CA2535462A1 - Method for reusing hangers with size indicia - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of reuse for hangers having size indicia removably mounted thereon, the method comprising: (a) shipping a first plurality of hangers to a plurality of clothing manufacturers at scattered geographic locals; (b) shipping a plurality of removable size indicia to the plurality of clothing manufacturers at the scattered geographic locals, the removable size indicia adapted to be removably secured to the first plurality of hangers; (c) assembling a single one of the plurality of hangers, a garment and a single one of the removable size indicia, the size indicia representative of the garment; (d) batching a plurality of the hangers, garments and size indicia and then shipping the batch to a retail outlet for display and sale of the garments; (e) removing a definable percentage of the hangers and size indicia from the garments as the garments are sold, and returning the defined percentage to a reuse center; (f) removing the size indicia from the hangers at the reuse center and inspecting the hangers to obtain a plurality of selected hangers for reuse; and (g) augmenting the selected hangers with new molded hangers to provide the first plurality of hangers and repeating step (a) to form a loop of reused hangers.

Description

METHOD FOR REUSING HANGERS WITH SIZE INDICIA
This application is a division of copending Canadian Patent Application Serial No. 2,204,592, filed May 6, 1997.
Fi c1 ri of tha Tncranti nn The present invention is directed to the field of garment hangers and is more particularly directed to a method for reusing hangers with size indicia mounted thereon. There is also disclosed a method and system for hanging and color coding clothing on display to assist consumer groups in locating clothing appropriate to their physiology.
Background of the Invention:
An article of clothing typically includes one or more labels located somewhere inside of the clothing article. The label usually includes size, fiber content and manufacturer details as well as information relating to country of origin and care instructions. In addition, a tag is attached to the article of clothing identifying the price of the garment as well as size. The tag often includes additional information relating to the store name, manufacturer and possibly a bar code which when scanned 2J provides such information.
In some cases a particular retailer or garment manufacturer has attached a further tag to the garment which bears a design that is in part colored to permit sorting according to some attribute of the garment such as style, color or size. For instance, the portion of the design that is colored may be blue to indicate a women's size 6 or green to indicate a women's size 8 or blue to indicate a men's size 44 or green to indicate a men's size 48. When such 1 information is included on the tag attached to a garment, the consumer or retailer need IlOt review the label of each item of clothing but merely locate the appropriately colored tag.
However, tags are often attached to either the front, back or sleeve of the garment and thus, are not readily visible to either the retailer or the consumer. The retailer or consumer must rifle through the garments on the raclc to locate the tags with the IO pertinent information. If the garment is not hung on a rack but folded in staclts (as is typical with sweaters and jeans) the tags are often tucked inside the garment for purposes of a neater display, thus, it is necessary to unfold the garment to find the appropriate information.
Furthermore, there is virtually no uniformity between manufacturers and/or retailers as to the designation of the desired attribute of the clothing. For instance, the color blue may mean size 6 for one manufacturer or retailer but size 12 for another. Thins, the consumer is not aided by the color designation when visiting different areas of the store. Further, blue may refer t.o large in a men's jacket size but medium for men's slacks.
E~'or purposes of displaying garments suspende<~ on In<~rrgers i.n an orderly and art_ractive manner to the neta.il customer, i t: is often <.lesi .r_ed Lo atfi.x an i r~di cat:i.ng means on the hanger i n a posi-ti on visible to the retail customer whi 1e the hanger i:;

suspended on a rac~k. The indicating means identifies some attribute of the garment suspended from the hanger, such as s:i ze, quali i.y, color, rnanufacturi_ng data, or ~mU.~ter-n.
Tloe provision of a readily v~ si)~le size indicator on a garment hanger i.s now accepted by retailers as a des.irak7le addition too a garment hanger.
'2'o accommodate thc-' various types of hanger: avai cable in t_he industry numerous indicating mearos Gave been clevelope.l in a variel;y of shapes, sizes and materials.
Sirni.l_arIy, trangers have been developed to accommod,-ate a varpety of dir~ferent .indicating means.
Ire llustralian Patent ado. 638436 and eorresponc~inc~ U.S. 1'a tent No. 5, 388, 354, assigned to ttae a ssignee of t=the ~~resent invent.ioro, a 7 ow-profile molded plastic; i.nc:licator for a garment hanger which re<~uires lirni.ted mod:if=ication to tare book of the hanger to er~~rl~le the i.ndicat.;or to be sec,ure~ y att ached to the trop of t;he hook where c t is mast vi Bible c s described. The indicator is also designed to enable sart:ing into a prtedetermineci orientation to enable automated harrciling anc:l fitt.i.ng of t_he indi_catc.>rs t.o hangers as described in t,J.S. Patent Nos. 5,272,806 anti 5, 285, 566 wh i.cln are assicaned to the assignee c:~fi the present invention.
much tuangers and indicia are t:yp.ically used only a single t_pme and then shippe~~l t:o either a 1_andfill as wast:.e or a recyc:l.ir~g center where the plastic hangers are granulated into pellets which are then resold.
However, landfills are taking up more and more space and recycling is often an expensive venture which renders such an option cost inefficient despite the need to conserve our environment's resources. Furthermore, many companies do not want to purchase recycled-content plastic.
products for either safety (i.e., food containers) or aesthetic purposes.
is Summary of Invention In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention there is provided a method of reuse for hangers having size indicia removably mounted thereon, the method comprising:
(a) shipping a first plurality of hangers to a plurality of clothing manufacturers at scattered geographic locals; (b) shipping a plurality of removable size indicia to the plurality of clothing manufacturers at the scattered geographic locals, the removable size indicia adapte<~ t:o be ?s removably secured to the first plurality of hangers; (c) assembling a single one of the plurality of hangers, a garment and a single one of the removable size indicia, tOe size indicia representative of the garment; (d) hatching a plurality of the hangers, garments and size indicia and then.
s0 shipping the batch to a retail outlet for display and sale of the garments; (e) removing a definable percentage of the hangers and size indicia from the garments as the garments are sold, and returning the defined percentage to a reuse center; (f) removing the size indicia from the hangers at the reuse center and inspecting the hangers to obtain a plurality of selected hangers for reuse; and (g) augmenting the selected hangers with new molded hangers to provide the first plurality of hangers and repeating step (a) to form a loop of reused hangers.
There is also disclosed a method and system for color coding the sizes of clothing displayed in retail clothing stores having a plurality of clothing lines for a plurality of consumer groups such that consumers may move from an area displaying one line of clothing to another area I~ within the retail store displaying other lines of clothing and easily find articles of clothing appropriate to their physiology identified by the same color code.
More particularly, the method of color coding includes:
(a) classifying the individual items of clothing to be offered for sale into a plurality of clothing lines;
(b) segregating each of the clothing lines into a plurality of graded sizes with a plurality of common size designations that appear in all of the clothing lines;

