DEVICE FOR HANGING A GARMENT WITH A NECK, OF THE COAT HANGER TYPE

Abstract

A device for hanging a collared garment, includes a support to be inserted into and hold the garment, on either side of the collar, and a hook secured to the support. The support has a body which ends in two folding ends, the device having an element for retracting the hook into the body, and an element for extending the folding ends such as to extend the body when a pulling force is applied to the hook, in order for the device to change from a first, more compact planar position, in which the folding ends are folded against the body and the hook is in the retracted position, to a second position in which the hook and the folding ends are extended, allowing the garment to be hung when a pulling force is applied to the hook of the device previously arranged in the garment.

Description

The invention concerns a device for hanging a garment with a neck, of the coat hanger type, comprising a support intended to be fitted in said garment in order to support it, on either side of said neck, and a hook secured to said support.

According to the invention, the support has a body and two foldable ends, said body terminating in said two foldable ends, the device having means for retracting the hook in the body of the support, as well as means for deploying said foldable ends in line when a traction force is exerted on the hook so that the device can pass from a first position flat, of less space requirement, in which said foldable ends are in their position folded against the body of the support and said hook is in its retracted position, to a second position in which the hook and said foldable ends are deployed, enabling the garment to be suspended when a traction force is exerted on the hook of the device prearranged in the garment.

The invention also concerns a garment with a neck, folded, with the sleeves folded over the body of the garment, and including a device according to the invention prearranged at the neck.

The invention concerns a device for hanging a garment with a neck, of the coat hanger type. The invention also concerns a folded garment with a neck, with the sleeves folded over the body of the garment, in which a device according to the invention is prearranged.

Garment with a neck means in particular a shirt, T-shirt, undergarment, lingerie or any other over- or underclothing having a neck for the head to pass through.

Very often, coat hangers made from plastics material, wood or metal are in the form of a triangular support equipped with a hook. In shops, a not insignificant time is spent by salespersons when garments, such as for example T-shirts, delivered folded, must be hung from the rails. It is thus necessary to unfold the garment and then to fit the triangular support of the coat hanger through the neck before hanging the garment on the attachment bars of the rails.

So that the salespersons do not waste time hanging the garments, “upstream hanging” is also known in the ready-to-wear field. The garments are delivered to the shops already hanging from supports by means of coat hangers. This technique does however have the major drawback of increasing the volume of goods during transport thereof, since the garments cannot be folded in a position of less space.

Cardboard coat hangers are moreover known from the prior art, in particular from the documents US-1.760.352, WO-98/53725 or DE 93 18 755. The document WO-98/53725 discloses such a cardboard coat hanger that can be folded when not used.

There is also known from the document US-4.227.632 a coat hanger, essentially plastic, wherein the body of the coat hanger is articulated in order to facilitate insertion or withdrawal thereof through the neck of a garment, without damaging the neck of the garment.

The aim of the invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawback by proposing a device, of the coat hanger type, making it possible to quickly suspend garments delivered in folded form.

More particularly, the aim of the present invention is to propose a hanging device that makes it possible to obtain the same advantages as the so-called upstream hanging technique, without the drawbacks.

Another aim of the invention is to propose such a coat hanger with a low manufacturing cost.

Another aim of the invention is to propose a method of packaging a garment with a neck by means of a device according to the invention.

The invention thus concerns a device for hanging a garment with a neck, of the coat hanger type, comprising a support intended to be fitted in the garment in order to support it, on either side of said neck, and a hook integral with said support, characterised in that the support has a body and two foldable ends, said body terminating in said two foldable ends, said device having means for retracting the hook at the body of the support, as well as means for deploying said foldable ends in line with the body, when a traction force is exerted on the hook, so that said device can pass from a first position flat, with the least space requirement, in which said foldable ends are in their position folded at the body of the support and said hook is in its retracted position, intended to prearrange, at the neck, the device in the garment, folded, with sleeves folded over, to a second position, in which the hook and said foldable ends are deployed, making it possible to suspend the garment, when a traction force is exerted on the hook of said device prearranged in the garment.

