GB2312372A - Foldable garment hanger - Google Patents

Abstract

A garment hanger in the form of a frame hanger, has a hinge interconnecting two parts 6a, 6b of the hanger for relative pivotal movement. Each part has projections extending outwardly therefrom in the region of the hinge. A resilient device, e.g. an elastic or a coil or leaf spring interconnects the two projections to apply a force to lock the two parts in an extended or folded position.

Description

A GARMENT HANGER This invention relates to a garment hanger and particularly, but not solely, to a garment frame hanger in which parts of the frame have a hinge for folding the frame hanger in half, for example.

Such hangers are in themselves well known and in particular reference is made to U.K. Patent Specification No.297,227 which illustrates a frame hanger having a main body of two arms sloping downwards in opposite direction from a hook from which the body depends, and an elongate rectangular framework extending from the main body from the region of the outer ends of the two arms of the hanger. Substantially midway along the length of each parallel side arm of the framework is provided with a hinge of the intermeshing plate and interconnecting pin type. A locking plate is located on the opposite side of the arms to that side on which each hinge is mounted to pivot between a locked and unlocked position to allow the rectangular framework to pivot and fold about the hinge between an extended or open position of the frame and a folded position of the frame. When the crossbar of the rectangular framework extends behind the main body of the hanger the hook is slidable in use downwardly in the main body and locks the folded portion of the framework behind the main body.

It is quite normal in displaying an article on such garment hangers that the articles are placed upon the garment hanger at the point of manufacture of the particular articles and with such hanger as disclosed in U.K. Patent Specification No.297,227 there are the unfavourable time delays and difficulties in handling very small locking plates, as well as the time taken to slide the hook downwardly to lock the folded parts of the hanger together that such hanger has become commercially expensive both to manufacture and to operate.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a hanger in which these difficulties are substantially reduced, or eliminated.

These problems have to some extent been overcome by providing an integral hinge to replace the separate hinge of the U.K Patent Specification No.297,227 thereby eliminating the need to pivot the small plates which hold the rectangular frame in an extended position because the moulding is set in the extended position. Nevertheless, the difficulty still arises of having to lock the lower part of the rectangular frame in its folded position, again resulting in the complexities of manufacture of the main body of the hanger to accept the sliding and the lockable hook arrangement.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a garment hanger in which the above mentioned disadvantages are substantially eliminated.

According to the present invention there is provided a garment hanger comprising a hinge interconnecting two parts of the hanger for pivotal movement of the parts relative to the other, each part having a projection therefrom in the region of the hinge, and resilient means interconnecting the projections, so that the resilient means applies a force in either a folded or open position of the hinge to lock the parts in those respective positions.

According to a preferred embodiment a hinge interconnects two parts of the hanger for pivotal movement of the parts relative to the other, each part having two radially spaced projections therefrom in the region of the hinge, and resilient means interconnecting the longitudinally outermost projections relative to the hinge and extending to one side of the two innermost projections remote from the hinge, so that resilient means applies a force in either a folded or open position of the hinge to lock the parts in those respective positions.

In one preferred embodiment of the present invention the projections are arranged to extend from a surface of the part which itself extends in a direction transverse to the rotational axis of the hinge.

Conveniently, the projections are posts having a radially outwardly extending flange on its outermost free end for holding the resilient means against the posts.

Preferably, the resilient means comprises an elastic band which is conveniently a continuous band, conveniently of a 15mm wide, 40mm long and lmm in thickness. Other sizes may be used in the ranges 3mm to 15mm wide, lOmm to 50mm in length and O.5mm to 4mm thickness.

The resilient means may conveniently be a spring, such as a coil spring.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a rear elevational view of a garment hanger frame in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a partial perspective view of a hinge for use with the garment hanger frame of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of the hinge of Fig. 2 including a rubber band, and Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic elevational view of the hinge of Fig. 3 in a folded configuration.

A garment hanger in accordance with the present invention is shown in Fig. 1 to have a main body 1 comprising two shaped or curved arms 2, 3 depending from a support 4 in the form of a hook. A generally rectangular frame 5 having two shaped, preferably centrally waisted, parallel side arms 6, 7 extends downwardly in Fig. 1 to a crossbar 8 integrally moulded with the side arms. The side arms themselves are of a rectangular cross-section.

Each side arm 6, 7 of the frame 5 is divided into two parts 6a, 6b or 7a, 7b, respectively.

The two parts 6a, 6b of side arm 6 are separately formed but interconnected by hinge 9 having a pivotal axis 10 extending in a direction transverse to the elongate direction in which the side arm 6 extends.

The hinge 9 is defined as shown in Fig. 2 on a surface 11 of each part 6a, 6b. The side surface 11 of side arm 6 is the side opposite front face 12 of side arm 6, that is, on the opposite side of the side arm 6 to the face 12 as shown in Fig. 1.

The hinge 9 comprises an annular extension 13 at one end 14 of side arm 6a, having its central axis 10 displaced to one side of side arm 6 and being of a width which is substantially half of the surface 11 of the side arm part 6a. An extension 15 is located on end 16 of part 6b having an outer shape corresponding to the outer shape of annular extension 13 but rather than being annular is solid with an axial post 17 having an central axis corresponding to central axis 10 when the two parts are joined together. When interconnected the axial post 17 is located within the central aperture 18 of annular extension 13.

