HANG TIGHT HANGER

Abstract

A one-piece hanger designed with clips on each side of the downward slopes of the hanger body is disclosed. The unique placement of the clips allows garment necks to be held tightly onto the hanger. Having clips on the two sloping sides of the hanger provides the present hanger unique advantages.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/956,236, filed Aug. 16, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, including but not limited to those portions that specifically appear hereinafter, the incorporation by reference being made with the following exception: In the event that any portion of the above-referenced provisional application is inconsistent with this application, this application supercedes said above-referenced provisional application.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to garment hangers and more particularly to hangers with clips for-holding garments onto them.

2. Related Art

There are many types hangers with different kinds of clips and clamps claiming to hold garments tightly onto them. There are many effective hangers that strive to address this issue. Hangers have been disclosed in the patent literature and are commercially available which include portions of the hanger being covered to provide strength and prevent mis-forming of the hanger when garments are hung thereon, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,516 (Rice). The Rice patent teaches the application of materials to wire hangers to increase the surface area of the frame of the hanger and to strengthen the hanger. The material attached to the hanger is made of hard plastic or like material. A longitudinal opening in the material enables it to be placed upon the wires of the hanger frame, and bar attachments connect the material together to provide further strengthening. A clothing hanger guard is disclosed in Hill in U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,545. The guard comprises a soft plastic sleeve, with one end closed and the other end open. The open end is slipped over the open end of the hanging hook of a wire hanger to strengthen the hook. Other methods include the gluing of non-slip material to the frame of the hanger or the sewing of soft material onto the hanger after the hanger has been manufactured. The sewing of soft material coverings onto hangers is tedious and expensive and does not allow for easy removal of the covering or replacement of the covering when the hanger is in use. Existing devices do not provide for simple, inexpensive means for manufacturing a covered hanger which incorporates a pre-formed and pre-sewn sleeve of material for preventing slippage, clinging, snagging or tearing, mis-forming and creasing of garments, and which enables efficient drip drying of garments.

For conventional hangers, clips are normally placed on the bottom rod of the hanger, but that is ineffective for holding a garment along the slope of the hanger. These are normally used to hold pants. They fail to keep shirts or jackets from sliding off of their slopes. The clips of hangers disclosed in the present invention, with their unique location, ensure a tight hold on the necks of jackets and shirts, particularly garments with wide necks. This is achieved by the practical and inexpensive design of the clip. Other hangers claiming to keep shirts and jackets from slipping off of them may have rubber stops or some kind of fabric or material along the slopes of their hanger to solve the problem of the garments slipping off. This does prove somewhat effective, but lack an actual clip to grab the garments tightly and are also typically more expensive to manufacture and so for the consumer to purchase.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,384, for example, has clips along the straight, bottom rod. U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,727 also has clips on the bottom rod as well as notches along the two downward slopes. The disadvantages of these types of clips and notches are the clip placement is not effective for holding onto the neck of a shirt in its natural hanger position. In addition, the notches do not hold the neck of a basic shirt. They are also typically more expensive to manufacture due to the separate pieces and metal materials they are made with. Other hangers are made with fabric or cohesive material along their downward slopes. The disadvantages of these types of hangers are that clothing hung onto these hangers are still able to fall off or be pulled off with little opposing force and clothing or jackets with very wide necks are completely unable to remain fastened onto the hanger.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has been recognized that it would be advantageous to develop a one-piece hanger designed with clips on each side of the downward slopes of the hanger body. The unique placement of the clips allows garment necks to be held tightly onto the hanger. Having clips on the two sloping sides of the hanger provides the present hanger with unique advantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the disclosure without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the entire hanger with two clip mechanisms, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, front perspective view of the entire clip mechanism;

FIG. 3 is a front, angled perspective view of the entire clip mechanism;

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the entire hanger showing also the two clip mechanisms and

FIG. 5 is a side perspective view of the entire hanger as seen in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENT(S)

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles in accordance with the disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the disclosure as illustrated herein, which would normally occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the disclosure claimed. Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended.

Before the present invention is disclosed and described, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular configurations, process steps, and materials disclosed herein as such configurations, process steps, and materials may vary somewhat. It is also to be understood that the terminology employed herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting since the scope of the disclosure will be limited only by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

The publications and other reference materials referred to herein to describe the background of the disclosure, and to provide additional detail regarding its practice, are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties, with the following exception: In the event that any portion of said reference materials is inconsistent with this application, this application supercedes said reference materials. The reference materials discussed herein are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of this application. Nothing herein is to be construed as a suggestion or admission that the inventors are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior disclosure, or to distinguish the disclosure from the subject matter disclosed in the reference materials.

It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In describing and claiming the subject matter of the disclosure, the following terminology will be used in accordance with the definitions set out below.

As used herein, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” “characterized by,” and grammatical equivalents thereof are inclusive or open-ended terms that do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.

As used herein, the phrase “consisting of” and grammatical equivalents thereof exclude any element, step, or ingredient not specified in the claim.

As used herein, the phrase “consisting essentially of” and grammatical equivalents thereof limit the scope of a claim to the specified materials or steps and those that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristic or characteristics of the claimed disclosure

FIG. 1 shows a front perspective view of the hanger. It is comprised of a hook 2-5 which suspends the hanger, two slopes 2-4 extending from the hook, a rod base 2-6, connecting the two slopes and finishing the body of the hanger, and two clip mechanisms 2-0, one on each of the slopes 2-4. The hanger itself may be made of any material such as plastic, wood, metal, etc. Preferably, the hanger is made in one-piece, however, variations may include any removable parts or removable clips. Also, other materials such as hinges, metal pieces, rubber, or fabrics may be comprised into this hanger. The clip mechanisms 2-0 may also be manufactured to be in any different location along the hanger's slopes 2-4. The hook 2-5 of this hanger may be of any shape or material that will efficiently suspend the hanger. The whole design of this hanger is pleasing and unique in appearance; however, variations may be made to the appearance, color or size of the hanger design, as well as the size or appearance of the clip 2-0.