(c) identifying graded sizes in different clothing lines that would be selected by a consumer selecting clothing appropriate for the same consumer's physiology;
(d) assigning a common color code to each graded size designation identified in step (c) above to form a matched set of graded sizes common to a specific consumer physiology; and (e) displaying the individual items of clothing on hangers having a color coded size cap mounted thereon, the color of said size cap conforming to the assigned common color code.
Thus, the consumer may move from an area displaying one line of clothing to another within the retail store displaying other lines of clothing and find articles of clothing appropriate to his or her physiology which are identified by the same common color code.
The method specifically contemplates color coding the sizes of individual lines of clothing such as women's apparel, men's apparel, women's apparel sized by waist, men's apparel sized by waist, plus sized apparel, infant and toddler apparel, youth apparel, and intimate apparel.
The clothing is graded into size designations which are common to the individual lines of clothing. The graded sizes are based on large scale consumer physiological demographics, so that in 1 identifying the graded size for an item of clotln.ng sized by a waist size, the size identified is common to the graded size of an item of clothing sized by a chest size for the same consumer physiological prof i.le .
Common size designations include S(small), M(medium), L(large) and XL(extra large). Less common but still often utilized are the following size designations XS(extra-small), P/S (petite/small), S/M
(small./medium), M/L(medium/large), XXL(extra-extra large) and XXXL (extra-extra-extra large).
In some situations a more specific size designation is required and the common size designations can be translated into numeric size 1.5 designations such as 2, 4, 6, 8, 1_0, 12, 14, 1.6, 18 and 20, or 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and so on. In an infant line of clothing the size designations may be 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 18 months and 24 t11011thS .
A common color code is assigned to each graded size designation so as to form a matched set of graded sizes common to a specific consumer physiology profile. The common color codes are selected from 16 easily distinguishable colors. In a preferred embodiment the colors are selected from: lemon, pink, aqua, red, tan, yellow, light blue, green, sky blue, purple, olive, royal blue, orange, light green, burgundy, brown, peach, gold, lilac, gun metal, beige and smoke. The only colors repeated for graded size designations are repeated in clothing lines not worn 3~

_g_ by the same consumer, as for example in an 1 infant/toddler cI_othing line and a plus-sized clothing line.
For instance, the size XXS, newborn and 3 months may be used in different lines of clothing as size designations. However, all of these clothes are about the same size and thus would fit infants of similar physiology. By displaying all of these individual items of clothing on hangers having a pink size cap mounted thereon, the color pink indicates that the clothing will fit a particular infant physiology.
The same color designating for instance the smaller sized infant apparel can also be used in other lines of clothing such as women's apparel_ to designate the smaller sized clothing within that line, such as XXr, size 3 and size 28 waist. Thus, the purchaser may move from area to area of the retail store and find articles of clothing appropriate to fit a particular physiology based on floe color coding of_ the ~0 sizes.
In other words, a female consumer conforming to an average physiological demographic profile can move from area to area within the retail store, reviewing numerous lines of clothing, as for example, from slacks, to suits, to dresses, to coats and to intimate apparel. by many different mzmufacti.irers or designers and find the size appropriate to tier physiological profile identified by the same color-code in each area for each separate line of clothing.
30 'fhe same consumer when making purchases for ot_ hers can still use the same common color code to locate articles of clothing for others.
The system disclosed provides for color coding the sizes of clothing displayed in retail clothing stores having a plurality of clothing lines for a plurality of consumer groups, wherein each consumer group includes individual consumers of similar physiology, said system providing a uniform color sizing code to assist individual consumers in locating items of clothing in different lines of clothing appropriate to their physiology in different areas of the l~ retail store, said system comprising;
(a) a plurality of individual items of clothing to be offered for sale, each item classified into one o.f a plurality of clothing lines;
(b) a plurality of graded sizes for each of said clothing lines, said graded sizes having a plurality of common size designations that appear in all of said lines;
(c) a common code group having the same code identification for identifying graded sizes in different clothing lines that would be selected by a consumer 2~ selecting clothing appropriate for the same consumer physiology;
(d) a plurality of color coded index caps, each of said colored codes assigned to a common code group identified in step (c) above to form a matched set of color.
coded index caps identifying graded sizes common to a specific consumer physiology;

(e) a plurality of hanger styles for displaying the individual items of clothing, each of the hangers having one of said color coded index caps mounted thereon, the color of said index cap conforming to the assigned common code group, whereby a consumer may move from an area displaying one line of clothing to another within said retail store displaying other lines of clothing and find articles of clothing appropriate to their physiology displayed on hangers identified by the same index cap color.
The graded sizes are based on large scale consumer I~ physiological demographics, so that in identifying the graded size for an item of clothing sized by a waist size, the size identified is common to the graded size of an item of clothing sized by a chest size for the same consumer physiological profile. Furthermore, in a preferred form, a consumer conforming to an average physiological demographic profile can move from department to department within the retail store, reviewing plural lines of clothing, as for example, from slacks, to suits, to dresses, to coats and to intimate apparel and find the size appropriate to his or her physiological profile identified by the same color coded index cap in each department for each separate line of clothing.
The colors used by the color coded index caps are selected from about 16 easily distinguishable colors such as >0 those described above. Typically, each color designates a different size. In the present system each color coded index cap also visually displays one of said common size designations. Thus, the consumer at first identifies the size of the garment suspended from the hanger by the color of the index cap and then verifies the size by the size designation thereon.
For conservation purposes, it is contemplated that the color coded index caps may be removed from said hangers to enable reuse of the hanger with a different clothing line. Accordingly, the system further includes a means for removing said color coded index caps from the hangers.
It is also contemplated that the index cap be automatically attached to the hanger. Consequently, the system further includes an automatic means for attaching the color coded index caps to the hangers.
The method of the present invention particularly addresses environmental concerns to reduce plastic: waste by ?0 reducing the overall number of plastic garment hangers being manufactured.

The first plurality of hangers is molded and 1 shipped to numerous clothing manufacturers in a variety of geographic locals throughout the world. In a preferred embodiment batches of the removable size indicia, which correspond to the hangers in the first plurality of hangers, are molded from plastic and then shipped to the various clothing manufacturers. The batches are typically molded by size and color to form batches of color coded size indicia in a plurality of different colors. In a preferred embodiment the batches of color coded size indicia are bundled into stacks and automatically attached to the hangers. To ensure color uniformity the color coded size indicia can be molded at a single location. Each size indicia is mounted on a hanger from which a garment is also suspended such that the size of the garment corresponds to the size indicia.
Groups of hangers with size indicia mounted thereon and garments suspended therefrom are organized according to a retail store's order and then the batch of hangers with size indicia and garments are shipped to a retail store or retail distribution center for display and sale of the garments. Such garments are floor ready meaning that the garment can literally go from the packing box to the rack for display. Much of 2~ the back roam sorting, sizing and pricing is eliminated. Because the garments arrive at the store already hung on hangers, the number of hangers the store is required to store is also vastly reduced. It will be noted that when the hangers with garments and size indicia may be shipped to a retail distribution center, the center then forwards the appropriate 1 number of such items to the appropriate retail store.
In the present method as the garments are sold in the retail store the hangers with size indicia are removed from the garments and separately packaged for return shipment to a reuse center. The number of hangers set aside for reuse is a definable percentage taking into account that some customers will request that they be permitted to keep a hanger at the point of sale and that hangers may be inadvertently damaged, thrown out or kept by a store. In a preferred embodiment the definable percentage of hangers removed for reuse is 65% to 900. It has been found that about loo to 35a of the hangers identified as the first plurality of hangers will be unrecoverable.
At the reuse center the size indicia are automatically removed from the hangers and the hangers are inspected for damage or other contamination. The non-damaged and non-contaminated hangers are selected for reuse. It is contemplated that about 10-30% of the returned hangers will be unrecoverable which means that in a preferred embodiment the number of hangers selected for reuse constitutes about 50% to 80% of the first plurality of hangers originally mo~.ded and sent to the garment manufacturers. In a preferred embodiment the hangers not selected for reuse are ground into pellets and either recycled or sold as scrap plastic. In a preferred embodiment the recycled plastic is ground, fed into a hopper and melted down in a barrel extruder to form a molten plastic which is then injected into a mold machine to form recycled plastic hangers for retail consumer usage. The 1 consumer grade hangers are then returned to the retail store for sale.
The hangers which are selected for reuse are returned to garment manufacturers and hatched with newly molded hangers to repeat the present process.
Statistical averages indicate that a hanger will complete 2 to 6 loops of reuse before being considered unrecoverable. Typically the hangers are cleaned before being returned to the garment manufacturers for reuse.
Since fewer than 100% of the hangers are reused it is necessary to augment the supply of hangers being reused with newly molded hangers in order to maintain a constant adequate supply. In the preferred embodiment the supply of selected hangers is augmented with about 20 to 500 of the number of the first plurality of hangers. However, the number of overall hangers which are molded is less than if there was no reuse.
In yet another embodiment the present invention contemplates the reuse of the color coded indicia. Accordingly, the present method further includes the steps of sorting the removed size indici_a from the hangers by color. If different size 2_5 designations are utilized for the same color coded size indicia then a secondary sort by size must also be completed. The sort-ed size indicia would then be bundled and shipped to the garment manufacturers for mounting on hangers. In a preferred embodiment the W

