly mounted upon the horizontally oriented clothing bar 110 within the clothes closet and interposed between two adjacent clothing articles such that each one of the two adjacent clothing articles is now disposed in contact or engagement with one of the opposite disposed smooth and slipper side surface portions of the body member 102, the smooth and slippery side surface portions of the body member 102 of the clothing separator 100 will effectively permit either one of the two adjacent clothing articles to be removed from the clothing closet in a relatively easier manner, than would be the case if the clothing separator 100 was not disposed in the clothing closet and interposed between the two articles of clothing, because each one of the clothing articles can be readily moved along a respective one of the oppositely disposed smooth and slippery side surface portion of the body member 102 of the clothing separator 100. It can therefore be further appreciated that when it is desired to remove a particular article of clothing from the closet, or to insert a particular article of clothing into the closet, the article of clothing will effectively move or slide along one of the smooth and slippery surface portions of the clothing separator 100 so as to be readily and easily removed from or hung upon the clothing bar 110 of the closet with relative ease and without disturbing or encountering other articles of clothing within the closet which would otherwise inhibit the removal or insertion of the clothing article from or onto the clothing bar of the closet, provided, of course, if other articles of clothing, adjacent to the article of clothing being removed from or inserted into the clothing closet, were, for example, moved slightly in a direction away from the clothing separator.

With reference now being made to FIG. 3, it is also envisioned that a plurality of clothing separators 100 can be disposed within the clothing closet so as to effectively form a clothing separator system which is generally indicated by the reference character 200. It is to be noted that component parts of the system 200 which correspond to component parts of separator 100 as disclosed within FIGS. 1 and 2 are denoted by similar reference characters except that they are in the 200 series. The particular number of clothing separators 100 comprising the clothing separator system 200 can vary, it being noted that, as an ex-ample, five clothing separators 100 are illustrated as comprising the system 200 as illustrated within FIG. 3. As a result of the formation of the clothing separator system 200 with a predetermined number of clothing separators 100 comprising the system 200, several options are available so as to achieve the various objectives of the present invention. In accordance with a first option, for example, the number of clothing separators 100 can be such that a clothing separator 100 is interposed between each pair of adjacent articles of clothing. In this manner, it will be readily appreciated that each pair of clothing separators 100, disposed immediately adjacent to each other, will effectively define a pocket, recess, slot, or compartment within which a particular article of clothing can be readily and easily accommodated and inserted into, or removed from, the overall clothing array disposed within the clothing closet, so as to be hung upon or removed from the clothing bar of the closet. Alternatively, in lieu of a pair of the plurality of clothing separators 100 being disposed immediately adjacent to each other so as to effectively define a pocket, recess, slot, or compartment therebetween so as to effectively accommodate or separate a particular or single article of clothing from the remaining articles of clothing within the clothing closet, a second option comprising the clothing separator system 200 may comprise the disposition of a plurality or small group of articles of clothing con-fined or interposed between a pair of adjacent clothing separators 100 so as to separate such articles of clothing from the remaining articles of clothing within the clothing closet. In other words, it may not be necessary to separate each individual article of clothing from every other individual article of clothing, if spatial parameters within the closet permit, however, the overall objective of the invention may nevertheless be effectively achieved when two separators separate groups of, for example, two, three, or four articles of clothing from the rest of the array of clothing disposed within the clothes closet.

With reference now being made to FIGS. 4 and 5, and in accordance with additional structural features comprising the clothing separator system 200, as has been illustrated within FIG. 3, a spacer 202 may be interposed between a pair of adjacent clothing separators 100 and affixed thereto by means of suitable fasteners, not shown, such that the pocket, recess, slot, or compartment, defined between an adjacent pair of clothing separators 100 can have a predetermined width dimension. In accordance with such objectives, it is seen, as illustrated within FIG. 5, that two different spacers 202,202′, can be respectively affixed to first and second clothing separators 100,100′,100″ such that the spaces 204,204′ respectively defined between clothing separators 100,100′ and 100′,100″ have two differently sized width dimensions, space 204 having a smaller width dimension than space 204′. In this manner, space 204 can easily accommodate, for example, a shirt or a pair of trousers, whereas space 204′ can easily accommodate, for example, a gown-type dress, a bulky outerwear coat or other outerwear garments, or the like. As can best be seen from FIG. 4, each one of the spacers 202,202′ effectively comprises a bracket having a substantially inverted L-shaped configuration with the vertically oriented long leg portion of the L-shaped spacer 202 being affixed to the vertically oriented rear edge portions 104,104′ of the clothing separators 100,100′, while the horizontally oriented short leg portion of the L-shaped spacer 202 being affixed to the horizon-tally oriented upper edge portions 106,106′ of the clothing hangers 100,100′. It is also noted that the horizontal extent of the horizontally oriented short leg portion of the L-shaped spacer 202 only extends, in the rear-to-front direction, from the rear edge portions 104,104′ up to the C-shaped hook members 108,108′. In this manner, the spacers do not interfere with the insertion of the article of clothing into the compartment or space 204,204′ or the hanging of the article of clothing upon the horizontally oriented clothing bar 210.

