EXPANDABLE COAT HANGER

Abstract

An expandable clothes hanger. The hanger includes a first and second fixed arm attached to a hanging hook. A first telescoping arm selectively extends from the first fixed arm, while a second telescoping arm extends from the second fixed arm. A fixed pants bar connects the free ends of the first and second fixed arms. A telescoping pants bar connects the free ends of the first and second telescoping arms. Soft shoulder pads are preferably attached to the free end of each of the telescoping arms. A detent mechanism is preferably provided so that the hanger will stay in a state of expansion set by the user.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the field of garment storage. More specifically, the invention comprises an expandable coat hanger which can be selectively expanded to accommodate a wide range of garment sizes.

2. Description of the Related Art

Prior art coat hangers generally have two arms extending outward from a hanging hook. A pants bar connects the free ends of the two arms. The arms may then be used to suspend a garment such as a jacket. Slacks may be folded over the pants bar for storage.

Most prior art hangers are fixed in size. They are dimensioned to accommodate the majority of garment sizes. However, garments made for large people do not hang well on such hangers. As an example, the shoulders of a sport coat made to fit a very large individual will extend well beyond the free ends of the hanger arms. Portions of the coat will therefore fold during storage, which may ruin its appearance and longevity.

Standard hangers also cause problems for unusually small garments. A sport coat made for a small individual will be too narrow for the arms of a standard hanger. The hanger arms will then protrude into the sleeve areas—again compromising the appearance and longevity of the garment.

Several prior art inventions have addressed these concerns by providing adjustable clothes hangers. These prior devices have been unattractive in appearance and deficient in function. Accordingly, the present invention seeks to provide an adjustable clothes hanger having superior functionality and a pleasing appearance.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises an expandable clothes hanger. The hanger includes a first and second fixed arm attached to a hanging hook. A first telescoping arm selectively extends from the first fixed arm, while a second telescoping arm extends from the second fixed arm.

A fixed pants bar connects the free ends of the first and second fixed arms. A telescoping pants bar connects the free ends of the first and second telescoping arms. Soft shoulder pads are preferably attached to the free end of each of the telescoping arms. A detent mechanism is preferably provided so that the hanger will stay in a state of expansion set by the user.

The user expands the hanger by grasping the two shoulder pads and pulling outward. The two telescoping arms—and the telescoping pants bar—extend in unison to increase the overall size of the hanger.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, showing the proposed invention in an expanded state.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, showing the proposed invention in a collapsed state.

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevation view, showing the dovetail slider connection between the first telescoping arm and the first fixed arm.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view, showing a ball plunger that may be used as a detent mechanism in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional elevation view, showing the use of a ball plunger as a detent mechanism.

FIG. 6 shows the present invention configured for use with a standard size garment.

FIG. 7 shows the present invention configured for use with an oversize garment.

REFERENCE NUMERALS IN THE DRAWINGS

10	expandable hanger	12	hook
14	junction	16	first fixed arm
18	second fixed arm	20	fixed pants bar
22	first telescoping arm	24	second telescoping arm
26	telescoping pants bar	28	inner member
30	outer membrane	32	first shoulder pad
34	second shoulder pad	36	dovetail channel
38	ball plunger	40	knurled housing
42	ball	44	spring
46	pocket	48	relief
50	standard size garment	52	oversize garment

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Support needed - *****shoulder pad extending above telescoping arm -> Must define this to mean that when the hanger is suspended from a rack and a garment is placed on it “above” means “above” in this orientation. (Also need examples of detent mechanisms other than ball plungers); support for nature of dovetail joints (male dovetail in female dovetail channel), ball detent protruding into dovetail slot and plurality of reliefs positioned to engage it; explain detents “regulating the sliding action of”; mention that detent mechanism could put ball plunger on telescoping arms and have detents on fixed arms;

FIG. 1 shows the present invention in an expanded state. Expandable hanger 10 has first fixed arm 16 and second fixed arm 18. These meet at junction 14, where hook 12 is attached. Each fixed arm has a free end extending away from junction 14. Fixed pants bar 20 connects the two free ends of the two fixed arms. Those skilled in the art will recognize all these features as being typically of prior art hangers.