method further includes the step of washing the color coded size indicia.
Brief Description of the Figures:
The foregoing and other objects of the invention may now be more readily ascertained from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 illustrates a hanger hook with a color coded size cap mounted thereon that is useful in the practice of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a cross-section taken along section l~ lines 2-2' of Figure 1 which illustrates the interior construction of the hanger and hook combination illustrated in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is an illustration of a common color code assigned to various sub-sets of the plurality of graded size, as determined by large scale consumer demographics;
Figure 4 is an illustration of one set of common size designations illustrating a sub-set of the plurality of graded sizes;
Figure 5 is an illustration of one family of 2~ hanger designs that may be used throughout a retail clothing store to uniformly display the articles of clothing for sale, and to display the color codes;
Figures 6(a), 6(b) and 6(c) are three drawings, which when combined as indicated thereon, illustrate one >0 representative example of a color code scheme;
Figure 7 is an isometric view of a mechanism useful in the automatic assembly of the color coded index caps and hangers;

Figure 8 is a plan view of the mechanism shown in Figure 7 illustrating the assembly of a color coded index cap to a hanger;
Figure 9 is an isometric view of a mechanism useful in the disassembly of the color coded index caps from the hangers to enable reuse of the hangers;
Figures 10(a), 10(b) and 10(c) illustrate in sequence the operation of the mechanism illustrated in Figure 9 as the hanger and color coded index cap are disassembled; and Figure 11 illustrates a diagram for implementing the method for re-using hangers having size indicia.
Detailed Description of the Invention:
Referring now in detail to the drawings, and to the embodiments depicted in Figures 1 and 2, there is illustrated a hanger hook 2 with a color coded size cap 18 mounted thereon that is useful in the practice of the present invention. The hook 2 of a molded plastic garment hanger is shown in simplified form and is adapted to engage a rod or other supporting means. In practice the hook typically includes the strengthening ribs 12a, 12b around the perimeter of the hook. It will be noted that in Figures 1 and 2, the body and clips of the hanger are not depicted.
The body and clip structure of the hanger can take on many different types of configurations as long as the hanger supports the garments suspended thereon. In Figure 5, several exemplary hanger styles which will accommodate a variety of types of clothing are depicted. Each of the hangers shown in Figure 5 includes a means for attaching a color coded size cap 18.
The color coded size cap 18 which is mounted on the hanger is more clearly illustrated in Figure 2. As shown therein the size cap includes side walls 20, 22 formed with at least one retention aperture 24, 26, as described in Australian Patent No. 638436 and U.S. Patent No. 5,388,354.
The apertures 24, 26 define through-openings which facilitate stacking of the indicator 18 with other indicators prior to fitting to a hanger.
The indicator is retained on the hook by an indicator attachment mechanism. As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the hook 2 is formed with a flange 14 defining a top region 16, which in a preferred embodiment is flattened and slightly larger in peripheral dimensions than the lowermost portion of an indicator 18. An upstanding web 4 extends centrally from the top region 16 of the hook 2. The web 4 can be shaped similarly to the shape of the cavity of the indicator 18 so as to comfortably fit within that cavity.
As one alternative, the web 4 can be shaped to follow the normal contour of the hanger hook.

The web 4 is formed with integrally molded indicator attachment means 28. In the present embodiment the indicator attachment means includes central opening 6 from the upper portion of which a resilient detent leg 8 extends downwardl.y terminating i.n a laterally projecting portion 30 configured to engage one of the apertures 24 or 26 in the side wall of the indicator 18, as shown in Figure 2.
Since the detent leg 8 is narrow and i_s resiliently connected to web 4, it is easily deflected laterally by means of a probe or pin inserted into the aperture 24 or 26 which engages laterally projecting portion 30 to d-isplace laterally projecting portion 30 toward the plane of the web to clear the aperture 24 or 26 and allow the indicator to be removed from the web 4. This operation can be achieved simply and quickly with little or no damage to the indicator 18 or the attachment means 28. Nevertheless, while the laterally projecting port=ion 30 remains in the position shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, the indicator 18 will remain securely fastened to the web 4 and will. withstand all usual handling operations to which the hanger :is subjected in day-to-day use.
To improve the flexibility of the deterot leg 8, it can be redr.aced in thickness as shown at 200 in hi gure 2 of the drawings .
Other means for attaching indicators to I'mm.ier:;:> c.arra I>m rU-iLia.ecl, :;uch a~, the means ct<-,:,c,ril>t-'cl in U.S. Latent I'~o. 5,388,354, wherein the indicator -~9-may also be retained on the hook by means of at least 1 one abutment projecting from the hook which engages an aperture in the side wall of the indicato r. However, when the indicator is retained by an abutment, the indicator i_s not easi.l.y removed from the hanger and either the hanger or the indicator may be damaged dur 7 ng ttlE? prOCesS .
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the size cap shown i.s of a rectangular configuration, see for example, Figures 1 and 3, and presented at the top of the hook. tvowever, other shapes and configurations of size caps can be used in accordance with the present invention.
The indicator 18 of the preferred embod.i.ment has been particularly well-received by retailers and r_onsomers in the method and system for color coding sizes of clothing on display which is also useful in the practice of_ the present invention.
In the present method and system, individual articles of c7_othing are classified according to line, such as men's apparel, women's apparel, infant and toddler apparel, youth apparel, girl_'s apparel, boy's apparel, intimate apparel., men's apparel sized by waist, women's apparelsized by waist, petite apparel and plus apparel. Each line of clothing i.s then further cl.assiFiecl according to type of clothing. ~'or instance, further classificat.i.on in the women's line iuclt.adt~s due~~~~~es, shi rts, blouses, sl;_i_rts, s larks, suits, sweaters, coats, jackets, panties, bras, and bathing suits.
Each of these lines of clothing is then segregated into a plurality of graded sizes with a plurality of common size designations that appear in all of the clothing lines. Common size designations may include XXS (extra, extra-smal.l), XS(extra-srnal.l), 1/S (peti_te/small.) , S (small) , S/M (small/rnedium) , M (medium) , M/I, (medium/large) , L (large) , L/XL
(large/extra-Large), XL(extra-large), XXL(extra-extra-large) and XXXL (extra-extra-extra large). Of the_~e designations S, M, L and XL, are almost universally available. F;ach of these common size designations designates clothes intended to fit consurners of a particular physiology.
In some situations, typically, when the clothing is more tailored, a more specific size designation is required and the size designations are referenced lay numera.l.s such as 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, L8 and 20; 1, 3, 5, '7, 9, 11 and 13; or 3/4, 5/6, 7/8, 9/10, 7.1/12, 13/14 and 15/16, which would appear in numerous clothing lines.
Tlne particular graded sizes in different clothing Lines that would be selected by a consumer selecting clothing appropriate for a particular prrysiology is then identified and a color code assigned to each graded size designation to form a matched set of graded sizes common to a specific consumer profile. The clothing is displayed on a luanger_ with a color coded size cap mounted thereon 1 such that the color of the size cap conforms to the assigned color code.
hor instance, in the color coding system illustrated in F.i.gure 3, the color blue has been assigned 7 different size designations: L, M/L, 2!1 M, 9, 9/10, 29 W and 38. As indicated by the sizes matched in this set, the blue color indicates a large size clothing. In women's apparel, the sizing used in r~1-fferent lines of clothing would typically be L or M/L and 9 or 9/10 to designate a particular physiology profile. A women of th_i.s physiology would know by using the color coding method and system of the present invention that she could look for garments hung on a hanger with ~a blue size cap to find clothes that matched her physiology.
In infant's apparel the sizing would typica7.ly be either large or 24 months both of which identify garments that would fit an infant of a particular physiology. Thus, the consumer could then look for garments hung on hangers with a blue size c~3p to find appropriate garments.
It will be noted that the same color_ designating the larger sized clothing in the women's apparel line is used to designate the larger sized clothing i.n ttoe infant apparel line. This system cyan be f_ol.lowed in garments sized by waist, where for instance the blue color indicates a 38 waist and also i n the p1 us-s i zed appare l l_o designa l a a 29W, wOe: r cr the plus-sized line of clothing runs from size 16W to 26W. This system permits the purchaser to move from department to department of a retail store and find articles of clothing appropriate to tit a particular physiology based on the. color coding of the sizes.
Furthermore, this same consumer can make purchases for others knowing only the bare basics o.f the reci.pi.ent's physiology.
Figtare ~1 il.lustrates one set of common size designations showing a subset of the plurality of graded sizes of the present invention wlne.rein:
lemon designates XXL
purl.~.le designates XL or L~/Xl.
blue designates L or M/L
green designates M
yellow designates S
pink designates XXS.
A different color designates each graded size in this universal. syst=em of sizing. It will be noted that there are two size designations for purple and blue.
'I'hi.s is possible because a single manufacturer of clothing would not typically use both forms of sizing for the same type of garment. However, both forms of sizing may be found in a single classification of clothing. By designating all clothing that can fit a specifically sized person with a single color the consumer then easily knows to look for that color size cap when selecting clothing on display.

