US2891705A - Garment retainer - Google Patents

Description

G. w. GRAY GARMENT RETAINER Filed Feb. 5, 1956 June 23, 1959 I INVENTOR GENE WILLIAM GRAY ATTORNEYS United States Patent P r 2,891,705 Patented 'June '23, 1959 GARMENT RETAINER Gene William Gray, Salt Lake City, Utah Application February 3, 1956, Serial No. 563,216 7 Claims. c1. nag-s8 The following description deals with an improvement i i-garment retainers for hangers. The retainer is adapted to be'eombined with and to supplement the utility of the ordinary wire garment hanger, widely used in the storage and transportation of garments.

The ordinary garment hanger of this type does not of itself provide means for retaining the garments in the desired symmetrical position. For example, a coat or skirt will readily slip toward one end of the wire hanger and; lead to the garment being pulled out of shape or wrinkled. Such hangers also are used to support a folded pair of trousers or other garment on the horizontal cross bar. As this has the maximum width of the hanger, the garment is apt to slip toward one end, unbalancing the hanger and causing the garment to be bunched and 93%??- -;I have found that such a garment hanger can be greatly improved so that the garment will be prevented from sliding toward one end or allowing any part to hang uns ipported; I do this by means of a retainer which is as l et eehed t the w s of the garment hanger y finger presspre; It may then be adjusted into the desired position. It will then be of great help in preventing the garment i em lidi wa the e d io resting pported by the garment hanger itself. Qne ot'the-objects of my invention is to provide means tor holding the parts of the wire garment hanger in nortr al spaced positions with adequate reinforcements at rin Wh h cu toma ily supp r h wei h of he arme ts 7' An??? o ittt of he nve i to t n the c n m et esntrall r s me ri a l tm h an r n avoid 1ll F l 991 9i ts s in o or ow d e of h ends A s ill ur h 9 l 9 th nv n n is o p i a taine whi h f ms a member n a p e at a rig angle to' the plane of the hanger itself.

Among the objects of the invention is the provision of hooks below the horizontal crossbar in aplane at right angles to the vertical plane of the latter.

Furthermore, the improved retainer is designed for facility in attachment to the garment hanger and removal whenever it is desired to separate the two; 7 Other objects of my invention will be readily apparent from the following description of the preferred form of the invention as illustrated on the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved garment retainer;

Fig. 2 is a transverse cross-section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the retainer in use on a garment hanger;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective showing a modified use of the retainer;

Fig. 5 shows in side elevation the mode of attaching the retainer and hanger and Fig. 6 is a similar view of the mode of disengagement of the parts.

The above objects of the invention are obtained by providing a readily attachable retainer to the well known wire garment hanger. Such a garment hanger 8 is formed with a hook 9 by which it can be suspended. The side portions 10, 10 of the hanger slope downwardly and away from the hook. Their ends are connected by means of the crossbar 11. This hanger is of course formed from a single piece of ductile wire. The ends are twisted together to form the hook 9.

It is well understood that the garment hanger as described has no provision for preventing the garment from slipping to one side or even over one of the side ends. As such hangers are made of a single or maximum size, the full dimension is rarely used. On the contrary, some effort must be made to center the garment and to prevent it from slipping out of normal position. To carry out this purpose I have provided a retainer 12. This retainer is made of a plastic resin with a slight inherent resilience. Such articles can be readily molded into the desired form. They retain their form and are clean and pleasing in appearance.

The retainer is made in the form of a thin sheet or web. This has a beaded edge 13 around its periphery, as clearly indicated in Fig. 1.-

One end of the retainer 12 is formed with an integral hook 14.

The retainer is provided with a longitudinal slot 15 near one side edge. This slot has a width suitable to receive the wire portions 10 and 11 freely. The slot 15 also has a beaded edge 16 for improving the rigidity and appearance of the article.

A plurality of lateral recesses are provided substantially along the longitudinal axis of the retainer. They are connected to the slot 15. The upper recess 17 is near the end of the retainer opposite the hook 14. The lower recess 18 is similarly connected to the slot 15 at the opposite end thereof. This brings it near the end hook 14.-

An intermediate recess 19 is also provided in the retainer and connected to the slot 15.

Each of the recesses'1 7, 18 and 19 are of a normal diameter slightly greater than that of the wire of which the garment hanger is made. However, the necks of the recesses are restricted at the point where they merge into the slot 15. This restriction is sufiicient to bindagain'st the side of the wire of the garment hanger. V

However, the inherent resilience of the retainer is such that finger pressure applied to the portions of the hanger Wire as shown in Fig. 5 will be sufiicient to open up .these necks and permit the wire to fit within therecesses. Thereafter the necks will confine the wire within the recesses.

When desirable the wire portions can be released from the recesses by finger pressure as shown in Fig. 6. Here the plastic material is distorted sufiiciently topermit the wire to pass through the necks and into the slot 15. The retainer may then be moved along the hanger end until it is entirely free.

The end recesses 17 and 18 are spaced to conform with the width between the side portion 10 and the crossbar 11 at the point where it is desired to attach the retainer. Once in position, the retainer is prevented by the divergence of the members 10 and 11, from movement along the latter.