According to optional features:

• • each of the foldable ends is able to pass from its folded position at the body of the support to its deployed position, and vice versa, by means of hinges, or pivots, between the body of the support and the foldable ends;
  • the hook can be designed to slide with respect to the body of said support, able to pass from the retracted position in the body of the support to the deployed position, and vice versa;
  • the device can have means for locking said device in said second position;
  • in the retracted position of the hook, said hook is internal to the body of the support, to a major extent, or folded against the body of the support;
  • in their folded position, the foldable ends are folded against the body of the support, or internal to the body of the support;
  • the device can consist of at least one sheet of flexible material, such as cardboard, forming at least the body of the support, in particular corrugated, or even plastic, after cutting, folding, grooving or even gluing or welding operations;
  • the device can consist of a sheet of material, in particular cardboard, in a single piece;
  • the body of the support can consist essentially of a front face and a rear face adjoining at least at a folding line on which an opening is provided through which the hook can retract, at least partially, in the body between said front face and said rear face of the support, or on the contrary be deployed out of said body, and in which the body is extended laterally by four flaps, wherein two flaps, facing each other, locally secured together, form one of the foldable ends, and two other flaps, facing each other, locally secured together, form the other foldable end, cutouts representing said hinges between the body of the support and the foldable ends, at least one of the front or rear faces being extended by a base cooperating with said hook and making it possible to cause the automatic deployment of the foldable ends by erecting said support;
  • said front face and said rear face and the facing flaps can be secured by gluing or welding on the top part of said support, with the exception at least of a middle area of the body for guiding and retracting said hook, two folding lines longitudinal to said support constituting hinges allowing the erection, or on the other hand the flattening of the lower part of said support;
  • the hook can be adjacent to said base; or alternatively
  • the hook can be adjacent to a stop able to cooperate with said base when said hook is deployed, in order to cause the erection of said support;
  • the hook is adjacent to the front face of the body of the support via a connecting area of the sheet, two folding lines parallel to said connecting area defining said base,
  • the device can be formed at least from the sheet of flexible material, such as cardboard, forming at least the body of the support with the connecting area, after cutting, folding or grooving operations, but without a gluing or welding step,
  • a tab for locking the rear face is inserted in a slot of the connecting area, said locking tab and said slot cooperating by sliding between the first flat position and the second position of the device,
  • the hook can be a plastic piece, in particular moulded by injection,
  • the device, with the exception of the hook, can consist of a sheet of flexible material in one piece,
  • the hook and support can be assembled on each other by a quarter-turn fixing consisting of a slot in the connecting area and a male part on the hook, insertable in said slot in a first relative position between the hook and said slot, the locking being obtained by a rotation of 90° between the hook and the slot.

The invention also concerns a garment with a neck, folded, with the sleeves folded over the body of the garment, including a device according to the invention, prearranged at the neck, the hook in the retracted position at the body of the support, the foldable ends in their so-called folded position at the body of said support.

The invention also concerns a method of packaging a garment with a neck, with sleeves, comprising the following steps:

• • a hanging device according to the invention is arranged at the neck of the garment, in the garment,
  • the garment is folded, at least by folding over the sleeves of the garment over the body of the garment, said device being in its flat position, the hook in its retracted position at the body of the support of said device, the foldable ends folded at the body of the support,
  • optionally the garment is arranged folded and its device prearranged at the neck under a plastic film.

The invention will be better understood from a reading of the description accompanied by the appended figures, among which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a suspension device according to the invention in said flat position of said support, the foldable ends being folded against the body of the support, the hook being in the retracted position,

FIG. 2 is a view of the device of FIG. 1 when the hook is actuated on deployment,

FIG. 3 is a view of the device as illustrated in FIG. 1, the hook and the foldable ends being deployed,

FIG. 4 is a view of the pattern obtained from a scored cardboard blank, enabling the device to be produced according to FIG. 1 after gluing and folding,

FIG. 5 is a view of the section III-III of the device as illustrated in FIG. 3,

FIG. 6 is a view along the section I-I of the device as illustrated in FIG. 1,

FIG. 7 is a view of a T-shirt in which a device as illustrated in FIG. 1 is prearranged, the hook in its retracted position, the foldable ends in their folded position,

FIG. 8 is a view of a device according to the invention according to a second embodiment, in the retracted position of the hook, the foldable ends being folded against the body of the support,

FIG. 9 is a view of the device as illustrated in FIG. 8 when the hook is actuated for deployment,

FIG. 10 is a view of the device as illustrated in FIG. 8, the hook and the foldable ends being in their deployed position,

FIG. 11 is a view of the section VIII-VIII of the device as illustrated in FIG. 8,

FIG. 12 is a view of the section X-X of the device as illustrated in FIG. 10,

FIG. 13 is view of a device according to the invention according to a third embodiment, the hook in its retracted position, the foldable ends being folded against the body of the support,

FIG. 14 is a view of the device as illustrated in FIG. 13 during deployment, the hook deployed in rotation, the foldable ends still folded against the body of the support,

FIG. 15 is a view of the device as illustrated in FIG. 14, the foldable ends and the deployed hook,

FIG. 16 is a view of the pattern obtained from a sheet of scored material, such as cardboard, enabling the device according to FIG. 13 to be produced, after folding and gluing operations,