Figure 5 illustrates one family of hanger designs that. may be used throughout a retail clothing store t.o uni.Eormly display the articles of clothing for sale and to display the color codes of the present invention. Hangers 300, 302 and 304 are typically used to hang tops such as shirts, blouses, dresses, coats, jackets, robes, nightgowns, rompers, overalls, swimwear and sweaters. Banger 300 which is 1.2 inches long can be used to hang infant and toddler tops, l0 fzanger 302 which is 14 inches long can be used to hang kids tops and hanger 304 which is 17 inches long can be used to hang adult tops. Hangers 306, 308 and 310 are typically used to hang bottoms such as slacks, denims and skirts. Hanger 306 which is 8 inches long 15 c:an foe used to hang infant and toddler bottoms, hanger 308 which is 10 inches long can be used to hang children's bottoms and hanger 310 which is 12 inches long can be used to hang adult bottoms. t3anger 312 can be used to hang bras, panties, slip s and battoing :~u.i.ts. A fnange.r body length of about 10 inches is preferred to accommodate a variety of different sizes.
Banger 314 is a frame hanger which can be used to hang infant and tocidl.er separates and coordinates. The varying lengths of hangers 300 - 310 accommodate virtually all of the different lines of clothing ranging from infants to plus sizes.
Each of these hangers includes an indicator attachment mechanism as described previously herein t.o di.spl.ay the color coded size caps described herein ai_ the top of the hook. Typically a retail store utilizes many different hanger designs depending upon the type of garment and the manufacturer. Limiting the number of hangers used throughout the store to about eight c~.ifferent designs is an extremely cosi=-effective maneuver which will also standardize the display and result in a neater appearance. However, it will be nor_ed that the eight designs of Figure 5 constitute a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Any hanger with an indicator attachment mect~ar~ism s~iitable for receiving a ~~~vl_or coded size cap can be used in the method and system of the l~reseot inver~i=ion.
Figures 6 (a) , 6 (b) and 6 (c) illustrate ore representative example of a color code scheme of the present invention which can accommodate the sizing needs of all lines of clothing and departments in a large retail store.
At the far left of Figure 6(a) designated as Rows A-G are a p:l.ura_Lity of size classifications whicru would be appropriate for a plurality of clothing lines are designated as universal, tall/multi, infant or_ toddlers, rnet:ric, mufti-sizes, plus-size and wa.i_st_ sizes. It willbe noted that more than one size classifi.cat.i.on may be found i_n a single line of clothing. For instance, in women's apparel, clothing may be sized in universal sizes (Row A), metric size:
(Row D) (typically, odd numbers, even numbers or mufti.-sizes), plus sizes (Row F) or by waist (Row G).

To the right of each class designation .i.n each row is a series of graded size designations appropriate for each class. The size designations are based on large scale consumer physiological demographics, so that in identifying the graded size for an item of clothing sized by a waist size, tloe size identified is common to the graded size of an item of clothing sized by chest size or universal size for the same consumer physiological profile.
'flee particular graded sizes i.n different clothing lines that woulc~l be selected by a consumer f:or a specif.ieei physi.ol.ogical. profile are set forth ire columns each of which are assigned a color. Each color designates a specific size which will fit a consumer of a particular physiological profile. The color coded size cap mounted on the hanger (such as any hanger depicted in Figure 5) from which the garment is suspended can be used to determine which c:lottii.ng on display i.s to be selected to form a matched set of_ graded sizes common to a specific ceonsumer physiology.
About 16 different colors are needed to differentiate between all of the different sizes. One family of colc_>r.s is set forth in Figure 6 in Columns 1-~?0, which includes: lemon (Pantoue 1.01 U) , pink (Pan tone 1.89 U) , aqua (Pantone 326 U) , red (Pantone 192 LJ) , tarp (fantone 145 U) , yellow (Pant=one 121 LI) , tight blue (Pantone 306 U) , green (Pantone 390 U) , sky l:~.l.ue (Pantone 2975 U) , light pur.fol.e (Pan tone 2'715 Ll) , 3~

