GB2325151A - Garment hanger - Google Patents

Abstract

The garment hanger comprises a planar body 1 having a front face 2 and a rear face 3. The planar body 1 is made of recycled board and is rigid. The board of the planar body 1 is laminated on its rear face 3 with a white laminate 4 and on its front face with a print quality laminate 5. The front surface of the planar body 1 is then printed with an image 6. This image 6 may relate to the garment which the hanger is intended to support and may give, for example, size information, product details, manufacturer or retailer details and, may also include a picture image relating to the garment or for additional sales or advertising purposes. The garment hanger includes a hook 7 for hanging the hanger on, for example, a rail. A garment insert flap 8 is laminated to the rear face 3 of the planar body 1.

Description

GARMENT HANGER The invention relates to garment hangers, particularly, though not exclusively to garment hangers for supporting and displaying garments for retail purposes.

Presently available hangers are of a variety of types and are made of plastics material or metal. Wire hangers and hangers made from moulded plastics material are well known. Hangers made of plastics material may be moulded in one piece or may have a separate metal hook attached to a plastics body. Information about the product may be included on the hanger in the form of a stick-on label with, for example, size information. With certain types of garment, such as lingerie, information may be provided on a card sleeve on the hanger.

Hangers for certain garments such as socks or gloves incorporate a cardboard flap with a plastic hook attached to the flap. The flap is inserted into the garment and is attached to the garment by a plastic tag The combination of different materials makes manufacture of garment hangers complicated and causes problems with disposal of used hangers.

The object of the invention is to provide a garment hanger that is easier to manufacture and that can be disposed of or recycled easily.

A further object of the invention is to provide a garment hanger that can be manufactured from recycled or recyclable materials.

The invention provides a garment hanger comprising: garment support means; and hanging means characterised in that: the garment support means comprises a planar body comprising a front face and a rear face; at least one of said front face and said rear face have a surface adapted for having an image printed thereon; and the garment hanger further comprises a garment insert flap.

Preferably the hanging means is integral with the garment support means. Alternatively, the garment support means may include a hole and the hanging means may comprise a hook means or hanging means attached to or through the hole. As a further alternative a clip-on hook may be provided.

Preferably the garment support means comprises a planar body manufactured from board. Alternatively any suitable cardboard, plastics material or other material may be used. The material is advantageously light but rigid enough to hold a particular garment without bending or breaking. The garment support means of the present invention is particularly suited for manufacture from recycled board.

Advantageously an image may be printed directly onto the garment support means or a printable surface may be laminated onto the garment support means for receiving a printed image.

Preferably the garment support means comprises board laminated on the rear face with a plain surface and laminated on the front face with a print quality laminate.

Preferably the garment insert flap comprises a flap of flexible card or similar material. Advantageously the garment insert flap is laminated to the rear or the front of the garment support means. Alternatively the garment insert flap may be glued or otherwise fixed to the garment support means.

Preferably fastening means are provided to fasten a garment to the garment hanger. Advantageously the fastening means may comprise a plastic tag. Advantageously the garment support means includes a hole formed therein for the fastening means to pass through.

The image to be printed on the garment support may comprises product information, size details, pictures, merchandising information etc as desired.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the planar body comprises a unitary construction hanger, including the hanging means.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, hanging means may be attached to the planar body.

The invention further provides a method of manufacture of a garment hanger comprising the steps of: selecting a board of desired thickness and rigidity; cutting the board to a desired profile; printing an image on one side of the board; selecting a garment insert flap material; cutting the garment insert flap material to a desired profile; and attaching the garment insert flap to one of the front face or rear face of the board.

Preferably the method includes the step of cutting an integral hook for hanging the garment hanger in the board.

Alternatively the method includes the step of cutting a hole in the board and attaching a hanging means to the board through the hole.

Advantageously an image is printed directly onto the board.

Preferably, however, the method included the step of laminating a printable surface onto the board for receiving a printed image.

Preferably the method includes the steps of laminating a rear face of the board with a plain surface and laminating a front face of the board with a print quality laminate.

Preferably the method includes the step of laminating the garment insert flap to one face of the board.