FIG. 17 is a view of the section XIII-XIII as illustrated in FIG. 13,

FIG. 18 is a view of the section XV-XV as illustrated in FIG. 15,

FIG. 19 is a view of a moulded plastic hook of a device according to the invention according to a fourth embodiment,

FIG. 20 is a view of a pattern obtained from a sheet of scored material, such as cardboard, for producing the support, the foldable ends and the area for connection with the hook, as illustrated in FIG. 19,

FIG. 21 is a view of the device obtained by assembling the hook as illustrated in FIG. 19 and the sheet of FIG. 20, once shaped in accordance with the invention according to the fourth embodiment, the device being in a retracted position of the hook, the foldable ends being folded against the body of the support,

FIG. 22 is a view of the device as illustrated in FIG. 21, the hook and the foldable ends in their deployed position,

FIG. 23 is a view along the section XXI-XXI as illustrated in FIG. 21,

FIG. 24 is a view in perspective of the hook, as illustrated in FIG. 19,

FIG. 25 is a view in section of a device according to the invention according to a fifth embodiment,

FIG. 26 is a partial front view of the device as illustrated in FIG. 25,

FIG. 27 is a view in perspective of the device as illustrated in FIG. 26.

The invention concerns a device 1 for suspending a garment 2 with a neck 3, of the coat hanger type. This device comprises a support 5 intended to be fitted in said garment in order to support it, on either side of said neck 3, and a hook 6 attached to said support.

According to the invention, the support 5 has a body 7 and two foldable ends 3, 9, the body terminates laterally in said two foldable ends 8, 9. The device has means for retracting the hook 6 at the body 7 of the support 5, in particular against the body 7 of the support 5, or inside the body 7.

The device also has means for deploying said foldable ends 8, 9, in line with the body 7, when a traction force is exerted on the hook 6 so that the device 1 can pass from a first flat position (P0) as illustrated in particular in FIG. 1, 6, 8 or 11, 13, 17 to a second position (P10) in which the hook 6 and said foldable ends 8, 9 are deployed, as illustrated in particular in FIGS. 3, 5, 10 and 12, 15, 18.

In the retracted position of the hook, the hook can be internal to the support, as illustrated in FIG. 6 or 11, or external to the support as illustrated in FIG. 17 folded on said body 7. The traction force exerted on the hook makes it possible to deploy the hook at least partially.

It is thus possible to prearrange a device 1 according to the invention in the first flat position (P0) of the device in a folded garment, as illustrated in FIG. 7.

Advantageously, the body 7 of the support is inserted through the neck 3 of the garment and may optionally serve as a template for width when the garment is folded.

In said first flat position P0, it can be noted that the space requirement of the device corresponds essentially to that of the body 7 of the support 5 (without the ends 8, 9).

The foldable ends 8, 9, in their folded position, reduce the space requirement in terms of length of the support 5, thus enabling the sleeves of the garment to be folded. The hook 6 in its retracted position does not project from the body 7, or projects from the body 7 only by a minimal part of the hook 6 (see FIG. 7 or 24).

Thus, when the device is prearranged at the neck of the garment, folded, with the sleeves folded over, as illustrated in FIG. 7, it does not increase the space requirement of the folded garment.

In this position internal to the garment, the retracted hook 6 is close to the opening of the neck, easily accessible to a human operator, and the foldable ends 8, 9 in their folded position are respectively close to the two folded-over sleeves of the garment.

When the folded garment is to be suspended from the rails, it then suffices to grip the device, internal to the garment, and to deploy the hook 6, which will automatically cause the deployment of the foldable ends 8, 9 of the devices and the deployment of the garment.

The device can be placed in the folded garment in the factory, in particular when the garment is packaged, or in an intermediate step, upstream of the sale.

The foldable ends 8, 9 can thus pass from their folded position P1 against the body 7 of the support 5 to their deployed position P2, and vice versa, by means of hinges 300 (i.e. lines 1 to 24) or pivots 301 (i.e. FIGS. 25 to 27) between the body 7 of the support 5 and the foldable ends 8, 9. The hook 6 can be designed to slide with respect to the body 7 of the support 5 able to pass from the retracted position P3 in the body 7 of the support to the deployed position P4, and vice versa.

The device can have means 11, 12, 13, 14; 208, 209 for locking the device in said second position P10 and thus the foldable ends 8, 9 in their deployed position P2.

The device can be produced at less cost, consisting at least of a sheet 20; 21, 22; 23 of flexible material such as cardboard, in particular corrugated, or even plastic, after operations of cutting, folding, grooving or even gluing or welding.