With reference lastly being made to FIGS. 1 and 6, it is noted that tab members 112 can be attached to the clothing separators 100 so as to facilitate manual separation of the clothing separators with respect to each other when, for example, an article of clothing is to be removed from or inserted into the closet, or to identify particular articles or types of clothing. The tabs may be color-coded as may be desired and may be affixed to the forward upper edge portions 106 of each clothing separator 100 by any suitable fastening means. As can best be appreciated from FIG. 6, each one of the tab members 112 may be similar in structure to the tab members which are conventionally used in conjunction with hanging files in a filing cabinet. Each one of the tab members 112 is seen to comprise, for example, an elongated body portion which is fabricated from a suitable thermoplastic material and effectively folded in half such that the tab member 112 comprises two plastic sheet members 114,116 which have substantially the same configuration. The two plastic sheet members 114,116 are connected together at a common upper edge portion 118. The lower half of the tab member 112 is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed substantially triangular-shaped side edge portions 120,122 which are adapted to be inserted into slots, not shown, defined within the forward upper edge portion 106 of each clothing separator 100, while the upper half of the tab member 112 is effectively provided with a substantially rectangular portion 124 which defines an elongated slot 126, open at both ends between the sheet members 114,116, so as to accommodate, for example, a nameplate or the like upon which clothing identifying indicia may be disposed. As has been noted, the tab members 112 may be color-coded, and together with the nameplate or other identifying indicia, individual articles of clothing may be readily identified or grouped together. It is also noted, as is conventional with the tab members used in conjunction with hanging files within a filing cabinet, that the upper half portion 124 of the tab member 112 is disposed at a predetermined angle with respect to the lower half portion upon which the side edge portions 120,122 are disposed, and in this manner, when two tab member 112 are disposed adjacent to each other, they facilitate the spatial separation of the clothing separators 100. Still yet further, and as is also conventional in connection with hanging file folders, while the tab members 112 are shown in the drawings as being mounted upon forward areas of the upper edge portions 106 of the clothing separators 100, they may in fact be disposed at staggered positions along the upper edge portions 106 of the clothing separators 100 so as to further facilitate the spatial separation of the clothing separators 100.

Obviously, many variations and modifications of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

REFERENCE NUMBER KEY

• 100—Clothing separator
• 102—Body member of clothing separator
• 104—Opposite disposed vertically oriented side edge portions of separator
• 106—Oppositely disposed horizontally oriented side edge portions of 100
• 108—C-shaped hook member of clothing separator
• 110—Horizontally oriented clothing bar disposed within a clothing closet
• 112—Tab member on clothing separator
• 114—First sheet of tab member 112
• 116—Second sheet of tab member 112
• 118—Upper connecting edge portion of tab member 112
• 120—First lower side edge portion of tab member 112
• 122—Second lower side edge portion of tab member 112
• 124—Upper half portion of tab member 112
• 126—Elongated slot defined within upper portion 124 of tab member 112
• 200—Clothing separator system
• 202,202′—Spacers for use in system 200
• 204,204′—Spaces between clothing separators 100,100′,100″

Claims

1-6. (canceled)

7. A clothing separator system for facilitating the insertion or removal of articles of clothing from a clothing closet having a horizontally oriented clothing bar fixedly secured therein upon which articles of clothing are to be hung, comprising: at least two clothing separators adapted to be suspendingly hung from the horizontally oriented clothing bar of a clothes closet so as to define a space between said at least two clothing separators for accommodating at least one article of clothing which is also to be hung upon the horizontally oriented clothing bar of the clothes closet;wherein each one of said two clothing separators comprises a body member having a geometrical configuration such that oppositely disposed side surface portions of said body member are disposed toward articles of clothing disposed upon opposite sides of said body member of said clothing separator when said clothing separator is hung upon the horizontally oriented clothing bar disposed within the clothing closet and when said body member is interposed between two adjacent articles of clothing hanging from the horizontally oriented clothing bar within the clothing closet; and a hook member fixedly mounted upon said body member for hanging said clothing separator upon the clothing bar of the clothes closet; anda spacer, having a predetermined width dimension, fixedly secured to each one of said at least two clothing separators so as to provide said space, defined between said at least two clothing separators, with a predetermined width dimension whereby, depending upon said predetermined width dimension of said spacer, said space defined between said at least two clothing separators by said spacer can have different width dimensions so as to accommodate different articles of clothing;whereby an article of clothing, disposed within said space defined between said at least two clothing separators can be easily removed from or inserted into the clothes closet as a result of the article of clothing sliding along said oppositely disposed side surface portions of said body members of said at least two clothing separators.

8. The clothing separator system as set forth in claim 7, wherein: each one of said body members of said at least two clothing separators is fabricated from a thermoplastic material.

9. The clothing separator as set forth in claim 8, wherein: said thermoplastic material is selected from the group comprising polyethylene terephthalate (PETE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), and a polycarbonate (PC).

10. The clothing separator system as set forth in claim 7, further comprising: a tab member fixedly attached to each one of said body members of said at least two clothing separators for supporting identifying indicia thereon so as to facilitate identification of articles of clothing hanging upon the clothing bar of the clothes closet.

11. The clothing separator system as set forth in claim 7, wherein: each one of said body members has a substantially rectangular configuration.

12. The clothing separator system as set forth in claim 7, wherein: each one of said body members has a substantially square-shaped configuration.

13. (canceled)

14. The clothing separator system as set forth in claim 7, wherein: said spacer comprises a bracket having a substantially inverted L-shaped configuration with a first leg portion of said substantially L-shaped bracket being affixed to rear edge portions of said at least two clothing separators while a second leg portion of said substantially L-shaped bracket is fixed to upper edge portions of said at least two clothing separators.