1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of garment hangers, and more specifically to a lower neck indicator for use with a hanger having a wire metal hook.
2. Description of Related Art
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, whereupon arrival at the retail location they may immediately be placed on display for sale. Formerly, retailers accomplished this task with labor provided at their own expense.
In particular, retailers have specified particular hangers or hanger characteristics among their several suppliers in order to achieve a visually pleasing 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). One particular standardized hanger feature is extremely popular across several hanger models, namely a turnable wire hook mated to a plastic hanger.
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 could include manufacturer, material and price, but most notably for garments, their size. Various means for accomplishing this have been developed, including those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,422 to Marshal, et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,260 to Gouldson, both of which are commonly assigned with the instant application, among others. Popular among these are the type disclosed in the latter patent just mentioned, i.e., those that secure to the hanger adjacent the intersection of the hook and the hanger body to one side of the hook, appropriately called side-sizer tabs, or simply side-sizers; lower neck sizers or indications.
However, such side-sizers heretofore known in the art require that the hanger be specifically manufactured to accept the particular indicator. Various other indicators could be made universally adaptable, for example those attached surrounding the wire hook of the hanger. These generally are free to slide along the length of the wire hook, and ordinarily come to rest at the base of the hook adjacent the hanger body. However, these do not securely engage with the hanger, nor achieve a desirable appearance.
Therefore, in order to overcome these and other deficiencies in the prior art, provided according to the present invention is a lower neck sizer for a garment hanger and a combination turnable wire hook hanger and lower neck sizer. The turnable wire hook hanger includes a body having a body flange surrounding the body, a cylindrical projection extending from the body beyond the flange, a pair of support flanges extending between the cylindrical projection and the body flange, and a wire hook rotably received in the cylindrical projection. The lower neck sizer includes a body dimensioned to generally surround the cylindrical projection and the support flanges adjacent to the body flange, and an inwardly extending tab secured to the sizer body, the inwardly extending tab configured to engage the hanger at a lower neck region to resist removal of the lower neck sizer.
In a more particular embodiment, the inwardly extending tab comprises a relief sized to accommodate the cylindrical projection and a finger directed towards the intersection between one of the support flanges with the cylindrical projection when the lower neck sizer is engaged with the hanger at a lower neck region. Alternately, the inwardly extending tab comprises an upward surface located to engage the body flange. The lower neck sizer may include a downward extension, the inwardly extending tab being carried by the downward extension.
In another embodiment, the inwardly extending tab comprises a plurality of substantially radial projections located at an upper surface of the lower neck sizer and dimensioned to engage the wire hook. Each of the plurality of substantially radial projections may, but need not, have a convex, concave, chamfered or sloped inward end. The lower neck sizer can have a discontinuity traversing the height of the body to facilitate mounting on the hanger.
These and other features, aspects and benefits of the present invention will be made apparent with reference to the following specification and accompanying drawings, where like reference numerals refer to like features across the several views, and wherein:
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
In use, lower neck sizer 100 is passed over wire hook 30, with the wire hook 30 passing through both lower surface 112 and upper surface 110. Lower neck sizer 100 is brought to lower neck region 21. As the lower neck sizer 100 is pressed into engagement with the lower neck region 21, tabs 120, 122 deflect outward to admit projection 28 and first and second support flanges 32, 34. Once tabs 120, 122 are pressed beyond first and second support flanges 32, 34, tabs 120, 122 return to their original position. Relieves 120a, 122a cooperate to admit projection 28, while pairs of fingers 120b, 122b, and 120c, 122c, each locate in the space adjacent the intersection of projection 28 with first support flange 32 and the intersection of projection 28 with second support flange 34, respectively.
The first embodiment lower neck sizer 100 engages with lower neck region 21 at approximately the same level as or, slightly above body flange 22. Optionally, either or both of anterior wall 102 and posterior wall 104 may extend beyond body flange 22, at least to achieve a visual appearance consistent with further embodiments, below, or to combine additional features of those embodiments.
Turning now to
Lateral wall 208 will be sized to locate its lower edge above the body flange 22 of hanger 10, when positioned on a lower neck region 21. Either or both of anterior wall 202 and a generally trapezoidal posterior wall 204, in the second embodiment both, can have extensions 202a, 204a, respectively, dimensioned to extend beyond the body flange 22 of hanger 10, when positioned on a lower neck region 21. Either or both of extensions 202a, 204a, in the second embodiment both, can have inwardly directed tabs 242, 244, respectively. Notwithstanding the extensions 202a, 204a, anterior wall 202 and posterior wall 204 may still be considered generally trapezoidal.