FIG. 2 shows a front perspective view of the entire clip mechanism 2-0 on the hanger's slopes 2-4. This clip mechanism and its location on the hanger is an important element of this invention. The whole clip 2-0 is comprised of a top piece 2-1, blunt teeth 2-2, and grooves opposite the teeth 2-3. It shows the clip mechanism 2-0 as a built-in piece on the hanger. This is to keep manufacturing and consumer costs at a minimum, but the clip may be altered to be a separate part or include separate pieces or parts such as hinges or to other leverage enforcing elements. The embodiment of the clip comprises several aspects. 2-1 shows the curve design of the top of the clip that extends from the hanger's slope 2-4 and curves back down toward the hanger's slope 2-4. This curve design allows the clip to flex slightly at this point in order to lift the top of the clip 2-1 away from the slopes 2-4 and place garments underneath it. This design is not only functional for use of the hanger without utilizing the clip mechanism 2-0, it also keeps a pleasing design enhancing the overall appearance of the hanger.

The design of the top piece of the clip 2-1, however, may be modified to be any shape or size. The whole clip mechanism 2-0 may be designed in different ways for appearance or functionality. 2-2 shows the clip mechanism's 2-0 blunt teeth. The teeth are angled toward the hook 2-5 and have blunt edges so as grip any garment firmly onto the hanger's slopes 2-4 without harming the material. These teeth may be modified to attach to rubber, fabric, or any other material. The teeth 2-2 may also be manufactured to be completely removable from the top piece of the clip 2-1 for use in clamping delicate garments. These teeth 2-2 fit directly into opposing grooves 2-3 cut out of the hanger's slopes 2-4. These teeth and groove design allows a firm, but non-abrasive grip on any garment that is placed between these two features. The grooves 2-3 may also be eliminated or modified to accommodate any modification of the teeth 2-2 or design modifications of the top of the clip 2-1 as mentioned above. This clip mechanism 2-0 may be placed it anywhere along the hanger's slope in order to accommodate wide or small-necked garments. The teeth 2-2 and grooves 2-3 work together to form a firm grip on garments hanging on the hanger so that they do not slip or fall off of the hanger's slopes 2-4.

As the user lifts up on the top of the clip 2-1, a garment is placed on the hanger's slope 2-4 over the grooves 2-3 and under the top of the clip 2-1. As the clip is released by the user, it will return to its original position along the hanger's slope 2-4, resulting in a firm and non-abrasive grip onto the garment. The hanger can then be tipped, moved around, or handled without the worry and frustration caused by the garment coming off of the hanger.

FIG. 3 is an angled front perspective view of the clip mechanism 2-0. This shows the underside of the blunt-edged teeth 2-2. It also shows an angled view of the clip's grooves 2-3 and further demonstrates how these two elements work together to form a firm grasp of whatever is placed between them.

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the entire hanger showing also the top of the clip mechanism 2-0. This figure shows the design of the top of the clips 2-1 on the hanger. This design not only has a nice appearance, but also enables the user to lift the top of the clip 2-1 from the slope 2-4 with ease. The appearance may be modified in design or made using any other material or added components such as, but not limited to, metal or other plastic pieces to give a different look or different functionality.

FIG. 5 is a side perspective view of the entire hanger as shown in FIG. 1. This view shows the sleek design of the hanger and clip mechanism. Modifications to any element of the hanger or clips, however, may cause a change in this appearance.

In operation, one lifts the clip and slides a garment underneath the clip and then simply lets the clip go. The clip will return back into place, meeting the slope of the hanger and grasping the garment tightly. One is now able to tilt the hanger, pull lightly on the garment or move the hanger in any way and the garment will stay in place on the hanger. The clip may be placed at anywhere along the entire slope of the hanger (such as clips placed more toward the base of the hanger for very wide necked garments or placed more toward the hook of the hanger for small necked garments)

Different kinds of clips/clasps/fasteners can be placed anywhere along the slopes of the hanger including, but not limited to, any kind of clips with hinges, metal parts, or screws. In addition, clips that can be removed or removable parts for a clip placed along the slopes of the hanger are included. Different types of grips on the clips including, but not limited to, rubber, different shapes or sizes of the “teeth”, or material and fabric, are all included in the present invention. Variation of size or shape of the clips or clasps and variation of the size or shape of the actual hanger body itself (such as small hangers for children's clothing) can also be used in the present invention.

While the forgoing descriptions are illustrative of the principles of the present invention in one or more particular applications, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications in form, usage and details of implementation can be made without the exercise of inventive faculty, and without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited, except as by the claims set forth below

In the foregoing Detailed Description of the Disclosure, various features of the disclosure are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed disclosure requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description of the Disclosure by this reference, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of the disclosure.

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the disclosure. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. The appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and arrangements. Thus, while the disclosure has been shown in the drawings and described above with particularity and detail, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications, including, but not limited to, variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use may be made without departing from the principles and concepts set forth herein.

Claims

1. A garment hanger comprised of a hook having two slopes extending from the hook, a rod base connecting the two slopes and finishing the body of the hanger, and a clip mechanism on each of the two slopes.

2. The garment hanger of claim 1, wherein said clip mechanism is comprised of a top piece, blunt teeth, and grooves opposite the teeth, as a built-in piece on the hanger.

3. The garment hanger of claim 2, wherein said blunt teeth are angled toward the hook and have blunt edges so as grip any garment firmly onto the hanger's slopes.

4. The garment hanger of claim 1, wherein said clip mechanism is removable from or adjustable on the slope.