The device can in particular be produced from cardboard, in particular of the corrugated type, from operations such as cutting, folding, grooving and gluing (i.e. FIGS. 1 to 24). Alternatively, the device can be produced from moulded plastic parts (i.e. FIGS. 25 to 27).

Hereinafter, we describe in detail four embodiments of the invention, wherein the body 7 of the support 5 is formed at least from a sheet of flexible material. The first example embodiment, illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 6, consists of a sheet of flexible material, in particular a corrugated cardboard blank, in a single piece. The second embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 12 is formed from two sheets of flexible material, separate and distinct.

In these two embodiments, the deployment of the hook 6 from position P3 to position P4 causes the deployment of the foldable ends.

The third embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 13 to 18 consists of a sheet of cardboard, in particular corrugated, or a sheet of plastics material in a single piece. In this example, the retraction of the hook is obtained by a combined rotation and sliding movement of the hook with respect to the body of the support.

The fourth embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 19 to 24 consists of a sheet of flexible material, in a single piece, in particular made from cardboard, with the exception of the hook 6, which consists of a plastic element, particularly moulded.

The plastic hook enables the device of the fourth embodiment to slide better, in comparison with a cardboard hook, on the rails on which it is intended to be hooked. This fourth embodiment is also distinguished from the previous three embodiments in that it can be manufactured without any gluing step, particularly advantageously.

We begin first of all by describing the first example embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 6.

This example is manufactured from a pattern illustrated in FIG. 4, flat, consisting of a sheet of cardboard in a single piece. This sheet is scored in order to produce the support 5 and hook 6, and a connecting area 30.

More precisely, the hook 6 is obtained from this pattern by folding the part 65 over the part 66 and fixing them together by means of glue 70. The result is a strong hook 6 formed by a double thickness of cardboard.

The body 7 of the support 5 consists essentially of a front face 51 and a rear face 52 defined during cutting, said faces 51, 52 being adjacent at a folding line 53. A connecting area 30 of the sheet 20 is provided between the front face 51 and the hook 6.

On the folding line 53, an opening 54 is provided, allowing passage of the hook 6 and in particular retraction thereof in the body 7 of the support or on the other hand the deployment of the hook out of the body 7. The body 7 of the support is extend laterally by four flaps 81, 82, 91, 92, cutouts 83, 93 producing a hinge 300 between each of the flaps 81, 82, 91, 92 and the body 7 of the support 5. More precisely, in this example, the flaps 81, 82, 91, 92 are adjacent to said front face 51 and rear face 52.

The axes of the flaps/body hinges 7 of the support 5 are substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the support 5.

During manufacture, the top part of the support 5, formed by the top part of the body 7 and the top part of the flaps 81, 82, 91, 92, facing each other, are fixed together by means of glue 70. For this purpose, the folding line 53 makes it possible to fold the top part of the front face 51 over the top part of the rear face 52, which are fixed together by gluing.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the hook is then inserted through an opening below the support 5 between the front face 51 and the rear face 52 until said hook 6 emerges through the opening 54 (see FIG. 6).

The middle part of the top part of the support 5 guides the hook slidably during deployment thereof, or, on the other hand, when it is retracted in the support 5.

The sheet 20 also has two folding lines 58, 59 produced by discontinuous scores, in order to constitute a hinge enabling, as illustrated in the FIG. 5, the bottom part of the support 5 to be erected.

In this example, the hook 6 is adjacent to the front face 51 of the support by means of said connecting area 30 of the sheet 20. This area 30 has in particular several folding lines 60, 61, 62 parallel to the lines 58 and 59, produced by discontinuous scores, constituting so many hinges that enable the bottom part of the support 5 to be erected when the hook 6 is deployed.

More precisely, two folding lines 60, 61 define between them a base 10 for separating the bottom part of the front face 51 and the bottom part of the rear face 52 of the support, thus causing the support to be erected.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, this base 10 is in the plane of the front face 51 in said first flat position (P0), parallel to the rear face 52 and, according to the example in FIG. 5, makes it possible to separate the bottom parts of the front face 51 and of the rear face 52 as illustrated in FIG. 5. It will be noted that the top part of the front face 51 and that of the rear face 52 are joined together by gluing over an entire area, with exception of a middle area of the body of the support 7 guiding the hook 6.

It will be noted, as illustrated in FIG. 5, that the folding line 62 of the connecting area 30 is, in the second position P10 of the device, juxtaposed with the folding line 59 of the front face 51, making it possible to fold the device in the direction of the arrow 31 so that the hook 6 is in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of the base 10.