Turning now to
Tabs 242, 244 may be carried on an inward surface of extensions 202a, 204a, respectively, or at an end of the extensions 202a, 204a. In other words, extensions 202a, 204a, may continue beyond the minimum necessary to position tabs 242, 244 for engagement with body flange 22. Tabs 242, 244 may be coextensive with extensions 202a, 204a, respectively, or may be intermittent anywhere along the length of either extension, irrespective of the length, size, shape, or even presence of a tab on the opposite extension. Moreover, two extensions 202a, 204a, need not be provided. Alternately, the tabs 242, 244 may be provided in communication with anterior wall 202 and posterior wall 204 without any extension 202a, 204a. Such an embodiment is illustrated with reference to
As shown in
For example,
In use, lower neck sizer 200 is passed over wire hook 30, with the wire hook 30 passing through both lower surface 212 and upper surface 210, through opening 211. Lower neck sizer 200 is brought to lower neck region 21. As the lower neck sizer 100 is pressed into engagement with the lower neck region 21, tabs 242, 244 deflect outward to admit body flange 22. Once tabs 242, 244 are pressed beyond flanges 22, tabs 242, 244 return to their original position. Tabs 242, 244, in cooperation with a lower extent of lateral walls 206, 208, and optionally with material surrounding opening 211, if present, hold the lower neck sizer 200 in engagement with lower neck region 21. The embodiment of
Turning now to FIG. 8., illustrated in perspective view is a lower neck sizer, generally 400, according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. A complete description of features in common with the foregoing embodiments will be dispensed with. Upper surface 410 includes a generally cylindrical band 460. The generally cylindrical band 460 can be circular, as in the illustrative embodiment, or another geometric cylindrical projection, including but not limited to rectangular, square, triangular, pentagonal, etc. In the fourth embodiment as shown, band 460 upwardly extends from the upper surface 410. Alternately or additionally, band 460 may extend downward from the upper surface 410, or may be eliminated altogether. Notwithstanding the presence, absence, or height of band 460 above or below upper surface 410, projections 470 may themselves extend in whole or in part above or below upper surface 410, or may be coplanar with it.
Lower neck sizer 400 also includes a plurality of substantially radial inwardly directed projections 470. At their mutual inward ends, projections 470 engage the wire hook 30 of the hanger 10. The inward ends 472 of projections 470 may be convex, as in the fourth embodiment, or may also be concave, or chamfered or sloped in any direction. With as few as two projections 470, concave ends lend stability to the fit between the projections 470 and the wire hook 30. Increasing numbers of projections aids stability and may obviate the need for concave ends.
Optionally, the lower neck sizer 400 can have a discontinuity 480 traversing the height of the tab body 401 to facilitate mounting to a hanger by admitting the wire hook 30. The discontinuity 480 need be only as wide as necessary to allow the lower neck sizer 400 to admit the wire hook 30, and in fact may be narrower than the wire hook 30 where the material selected for lower neck sizer 400 can elastically deform to admit the wire hook 30. The ends of the discontinuity 480 may be radiused or chamfered to ease the insertion of the wire hook 30. Notwithstanding the discontinuity 480, the lower neck sizer 400 substantially surrounds the lower neck portion 21 of the hanger 10.
Lower neck sizer 400 has extensions 402a, 404a, extending below walls 402 and 404, respectively, notwithstanding the absence of any tabs projecting from extensions 402a, 404a. Regardless, both projections 470 and such tabs may be provided to more securely engage the lower neck sizer 400 with the hanger 10. Similarly, a discontinuity 480 as included in the fourth embodiment may be incorporated into the previous embodiments to facilitate mounting the lower neck sizer to the hanger, regardless of the manner in which the particular lower neck sizer engages with the hanger.
In their preferred embodiments, lower neck sizers 100, 200, 300, 400 or 500 are integrally formed of a plastic material, more specifically, an injection molded plastic. The plastic can be flexible to accommodate resilient flexure for engagement with the hanger 10. Materials contemplated that satisfy this criterion of flexibility include, without limitation, polypropylene in its various forms, and K-resin in its various forms, among others.
Lower neck sizers 100, 200, 300, 400, or 500, or any parts thereof, can be configured to carry indicia selected in advance to correspond to the item to be suspended from the hanger. Categories of indicia could include manufacturer, material and price, but most notably for garments, their size. The indicia can have the form of numbers, letters or symbols either applied to the lower neck sizer and/or molded into it. Alternately or additionally the color, size, shape or mere presence of the lower neck sizer itself may be the indicia.
The present invention has been described with respect to certain exemplary embodiments. Certain alterations and/or modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art, in light of the instant disclosure, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. These embodiments are offered as merely illustrative, and not limiting, on the scope of the invention, which is defined solely with reference to the following appended claims.
This present application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/395,834, filed Mar. 2, 2009, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/373,027, filed Mar. 10, 2006. Furthermore, the present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/661,588, entitled “Lower Neck Indicator for Wire Hook Hangers”, filed Mar. 14, 2005 by the present inventor and commonly assigned with the present application. The complete disclosure of these applications is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12395834 | Mar 2009 | US |
Child | 13339924 | US | |
Parent | 11373027 | Mar 2006 | US |
Child | 12395834 | US |