The hinge is completed by a continuous rubber band 22 which is mounted on the posts 20, 21 with the post 21 on each side arm part 6a, 6b being located within the continuous rubber band 22 and with the external surface 22a of the rubber band engaging the side of the posts 20 which in the extended condition of the hanger frame as shown in Fig. 4 is remote from the side of the post on which the hinge 9 is located.

Each part 6a, 6b of the side arm 6 has a side face 19 extending between the rear and front surfaces 11, 12, respectively. As illustrated in Fig. 1 the inner surface of the hanger is the surface which faces the opposite side arm of the hanger frame. Two posts 20, 21 are mounted to extend outwardly from the inner surface 19 with the post 20 located in the region of one end 14 of the side arm part 6a at which hinge 9 is located with the post 21 displaced in the longitudinal direction of the side arm part 6a, on the side post 20 remote from hinge 9.

The above described embodiment of a garment hanger in accordance with the present invention discloses a garment hanger which has the specific improvement of being automatically locked into either its extended position or its folded position by the tensioning faces applied by the resilient member, conveniently an elastic band is described.

In Fig. 3 which is the extended position of the hanger frame, the rubber band is arranged to be stretched between the outmost posts 21. The band itself is 5mm in width and of a thickness of lmm. The tension in the stretched rubber band applies a tensional force between the posts 21 which is effective along a line therebetween to one side of the axis 10 of the hinge 9 and therefore the effect of the rubber band is to force the two parts 6a and 6b together in the position shown in Fig. 3.

When an article is mounted on the garment hanger and the frame is folded as required, the lower part of the garment hanger frame comprising side arm parts 6b, 7b and crossbar 8 is pivoted in the direction of the arrow 24 in Fig. 1 until the crossbar 8 lies behind the arms 2,3 and hook 4of the garment hanger. In this position the frame parts 6a, 6b and 7a, 7b overlie one another in the manner which is illustrated in Fig.

4 which shows the folded condition of the hanger. In this position the rubber band 22 around the posts 20 has been moved to the opposite side of the central axis 10 so that side 22b of the band 22 faces the central axis 10. In this position the rubber band 22 is effective to apply a tensional force between each set of posts 20, 21 on side arm parts 6a, 6b and also between posts 20 of the two parts 6a, 6b. The overall effect is to lock the arms in their folded positions.

Although details of the side arms are described above with reference to side arm 6 only, such details are to be taken as also extending to side arm 7, although a mirro image thereof.

Therefore, there has been described a garment hanger having a frame in which folding of the frame is possible with automatic locking in both the extended and folded positions of the frame.

Although the rectangular frame 5 described above has various individual parts which are shaped or curved with a rectangular cross-section, such crosssection can be of any shape, for example, T-shaped, Hshaped, C-shaped or any other appropriate shape.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention the rubber band may be replaced by a spring which could be a coil spring. A leaf spring may also be used.

Moreover, the hinge 9 may be any form of hinge including a web integrally formed with each of the arm parts 6a, 6b provided such hinge allowed the two arm parts to overlie each other when in a folded position.

In one alternative embodiment the posts 21 may receive and support a single length of rubber with a loop at each opposite end to fit over the post 21. the single length of rubber would otherwise be positioned in the same manner as the elastic band described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4.

A further embodiment requires that the posts 21 be eliminated and a shortened form of elastic band or single length of rubber or a leaf spring can be used between the two posts 20.

The particular difficulty with such arrangement is that with the elastic band or single length of rubber the rubber must be so thick for providing a required tensional strength, that the band or rubber strip would be extremely difficult to mount on the posts. Moreover, upon pivoting the hinge the rubber band must be stretched much more than would normally be needed to move from the open to closed position.

Thereby the spring stretching rate can be exceeded reducing the effect of the elastic band, leading to breakages of the band or rubber strip.

Claims (11)

CLAIMS:

1. A garment hanger comprising a hinge interconnecting two parts of the hanger for pivotal movement of the parts relative to the other, each part having a projection therefrom in the region of the hinge, and resilient means interconnecting the projections, so that the resilient means applies a force in either a folded or open position of the hinge to lock the parts in those respective positions.

2. A garment hanger as claimed in claim 1, comprising a hinge interconnecting two parts of the hanger for pivotal movement of the parts relative to the other, each part having two radially spaced projections therefrom in the region of the hinge, and resilient means interconnecting the longitudinally outermost projections relative to the hinge and extending to one side of the two innermost projections remote from the hinge, so that resilient means applies a force in either a folded or open position of the hinge to lock the parts in those respective positions.

3. A hanger as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the projections extend from a surface of the side arm parts which extends in a direction transverse to a rotational axis of the hinge.

4. A hanger as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the projections are posts.

5. A hanger as claimed in claim 4, wherein each post has a radially outwardly extending flange on its outermost free end for holding the resilient means relative to the posts.

6. A hanger as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the resilient means comprises an elastic band.

7. A hanger as claimed in claim 6, wherein the elastic band is in the range 3mm to 15mm wide, 10mm to 50mm long and 0.5mm to 4mm thick.

8. A hanger as claimed in claims 6 or 7, wherein the elastic band is a continuous band.

9. A hanger as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the resilient means is a spring.

10. A hanger as claimed in claim 9, wherein the spring is a coil spring.

11. A garment hanger substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.