The deployment of the hook 6, according to this example, causes the bottom part of the support 5 to be erected, namely not only the body 7, but also the bottom parts of the foldable ends 8 and 9. During this deployment, the two flaps 81, 82 or 91, 92 constituting a foldable end 8 or 9 are thus erected at their bottom part, which forces each of the ends to deploy in the position P2 by rotation about the hinges 300, by 180°.

It will also be noted that tongues 13, 14 are formed by cutting at the folding line 61. These tongues 13, 14 will, when the hook 6 is fully deployed, make it possible to lock the device in its position P10 by engaging in the slots 11, 12 provided on the bottom part of the rear face 52, and therefore lock the foldable ends in their deployed position P2.

The example in FIGS. 8 to 12 is distinguished from the example in FIGS. 1 to 6 in that it consists of two distinct cardboard sheets for producing respectively the support 5 and the hook 6.

This being said, the support 5 has a structure substantially comparable to the previous example in that the body of the support 7 consists of a front face 56 and a rear face 57 secured together in particular by gluing at their top part, the body 7 being extended by four lateral flaps, fixed together in pairs and forming, in accordance with the previous example, the two foldable ends.

They also have two folding lines 58, 59 enabling the bottom part of the support 5 and in particular the body 7 and foldable ends 8, 9 to be formed in order to cause automatic deployment thereof. They differ however from the previous example by the form of the base 10, which adjoins the front face 56 and the rear face 57, produced by three folding lines 71, 72, 73 consisting in particular of discontinuous scores, parallel to the folding lines 58, 59 and constituting hinges. The folding line 71 separates the front face 56 and the base 10. The folding line 72 separates the rear face 57 and the base 10. The folding line 73 is intermediate to the aforementioned two lines 71, 72.

In the first flat position P0 of the support, the base is folded at its intermediate folding line 73, into two parts that respectively extend the front face 58 and the rear face 59 of the support. When the hook 6 is deployed, a stop 63 adjoining the hook engages with the base 10 in order to cause said base 10 to turn over, about the folding line 73, between the faces 58 and 59, and thus causes the bottom part of the support 5 to be erected. In doing this the ends 8 and 9 are also erected, thus causing automatic deployment thereof.

In this example, the hook 6 adjoins a stop 63 via a connecting area that projects level with openings at the bottom part of the support 5. The hook 6 makes it possible to be deployed from the top part of the support 5 through an opening 54.

The example in FIGS. 13 to 18 is manufactured from a pattern illustrated in FIG. 16, flat, consisting of a flat cardboard sheet, optionally corrugated, or plastics material in a single piece. This sheet is scored in order to produce the support 5 and the hook 6, as well as a connecting area 30.

More precisely, the hook 6 is obtained from this pattern by folding the part 65 over the part 66 and joining them together by means of glue 70. The result is a strong hook 6 formed by a double thickness of flat cardboard, corrugated, or plastics material.

The body 7 of the support 5 consists essentially of a front face 51 and a rear face 52 defined at the time of cutting, said faces 51, 52 being adjacent at a folding line 53. A connection 30 is provided between the front face 51 and the hook 6.

On the folding line 53 an opening 54 is provided, enabling the hook 6 to pass and in particular allowing partial retraction thereof in the body 7 of the support or on the other hand the deployment of the hook 6 out of this body 7. Total retraction of the hook is obtained by means of a folding line 100 making it possible, by a rotation of 180°, to fold the hook against the external wall of the rear face 52. The body 7 of the support is extended laterally by four flaps 81, 84, 91, 94, cutouts 83, 93 producing a hinge 300 between each of the flaps 81, 84, 91, 94 and the body 7 of the support 5. Two 81, 91 of the flaps adjoin the front face 51, the other two flaps 84, 94 adjoin said connecting area 30 that is developed subsequently.

The axes of the hinges 300 are roughly perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the support 5.

During manufacture, gluing tabs 175, 176, adjoining the front face 51, are fixed to the rear face 52 by glue 70. For this purpose, the folding lines 171, 172 make it possible to fold down the gluing tabs 175, 176 against the front face 51 before folding down the rear face 52, which is fixed by gluing to the gluing tabs 175, 176.

As illustrated in FIGS. 17 and 18, the hook is inserted through an opening below the support 5 between the front face 51 and the rear face 52 until said hook 6 emerges through the opening 54 (see FIG. 18).

The middle part of the top part of the support 5 guides the hook 6 slidably during deployment thereof, or, on the other hand, when it is partially retracted in the support 5.

In this example the hook 6 adjoins the front face 51 of the support by means of said connecting area 30 of the sheet 20. This area 30 has in particular several fold lines 60, 61, 62, two of which 60, 61 define between them a base 10 for separating the bottom part of the front face 51 and the bottom part of the support 52, thus causing the support to be made up. It will be noted that the flaps 84, 94 adjoin this connecting area 30.

