AU2019101036A4 - A garment and towel hanger arrangement for a hinged door - Google Patents

Abstract

A garment and towel hanger arrangement for a hinged door including a central pin co-operable with a first arm and a second arm of a door hinge to provide a pivotal support configuration for the door hinge for lateral rotatable movement when the first arm of the door hinge is mounted to a door and the second arm of the door hinge to a door frame into which said door is hung. A third arm mountable to the door hinge, wherein third arm includes a defined pathway for the central pin to be co-operable with the first arm and second arm of the hinge arrangement and to pass through to allow support and guided lateral rotatable movement of the third arm. The third arm further including a lateral extension member where garments and towels may be hangable therefrom. Figure 1 Figure 2

Description

A GARMENT AND TOWEL HANGER ARRANGEMENT FOR A HINGED DOOR

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [001] This invention relates to a hanger arrangement that will be uniquely able to utilise the space around a hinged door for the hanging thereon of garments, towels and the like.

[002] More particularly this invention relates to a unique garment and towel hanging arrangement that will utilise the structural support existing in an already hung hinged door so as to provide a fully supported hanging arrangement on which garments, towels and the like can be placed thereon behind the hinged door.

BACKGROUND ART DISCUSSION [003] Conventionally, many doors hung within a door frame utilise a hinged arrangement for swinging the door open and closing. For the most part a traditional hinge includes a central pin co-operating with two intertwining arms or leaf type plates that are pivotally support by the central pin and whereby one of the arms of the hinge arrangement would be mounted along a side edge of the door to be hung and wherein the corresponding arm or leaf plate would then be secured to the door frame in which the hinged door would be hung therein.

[004] Generally in order to appropriately support the door within the door frame the hinge arrangement would include at least one hinge towards the top of the door and one towards the base of the door and in some instances intermediate further hinges there in between depending on the size and weight of the door.

[005] By its very nature a hinged door is required to be swung between an open and closed position. As the door needs to be swung open to allow access through the door frame it is difficult to place thereabout the door, particularly in that space behind the door, freestanding clothes racks or the like, as these become an obstacle and abutment to the convenient opening and closing of the hinged door.

[006] As such, this space behind the hinged door is often poorly utilised and wasted.

2019101036 10 Sep 2019 [007] Therefore it is an object on this invention to better utilise the existing support structure of the hinge(s) of the mounted door so as to provide also structural support for a garment and towel hanger arrangement thereby inherently enabling the ability to utilise the space behind a hinged door for hanging items.

[008] Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a complete reading of the following specification.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [009] In one form of the invention there is provided a garment and towel hanger arrangement for a hinged door, said garment and towel hanger arrangement including:

[010] a central pin co-operable with a first arm and a second arm of a door hinge to provide a pivotal support configuration for the door hinge for lateral rotatable movement when the first arm of the door hinge is mounted to a door and the second arm of the door hinge to a door frame into which said door is hung;

[011] a third arm mountable upon and/or within said first arm and/or second arm of the door hinge, wherein third arm includes a defined pathway for said central pin cooperable with the first arm and second arm of the hinge arrangement to pass through to allow support and guided lateral rotatable movement of said third arm;

[012] said third arm further including a lateral extension member, wherein the lateral extension member provides a location on which garments and towels may be hangable therefrom.

[013] In preference the third arm includes a central plate to which the lateral extension member extends therefrom.

[014] In preference the third arm includes two or more collars which assist in defining the pathway through which the central pin is passable therethrough and through which the central pin passable therethrough into the two or more collars

2019101036 10 Sep 2019 allows support and guided lateral rotatable movement of the third arm when mounted upon and/or within said first arm and/or second arm of the door hinge.

[015] In preference there is a first collar at a top mounting corner of the garment and towel hanger arrangement and a second collar at a bottom mounting corner of the garment and towel hanger arrangement.

[016] In preference the first collar and second collar mounted respectively at the top and bottom corners of a mounting side of the third arm are joined to the central plate of the third arm through a rounded shoulder section.

[017] In preference the lateral extension member includes a rail, rod and/or plate extension that laterally extends therefrom said third arm.

[018] In preference the lateral extension member includes a pair of rails or rods mounted respectively to top and bottom edges of the third arm and at an opposing distal end to the third arm, said pair of rails or rods joined together by a curved section of rails or rods.

