US20120074181A1

US20120074181A1 - Hat hanging device

Info

Publication number: US20120074181A1
Application number: US12/924,274
Authority: US
Inventors: Ryan Douglas Reid
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-09-24
Filing date: 2010-09-24
Publication date: 2012-03-29

Abstract

A hat hanging device with a central vertically elongate member, a left and a right hat hanger support member, a plurality of hat retaining assemblies, a hanger bar attachment member and a hanger bar attachment retaining clip. The hanger bar attachment member connects to the central member and is held in place by the retaining clip. The hanger support members are each attached to the right and left side of the central elongate member. The hanger support members slope downward from the central elongate member at approximately a thirty degree angle. The hat retaining assemblies each include a post topped by a spherical member. A hat bill retaining spring clip is attached to the bottom of each post. The spherical members are rotatably retained by apertures located in the side wall of the hanger support members.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

DESCRIPTION OF ATTACHED APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of clothing storage devices and more specifically to a hat hanging device.
Baseball type hats or caps are a common form of headwear in the United States and around the world. They are comprised of a head covering cap portion and a bill portion that is used for shading the face and eyes of the wearer. Many persons own more than one baseball type hat or cap. Therefore there is a need for a way to store these caps in an organized, easy to access fashion.
Several prior patents have been issued for hat hanging devices. U.S. Pat. No. 6,863,196 discloses a hanger that uses a plurality of clothes pin type clips to hold the bill portion of baseball caps.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,915,930 presents another cap hanger that includes molded in J hooks that retain the cap portion of a baseball type cap.
However, there are deficiencies in the prior technology. Firstly, the straight configuration of the hanging apparatus makes it difficult to easily have access to a specific hat as it is nested in with the rest of the hanging hats. Secondly, because there is very little room to actually move the hats while they are hanging on the hanger assembly, it is difficult to view the hats before selecting one to remove and wear.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the invention is to provide a hat hanging device that accommodates a plurality of baseball type caps.
Another object of the invention is to provide a hat hanging device that allows for easy access to remove and replace the hats being hung.
Another object of the invention is to provide a hat hanging device that allows the user to easily see an entire hat and make a hat selection decision before removing it from the hanger.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed a hat hanging device comprising: a central vertically elongate member, a left and a right hat hanger support member, a plurality of hat retaining assemblies, a hanger bar attachment member, a hanger bar attachment retaining clip, said left hanger support member attached at one end to the left side of said central elongate member, said right hanger support member attached at one end to the right side of said central elongate support member, said right and left hanger support members sloping downward from said central elongate member at approximately a thirty degree angle, said vertical elongate member having an upper hanger bar attachment member retaining slot, said hanger bar attachment member being retained by said attachment retaining clip, said hat retaining assemblies comprised of an upper sphere member, an attached downwardly extending post and an attached downwardly extending spring biased cap bill gripping device, said left and right hanger support members having an inverted U shaped cross section, each said hanger support member having equally spaced apertures located on the side walls of said Inverted U shaped cross section, and said sphere member of each said hat retaining assembly rotatably retained between opposing said apertures of said hanger support members.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments to the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. It is to be understood that in some instances various aspects of the invention may be shown exaggerated or enlarged to facilitate an understanding of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention in use.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a section view of a hat hanging member.

FIG. 4 is a section view of hats stored in a manner perpendicular to the vertical access.