olive (Pantone 398 U), blue (Pantone 2_85 U), orange 1 (Pantone 165 U), dark purple (Pantone 2593 U), light green (Pant~one 375 U) and burgundy (Pantone 2_46 U).
Colors can be reused i_n different lines of clothing where the sizes do not overlap but still typically designate either a larger, smaller or medium size.
F'ot: instance in the present embodiment it will be noted that the colors yellow, aqua, tan and sky blue have been used more than once in designating ~~ PtZYsiological profile. Using the color aqua (Columns 3 and 18) as an example, the sizes 2 and waist 29 designate one physiological profile, while XXXL, 15 and 15/16 designate a completely separate physiological. c:or~sumer profile. There would be no overlap in the lines of clothing sought by individuals between these t.wo size groups. The size 9T is also designated by the color aqua. Again this size does not ~nerlap with either of the other two size groups which renders it permissible to reuse the color in the t-oddl.er line. Also it is noted that the size 4T is one of the largest toddler sizes bringing the use of t=he color in line with its larger size designation.
When a color is used to designate a multitude of sizes ire nonoverl_apping lines of clothing it will not be a color used to designate one of the more common sizes such as S, M or L.
However, typically a color will only be used once to designate a single physiological profile.
More than 70'a of allsize caps willfall into one of five colors that designates the physiological profile for the following universal sizes: XS, S, M, L and Xh and the corresponding size classes designated by row.
To enhance the visibility of these size caps for_ these most common sizes the size caps are assigned the brightest and rnost basic colors, respectively - red, yellow, green, blue and purple.
F3lue for_ instance designates a large size ire the present embodiment as discussed previously wit.ln respect t.o Fi c~t_tre 3. Yellow designates the size small. Corresponding to this physiological profile for a women's line of clothing are the sizes S, 5, 5/6, and waist 32. Clothes marked with these sizes would al_If_it a women of a particu~_ar physiological profile. 'fhe sizes S and 12.M also wor.tld fit an ~nFar~t.
of a particular physiological profile and the size 20W
is considered to be a small plus-sized garment.
Accordingly, attaching a yellow size cap to the hangers from which each of these garments are suspended would enable a consumer to match up all the different clothes from numerous clothing lines and by numerous manufacturers which fit a particular physiology ic.~entif.ied as being srnall_. Thus, the consumer cou.Ld rn~ve from department to department r_evi_ewi.ng numerous lines of clothing from slacks, to suits, to coats, to dresses, to intimate apparel. and find the size appropriate for that consumer's particular physiological profile. The consumer. would even rococpt.i ze t_lm color as ciesic~uCzt_.i.ug a x~at t.ico Iar size prof:il.e in other lines of clothing, such as an 1 i r~taot or men' s pyoarel.
By placing a color coded size cap at the top of each hanger the consumer is greatly aided in l.ocati.ng all garments designed to fi.t a particular physiological profile in numerous different departments from different clothing lines no matter how the garment: is sized, universally or rr~etrically.
This also aids the salesperson who is assisting the Consumer in looking for a particular garment either on the floor of the store as well as in the back rooms of tl~e store where any additional garments are stored, repl.eni.shi.ng ~~ rack of c.l.othing, organi zing a rack of clothing according to size or re-organizing a rack of clothing by size at the end of the day.
It. is also contemplated that in the preferred embodiment of the system of the present invention the color coded size caps and the garments are assembled at the paint of manufacture and arrive at the store already on the hanger. This means that the actual matching of the color coded size cap and an article of clothing takes places before shipment of the garment from the manufacturer. The garment arrives ai= the retail. store, floor ready. 'fhe pretuung color coded sized garments need only be removed from a box and hung on the rack. Most of the typical back room work in a retai..1 store is e1_iminated, thus mal:i.nq the system of. the present invention extremely cost-3~ efficient. In a preferred embodiment, the attact~rnent.

of the color coded size cap to the hanger is performed automatically at the time the garment is hung. Although the attachment could also be by manual means.
One such means for automatically attaching a color coded size cap to hanger is illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 and is more specifically described in United States Patent Nos. 5,272,806; 5,285,566 and 5,507,087. It will be noted that each of these patents is assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In the illustrated embodiment of a system for attaching an indicator to a hanger, the attaching means includes a pair of magazine towers 101 and 102 dimensioned to contain a vertical stack of hangers therebetween and a third magazine 108 which receives a bundle of stacked indexing caps. The hangers rest on platen member 104 and are selectively engaged by a reciprocating plate 105 which includes a cutout 105a conforming to the exterior dimensions of the index coded cap 18.
Immediately adjacent cut-out 105a are alignment cams 109. The ends 111a, 111b of reciprocating plate I05 provide a spring loaded tip for engagement of the hanger 11.
In addition, the magazines 101 and 102 are independently adjustable by means of bracket 110 and support 112 to configure the system to a wide variety of hanger shapes including those depicted in Figure 5. Each of the magazines 101, 102 and 108 have cut-outs 101a, 102a which allow the hangers and index caps to be withdrawn from the 1 magazines as plate means 105 reciprocates forwardly as illustrated in Figure 7. Stand-off legs 11.3-115 ar_e used to elevate the system above the employee work bench, to assist the operator_ in draping the article of clothing about the hanger before the hanger i_s withdr_awr~ from the system. Alternately, the individual legs can be altered in length to provide a slanted configuration which will facilitate hangi.nc~
Clothes therefrom.
As illustrated in Figure 8, the system is loaded with a bundle of stacked caps indicated at 18 which are loaded into magazine 108. Magazine 108 is suspended above the reciprocating plate 105 and platen 104 by brackets 116, 117. Prior to engagement with the hanger 11 the spring loaded tips llla, 111b of reciprocating plate 105 are fully distended. As plate L05 moves forward, or downwardl.y as illustrated in Figure 8, it. first engages an index cap from the stack of caps 18 within recess 105a. The alignment surface 109 centers the hook 2 within the reciprocating plate 105 so that the indicator attachment mechanism on the hook is properly aligned with the index cap 18 during at:tachment. Plate 105 is dimensioned such t=hat the index cap is seated on hook 2 by the impact of plate 1 05 as tlne f lea t ing spring loaded t=ips 111a, l l 1b engage the center portion of hanger 11. The hanger is then driven forwardly out of the magazines 101, 1.02 t:o 3~

the position illustrated by the dotted lines in Figure 1 g.
The hanger engages eccentric stops 106x, 106b and displaces the end portion of platen 104 outwardly as illustrated in Figure ~3. The spring loaded tips 111.a and 111b compensate for irregularities in hanger molding and reduce the impact of the reciprocating plate 105 on the central portion of the hanger. This substantially eliminates the broken and shattered hangers normally encountered in this type of device. As the pneumatic cylinder 103 drives platen 104, the spring loaded tips llla, lllb are compressed, and the spring loaded platen 107 is between platen 104, and platen 107. As illustrated in Figure 8, tree hanger is now presented to the operator with t_he clips 32a-32b suspended above the work space and free frwom any immediately adjacent encumbrances, so that the operator may quickly and easily at-tack a garment thereto. As the article of clothing is attached to the hanger, i_t is lifted free of the spring i.oaded tips 111a, lllb of platen 105, which allows platen 107 to close thereby actuating the control mechanism for the system to return reciprocating plate 105 back to its original star_tir~g position. If set on automatic, as soon as the plate 105 has reciprocated to its fully retracted position, it is reciprocated forward to automatically dispense another index coded cap and hanger.

In still another embodiment the system for color coding sizes of clothing displayed in retail clothing stores includes automatic means for removing the color coded index caps to the hangers.
Figures 9 and 10(a), (b) and (c) illustrate one such means for removal wherein the indicator attachment mechanism is of the embodiment depicted in Figures 1 and 2 herein. The laterally extending portion 30 of the indicator attachment mechanism is easily deflected by means of a pin 220 inserted in the aperture 24 of indicator 18 which engages the laterally extending portion to displace it towards the plane of web 4 to clear the aperture 24 and allow the indicator 18 to be removed from the hanger 1.
Using this system, which is described more particularly in International Application No. PCT/US96/01286, the color coded indexing caps can be automatically removed from their respective hangers 1.
In this embodiment the hanger 1 is fed to the apparatus for removing the color coded index cap by a feeding rail 205. The feeding rail is inclined so that the hangers 1 move downwardly toward the apparatus by gravity.
To initiate the process the hangers 1 can be placed onto the feeding rail 205 manually or automatically. Other means to feed hangers 1 to the apparatus can comprise a screw conveyor, a belt conveyor, or any other appropriate means to carry the hangers toward the apparatus.