[019] In preference the pair of rails or rods and the curved section of rails or rods are a single integral piece.

[020] In preference the lateral extension member includes hooks mounted upon the railing or rods on which garments and towels can be hooked thereupon.

[021] In preference the garment and towel hanger arrangement further includes vertical supports such that garment and towel hanger arrangements mounted upon vertically adjacent door hinges can be inter-connected through the vertical support to increase the structural integrity of multiple mounted garment and towel hanger arrangements of the hinged door.

[022] In preference the vertical support include a beam and/or sections of joined beams that can be mounted between each garment and towel hanger arrangement hinged upon adjacent vertically mounted hinges.

2019101036 10 Sep 2019 [023] In preference the beams are mounted at one end towards the end of the railing or rod of the lateral extension member of one garment and towel hanger arrangement and mounted at the other end of the extendible/retractable support beam at or towards the mounting end of the third arm to the hinged door.

[024] In order now to describe the invention in greater detail a series of preferred embodiments will be presented with the assistance of the following illustrations and accompanying text.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [025] Figures 1 and 2 show generally front perspective views of the garment and towel hanger arrangement for a hinged door in a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein Figure 2 includes a central pin which is co-operable with the first and second arms of the door hinge and Figure 1 for clarity and to assist in describing some parts of the garment and towel hanger arrangement more fully does not.

[026] Figure 3 is a schematic representation of the garment and towel hanger arrangement mounted to a hinged door in a preferred embodiment of the invention.

[027] Figures 4a and 4b are schematic representations showing the garment and towel hanger arrangement in the preferred embodiment of the invention being mounted to a door hinge as seen in Figure 4a and for Figure 4b a top view looking down at the garment and towel hanger arrangement mounted to a door hinge mounted within a door frame.

[028] Figures 5a, 5b and 5c are schematic representations showing the garment and towel hanger arrangement being mounted to a single door hinge as seen in Figure 5a, two door hinges in Figure 5b and three door hinges in Figure 5c.

[029] Figures 6a and 6b show a further preferred embodiment of the invention that includes the additional vertical support between vertically adjacent mounted garment and towel hanger arrangements wherein Figure 6a shows support between two hinged garment and towel hanger arrangements and Figure 6b shows vertical

2019101036 10 Sep 2019 support involved in three vertically adjacent mounted garment and towel hanger arrangements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [030] Figures 1 and 2 of the invention illustrate the garment and towel hanger arrangement of a preferred embodiment of this invention generally shown as (10).

[031] The garment and towel hanger arrangement (10) shown in Figure 1 in order to understand the structure and then the way in which the garment and towel hanger arrangement (10) will be mounted to a door hinge within a door frame does not include the central pin (24), as illustrated in Figure 2.

[032] The central pin (24) is responsible for the structural inter-connection to allow co-operable relative lateral rotational movement between the respective arms of the existing door hinge as well as the support and guided lateral rotating movement of the garment and towel hanger arrangement (10) that will be mounted to the relevant door hinge mounted to the doorframe.

[033] Accordingly the garment and towel hanger arrangement (10) includes the third arm shown generally as (12) which has a central plate (14).

[034] The central plate (14) at a mounting side shown generally as (15) of the garment and towel hanger arrangement (10) includes curved shoulder section (16), the structural relevance of the curved shoulder section (16) will be detailed when referencing Figure 4b.

[035] The shoulder section (16) of the third arm (12) at the top mounting side (15) corner (17) and at the mounting side (15) bottom corner (19) includes the pair of collars (20) and (22) to which the central pin (24) is passable and maintainable thereon.

[036] The central pin (24) will include a cap (26) or the like, which will be configured so as to retain the central pin (24) within the confines of the respective collars (20) and (22) of the third arm (12) of the garment and towel hanger arrangement (10).

2019101036 10 Sep 2019 [037] As best seen in Figures 4a and 4b, the garment and towel hanger arrangement (10) is mountable to a door hinge shown generally as (28).

[038] As best seen in Figure 4b the conventional door hinge includes a first arm (30) which is mountable along the side edge (32) of the door (34).

[039] The door hinge (28) includes a second arm (36) which is mounted to the door frame (38).

[040] Conventionally, these two first and second arms (30) and (36) of the hinge arrangement (28) would be co-operatively linked by a central pin.

