Garment Hanger Assembly With Removable Hook
A garment hanger assembly comprising a paper hanger body and a removable hook is disclosed. The removable hook is either a swivel hook or a fixed hook and includes a hook end and a base end, the base end having at least a front side and a back side, with a fastening mechanism located on either the front or back side, or both.
The present invention relates generally to a garment hanger assembly with a recyclable metal or plastic removable hook and a recyclable paper hanger body.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONTraditional garment or clothing hangers are limited in design and utility for various retail and consumer applications. These hangers are made from plastic, metal, wood, or a combination thereof, and have been used to facilitate the hanging of clothing for more than a century. A typical garment hanger is usually comprised of a hanger body, which is shaped or contoured in the form of a triangle with two arms extending in opposite directions, and a metal or plastic hook provided centrally to the hanger body. The hanger body and hook are usually made from one piece of material and therefore cannot be removed from each other.
Retailers have, and still do, keep these traditional clothing hangers in stores, rarely if ever giving them to a customer. If a garment is sold, it is removed from the hanger and the sold garment packaged for the selling customer. The hanger itself is taken to a backroom of the store wherein it is introduced to a new article of clothing. This circular use of traditional clothing hangers is simple, but it comes with drawbacks. For example, the cost of replacing broken hangers is steep and the time used to hang a new article of clothing on an empty hanger is better spent on attending to paying customers.
Improvements in logistics and operational systems in the mid-1990's led to a new go-to storage method for the apparel and fashion industries, i.e. the Garment-on-Hanger (GOH) system, which drastically cut down the time and cost of using hangers in these industries. In a GOH system, garments are delivered to retail merchants already suspended from hangers, wherein upon arrival at the retail location the garments are immediately placed on display for sale. A garment is placed on a hanger and subsequently shipped from a manufacturer and/or distribution center to the retail establishment. The GOH system therefore affords an efficient way for the storage, transport, retrieval, and sortation of many articles of clothing. However, while costs associated with hangers and employee productivity are saved, the GOH system has seen a rise in shipping costs. For instance, fewer garments can fit in an individual shipping carton because of the space taken up by each hanger present therein, both because the hook portion on traditional hangers protrudes from the hanger body and because the thickness of each traditional hanger takes up vertical space, resulting in fewer garments packed in the same size shipping carton. Further, more space is needed at the manufacturing and/or distribution site, as well as the retail establishments, to accommodate the shipments of merchandise.
Perhaps more importantly, an estimated 85% of GOH hangers are eventually disposed in the trash by retail stores, ensuing in approximately 20 billion plastic GOH hangers being landfilled every year. Similarly, an estimated 300 million dry-cleaner wire hangers are landfilled every year. Most municipal recycling programs do not accept any traditional clothing hangers due to the varying mix of material for each hanger and the tangling of said hangers in recycling machinery.
The need to replace traditional hangers used in dry-cleaning and GOH systems has therefore been recognized for some time. The first all-paper fiberboard hangers began to surface in the 2000's, specifically for use in GOH programs. The all-paper hanger is thinner than traditional plastic shipping hangers, taking up 20% less room in shipping cartons than plastic hangers, while still being able to provide the strength needed for suspending an article of clothing. This efficiency translates to fewer cartons needed with each shipment, resulting in less shipping and labor costs, as well as requiring less space in distribution centers and storage rooms. Most importantly, paper fiberboard hangers are recyclable, both at the store or dry-cleaner level, as well as with a customer once the article of clothing and the hanger are taken home. All-paper hangers do not, however, come without deficiencies. For one, the paper hanger remains relatively thick in diameter at the hook portion, making it unpracticable in industries such as dry-cleaning, which uses overhead conveyer machinery having narrow constriction points and designed for using all-wire hangers with very thin diameter. All-paper hangers additionally require employing a large amount of material due to the difficulty in efficiently nesting the cutting dies because of the awkward placement of the hook portions.