FIG. 5 is a section view of hats stored in a manner that includes a thirty degree slope.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of an alternate embodiment of the central vertical elongate member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner.
Referring now to FIG. 1 we see a perspective view of the hat hanging device of the present invention 100. The device includes a rod attaching member 10 that hooks onto a standard closet rod 12. A central elongate member 52 hangs down from the rod attaching member 10. A left 51 and right 50 hanging arm also called a hanger support member, extend from the central member 52. A plurality of extension hanging posts 4 extend down from the hanging arms 50, 51. Each post terminates at its upper end in a spherical member 8 and at its lower end in a standard spring biased clip 6 capable or removably retaining the bill of a standard baseball cap 2. The spherical member 8 allows the post 4 to swivel and rotate in any direction so that the user can turn any of the caps 2 and inspect them easily without removing them from the hanger assembly 100. Additionally, the extension posts 4 allow the user to pull hats 2 apart from each other during the inspection or removal or replacement of a hat 2. The left 51 and right 50 hanging arms are sloped at approximately a thirty degree angle allowing for more accessibility to each cap as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 shows a section view of hats stored in a manner that is perpendicular to the central access as indicated by degree arc 70 which is set at ninety degrees. The space between the bottom of each cap 62 becomes restricted and makes it more difficult to separate hats as they are hanging on the device 100. A thirty degree slope shown in FIG. 5 as indicated by degree arc 80 allows for much greater space 64 at the bottom portion of each cap allowing much easier access to each cap for inspection or removal even though the distance between cap bills is identical as shown by dimension lines 60 and 62.
FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the invention. Rod attaching member 10 is slid into slot 19 and circular opening 18. A retainer clip 14 snaps into place in recessed area 32 thereby holding rod attaching member 10 in place. A lower slot and circular cutout area 20 allows a person to install an extension rod assembly 30. The extension rod assembly 30 has a spherical member 22 fixed to the top of an elongate post 26. Another spherical member 24 is fixed to the bottom of the post 26. If a person wishes to attach a second hat hanging device 100 so that it hangs below the first hat hanging device, the person inserts sphere 22 into lower slot 20 and then applies a clip 14 to the recessed portion 34 to retain the post 26. Then the user inserts sphere 24 into the upper slot 18, 19 of the second hat hanging device 100 and locks it in place with clip 14 thereby creating the means to hang a second tier of hats. A third or fourth tier can be hung in a similar way.
FIG. 3 shows a section view of the right hanging member 50 as indicated by section line 40 in FIG. 2. The spherical member 8 of the hanging post 4 is captured within apertures 9, 11 located in the side walls of inverted U shaped hanging member 50. This configuration allows the hanging post 4 to rotate and swivel as needed when the user wishes to inspect or remove or replace a hat 2. Standard spring 7 biased clip 6 is fixed to the bottom of post 4 and works in a standard way. When the user presses in on the side walls 17, 29 of the clip 6 the gripping jaws 41, 43 separate to allow the user to insert or remove the bill of a hat 2.
FIG. 6 shows an alternate embodiment of central vertical elongate member 200 where the overall shape of the central member is circular rather than rectangular as shown in the first embodiment 100. In this configuration a C shaped clip 214 is used to retain the rod attaching member 210 which is installed in slot 218. Likewise, lower extension rod 226 with its top spherical member 222 can be installed in slot 220 and retained with C shaped clip 215. Lower spherical member 224 can retain the top slot 218 of a second hat hanger 100 to create a second level of hat storage. Additional levels can be made by repeating the above process. Hanging arms 250 slope and operate in a similar way as the original embodiment.
While the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. hat hanging device comprising:

a central vertically elongate member;

a left and a right hat hanger support member;

a plurality of hat retaining assemblies;

a hanger bar attachment member;

a hanger bar attachment retaining clip;

said left hanger support member attached at one end to the left side of said central elongate member;

said right hanger support member attached at one end to the right side of said central elongate support member;

said right and left hanger support members sloping downward from said central elongate member at approximately a thirty degree angle;

said vertical elongate member having an upper hanger bar attachment member retaining slot;

said hanger bar attachment member being retained by said attachment retaining clip;

said hat retaining assemblies comprised of an upper sphere member, an attached downwardly extending post and an attached downwardly extending spring biased cap bill gripping device;

said left and right hanger support members having an inverted U shaped cross section;

each said hanger support member having equally spaced apertures located on the side walls of said Inverted U shaped cross section; and

said sphere member of each said hat retaining assembly rotatably retained between opposing said apertures of said hanger support members.

2. Hat hanging device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a second attachment slot located at the lower portion of said central elongate member;

said second attachment slot capable of removably retaining a downwardly disposed extension rod assembly;

said extension rod assembly comprised of an elongate post and a spherical member attached to each end of said post;

said upper spherical member capable of attaching to said lower attachment slot of said central elongate member;

said lower spherical member capable of attaching to said upper slot of a second said hat hanging device.