The apparatus of the present embodiment 1 includes a front plate 206, a back plate 107 and an actuating means 208. Front plate 206 and back plate 207 are arranged vertically and are facing each other.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 9, the two plates 206 and 207 are almost quadratic, however, any other appropriate shape, for example rectangular, can be used.
The actuating mear2s 208 includes a pneumatically driven escapement valve with two rods.
Each of the rods is connected to the plate 206 or 207 via respective connecting means 209 and 210. In use, the actuatir~q means 208 moves the front plate 206 and the back plat=a 207 parallel to each other in a vertical. plane. This movement is periodically repeated to permit the removal of cap from one hanger after_ another.
Back plate 207 has a recess 219 positionea3 on an outer portion of the surface facing the front plate 206. Recess 219 is dimensioned to correspond to the dimensions of indicator 18, so t_tiat when a hanger 7 i.s pressed against the back plate 207, the i.ndicat_or 1.8 is received .iu the recess 219. A p_Ln 220 is Provided on the back wall of the recess 219 in a position corresponding to the aperture 29 of the indicator 18. 'rhe dimensions, such as the size and the shape, of the p.in 220 are selected according to tte dimensions, particularly, the shape and the deLatli, of the apertur-a 29, ~~o t_hat the pin 220 enters the aperture 29 and is able to displace thre laterally 1 pro j ect.i ng port i on 30 of the web 4 of tine hanger 1 to clear the aperture 24, and permit the indicator 18 to be removed from the hanger 1. In the preferred embodiment of Figure 9, the pin 220 has a rectangular cross-section, but another appropriate shape can be used.
Front plate 206 includes a through-opening or_ window 218. Window 218 i.s preferabl.y dimensioned to correspond to the configuration of recess 219 of back plate 207. However, the window 218 can have any appropriate shape, as long as the indicator can pass through it. When back plate 207 is in its upper position and the front plate 206 is in its lower I5 position, the recess 2I9 and the window 228 match, so that= t:he indicator 18 can be removed from the recess 219 through the window 218.
In the described embodiment. the preferred method for removal of the indicator 18 from recess 219 is by means of an air blast through aperture 221 in i=he back wall of_ recess 219. Aperture 221 i.s connected to an air control means by means of_ a tube 227, shown in Figure 10(c). The air blast through the opening 22_1 is controlled so that when the back plate 207 reaches its upper position, and t:he front plate 206 is in its lower position, the air blast is generated or enabled, which pushes the indicator 18 through the window 218 of front plate 206. The released indicator passes through the window 218 and is collect=ed by a discharge tube or chute 224, 1 positioned i_n front of the window 218 and leads the released indicator to a container 225 (shown in Figures 10 (a) and 10 (c) ) .
The feeding r_a.il 205 extends under the two plates 206 and 207. The distance between the plates 206 and 207 and the feeding rail 205 when the plates are in their lower positions is preferably such that pin 220 of back plate 207 will be aligned with aperture 29 of indicator 18. The height of the assembly is adjusted to provide an automatic operation for different: styles of hangers and hooks.
As illustrated .in Figure 9 the back plate 207 is in its lower position and the front plate 2Ur>
is in its upper position. When hanger 1 moves down the feeding rail 205 toward the decapping apparatus the movement of the hanger 1 is stopped by the back plate 20'7.
Figures 10 (a) , 10 (b) and 10 (c) illustrate Lhe sequence of the operation for_ automatically remov_inc~ color coded index caps from hangers i.n accordance with the present invention.
More particularly, Figure 10(a) illustrate;
the start of the cycle for removing color coded index caps 18 from a plurality of hangers. As shown, it will be noted that the back plate 207 is lowered to its lowermost position and a plurality of hangers arc:
waiting irl Lnor~t of the decappi_ng apparal_u5 on ~f~e feeding rail 205 in line for removal of the indicator_ 1 caps 18 one after the other.
The front plate 206 is raised but only needs to be raised upwardly until it no longer covers the recess 219. In other words, the amplitude of the movement of t1e plates 206 and 207 has to be at least the height: of t;he recess 219, so th~it the indicator 18 c:an be received in the recess 219.
Gravity pushes the foremost hanger with l Cldi e~ator i.r~to t:he rece ss 27 9 of. back plate 2_07.
After the indicator 18 is received in the recess 219 of the back p.l_ate 2.07, the front plate 206 is moved downwardly to seat the indicator 18 firmly or_ at l.easl_ to hold the indicator firmly in the recess 27.9 of the Z5 back plate 201. In this position the pin 220 of the back plate 207 displaces the laterally extending portion 30 of the hanger 1, to permit the release of the indi.rator 18 from the hanger 1. The pin 220 is long enough to fully displace the laterally extending position 30 from the recess 24 of indicator 18, but i.s not long enough to engage the aperture 6 of hook 2.
E'igure 10(b) illustrates the sequence of removing the indicator 7.8 from a hanger 1 mid-cycle when both the front and back plates 206 and 207 are i_n their lower positions. After the pi.n 220 releases the indicator attachment mechanism the front plate 206 is lowered to separate the released indicator and hanger 1 from t_he rest of the hangers and also to engage thr:
foremost hanger 1. To assist in the separation of tl~e i.oremost hanger 1 with the released indicator from the ~- other hangers the Lower edge 296 of the front plate 2.06 can be beveled. The beveled lower edge 246 of the front plate 206 holds the hanger 1 down by abutting against the edge of the top region 16 of the hook of the hanger L. As shown in Figures L0(a)-10(c) lower edge 216 of front plate 206 is beveled towards the lack plate 207. As one alternative, lower edge 246 can have a step-shape.
Figure IO(c) illustrates the end of the cycle wherein the pin 220 has displaced the laterally extending portion 30 from the indicator 28, and the indicator rnay be removed from hanger 1 when the back plate 207 is moved upwardly to its upper position, Z~ while the front plate 206 stays in i_ts lower position.
Since pin 220 of the back plate 207 extends into the aperture 24 of the indicator 18, the back plate 207 carries true indicator 18 upwardly. The front plate 106 engages hanger 1. and prevents the hanger I from ~0 als<a t>eiug ivarried upwardly.
Consequently, the pin 220 has two functions:
displacing the laterally extending portion 30 of true han<~er_ 1. to release the indicator 18 from the hanger l L5 and carrying i_he indicator 18 upwardly to separate the indicator 18 from the hanger 1.
As preciously described the indicator 18 is preferably removed from recess 219 by means of air blast through apert=ure 221 i..n back p1 at.e 207 . The a i r 30 blast pushes the indicator 18 through the window 218 of the front plate 206. The released indicator 18 ~- passes through the window 27_8 of the front plate 206 and p s col_l.ect.eci by a d.i_scharge tube 229, which is positioned in front of the window 218 and leads t_he released indicator t.o a container 225.
CJpon removal of the indicator 18 from hangar 1. and after back plate 207 is moved upwardly, hanger 1 continues to slide down the feeding rail. 205. As illustrated in Figure 1.0(c), hanger 1 with web 4 is moving down the feeding rail 205 after being decapped.
The decapped hanger is either collected manually or-automat~cal.ly therefrom, for example by means of a screw conveyor, which can collect decapped hangers from a plurality of feeding rails 205 coming from respective decapping apparatuses.
As illustrated in Figures 9 and 10(a), the automatic means for removing indicators from hangers is driven pnc:umatical.ly, and further comprises position control means 211, air control means 219, a first timer 216, a second timer 217, and an air valve 237. The ai_r valve 237 generates and/or. controls the pressuc~i.zc~d air, key whic:h the decapping apparatus according to the preferred ernbodi.ment of the present invention is controlled and driven.
The ai.r valve 237, the timers 216 and 217, the actuating means 208, the air control means 210 and the position control. means 211 respectively a~.o connected by air_ tubes for_ pneumatic corltro7. Al sc~, the entire apparatus is held and fixed to a holding 1 means (not shown).
As shown in Figure 10 (a) , the position control means 211 comprises a first detector 212 for the position of i:he front plate 206 mid a second detector 213 for the position of the back plate 2.07.
':rhe first detector 212 and the second detector 213 work on a pneumatical_ basis and have a similar structure. First and second detectors 212 and 213 eaclo include r~eneral_I_y a cy.l_indrical tube illustrated by 241 and 2.95, respectively, and pistons 222. and 223, respectively, which are movable within each of said cylindrical. tubes 299 and 296. The ocit=er ends of pistons 222 and 223 are provided with contact plate..;, which are contacted by the upper sides of the front plate 206 anc~ the back plate 207, respectively.
In the upper position, the front plate 206 and the bark plate 207 press inwardly pistons 222 and 223, res~wcteively, and cause a pneumatic signal in t:he position control. means 211, thereby permitting a steady control. of the posi.ti.on and the movement of the plates 206 and 2_07. Figure 10(a) shows a cross section of the control means 211. and the plates 206 G5 anri 20'%, wloereby the position of the plates 206 and 207 is the same as in Figure 9. Also, the discharge tube 229 and a collecting container 225 for the released indi.c:ators 18 are illustrated.
F'ig~~ra 10(c) il.liastratas a silo viaw c>F tto<-air control means 214 and the tube plates 206 and 207.