As illustrated in FIG. 17, this base 10 is in the plane of the front face 51 in said flat position (P0), parallel to the rear face 52 and, according to the example in FIG. 18, separates the bottom part of the front face 51 and of the rear face 52 as illustrated in FIG. 18. It will be noted that the top part of the front face 51 and that of the rear face 52 are fixed together by means of said gluing tabs 175, 176, the folding lines 171, 172 of which constitute hinges enabling the support to be made up.

The partial deployment of the hook 6, in sliding, cause according to this example, the erection of the bottom part of the support 5, namely not only the body 7, but also the bottom parts of the foldable ends 8 and 9. During this deployment, the two flaps 81, 84 or 91, 94 constituting a foldable end 8 or 9 are thus erected at their bottom part, which forces each of the ends to deploy in the position P2 by rotation of said foldable ends 8, 9 about hinges 300, by 180°. It will be noted in this example that two of flaps 81, 91 adjoin the front face 51, the other two flaps 91, 94 adjoining said connecting area 30.

Finally, the example in FIGS. 19 to 24 is made from a plastic hook 6, moulded by injection, illustrated in FIG. 19, and from a pattern illustrated in FIG. 20, flat, consisting of a flat cardboard sheet 23, optionally corrugated.

By virtue of its moulded plastic hook, this device slides better over the hanging rails in shops, in comparison with a hook produced from cardboard. With regard to its manufacture, this device is distinguished from the previous examples in that it can be assembled without glue.

As illustrated in FIG. 20, the body 7 of the support 5 consists essentially of a front face 51 and a rear face 52 both defined during cutting, said front face and rear face adjoining each other at a folding line 53. A connecting area 30 of the body, between the front face 51 and the rear face 52 which will be developed below.

On the folding line 53 an opening 54 is provided, which allows passage of the hook 6, and more particularly total retraction thereof in the body 7 (FIGS. 21 and 23), or on the other hand deployment of the hook 6 out of this body 7 (FIG. 22). Total retraction of the hook 6, between the faces 51 and 52, is here possible by virtue of two folding lines 201, 202, provided at said connecting area 30, said folding lines 201, 202 enabling said connecting area 30 to fold in a concertina, as illustrated in FIG. 23, in order to guarantee the travel necessary for retraction of the hook 6.

The body 7 of the support 5 is extended laterally by four flaps 81, 84, 91, 94, cutouts 83, 93 producing a hinge 300 between each of the flaps 81, 84, 91, 94 and the body 7 of the support 5. Two 81, 91 of the flaps adjoin the front face 51, the other two flaps 91, 94 adjoining the connecting area 30.

During manufacture, the hook 6 is first of all fixed to the connecting area 30 of the device. For this purpose, the hook 6 and the connecting area 30 can be connected to each other by a quarter-turn fixing, consisting of a slot 203 on the connecting area 30 and a male part 204 on the hook.

The male part 204 can be inserted in the slot 203 in a first relative position between the hook 6 and the slot 203, the locking of the two parts 6, 30 being obtained by a rotation of 90° between the hook 6 and said connecting area 30. In this second position, the male part 204 projects on the other side of the sheet 23 and on an axis perpendicular to the axis of the slot 203.

The male part 204 consists essentially of a flat part with a length corresponding to the length of the slot 203 (slightly less), appreciably greater than the width of the slot in order to obtain locking, and a part 212 with a dimension less than the slot thickness, intended to pass through the slot in the locking position. This male part 204 adjoins a part 211 with a dimension greater than the slot 203, which constitutes a stop for pushing the connecting area 30 when the hook 6 is retracted in the body 7 of the support 5.

Once in position locked in the slot 203, two parts 67, 68 of the connecting area 30 of the sheet 23 can be folded over against each other along the folding line 213, sandwiching the male part 204 of the hook 6.

As illustrated in FIG. 23, the hook 6 is then inserted through an opening below the support 5 between the front face 51 and the rear face 52 of the support until the hook 6 re-emerges, at least slightly, through the opening 54 (see FIG. 23).

Finally, in order to lock the assembly of the device, a locking tab 205 cut in said rear face 52 is inserted in a slot 207 provided on said connecting area 30. The tab 205 is provided with two teeth 206 that will engage with the edges of the slot 207 in order to prevent disassembly thereof. It will be noted however that the tab 205 and the slot 207 cooperate slidingly in order to enable the device to pass from the first flat position P0, as illustrated in FIG. 21, to its second position P10 as illustrated in FIG. 22.

