GB2386548A - Folding garment hanger - Google Patents

Abstract

Arm 2 of the hanger is pivoted to arm 1 at 4 to allow folding. The arms may be of plastics and are locked in the open position by protuberances 6 on arm 2 which snap fit into recesses 7 in arm and are released by squeezing arm 2 at point 8. Alternatively the protuberances (12 Fig 8) may be attached to a flexible plastics piece (10) inside arm 2 and released by external buttons (9) attached to the piece through holes the arm 1. The buttons may serve as label holders.

Description

r IMPROVEMENTS IN GARMENT HANGERS

This invention relates to a garment hanger of the type used to hang narrow necked and or closed necked garments (i.e. T-Shirts, Pullovers, Sweaters, Sweatshirts, Polo Shirts and other garments with similar neck characteristics) on a rail, peg or other suitable location as shown in Figure 1.

Such garment hangers are well-know but suffer from the disadvantage that when used to hang closed neck garments and the user wishes to separate the hanger and garment the user must thread the hanger through the body of the garment before finally removing the hanger through the waist of the garment. Threading the hanger through the garment can be awkward and may result in the hanger or the garment falling on the floor. It would be more convenient for the user to remove the hanger from the garment through tulle neck if it was not for the potential of either damaging or stretching the neck of such garments.

Some users do indeed choose to remove the hanger through the neck of the garment irrespective of the possibility of the stretching or damage that can be caused - resulting in the neck of the garment tearing.

A similar situation also exists when the user wishes to hang a garment up on such a hanger. The user must insert the hanger through the bottom of the garment and thread the hanger through the body of the garment until it sits in the correct place within the garment i.e. supporting the shoulders and sleeves.

An object of this invention is to provide a garment hanger that allows easy insertion into and removal from a garment via the neck of the garment - even for extremely narrow necked garments such as Polar Necked Jumpers without causing any stretching or damage to the said garment.

Accordingly, this invention provides a garment hanger that consists of two arms (1 and 2 in Figure 2) connected together that rotate and collapse about a pivot in the housing of the main arm, 1 as shown in Figure 2. The ability of the hanger to collapse enables it to be inserted into or removed through the neck of a closed neck garment without causing any damage or stretching to the garment.

Preferably the main components (i.e. 1 and 2) of the garment hanger are made of plastic.

However, the actual support for the hanger, 3, used to hang the garment hanger up can be made of either plastic or metal.

Two possible embodiments - Firstly one with a snap and click mechanism and secondly one with a Button mechanism - of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures in which:

Figure 3 shows a side view of the simple "snap and click" version of the hanger and identifies the major components Figure 4 is a cutaway section showing the simple pivot mechanism components that allow arm 2 to click into position and rotate with respect to arm 1.

Figure 5 shows the protruding nodule and receiving socket in the snap and click version of the garment hanger.

Figure 6 shows a side view of the button version of the hanger and identifies the major components. Figure 7 is a cross section showing the components of the button and the mechanism that causes the hanger to fold.

Figure 8 is a plan view of the button version that shows the components of the button and the mechanism that causes the hanger to fold.

As shown in Figure 3, the first version of the garment hanger consists of two arms, 1 and 2, which support the garment to be hung, and a support for the whole hanger, 3, which is connected to the main body of arm 1. 3 allows the whole hanger to be hung up on a suitable rail or peg as is the case in a normal garment hanger. 1 and 2 are connected together in the main body of 1 and are able to rotate about a pivot or axis 4 which is part of and built into 1. The corresponding connection for the pivot on 2 is 5 which is a tube built into 2 that clips onto the axis 4 of 1 as shown in Figure 4. The corresponding parts 4 and 5 allow 2 to rotate, which causes the garment hanger to fold so that it becomes narrow enough so that it can be removed through the neck of a garment.

Figure 5 shows the snap and click mechanism of the hanger. Arm 2 is fixed in the normal hanger position by the use of a protruding piece of plastic - also called a nodule - 6 that clicks into position and into an opposite grove or hole, 7, inside the main body of 1. In order to collapse the hanger the user must squeeze the flexible top part of 2 - labeled 8 in Figure 3 and force the arm down from its normal position so that the 6 disengages from 7 in 1 allowing 2 to freely rotate, collapse or fold about the pivot mechanism 4 and 5.

When the user wants to use the hanger again they must force 1 and 2 apart until the nodules, 6, on arm 2 snap back into the holes, 7, inside the main body of 1.

The button version of the garment hanger, as shown in Figure 6, appears very similar to the snap and click version. It also consists of two arms, 1 and 2, which support the garment to be hung, and 3, which is connected to the main body of arm 1 and used to support the whole hanger. The pivot mechanism is also identical to that in the "snap and click version" shown in figure 4.

The key difference is in the locking and release mechanism that holds the arms in position or not. As shown in figure 6 the second version has a button 9, which can also double as a label holder that can be easily customized and produced separately as required. In order to collapse or fold the hanger the user must press or squeeze the button 9 on either side of the main body of 1 which causes the locking mechanism to release arm 2 allowing it to rotate about pivot points 4 and thus collapsing the hanger.

Figure 7 shows a cross section of the button mechanism. The two buttons, labeled 9 are attached to the outside of either side of the main body of arm 1. They slot into two holes on either side of the arm and are attached to a flexible piece of plastic 10 on the inside of each side of arm 1.

Figure shows a plan view of the button mechanism. In this figure it can be seen that the buttons 9 are attached to a flexible piece of plastic 10 on the inside of 1. At point 11 the flexible piece of plastic 10 is fixed to the side of 1 where as at the other end it interlocks with a conversely shaped hole on arm 2 as shown at point 12. When the user applies pressure to the buttons this has the effect of disengaging 10 from 2 allowing the arm 2 to rotate or collapse or fold about its pivot as previously described. -.;,

Claims (6)

! CLAIMS

1. A garment hanger consisting of 2 arms to support garments which pivot or rotate about each other and can be collapsed or folded together.

2. A garment hanger as claimed in Claim 1 where a support for the whole hanger is

attached to the top of the hanger so the garment hanger may be hung wherever it is convenient.

3. A garment hanger where the locking mechanism can be provided with a protruding piece of material built into one arm that interlocks in a corresponding depression in the other arm.

4. A garment hanger where the second possible locking mechanism may be provided by a button that acts to disengage the locking mechanism between arm 1 and 2 when the user applies pressure to the button causing the garment hanger to collapse.

5. A garment hanger as claimed in the preceding claims which is made from metal, plastics material or wood or from a combination of these materials.

6. A garment hanger substantially as herein described above and illustrated in the ,. accompanying arawmgs.