The ai.r control. means 214 comprises a third detector 1 215 for detecting the position of the back plate 207.
Tlgird detector 215 has a cylindrical tube 249 and a piston 226, which, generally have the same shape anw function as the first and second position detectors 212 and 2.13 as described above. In rigure 10(c), the back plate 207 is in its upper position, and the front plate 206 is in its lower position. The back plate having rele<~sed and carried a indicator 18 upwardly from hanger l, contacts a contact plate 226 of the position detector 215 and moves the contact plate 22_6 together with i.ts piston into the cylindrical tube of i~he detector 21.5. This causes a pneumatic signal within the air control means 214, which enables a pressurized air blast through a tube 227, which is connected to the opening 221 of the back plate 207 by appropr i ate connection 228 . The ai r blast i-.lorough t lie>
opening 221 ejects the released indicator 18 through the window 218 of the front plate 206 into the <aisc:harge tuber 224. The arrow in Figure 10 (c) indicates the direction of the movement of the indicator 18.
In operation, the back plate 207 moves downwardly to its lower position, wh.i_ch.is followed by an upward rnovemerrt of the front plate 206 to i.ts upt:>er position. The whole movement cycle is repeated periodically, so that a plurality of hangers 1 can be decapped easily and reliably in an automated process.
Since one of_ the pla-ii~es 206 and 207 is a 1 ways irn i t.~

respective lower position, there will be always a number of hangers 1 on the feeding rail 205 waiting to be decapped one after another, as shown in Figures (a) -10 (c) .
The actuating means 208 controls the movement of the two plates 206 and 207, so that the front plate 2_06 cannot move upwardly when the back plate 207 is not in its lower position, and the back plate 207 cannot move upwardly when the front plate 10 206 is not in its lower position. This ensures that the hangers to be decapped do not slide along the feeding rai l 205 under the pi ates 206 anc~ 207 wit.hm~t 1-Lei tog de~c~~>~>eii.
The first timer 216 controls the regular cycle of the movement of the two plates 206 and 207, whereas i_he second timer 217 enables a repented downward movement of the front. plate 206. If, for example the hook of the hanger 1 is bent or damaged, or the indicator 18 is bent or damaged, the front elate 206 is not permitted to slide downwardl.y to press or hold the indicator 18 into the recess 219, since its lower edge contacts the upper edge of the indicator 18 and is therefore restricted in its downward movement. In this case, the timer 217 gives a signal to tine actuating means 208 to .li.tt the front:
plate 206 up again and retry to move it downwardly.
This is repeated, until the indicator 18 is properly received in the recess 219 of the back plate 207 and the front plate 206 can move to its lower position w:i_thout resistance. This problem cars already partially be avoided by an appropriate angle or bend of the lower edge of the front plate 206, as discussed above.
Although the system of Figures 9 and 10 has been il~.ustrated with only one style of hanger shown in Figure 5, it is contemplated that a hanger of any other style, including tree styles shown in Figure 5, could be substituted therefore.
As illustrated in Figure 11, a method for re-using hangers having size indicia removably mounted thereon is illustrated in a schematic flowchart form.
A hanger manufacturing center 402 molds hangers and ships the hangers via distribution channel 403 to a plurality of garment manufacturers 405 at scattered geographic locales. While a single group of garment manufacturers 405 are illustrated in Figure 11, it should be noted that in actual practice, there may be hundreds of garment manufacturers that supply garments to any large retail outlet.
Simultaneously, a plurality of removable size indicia are molded at 407 and shipped in bundles 413 of size indicia via distribution channel 409 to these same garment manufacturers 405.
At each of the plurality of garment manufacturers 405, a single hanger 411 and a single index cap from bundle 413 are assembled with the garment manufactured by the U.S. garment manufacturing facility at that geographic local. The size indicia represents at least one characteristic of the garment, and preferably indicates the size of the garment as 1 denoted in the country in which the retail store to which the garment is to be shipped, is located. A
plurality of hangers, garments and size indicia are then batched as illustrated at 415, and the batch is shipped to a retail store 419 or a regional distribution center 417 operated by the retail store chain 419.
The regional distribution center 417 provides a supply of garments on hangers 421 to the various retail stores 419 at scattered geographic locations for sale to consumers. At the point of sale in the retail store 419, the garments are removed from the hangers and the hangers 411 are returned to the regional distribution center 417. It is preferred that the hangers are shipped to the distribution center in collapsible pallet-sized boxes with plastic lids. While it is preferable to return all of the hangers to the regional distribution center 417, it is noted that in actual practice, from 10-250 of the hangers shipped from the distribution center to the retail store as garments on hangers 421 are not returned, but are sold with the garment to the consumer, or are damaged or otherwise lost in use.
At the regional distribution center 417, the 2~ hangers are batched and sent to the recycle center 423, again preferably in the collapsible pallet-sized boxes, where the removable size indicia are removed, and the hangers are inspected and sorted by size and type, and then cleaned.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, 1 the size indicia are automatically removed as previously described with respect to Figures 7 and 8.
At the recycle center 423 it has been found that from 10-300 of the hangers returned are no longer suitable for reuse because of excess wear, breakage, warpage, gum tags or other debris which can not easily be removed.
The hangers that fail the inspection and the index caps are returned via distribution channel 425 IO to a location which grinds or granulates the hanger rejects and index caps as illustrated at 427. At location 427, the hangers are also separated to classify the hangers according to the material from which they were molded, with polypropylene and polystyrene being the two primary materials from which hangers are molded. The polypropylene granulated material is then used to mold consumer hangers as indicated at 429 which may be returned by a distribution channel 431 for sale to consumers. The remaining material not suitable for remolding is sold as scrap as indicated at 433.
At the recycle center 423, it has been found that from 30-50°s of the hangers that originally entered the recycling loop at 403 are available for redistribution. The hangers 411, without any size indicia matter thereon, are then reshipped to the garment suppliers 405 as part of the order fulfillment at supply line 435. The supply of hangers at 435 is augmented by freshly molded hangers as indicated at 403 and the combined stream of recycled and new hangers 437 is returned to the garment suppliers 405 1 as indicated in Figure 11. It is contemplated that each hanger will pass through the loop 2 to 6 times before it becomes unrecoverable. The hangers shipped from the recycle center 423 for reuse can be shipped to either US or offshore garment manufacturers.
However, since it is contemplated that only 50-80a of the originally molded hangers will be reused the supply may only be sufficient to meet the demands of the closer, in this instance, the US garment manufacturers. The cost of molding vs. shipping internationally must also be taken into consideration when dealing with offshore garment manufacturers.
However, the higher shipping costs are often outweighed to meet a particular customer's demand in an offshore country.
Simultaneously therewith, a new plurality of removable size indicia are molded at 407 and shipped via channel 409 to the garment manufacturers 405 to be reassembled with the hanger arriving from product stream 437.
At the present time, it has been found that the labor and material handling required to sort the removable size indicia at the recycle center 423 is more expensive then newly molding the removable size indicia at step 407. Not only are the removable size indicia molded in a plurality of colors, but each of the colors may represent as many as ten different sizes as herein before previously described. In addition to the sorting, the removable size indicia must be inspected, and reassembled into a magazine or plurality of stacked caps suitable for automated 1 assembly with the hangers and garments at the garment manufacturers 405. Consequently, in the normal course of proceeding, the removable size indicia are ground at step 427 and sold as scrap at step 433 as indicated by channel 439. However, it is possible for the size indicia to be sorted at the recycle center 423 and then shipped back to the garment manufacturers for reuse.
Presently, a significant percentage of garments sold in the retail stores 419 are manufactured off shore in areas such as China, Thailand, India, Ceylon, Turkey and countries of the Near East. These offshore garment manufacturers are indicated at 441 and provide essentially the same l5 function as the domestic manufacturers indicated at 405 inasmuch as each of these entities manufactures a garment, and then assembles a hanger 411, an index cap from the bundled stack 413 and the garment in an automated production line to form a product known as G.O.H. (Garment On Hanger) which is ready for display in the retail stores 419. The G.O.H. garments are then batched as indicated at 443 and shipped via international transport, in generally intermodal or airborne containers, to the regional distribution center 417.
Inasmuch as the hangers, when molded represent a substantial bulk, it is upon occasion, less expensive to mold the hangers offshore as illustrated at 445 and ship the hangers 411 to a regional hanger distribution center 447, than to mold and ship from the US facility 401. Regional hanger 1 distribution centers 447 may be located in such diverse geographic locales as Hong Kong, India or Turkey and intended to serve clusters of manufacturing entities located within a few hundred miles of the regional distribution center.
Batches or bundles of removable size indicia 413 are also molded at 407 and shipped via distribution channels 409, 449 and 451 to the offshore distribution centers 447 or offshore garment manufacturers 441. The offshore distribution center 447 then makes separate shipments of hangers 411 and bundles of removable size indicia 413 to the offshore garment manufacturers 441. The offshore garment manufacturer then assembles one of the hangers, one of the removable size indicia and one of the garments to provide a garment on hanger (G.O.H.) wherein the removable size indicia corresponds to the size of the garment.
Molding the removable size indicia at a single location such as that indicated at 407 ensures that the colors chosen for the removable size indicia are consistent when they arrive at the retail stores 419 even though the adjacent garments and hangers may have been assembled thousands of miles apart from each other. In addition, the bulk and size of the bundles removable size indicia 413 render them susceptible to transoceanic shipment and use.
While in the preferred embodiment, the removable size indicia are all molded in a single location, it would be entirely possible to mold the removable size indicia in one or more offshore molding 1 facilities, provided precise control is maintained over the pigments used in the color indexing scheme.
There may also be a flow of returned surplus hangers-as indicated along distribution channel 450 and 450a which may be used to augment the supply of hangers at 435 instead of molding new hangers at 401.
In the preferred embodiment, the hanger of the present invention is formed from styrene, k resin, E~.I. styrene, polypropylene, other suitable thermoplastic or combinations thereof. The indicator of the present invention is formed from styrene or any other. suitable plastic material.
While there have been shown and descrik>ed what are c:onsider_ed to be the preferred embodiments of the invention, it will, of course, he understood that various modi.fic:.ations and changes iu form or detail can be readily made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore intended that_ t=lne invention not be limited to the exact form and detail here.i.n shown anc~ described nor to anything less t.har~
the whole of the invention herein disc_Losed as hereinafter claimed.