At the same time, due to the beaded edge 16 around the slot and recesses, the retainer is maintained in a plane at right angle to that of the garment hanger itself.

There may be instances where it is desired to attach the retainer at the extreme end of the hanger. In this case one of the end recesses will be used in combination with the intermediate recess.

Again where the hangers have closely parallel end portions, the retainer can be satisfactorily adjusted in 3 position using the intermediate and lower recesses. This is shown in Fig. 4.

The retainers may be provided in pairs, one pair to each hanger. Each individual retainer is slipped over an end of the hanger, the portions and 11 being received in the slot 15. The retainer is moved inward until the wire portions are opposite the end recesses. The plastic is then given a slight bend or twist in its own plane to facilitate pressing the Wire portions into the recesses. The retainer takes its position in a rigid plane at right angle to the garment hanger as shown in Fig. 2. There it will restrain the shoulder portions of the garment from slipping too far in either direction.

The retainer also forms a stop for a garment which may be folded and laid upon the center portion of the crossbar 11.

The hooks 14 are also presented in a plane at right angle to the hanger thus making it very easy to attach a garment by means of a shoulder strap, hem or the like.

The retainers maintain their positions during use. However, if the hanger is to be removed, discarded or returned as to a dry cleaning establishment, then the retainers may be readily removed in the manner above described, so that they may then be used again with another hanger.

By way of example I have shown the invention in its preferred form. However, it will be possible to make changes in material, dimensions or proportions and other minor details without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A garment retainer for attachment transversely to a wire garment hanger, which consists of a flat strip of inherently resilient material, said strip having a longitudinal slot, one inner edge of the strip bordering the slot being transversely recessed at spaced points, said slot and recesses being wider than the diameter of the hanger wire, and the inner edges of the strip being formed into a narrow opening for each recessed part, said openings being resiliently enlargeable to permit passage of the said wire into the recesses and normally confining it in said recesses.

2. A garment retainer for attachment transversely to a wire garment hanger, which consists of a flat strip of inherently resilient material, said strip having a longitudinal slot, one inner edge of the strip bordering the slot being transversely recessed at at least three points spaced to receive and hold two portions of the wire garment hanger, said slot and recesses being Wider than the diameter of the hanger wire, and the edge of the strip being formed into a narrow opening for each recessed part, said openings being resiliently enlargeable to permit passage of the said wire into the recesses and normally confining it in said recesses.

3. A garment retainer for attachment transversely to a wire garment hanger, which consists of a flat strip of inherently resilient material, said strip having a longitudinal slot, one inner edge of the strip bordering the slot being transversely recessed at spaced points, the edge of the strip being formed into a narrow opening for each recessed part, said slot and recesses being wider than the diameter of the hanger wire and the openings being resiliently enlargeable to permit passage of the said wire into the recesses and normally confining it in said recesses, and the said inner edge being formed with a continuous marginal rib.

4. A garment retainer for attachment transversely to a wire garment hanger, which consists of a flat strip of inherently resilient material, said strip having a slot adjacent and parallel to one side edge, the inner edge of the strip bordering the slot being transversely recessed at spaced points, said slot and recesses being wider than the diameter of the hanger wire and the edge of the strip being formed into a narrow opening for each recessed part, said openings being resiliently enlargeable to permit passage of the said wire into the recesses and normally confining it in said recesses.

5. A garment retainer for attachment transversely to a wire garment hanger, which consists of a flat strip of inherently resilient material, said strip having a slot adjacent and parallel to one side edge, the inner edge of the strip bordering the slot being transversely recessed at spaced points, said slot and recesses being Wider than the diameter of the hanger wire and the inner edge of the strip being formed into a narrow opening for each recessed part, said openings being resiliently enlargeable to permit passage of the said wire into the recesses and normally confining it in said recesses, a marginal n'b on the strip around the slot and a peripheral rib around the strip.

6. A combined garment retainer and suspending device for attachment transversely to a wire garment hanger, which consists of a fiat strip of inherently resilient material, said strip having a longitudinal slot, one inner edge of the strip bordering the slot being transversely recessed at spaced points, said slot and recesses being Wider than the diameter of the hanger wire, the inner edge of the strip being formed into a narrow opening for each recessed part, said openings being resiliently enlargeable to permit passage of the said wire into the recesses and normally confining it in said recesses, and a depending hook on the strip below the slot.

7. A combined garment retainer and suspending device for attachment transversely to a wire garment hanger, which consists of a flat strip of inherently resilient material, said strip having a longitudinal slot, one inner edge of the strip bordering the slot being transversely recessed at spaced points, said slot and recesses being Wider than the diameter of the hanger wire, the inner edge of the strip being formed into a narrow opening for each recessed part, said openings being resiliently enlargeable to permit passage of the said wire into the recesses and normally confining it in said recesses, and a depending hook on the strip below the slot, said strip and hook having a continuous peripheral rib.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,053,633 Raterman Sept. 8, 1936 2,386,059 Potoczky Oct. 2, 1945 2,695,120 Barosso Nov. 23, 1954

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