The invention wffl now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 shows a front view of a garment hanger according to the present invention; and Figure 2 shows a side view of the garment hanger of Figure 1.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the garment hanger of the invention comprises a planar body 1 having a front face 2 and a rear face 3. The planar body 1 is made of recycled board and is rigid. The material for the planar body must be light and of sufficient rigidity to support the garment without bending. It must also have sufficient strength not to break when supporting the garment. In the preferred embodiment, the board of the planar body 1 is laminated on its rear face 3 with a white laminate 4 and on its front face with a print quality laminate 5. The total thickness of the laminated board is about 2.5mm. The front surface of the planar body 1 is then printed with an image 6. This image 6 may relate to the garment which the hanger is intended to support and may give, for example, size information, product details, manufacturer or retailer details and, may also include a picture image relating to the garment or for additional sales or advertising purposes.

The garment hanger includes a hook 7 for hanging the hanger on, for example, a rail. The hook 7 is formed integrally with the planar body 1.

A garment insert flap 8 is laminated to the rear face 3 of the planar body 1.

In use, a garment such as a pair of socks or gloves can be fitted over the garment insert flap 8 and a fastener (not shown) such as a plastic tag is attached through the garment, the garment insert flap 8 and the planar body 1 to hold the garment in place.

The printing of an image directly on the garment hanger means that sticky labels or information sleeves are no longer required. The image can be printed in any arrangement and the garment hanger can be manufactured in any display configuration.

The use of board and other similar materials makes manufacture simple and disposal of the used product is improved as there is no longer any need to separate labels, hooks, plastics, metal and so on before the product can be disposed of. The garment hanger of the invention lends itself to manufacture from recycled materials such as recycled board or plastics materials.

The garment hanger of the invention can be manufactured easily with any profile that may be required.

The flat construction of the garment hanger of the invention enables a very high packing density to be achieved for storage or transportation of the hangers by themselves or with the garments.

Claims (21)

1. A garment hanger comprising: garment support means; and hanging means characterised in that: the garment support means comprises a planar body comprising a front face and a rear face; at least one of said front face and said rear face have a surface adapted for having an image printed thereon; and the garment hanger further comprises a garment insert flap.

2. A garment hanger according to claim 1 wherein the hanging means is integral with the garment support means.

3. A garment hanger according to claim 1 wherein the garment support means includes a hole and the hanging means comprises a hook means or hanging means attached to or through the hole.

4. A garment hanger according to claim 1 wherein the garment support means comprises a clip-on hook.

5. A garment hanger according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the garment support means comprises a planar body manufactured from board.

6. A garment hanger according to claim 6 wherein the planar body is manufactured from recycled board.

7. A garment hanger according to any one of the preceding claims wherein an image is printed directly onto the garment support means.

8. A garment hanger according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein a printable surface is laminated onto the garment support means for receiving a printed image.

9. A garment hanger according to claim 8 wherein the garment support means comprises board laminated on the rear face with a plain surface and laminated on the front face with a print quality laminate.

10. A garment hanger according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the garment insert flap comprises a flap of flexible card or similar material.

11. A garment hanger according to claim 10 wherein the garment insert flap is laminated to the rear or the front of the garment support means.

12. A garment hanger according to any one of claims 1 to 10 wherein the garment insert flap is glued to the garment support means.

13. A garment hanger according to any one of the preceding claims wherein fastening means are provided to fasten a garment to the garment hanger.

14. A method of manufacture of a garment hanger comprising the steps of: selecting a board of desired thickness and rigidity; cutting the board to a desired profile; printing an image on one side of the board; selecting a garment insert flap material; cutting the garment insert flap material to a desired profile; and attaching the garment insert flap to one of the front face or rear face of the board.

15. A method of manufacture of a garment hanger according to claim 14 wherein the method includes the step of cutting an integral hook for hanging the garment hanger in the board.

16. A method of manufacture of a garment hanger according to claim 14 wherein the method includes the step of cutting a hole in the board and attaching a hanging means to the board through the hole.

17. A method of manufacture of a garment hanger according to any one of claims 14 to 16 wherein an image is printed directly onto the board.

18. A method of manufacture of a garment hanger according to any one of claims 14 to 16 wherein the method includes the step of laminating a printable surface onto the board for receiving a printed image.

19. A method of manufacture of a garment hanger according to claim 18 wherein the method includes the steps of laminating a rear face of the board with a plain surface and laminating a front face of the board with a print quality laminate.

20. A method of manufacture of a garment hanger according to any one of claims 14 to 19 wherein the method includes the step of laminating the garment insert flap to one face of the board.

21. A garment hanger as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.