[041] Nonetheless in the application of this invention the central pin (24) of the garment and towel hanger arrangement (10) replaces that conventional pin of the door hinge wherein the length of the central pin (24) in the preferred embodiment would be of a length at least slightly longer than the conventional central pin of the existing door hinge as the central pin (24) of this invention must not only co-operably link together the first and second arm of the door hinge to allow appropriate support of the hung door between open and closed positions but to be long enough to also extend enough to include the two collars (20) and (22) of the third arm (12) of the garment and towel hanger arrangement (10).

[042] In the preferred embodiment best illustrated in Figure 4a will have collars (20) and (22) positioned below and above the existing door hinge (28) so that then the central pin (24) will pass through collar (20) then on through intertwined first and second arms (30) and (36) of the existing door hinge (28) it will then also extend there out from the base of the entwined first and second interleaved arms (30) and (36) of the door hinge into collar (22) thereby co-operatively also supporting and guiding not only the first arm (30) and the second arm (36) of the door hinge (28), but importantly the third arm (12) of the garment and towel hanger arrangement (10).

[043] As seen in Figure 4b the shouldered section (16) extending out from the main central plate (14) of the third arm (12) provides structural spacing to avoid any

2019101036 10 Sep 2019 abutting engagement with architraves or beams (41) that could be included as part of the door frame in which the door (34) is hung.

[044] Advantageously, the garment and towel hanger arrangement (10) has been able to utilise the existing hinged support arrangement of the door which is hung within the door frame.

[045] Other than the central pin (24), there is no replacement, realignment, remounting elsewhere within the doorframe of the existing hinge(s). All that is necessary to incorporate the garment and towel hanger arrangement (10) into the door frame to provide the means in which that area of space behind the door can be utilised is to join the third arm (12) to the existing hinge (28) through the central pin (24).

[046] In the preferred embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, the garment and towel hanger arrangement (10) has the lateral extension member provided by way of the railings (46) and (48) extending from the central plate (14), wherein the railings (46) and (48) are joined at an opposing distal end represented as (49) by way of a curved railing section (50). Preferable railings (46) and (48) and the curved railing section (50) would all be one single integral component.

[047] Although not shown in the illustrations, the railing could also include hooks of which various items could be hooked thereon if need be.

[048] Figure 3 shows an example of how the garment and towel hanger arrangement (10) can be mounted within the door frame (60) of a door (62) that is being hung therein the doorframe (60), simply by utilising the existing door hinge.

[049] As can be appreciated by the illustrations shown in Figure 3, the door (62) hung within the door frame (60) of a bathroom (64) means that the space, shown generally as (66) within the bathroom (64) can now be utilised without acting as any obstruction or abutment to the opening and closing of the hinged supported door (62) within the door frame (60).

2019101036 10 Sep 2019 [050] For example if the bathroom (64) included a freestanding towel or clothes rack within that space (66) this would act as an obstacle and barrier to the comfortable opening and closing of the hinged door (62).

[051] Alternatively and advantageously, the ability of this invention to provide for a garment and towel hanger arrangement (10) that will form part of the existing door hinge for its support and also its co-operative lateral rotatable movement, means that as the hung hinged door (62) is swung open and closed, so too will the ability of the garment and towel hanger arrangement to move freely for that lateral rotatable movement rather than standing as an abutment.

[052] Therefore, uniquely as discussed above, without damaging or requiring any further workmanship upon the existing hinged arrangement of the hinged door that is hung within a doorframe, this garment and towel hanger arrangement (10) can be retrofitted onto the existing door hinge thereby making available a very novel and inventive garment and towel hanger arrangement on which items can then be hung thereupon.

[053] Figures 5a, 5b and 5c illustrate that the garment and towel hanger arrangement (10) need not only be mounted to the conventional hinge located towards the upper edge (74) of the door (70) hung within the doorframe (72) but as shown in Figure 5b, can also be mounted to a hinge generally positioned midway there along the door (70) shown as (76) or in the case of Figure 5c showing the mounting of the garment and towel hanger arrangement (10) to each of three separate mounted door hinges within the doorframe (72) shown as (74), (76) and (78).