To this end, the length of the tab 205 is greater than the width of a base 10 defined between the two lines 60, 61 on the sheet 23 in order to be able to slide through said slot 207 between the two positions P0, P10 of the device.

In this example, the hook 6 adjoins said front face 51 via the connecting area 30 of the sheet 23. This area 30 has several folding lines 60, 61, 201, 202, 213, two of which, 60, 61, define between them said base 10 that will make it possible to separate the bottom part of the front face 51 from the bottom part of the connecting area 30, and therefore the front face 51 from the rear face 52, and thus enable the support 5 to be erected.

As illustrated in FIG. 23, this base 10 is roughly in the plane of the front face 51 in said flat position P0 and, just like the previous examples, will make it possible to separate the front face 51 and the rear face 52 at their bottom part. During this erection, the parts 51 and 52 pivot at the folding line 53.

The deployment of the hook 6 from the position illustrated in FIG. 23 makes it possible first of all to eliminate the concertina by pivoting at the folding lines 201, 202 and then to force the base 10 to move the connecting area 30 away from the front face 51 (and therefore the front face 51 from the rear face 52). During this deployment, the two flaps 81, 84 or 91, 94 constituting a foldable end 8 or 9 are thus erected, which forces each of the ends to deploy in the position P2, by rotation of said ends 8, 9 about hinges 300, by 180°.

A tongue 208, on the connecting area 30, will make it possible to lock the device in the position P10 by cooperating in locking with the bottom edge 209 of the opening 204. Optionally, the support 5 may have recesses 216 in particular at the foldable ends, at their top part, in order to attach the straps of garments, such as lingerie in particular. The plastic hook 6 illustrated in FIG. 23 may optionally have a stud 218 projecting from the hook that will make it possible to clip any price labels on the hook.

These four embodiments can be manufactured easily and at less cost mainly according to the methods used in the cardboard box manufacture field.

The fourth embodiment is particularly advantageous in that the assembly of the device can be carried out without glue.

The invention also concerns a garment 2 with a neck, the garment folded, with the sleeves folded over the body of the garment, and including a device 1 prearranged at the neck 3, the hook 6 in the retracted position, the foldable ends 8, 9 in their folded position at the body 7 of the support 5, in particular against the body of the support.

We now describe in detail a fifth embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 25 to 27.

The body 7 of the support 5 consists of two half-shells 407, 417, clipped on each other. The body 7 does not exceed a few millimetres in thickness in order to be able to be prearranged discretely in a folded garment in accordance with the invention. It is for example less than 5 mm thick, or even less than 4 mm.

The internal volume of the body 7 receives between the two half-shells 407, 417 firstly, at the middle part of the body, a hook 6, provided so as to slide, and secondly, at the ends of the body 7, two foldable ends 8, 9 which in the figures are illustrated in their folded position P1 inside the body 7.

These foldable ends 8, 9 are articulated on rotation axis pivots 301, substantially perpendicular to the overall plane of said device 1.

The hook 6 and the foldable ends 8, 9 are connected by means of a flexible link 408, 409.

All the parts of this device, illustrated in FIGS. 25 to 27, can be manufactured from moulded plastic parts.

The hook 6, the foldable ends 8, 9 and said flexible connections 408, 409 can constitute a single-piece element obtained during the same moulding operation.

In accordance with the invention, according to one embodiment, when traction is exerted on the hook, the ends pivot about pivots 301 and are deployed laterally in line with the body 7.

Naturally other embodiments could have been envisaged by persons skilled in the art without for all that departing from the scope of the invention defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. Device (1) for hanging a garment (2) with a neck (3), of the coat hanger type, comprising a support (5) intended to be fitted in said garment in order to support it, on either side of said neck (3), and a hook (6) integral with said support (5), characterised in that said support (5) has a body (7) and two foldable ends (8,9), said body (7) terminating in said two foldable ends (8, 9), said device (1) having means for retracting the hook (6) at the body (7) of the support (5), as well as means for deploying said foldable ends (8, 9) in line with the body (7), when a traction force is exerted on the hook, so that said device (1) can pass from a first position flat (P0), with the least space requirement, in which said foldable ends (8, 9) are in their position folded at the body (7) of the support (5) and said hook (6) is in its retracted position, intended to prearrange, at the neck, the device in the garment, folded, with sleeves folded over, to a second position (P10), in which the hook (6) and the said foldable ends (8, 9) are deployed, making it possible to suspend the garment, when a traction force is exerted on the hook of said device prearranged in the garment.

2. Device according to claim 1, in which each of the foldable ends (8, 9) is able to pass from their folded position (P1) at the body (7) of the support (5) to their deployed position (P2), and vice versa, in rotation by means of hinges (300) or pivots (301), between the body (7) of the support and the foldable ends (8, 9).