Recently, plastic hangers with a collapsible plastic hook, like the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 11,051,642 to Ho, have been utilized by clothing manufacturers and/or distributors to minimize the space needed in cartons or packages for sending clothing via a GOH method to retailers. While the collapsible plastic hook works well for plastic hangers, it presents mechanical issues for use with a paper hanger body. In addition, garment hangers with plastic bodies are still too thick for shipping clothing efficiently in a GOH method. US 2022/0300490 to Ho discloses a plastic two-piece plastic hook for a paper garment hanger, wherein the plastic hanger hook includes 1) a hanger body with a base having a “collar” or protuberance that can fit snuggly through an opening of a paper hanger body, and 2) a locking member with a sizer body portion and a “tongue” extending therefrom, wherein the tongue includes an opening for engaging the collar when the sizer body portion of the locking member is fitted down over the hook body and positioned at the base thereof. Although the plastic hook disclosed in US 2022/0300490 allows for a simple way to permanently secure a plastic hook to a paper-based hanger body, it is still not optimal for use in GOH systems since the assembled plastic hanger requires more packaging space because of the protruding hook, resulting in the use of larger cartons.
A removable hook for a hanger body is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,899,454 to Mainetti. However, the hook is limited in use to a plastic or metal hanger body that is arched. U.S. Pat. No. 11,134,804 to Mackenzie teaches two distinct removable hooks for a paper hanger body. One hook requires a wire hook with a bracket that is not sturdy and difficult to attach and remove from the hanger body, the bracket also including sharp edges that can easily damage a paper hanger body. The other hook disclosed in Mackenzie is a bent wire hook which is also difficult to attach and remove and is not aesthetically pleasing for use in stores.
There therefore still exists a need for a garment hanger assembly for use in dry-cleaning and in any industry that uses a GOH method, such as the garment and fashion industries. To reduce the thickness of the hanger in taking up less vertical space within a carton, the garment hanger body of the garment hanger assembly is made of a durable, lightweight material such as paper. To avoid using larger cartons which are presently employed in GOH systems, the garment assembly includes a removable hook such that garments can be shipped with only a hanger body. Once shipped to the retailer, each article of clothing in a GOH carton is removed by grabbing the hanger body that said article of clothing is suspended from and removably attaching a hanger hook made from a durable and recyclable material. Both the paper hanger body and the removable hanger hook are made from recyclable materials making it practical for the dry-cleaning and the GOH industries. Accordingly, a paper hanger assembly including a paper hanger body and a removable hanger hook is disclosed. The paper hanger assembly as disclosed herein can be used in the dry-cleaning industry and/or the GOH industries and generally employs a fastening mechanism on the removable hanger hook for the facile removable attachment of the hanger hook to the paper hanger body.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn light of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a paper hanger assembly comprising a paper hanger body and a removable swivel hanger hook. The paper hanger body is in a shape of a garment hanger and includes a central region, a first side region extending from the central region in a first direction, and a second side region extending from the central region in a second direction opposing the first direction. The hanger body further comprises a front surface, a back surface, a top surface, and at least one aperture in the central region. The removable hanger hook includes a distal hook end and a proximal base end, wherein the proximal base end comprises a front side having a first top edge, a back side having a second top edge, and a top side defined by the first top edge and the second top edge of the front and back side, respectively, of the proximal base end. In addition, the top side of the proximal base end of the removable hanger hook includes a base end aperture, the distal hook end being permanently secured to the proximal base end through said base end aperture such that the removable hanger hook is provided with rotation relative to the proximal base end. The front side or the back side of the proximal base end also comprises a fastening mechanism that engages and fastens the removable hanger hook to the hanger body through the at least one aperture in the hanger body when the hanger hook removably attaches to the central region of the hanger body. The front side, the back side and the top side of the proximal base end of the removable hanger hook are in contact with the front surface, the back surface and the top surface, respectively, of the hanger body when the hanger hook is removably attached to the central region of the hanger body. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that one or more aspects of this invention can meet certain objectives, while one or more other aspects can meet certain other objectives. Each objective may not apply equally, in all its respects, to every aspect of this invention. As such, the following objects can be viewed in the alternative with respect to any one aspect of this invention.
Accordingly, it can also be an object of the present invention to provide a paper hanger assembly comprising a paper hanger body and a single-piece removable hanger hook for use in the dry-cleaning industry. The hanger body is in a shape of a garment hanger and includes a central region, a first side region extending from the central region in a first direction, and a second side region extending from the central region in a second direction. The hanger body further comprises a front surface, a back surface, a top surface, and at least one aperture in the central region. The single-piece removable hanger hook includes a distal hook end and a proximal base end, the proximal base end comprising a front side which may or may not have a first top edge, a back side that may or may not have a second top edge, and a top side. The front side, the back side or both the front and back side of the proximal base end has a fastening mechanism that engages and fastens the single-piece removable hanger hook to the hanger body through the at least one aperture in the hanger body when said single-piece removable hanger hook removably attaches to the central region of the hanger body. The front side, the back side and the top side of the proximal base end of the single-piece removable hanger hook is in contact with the front surface, the back surface and the top surface, respectively, of the hanger body when the single-piece removable hanger hook removably attaches to the central region of the hanger body.