However, expandable hanger 10 includes additional features which allow its size to be adjusted. First telescoping arm 22 is slidably received within first fixed arm 16. Second telescoping arm 24 is likewise slidably received within second fixed arm 18. The telescoping arms selectively slide in and out of the fixed arms in order to adjust the size of the hanger, as will be explained in more detail subsequently.

Each telescoping arm has a first end which is engaged within a fixed arm and a second end which extends outward from the free end of the fixed arm. First shoulder pad 32 is attached to the second end of first telescoping arm 22. Second shoulder pad 34 is attached to the second end of second telescoping arm 24. The first and second shoulder pads are preferably soft and pliable. However, since the outer surface of these components is subject to wear, they should have a reasonably tough exterior surface.

Telescoping pants bar 26 connects the second end of first telescoping arm 22 to the second end of second telescoping arm 24. The embodiment of the telescoping pants bar shown includes inner member 28 slidably received within outer member 30. This engagement allows the telescoping pants bar to lengthen appropriately as the first and second telescoping arms are drawn out of the fixed arms.

FIG. 1 shows the expandable hanger in an expanded state. I order to collapse the hanger to a smaller state, the user may grasp first shoulder pad 32 and second shoulder pad 34 and push them together. This action forces the two telescoping arms into the two fixed arms. This action also pushes inner member 28 into outer member 30, thereby shortening the overall length of telescoping pants bar 26.

The result is depicted in FIG. 2, which shows expandable hanger 10 in a collapsed state. First shoulder pad 32 has been forced inward until it abuts the free end of first fixed arm 16. Likewise, second shoulder pad 34 has been pushed inward until it abuts second fixed arm 18. Telescoping pants bar 26 has collapsed to the length shown. The components may be sized so that the configuration of FIG. 2 represents the ideal for a small garment (such as a men's size 34 jacket) and the configuration of FIG. 1 represents the ideal for a large garment (such as a men's size 58 jacket).

The sliding engagement between the two fixed arms and the two telescoping arms can assume many forms. One approach is to provide a rectangular hole through the middle of the fixed arm which engages the rectangular exterior of a telescoping arm. It is preferable, however, to provide a very stable engagement which will not tend to warp or flex as the telescoping arm is moved in and out. In addition, it is preferable to provide an engagement which can easily be manufactured in wood (since wood is the preferred material for high-quality garment hangers).

FIG. 3 shows a section elevation view through first fixed arm 16 and first telescoping arm 22. The embodiment shown uses a dovetail sliding engagement. First fixed arm 16 includes dovetail channel 36 cut into its upward-facing surface. The dovetail channel is a female dovetail.

First telescoping arm 22 (or at least a large portion thereof) has a male dovetail cross section which is sized to be a close sliding fit with dovetail channel 36. The same arrangement is used for the second fixed arm and second telescoping arm.

Those skilled in the art will know that the dovetail engagement shown provides a smooth and stable sliding engagement. In addition, dovetail channel 36 may easily be cut into a wooden fixed arm using a rotating dovetail cutter.

It is also preferable to provide a detent mechanism which holds the expandable hanger in a desired state of expansion. The phrase “detent mechanism” should be broadly understood to mean any device which tends to retain the sliding engagement in one of a plurality of user-selectable positions. One approach to creating a suitable detent mechanism is the use of ball plungers located in the fixed arm. The spring-loaded balls of these ball plungers then extend into suitably located reliefs in the telescoping arms.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing one type of ball plunger 38. Knurled housing 40 contains ball 42 and spring 44. When installed, spring 44 urges ball 42 upward through the opening in the top of knurled housing 40. However, the opening in the knurled housing is slightly smaller than the ball diameter. Thus, ball 42 extends out of the housing but cannot escape.