3. Device according to claim 1, in which the hook (6) is designed to slide with respect to the body (7) of said support (5), able to pass from the retracted position (P3) at the body (7) of the support (5) to the deployed position (P4), and vice versa.

4. Device according to claim 1, having means (11, 12, 13, 14; 208, 209) for locking said device in said second position (P10).

5. Device according to claim 1, in which, in the retracted position of the hook (6), said hook (6) is internal to the body (7) of the support (5), to a major extent, or folded against the body (7) of the support (5).

6. Device according to claim 1, in which, in their folded position, the foldable ends (8, 9) are folded against the body of the support (5), or internal to the body (7) of the support (5).

7. Device according to claim 2, formed by at least one sheet (20; 21, 22; 23) of flexible material, forming at least the body (7) of the support (5), such as cardboard, or even plastic, after operations of cutting, folding, grooving, or even gluing or welding.

8. Device according to claim 7, consisting of a sheet (20) of flexible material in a single piece.

9. Device according to claim 7, in which the body (7) of the support (5) consists essentially of a front face (51; 56) and a rear face (52; 57) adjoining at least at a folding line (53; 55) on which an opening (54) is provided through which the hook (6) can retract, at least partially, in the body (7) between said front face (51) and said rear face (52) of the support (5), or on the contrary be deployed out of said body (7), and in which said body (7) is extended laterally by four flaps (81, 82, 84, 91, 92, 94), wherein two flaps (81, 82, 84), facing each other, locally secured together, form one (8) of the foldable ends, and two other flaps (91, 92, 94), facing each other, locally secured together, form the other foldable end (9), cutouts (91, 92, 94) representing said hinges (300) between the body (7) of the support (5) and the foldable ends (8, 9), at least one of the front or rear faces (51) being extended by a base (10) cooperating with said hook (6) and making it possible to cause the automatic deployment of the foldable ends (8, 9) by erecting said support (5).

10. Device according to claim 9, in which the hook (6) adjoins the front face (51) of the body of the support (5) via a connecting area (30) of the sheet (20; 23), two parallel folding lines (60, 61) of said connecting area (30) defining said base (10).

11. Device according to claim 10, in which the device is formed at least from said sheet (23) of flexible material, such as in particular cardboard, forming at least the body of the support (5) with the connecting area (30) after cutting and folding/grooving operations, but without a gluing or welding step.

12. Device according to claim 10, in which a locking tab (205) on the rear face (52) is inserted in a slot (207) in the connecting area (30), said locking tab (205) and said slot (207) cooperate slidably between the first flat position (P0) and said second position (P10) of the device.

13. Device according to claim 10, in which the hook (6) is a moulded plastic part.

14. Device according to claim 12, which the hook (6) and the connecting area (30) can be assembled by a quarter-turn fixing consisting of a slot (203) in the sheet (23) and a male part (204) of the hook (6), insertable in a first relative position between the hook (6) and the slot (203) in said slot (203), the locking being obtained by a rotation of 90° between the hook (6) and the slot (203).

15. Device according to claim 9, in which the hook is adjacent to a stop (63) able to cooperate with said base (10) when said hook (6) is deployed, in order to cause the erection of said support (5).

16. Garment (2) with a neck (3), folded, with sleeves folded over the body of the garment, including a device (1) according to claim 1, prearranged at the neck (3), the hook (6) in the retracted position, the foldable ends (8, 9) in their said folded position at the body (7) of said support (5).

17. Method of packaging a garment (2) with a neck (3), with sleeves, comprising the following steps:

a suspension device (1) according to claim 1 is arranged at the neck (3) of the garment (2), in the garment,

the garment is folded at least by folding over the sleeves of the garment, on the body of the garment, said device being in its flat position, the hook (6) in its retracted position at the body (7) of the support (5) of the device (1), the foldable ends folded at said body (7) of said support (5),

optionally, the folded garment (2) and its device (1) prearranged at the neck are arranged under plastic film.

18. Device according to claim 2, in which the hook (6) is designed to slide with respect to the body (7) of said support (5), able to pass from the retracted position (P3) at the body (7) of the support (5) to the deployed position (P4), and vice versa.

19. Device according to claim 1, formed by at least one sheet (20; 21, 22; 23) of flexible material, forming at least the body (7) of the support (5), such as cardboard, or even plastic, after operations of cutting, folding, grooving, or even gluing or welding.

20. Device according to claim 11, in which a locking tab (205) on the rear face (52) is inserted in a slot (207) in the connecting area (30), said locking tab (205) and said slot (207) cooperate slidably between the first flat position (P0) and said second position (P10) of the device.