[054] The embodiment shown in Figures 6a and 6b in part is an extension of the kind of embodiment shown in Figures 5a, 5b and 5c, however there has been the introduction of the further feature of the vertical support member (80) providing additional structural integrity by way of two interconnected beams (81) and (82) which are joined at one end (83) of one garment and towel hanger arrangement (10) and then at an opposing end shown as (84) of a vertically adjacent garment and towel hanger arrangement (10).

2019101036 10 Sep 2019 [055] In Figure 6a there are two garment and towel hanger arrangements (10) mounted to door hinges at (74) and (76) of the hung door (70) within the door frame (72), wherein the vertical support (80) is introduced there in between.

[056] It is important to appreciate as part of the general scope of this invention the vertical support (80) shown in Figures 6a and 6b is simply representative of one example of many.

[057] Although the vertical support (80) includes inter-connected beams (81) and (82) which are inter-connected and then mounted to the ends (83) and (84) diagonally, as illustrated in Figure 6a, there would be numerous other ways in which vertical support structures could be configured and attached to vertically adjacent garment and towel hanger arrangements (10) that are mounted to the door hinges and so is the intended scope of this invention to cover such obvious technical equivalent vertical support arrangements.

Claims (12)

1. A garment and towel hanger arrangement for a hinged door, said garment and towel hanger arrangement including:

a central pin co-operable with a first arm and a second arm of a door hinge to provide a pivotal support configuration for the door hinge for lateral rotatable movement when the first arm of the door hinge is mounted to a door and the second arm of the door hinge to a doorframe into which said door is hung;

a third arm mountable upon and/or within said first arm and/or second arm of the door hinge, wherein third arm includes a defined pathway for said central pin cooperable with the first arm and second arm of the hinge arrangement to pass through to allow support and guided lateral rotatable movement of said third arm;

said third arm further including a lateral extension member, wherein the lateral extension member provides a location on which garments and towels may be hangable therefrom.

2. The garment and towel hanger arrangement of claim 1 wherein the third arm includes a central plate to which the lateral extension member extends therefrom.

3. The garment and towel hanger arrangement of claim 1 wherein the third arm includes two or more collars which assist in defining the pathway through which the central pin is passable therethrough and through which the central pin passable therethrough into the two or more collars allows support and guided lateral rotatable movement of the third arm when mounted upon and/or within said first arm and/or second arm of the door hinge.

4. The garment and towel hanger arrangement of claim 3 including a first collar at a top mounting corner of the garment and towel hanger arrangement and a second collar at a bottom mounting corner of the garment and towel hanger arrangement.

2019101036 10 Sep 2019

5. The garment and towel hanger arrangement of claim 4 wherein the first collar and second collar mounted respectively at the top and bottom corners of a mounting side of the third arm are joined to the central plate of the third arm through a rounded shoulder section.

6. The garment and towel hanger arrangement of claim 1 wherein the lateral extension member includes a rail, rod and/or plate extension that laterally extends therefrom said third arm.

7. The garment and towel hanger arrangement of claim 1 wherein the lateral extension member includes a pair of rails or rods mounted respectively to top and bottom edges of the third arm and at an opposing distal end to the third arm, said pair of rails or rods joined together by a curved section of rails or rods.

8. The garment and towel hanger arrangement of claim 7 wherein the pair of rails or rods and the curved section of rails or rods are a single integral piece.

9. The garment and towel hanger arrangement of claim 1 wherein the lateral extension member includes hooks mounted upon the railing or rods on which garments and towels can be hooked thereupon.

10. The garment and towel hanger arrangement of claim 1 wherein the garment and towel hanger arrangement further includes vertical supports such that garment and towel hanger arrangements mounted upon vertically adjacent door hinges can be inter-connected through the vertical support to increase the structural integrity of multiple mounted garment and towel hanger arrangements of the hinged door.

11. The garment and towel hanger arrangement of claim 10 wherein the vertical support include a beam and/or sections of joined beams that can be mounted between each garment and towel hanger arrangement hinged upon adjacent vertically mounted hinges.

12. The garment and towel hanger arrangement of claim 11 wherein the beams are mounted at one end towards the end of the railing or rod of the lateral extension member of one garment and towel hanger arrangement and mounted at the other

2019101036 10 Sep 2019 end of the extendible/retractable support beam at or towards the mounting end of the third arm to the hinged door.