As provided herein, the removable hanger hook of the garment hanger assembly is made from recyclable material and is either a 360-degree rotating swivel hook or a fixed-in-place hook (fixed hook) with no rotation. The removable swivel hook can be used in any industry, in particular one that employs a Garment-On-Hanger (GOH) system, such as for example, the garment or fashion industries, wherein at one end the garment is placed in a packaging carton by the manufacturer or distributor suspended only from the hanger body, and at the other end the garment is removed by a retailer by grabbing the hanger body that the garment is suspended from and removably attaching a removable swivel hanger hook. Once placed on a rack, the article of clothing can be viewed from all sides without removing the clothing from the hanger or removing the hanger from the rack, due to the presence of the rotating swivel hook. Also, shipping costs in GOH methods are drastically reduced for two reasons. First, more garments can be added to each packaging carton because the thicker, traditional hangers are eliminated. Second, because the removable swivel hook is removed from the paper hanger body, larger GOH cartons can be replaced with shorter cartons as the space taken up by “protruding” hook portions of traditional hangers is also eliminated.
The removable fixed hook of the garment hanger assembly can also be used in any industry, such as those that employ a GOH method and, in particular, the dry-cleaning industry, which employs overhead conveyer machinery having narrow constriction points and designed for using all-wire hangers thereon. Using an all-paper hanger with a thick hook portion is not feasible as the conveyers have narrow constriction points. However, the removable fixed hook as described herein is manufactured at a narrow diameter so as to be able to run through the constriction points of the conveyer system without incident. The paper hanger body can be replaced when necessary by removing it from the removable fixed hook. Further, eliminating the hook portion from an all-paper hanger and using a removable hook with a paper hanger body brings the price of the hanger down as it takes less paper to make the hanger (i.e. no paper hook) and the hook can be used numerous times, bringing down the overall price of the garment hanger assembly as described herein.
Other objects, features, benefits and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from this summary and the following descriptions of certain embodiments and will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art having knowledge of garment hangers. Such objects, features, benefits and advantages will be apparent from the above as taken into conjunction with the accompanying examples, figures and all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom. The disclosures in this application of all articles and references, including patents, are incorporated herein by reference.
As it relates to certain non-limiting embodiments, the present invention relates to a garment hanger assembly comprising a paper hanger body and a removable (or releasable) hook. The removable hook is assembled such that it is either a 360-degree rotating swivel hook or a single-piece fixed hook with no rotation, and together with the paper hanger body that the hook removably attaches to, affords a garment hanger assembly which cures the deficiencies of the prior art. Specifically, the removable swivel or fixed hook includes a hook end and a base end, the base end having at least a front side and a back side. A fastening mechanism is located on either the front or back side, or both.
According to one feature of the illustrated embodiments, the hanger body of the garment hanger assembly as described herein is made from a biodegradable material such as paper. More specifically, the hanger body is made from a molded paper or pulp. Such molded paper can include, for example, pulp paper, pulp fiber, foamed paper pulp, recycled newspaper, brown paper, white paper, sugar cane pulp, bamboo pulp fibers, and/or any other suitable biodegradable material. Preferably, a semi-rigid, lightweight and durable sheet paper material is used, such as for example, paperboard or cardboard. The hanger body can be formed from a variety of methods, including for example by die cutting, and can consist of one or more, preferably several layers of sheet paper material, A semi-rigid cardboard is preferred because it is easily cut into the desired shape and readily folded and joined to another piece of cardboard by adhesive or other forms of connection. The hanger body formed from this type of material is inexpensive to manufacture yet suitably strong for its intended task. These hangers can be repeatedly used and, when Lin usable, are readily disposed of by recycling. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the sheet material is any semi-rigid, lightweight, durable, readily formed, foldable sheet-like material. Paper products, such as cardboard and paperboard, are preferred because they are readily disposed of by recycling. However, other types of paper products can be used as well.