FIG. 5 is a sectioned elevation view showing the operation of a ball plunger. The section is taken through the middle of dovetail channel 36. First telescoping arm slides to the right and left in the orientation of the view (which corresponds to sliding in and out of first fixed arm 16). Pocket 46 is provided in the base of dovetail channel 36 in first fixed arm 16. Ball plunger 38 is pressed down into this pocket. The knurled exterior of the ball plunger housing frictionally engages the perimeter of pocket 46 and locks the ball plunger in place. An adhesive can also be used.

Ball 42 projects upward into the dovetail channel as shown. One or more reliefs 48 are provided on the underside of first telescoping arm 22. When one of these reliefs passes over the ball plunger, ball 42 pops up into the relief and tends to hold the telescoping arm in position. The ball plunger characteristics are selected so that the user may easily overcome the engagement of ball 42 with relief 48. Thus, although this detent mechanism locks the telescoping features in a given position, the user may preferably push or pull the telescoping features to another position without undue effort.

It is preferable to provide a ball plunger in each of the two dovetail channels 36. In fact, in some large embodiments, it is preferable to provide two ball plungers in each dovetail channel. One can also mount the ball plungers in the telescoping arms and provide the reliefs in the bottom of the dovetail channels. Numerous other permutations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Of course, the ball plunger illustrated is only one type of detent mechanism. One could also use a bowed spring popping up into the reliefs on the telescoping arms.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate the operation of the device. In FIG. 6, the expandable hanger is in a collapsed state. Standard size garment 50 hangs over the two fixed arms and two shoulder pads. The reader will appreciate that the orientation shown in FIG. 6 is the standard orientation for any garment hanger. The reader will note that the upward facing surfaces of first shoulder pad 32 and second shoulder pad 34 lie above the plane of the upward facing surfaces of first fixed arm 16 and second fixed arm 18. This forces the garment to lie on the shoulder pads. The extra width and softness of the shoulder pads maintains the hanging garment in a manner which more closely resembles the way the garment hangs on a person's body, which represents an advantage.

FIG. 7 shows the same expandable hanger after it has been expanded to better accommodate oversize garment 52. The reader preferably pulls outward on first shoulder pad 32 and second shoulder pad 34 until they are separated by a distance equal to the shoulder-width of the person wearing oversize garment 52. Oversize garment 52 will then hang naturally on the hanger in the expanded state. The reader will again observe how the upward facing surfaces of the two shoulder pads lie above the plane of the upward facing surfaces of the two telescoping arms and the two fixed arms. This ensures that the weight of the garment's shoulder area is primarily carried by the soft shoulder pads.

The reader will thereby understand that the proposed invention provides an expandable hanger which a user may adjust to suite a wide variety of garments. The size adjustment is preferably made by simply pulling outward or pulling inward on the telescoping arms (typically by gripping the soft shoulder pads). Although the preceding descriptions contain significant detail, they should properly be viewed as disclosing examples of the inventions' many possible embodiments rather than limiting the scope of the invention. For instance, the present invention can be made from a variety of different materials, including injection molded plastics or stamped sheet meal. In such a case the sliding configuration might be something other than the dovetail engagement that was described in detail. Many other embodiments are possible, with the scope of the invention properly being defined by the claims rather than any example provided.

Claims

1. An expandable hanger, comprising:

a. a junction;

b. a first fixed arm connected to said junction, said first fixed arm having a free end extending away from said junction;

c. a second fixed arm connected to said junction, said second fixed arm having a free end extending away from said junction;

d. a first telescoping arm, having a first end and a second end, with said first end of said first telescoping arm being slidably received within said first fixed arm;

e. a second telescoping arm, having a first end and a second end, with said first end of said second telescoping arm being slidably received within said second fixed arm;

f. a first shoulder pad attached to said second end of said first telescoping arm, said first shoulder pad extending above said first telescoping arm;

g. a second shoulder pad attached to said second end of said second telescoping arm, said second shoulder pad extending above said second telescoping arm; and

h. a telescoping pants bar, having a first end and a second end, with said first end being attached to said first telescoping arm and said second end being attached to said second telescoping arm.

2. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 1, further comprising a first detent mechanism regulating the sliding action between said first telescoping arm and said first fixed arm.

3. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 2, further comprising a second detent mechanism regulating the sliding action between said second telescoping arm and said second fixed arm.

4. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 1, wherein said first detent mechanism comprises a ball plunger engaging one of a plurality of spaced reliefs.

5. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 2, wherein said second detent mechanism comprises a ball plunger engaging one of a plurality of spaced reliefs.

6. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 1, wherein:

a. said first fixed arm includes a dovetail channel;

b. said first telescoping arm includes a male dovetail portion configured to slide within said dovetail channel in said first fixed arm;

c. said second fixed ant includes a dovetail channel; and

d. said second telescoping arm includes a male dovetail portion configured to slide within said dovetail channel in said second fixed arm.

7. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

a. a first ball plunger located within said first fixed arm, with said first ball plunger extending into said dovetail channel in said first fixed arm;

b. a plurality of reliefs in said first telescoping arm, said plurality of reliefs being positioned to engage said first ball plunger;

c. a second ball plunger located within said second fixed arm, with said second ball plunger extending into said dovetail channel in said second fixed arm; and

d. a plurality of reliefs in said second telescoping arm, said plurality of reliefs being positioned to engage said second ball plunger.

8. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 1, further comprising a hook attached to said junction.

9. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 7, further comprising a hook attached to said junction.

10. An expandable hanger, comprising:

a. a first fixed arm and a second fixed arm joined together, with said first fixed arm having a free end extending in a first direction and said second fixed arm having a free end extending in a direction opposite to said first direction;

b. a first telescoping arm slidably received within said first fixed arm, said first telescoping arm having a first end engaged within said first fixed arm and a second end;

c. a second telescoping arm slidably received within said second fixed arm, said second telescoping arm having a first end engaged within said second fixed arm and a second end;

d. said first telescoping arm having a first shoulder pad attached to said second end of said first telescoping arm, said first shoulder pad extending above said first telescoping arm; and

e. said second telescoping arm having a second shoulder pad attached to said second end of said second telescoping arm, said second shoulder pad extending above said second telescoping arm.

11. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 1, further comprising a first detent mechanism regulating the sliding action between said first telescoping arm and said first fixed arm.

12. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 11, further comprising a second detent mechanism regulating the sliding action between said second telescoping arm and said second fixed arm.

13. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 10, wherein said first detent mechanism comprises a ball plunger engaging one of a plurality of spaced reliefs.

14. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 12, wherein said second detent mechanism comprises a ball plunger engaging one of a plurality of spaced reliefs.

15. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 10, wherein:

a. said first fixed arm includes a dovetail channel;

b. said first telescoping arm includes a male dovetail portion configured to slide within said dovetail channel in said first fixed arm;

c. said second fixed arm includes a dovetail channel; and

d. said second telescoping arm includes a male dovetail portion configured to slide within said dovetail channel in said second fixed arm.

16. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 15, further comprising:

a. a first ball plunger located within said first fixed arm, with said first ball plunger extending into said dovetail channel in said first fixed arm;

b. a plurality of reliefs in said first telescoping arm, said plurality of reliefs being positioned to engage said first ball plunger;

c. a second ball plunger located within said second fixed arm, with said second ball plunger extending into said dovetail channel in said second fixed arm; and

d. a plurality of reliefs in said second telescoping arm, said plurality of reliefs being positioned to engage said second ball plunger.

17. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 10, further comprising a hook attached to said junction.

18. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 11, further comprising a hook attached to said junction.

19. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 10, further comprising a telescoping pants bar having a first end and a second end, with said first end being attached to said first telescoping arm and said second end being attached to said second telescoping arm.

20. An expandable hanger as recited in claim 16, further comprising a telescoping pants bar having a first end and a second end, with said first end being attached to said first telescoping arm and said second end being attached to said second telescoping arm.