Claims (12)

1. A method of reuse for hangers having size indicia removably mounted-thereon, said method comprising:
(a) shipping a first plurality of hangers to a plurality of clothing manufacturers at scattered geographic locals;
(b) shipping a plurality of removable size indicia to said plurality of clothing manufacturers at said scattered geographic locals, said removable size indicia adapted to be removably secured to said first plurality of hangers;
(c) assembling a single one of said plurality of hangers, a garment and a single one of said removable size indicia, said size indicia representative of said garment;
(d) batching a plurality of said hangers, garments and size indicia and then shipping said batch to a retail outlet for display and sale of said garments;
(e) removing a definable percentage of said hangers and size indicia from said garments as said garments are sold, and returning said defined percentage to a reuse center;
(f) removing said size indicia from said hangers at said reuse center and inspecting said hangers to obtain a plurality of selected hangers for reuse; and (g) augmenting said selected hangers with new molded hangers to provide the first plurality of hangers and repeating step (a) to form a loop of reused hangers.

2. The method of reuse for hangers having size indicia removably mounted thereon as claimed in claim 1, said method further comprising the steps of molding batches of said removable size indicia for each first plurality of hangers shipped.

3. The method of reuse for hangers having size indicia removably mounted thereon as claimed in claim 1, said method further comprises the step of grinding the inspected hangers that are not selected for reuse to form a recycled hanger for retail consumer usage.

4. The method of reuse for hangers having size indicia removably mounted thereon as claimed in claim 1, said method further comprising the step of molding said removable size indicia in a plurality of colors to provide color coded hangers having a color code which relates to a characteristic of the garment suspended from said hanger when said indicia, said hangers and said garments are assembled.

5. The method of reuse for hangers having size indicia removably mounted thereon as claimed in claim 4, wherein said color coded size indicia are molded at a single location to ensure color uniformity.

6. The method of reuse for hangers having size indicia removably mounted thereon as claimed in claim 1, said method further comprising the step of molding said augmenting hangers at a separate location for shipment to said clothing manufacturers.

7. The method of reuse for hangers having size indicia removably mounted thereon as claimed in claim 1, wherein said definable percentage ranges from 65% to 95% of said first plurality of hangers.

8. The method of reuse for hangers having size indicia removably mounted thereon as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number of said selected hangers ranges from 50% to 80% of the number of said first plurality of hangers.

9. The method of reuse for hangers having size indicia removably mounted thereon as claimed in claim 1, said method further comprising the step of cleaning said hangers after said removable size indica are removed from said hangers.

10. The method of reuse for hangers having size indicia removably mounted thereon as claimed in claim 1, wherein the statistically average hanger completes 2 to 6 loops of reuse.

11. The method of reuse for hangers having size indicia removably mounted thereon as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of sorting and washing said size indicia, inspecting said size indicia to obtain a plurality of selected size indicia and shipping said plurality of selected size indicia to said garment manufacturers.

12. The method of reuse for hangers having size indicia removably mounted thereon as claimed in claim 11, further comprising the step of augmenting said selected size indicia with newly molded size indicia.