According to another feature of the illustrated embodiments, the shape, dimensions and material of the removable hook, swivel and fixed alike, can vary depending on the type of garment hanger body employed. The hanger body is in turn dependent on the type of clothing being suspended therefrom. Regardless, the removable hook as described herein is preferably molded and made of a sturdy, recyclable material such as a plastic, preferably a thermoplastic or bioplastic, or a material traditional wire hangers are made of, i.e. stress-hardened steel wire that may or may not be coated with a thin lacquer. Single-piece removable hooks are made from one material, such as a sheet metal or sheet plastic, while two-piece removable hooks can be made from one material or two different materials. A suitable example of sheet metal used as material for the base end is a magnesium alloy sheet metal or an iron/manganese (ferromanganese) alloy sheet metal. Suitable sheet plastics used as material include but are not limited to acrylics, polypropylenes, polystyrenes, nylons, and polyesters such as, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
Accordingly, the following presents non-limiting examples of an embodiment for a garment hanger assembly. It is to be understood that while terms such as “left”, “right”, “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” “side,” “rear,” “down,” “up” and the like may be used in this specification to describe various example features and elements of the invention, these terms are used herein as a matter of convenience, e.g., based on the example orientations shown in the figures or the orientation during typical use.
Removable Swivel Hook
Referring to specific non-limiting embodiments depicted in
The hanger body 210 as shown in
Referring now to
In an alternate, non-limiting embodiment of the garment hanger assembly depicted in
The hanger body 510 as shown in
The removable attachment of swivel hook 401 to paper hanger body 510 is shown in
Removable Fixed Hook
Referring now to other specific non-limiting embodiments as depicted in
The hanger body 810 as shown in
Referring now to
The removable attachment of fixed hook 701 to paper hanger body 810 is shown in
It is to be understood that other non-limiting embodiments of single-piece hooks operate similarly to hook 701. For example, in an embodiment wherein a top side is not included in the single-piece fixed hook 1001, distal hook end 1003 extends into the proximal base end 1005, as depicted in
Another non-limiting example of a single-piece removable fixed hook that operates similarly to hook 701 is one that includes two protrusions as a fastening mechanism.
In an alternate, non-limiting embodiment of the garment hanger assembly depicted in
The hanger body 1310 as shown in
Referring now to
The removable attachment of fixed hook 1201 to a paper hanger body, as the one of
In yet another alternate, non-limiting embodiment of the garment hanger assembly depicted in
The hanger body 1610 as shown in
As shown in
The removable attachment of fixed hook 1501 to paper hanger body 1610 is like that shown in
Although various embodiments of the garment hanger assembly are illustrated and described herein, it is appreciated that other embodiments are contemplated as being within the scope of the present disclosure and that various substitutions may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the same.
Claims
1. A paper hanger assembly comprising:
- a hanger body made from paper and having a shape of a garment hanger with a central region, a first side region extending from the central region in a first direction, and a second side region extending from the central region in a second direction opposing the first direction, the hanger body comprising a front surface, a back surface, a top surface, and at least one aperture in the central region; and
- a removable hanger hook comprising a distal hook end and a proximal base end, the proximal base end comprising a front side having a first top edge, a back side having a second top edge, and a top side defined by the first top edge and the second top edge of the front and back side, respectively, of the proximal base end, the top side having a base end aperture, and the distal hook end permanently secured to the proximal base end through the base end aperture such that the removable hanger hook is provided with rotation relative to the proximal base end;
- wherein the front side, back side and top side of the proximal base end of the removable hanger hook is in contact with the front surface, the back surface and the top surface, respectively, of the hanger body when the removable hanger hook removably attaches to the central region of the hanger body; and
- wherein the front side or the back side of the proximal base end has a fastening mechanism that engages and fastens the removable hanger hook to the hanger body through the at least one aperture in the hanger body when the removable hanger hook removably attaches to the central region of the hanger body.
2. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 1, wherein the hanger body further comprises a recess on the top surface of the hanger body for receiving the proximal base end of the removable hanger hook when said removable hanger hook removably attaches to the central region of the hanger body.
3. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 2, wherein the at least one aperture in the central region of the hanger body has a shape of a semi-circle with a straight edge and rounded edge, the straight edge parallel with and in closer proximity to the top surface of the hanger body than the rounded edge.
4. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 3, wherein the fastening mechanism is an arm extending from the front or back side of the proximal base end, the arm extending in a first direction medially at essentially a right angle and then in a second direction laterally at an angle less than a right angle to form an arm edge, the arm from where it extends in a first direction to the arm edge is frictionally engaged to the straight edge of the at least one aperture in the central region of the hanger body when the arm edge is inserted into the aperture, thereby removably attaching the removable hanger hook to the central region of the hanger body.
5. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 1, the back side of the proximal base end being shorter in length than the front side of the proximal base end.
6. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 5, wherein the arm is on the front side of the proximal base end, the shape of the arm from the edge down defines a substantially semi-circular outline which is sized to correspond to the aperture.
7. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 1, wherein at least the proximal base end of the hanger hook is made of a recyclable sheet metal.
8. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 7, wherein the recyclable sheet metal is a recyclable magnesium alloy.
9. A paper hanger assembly comprising:
- a hanger body made from paper and having a shape of a garment hanger with a central region, a first side region extending from the central region in a first direction, and a second side region extending from the central region in a second direction, the hanger body comprising a front surface, a back surface, a top surface, and at least one aperture in the central region; and
- a single-piece hanger hook comprising a distal hook end and a proximal base end, the proximal base end comprising a front side having a first top edge and a back side having a second top edge;
- wherein the front side and the back side of the proximal base end of the single-piece hanger hook is in contact with the front surface and back surface, respectively, of the hanger body when the single-piece hanger hook removably attaches to the central region of the hanger body;
- wherein the front side, the back side or both the front and back side of the proximal base end has a fastening mechanism that engages and fastens the single-piece hanger hook to the hanger body through the at least one aperture in the hanger body when the single-piece hanger hook removably attaches to the central region of the hanger body.
10. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 9, wherein the proximal base end further comprises a top side defined by the first top edge and the second top edge of the front and back side, respectively, of the proximal base end.
11. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 9, wherein the hanger body further comprises a recess on the top surface of the hanger body for receiving the proximal base end of the single-piece hanger hook when the hanger hook removably attaches to the central region of the hanger body.
12. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 11, wherein the at least one aperture in the central region of the hanger body has a shape of a circle.
13. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 12, wherein the fastening mechanism is a protrusion on an inside surface of the front side, the back side or both the front and back side of the proximal base end, each protrusion having a ledge extending medially relative to the proximal base end, the ledge engaging an inner aperture surface of the at least one aperture in the central region of the hanger body and fastening the single-piece hanger hook, thereby removably attaching the hanger hook to the central region of the hanger body.
14. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 13, wherein the single-piece hanger hook is made of recyclable polymer resin.
15. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 9, wherein the first top edge and the second top edge of the front and back side, respectively, of the proximal base end are constructed such that vertical movement relative to the top side of the proximal base end is provided; and
- wherein the fastening means comprises a cylindrical protrusion on an inside surface of one of the front or back sides of the proximal base end and a snap-fit aperture in the other of the front or back sides of the proximal base end, the cylindrical protrusion having an annular rib such that when the cylindrical protrusion is guided through the at least one aperture in the hanger body and pressed into the snap-fit aperture, the single-piece hanger hook is removably attached to the central region of the hanger body.
16. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 15, wherein the single-piece hanger hook is made of recyclable polymer resin.
17. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 16, wherein the single-piece hanger hook is made of polyethylene terephthalate.
18. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 9, wherein the at least one aperture in the central region of the hanger body has a shape of a semi-circle with a straight edge and rounded edge, the straight edge parallel with and in closer proximity to the top surface of the hanger body than the rounded edge;
- wherein the fastening mechanism is an arm extending from the front side of the proximal base end at an end away from the top side, the arm extending in a first direction medially relative to the proximal base end at essentially a right angle to form a ledge of the arm, the arm extending in a second direction at essentially a right angle from the first direction and away from the top side to form an arm edge, the arm edge formed in a semi-circle shape;
- wherein when the arm edge is pushed through the at least one semi-circular aperture in the central region of the hanger body, the arm edge engages the straight edge of the at least one semi-circular aperture and at least a portion of the arm edge engages the back surface of the hanger body, thereby removably attaching the single-piece hanger hook to the central region of the hanger body; and
- wherein the back side of the proximal base end consists essentially of a first flange on one side of the second top edge and a second flange on the other side of the second top edge, the first and second flange constructed such that vertical movement relative to the top side of the proximal base end is provided.
19. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 18, wherein the single-piece hanger hook is made of from a single piece of recyclable sheet metal.
20. A paper hanger assembly according to claim 9, wherein the distal hook end extends into the proximal base end.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 8, 2022
Publication Date: May 9, 2024
Applicant: Nexgen Packaging LLC (Westmont, IL)
Inventors: Gary Barker (Oakland, CA), Michael Low (Pleasant Hill, CA)
Application Number: 17/983,367