Garment Hanger

Abstract

A garment hanger comprising: a generally triangular shaped body, the generally triangular shaped body comprising: a base; a first leg attached to the base; a second leg attached to the base and the first leg; a hook attached to the first leg and second leg; and where the garment hanger is made out of a biodegradable material selected from the group consisting of Natureworks PLA, biodegradable plastic, corn based plastic, paper, cardboard, wood or wood derivative.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES

This patent application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/814,509, by Anthony J. LaBella, entitled “Biodegradeable disposable clothing hangar”, filed on Jun. 19, 2006, the entire contents of which are fully incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to a garment hanger, and more specifically to a garment hanger that is biodegradable and disposable.

BACKGROUND

Garment or clothing hangers are purposely designed for a stiff construction and durability. Their use requires that they are generally made from wire and in some variations these wire hangars are wrapped with cloth, foam rubber or cardboard to shape the garment hangar to the clothing. Often the same characteristics of the wire frame make this item difficult to dispose of properly. These items are difficult to fit into conventional garbage bags due to the wire hook and are not eligible for domestic recycling. They are either returned to the dry cleaner or are thrown away to contaminate land-fills.

Therefore there is a need for a garment hanger that overcomes the above listed and other disadvantages.

SUMMARY

The disclosed invention relates to a garment hanger comprising: a generally triangular shaped body, the generally triangular shaped body comprising: a base; a first leg attached to the base; a second leg attached to the base and the first leg; a hook attached to the first leg and second leg; and where the garment hanger is made out of a biodegradable material selected from the group consisting of Natureworks PLA, biodegradable plastic, corn based plastic, paper, cardboard, wood or wood derivative.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will be better understood by those skilled in the pertinent art by referencing the accompanying drawings, where like elements are numbered alike in the several figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of one embodiment of the disclosed hanger;

FIG. 2 is a top view of another embodiment of the disclosed hanger; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the disclosed hanger.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a front view of one embodiment of the garment hanger 10. The hanger 10 comprises a hook 14, attached to a generally triangular shaped body 18. The generally triangular shaped body 18 comprises a base 22, a first leg 26 and a second leg 30. The legs 26 and 30 may have a contoured shape configured to allow a shirt, blouse, and/or jacket to hang from the legs 26, 30. Each leg 26, 30 may have a shoulder supporting portion 34, and a neck hole protruding portion 38. The hook 14 may have a notched or scored area 42. The notched or scored area 42 allows a user to snap the hook 14 off the hanger 10, in order to more easily dispose of the hanger 10. The hanger 10 may have one or more cross members 46 to provide support to the hanger 10, when the hanger is used to hang a garment, such as a coat or a jacket. The base 22 is configured to allow one to hang pants, scarves, etc. from the hanger 10.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the disclosed garment hanger 10. In this embodiment, the hanger 10 does not have a contoured neck hole protruding portion 38 on the first leg 26 and second leg 30. In addition, this hanger does not have the one or more cross members 46.

In one embodiment, the hangers disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2 may have a rounded cross-sectional shape, that is known in the prior art. In another embodiment, however, the cross-sectional shape of the hangers is shown in FIG. 3. The cross-sectional shape has two flattened sides 50. These flattened sides 50 allow for easy stacking, and for usage in mechanical retrieval machines.

The disclosed hangers will be made out of a biodegradable material, such as Natureworks PLA biodegradable plastic, corn based plastic, paper, cardboard, wood or wood derivative or other suitable material that will be structurally rigid and allow easy disposal for the end user consumer either through conventional refuse disposal or local recycling collection. One promising material, is Natureworks polylactic acid (Natureworks PLA), supplied by NatureWorks LLC, 15305 Minnetonka Boulevard, Minnetonka, Minn. 55345. The Natureworks PLA is biodegradable, and is made from a renewable resource, corn. In addition, garment hangers made from Natureworks PLA may be used in composting processes. One particular type of Natureworks PLA that is promising for the disclosed hanger is the 3001D. Of course, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the disclosed hanger is not limited to being made out of the 3001d polymer, but can be made from any suitable biodegradable and/or recyclable material.

The advantages of the disclosed hanger is that it is a very inexpensive hangar made out of a biodegradable and/or recyclable material that will allow its disposal in a manner that will allow consumers to more fully incorporate a “green” lifestyle that is prevalent in the market place. This invention is particularly desirable in a commercial setting to attract consumers to a means of delivering clean garments that does not encumber either the immediate disposal process or the long-term disposal process by avoiding the effect of a steel or metal hangar.

It should be noted that the terms “first”, “second”, and “third”, and the like may be used herein to modify elements performing similar and/or analogous functions. These modifiers do not imply a spatial, sequential, or hierarchical order to the modified elements unless specifically stated.

While the disclosure has been described with reference to several embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this disclosure, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A garment hanger comprising:

a generally triangular shaped body, the generally triangular shaped body comprising: a base; a first leg attached to the base; a second leg attached to the base and the first leg;

a hook attached to the first leg and second leg; and

wherein the garment hanger is made out of a biodegradable material selected from the group consisting of Natureworks PLA, biodegradable plastic, corn based plastic, paper, cardboard, wood or wood derivative.

2. The garment hanger of claim 1, further comprising:

a notched area on the hook, configured to allow for the snapping off of the hook from the hanger.

3. The garment hanger of claim 1 further comprising:

a first cross member attached to the first leg and the second leg.

4. The garment hanger of claim 3, further comprising:

a second cross member attached to the first cross member and the first leg; and

a third cross member attached to the first cross member and the second leg.

5. The garment hanger of claim 3, further comprising:

a contoured shape on the first leg and the second leg, the contoured shaped configured to provide a neck hole protruding portion to the hanger, and a shoulder supporting portion to the hanger.

6. The garment hanger of claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the hanger has a first flattened side and a second flattened side, the flattened sides allowing for stacking of a plurality of garment hangers.

7. The garment hanger of claim 1, wherein the material that the hanger is made out of is Natureworks PLA Polymer 3001D.