EP0495286A1

EP0495286A1 - A clothes hanger

Info

Publication number: EP0495286A1
Application number: EP91305129A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Rupert N. M. Jameson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-01-15
Filing date: 1991-06-06
Publication date: 1992-07-22
Also published as: PH26432A

Abstract

A clothes hanger (10) is disclosed which allows garments to be hung quickly and simply by pushing them between a back plate (11) and gripping means (15) attached to the back plate (11) and resiliently biassed against it.

Description

The present invention relates in general to a hanging implement and more particularly to a clothes hanger most especially adapted to conveniently hold clothing such as trousers, skirts and the like.
It is well known in the art that conventional clothes hangers are practically effective in hanging most types of clothing. However, they are not that effective when it comes to hanging trousers, skirts and the like. For practical reasons, these trousers are hung on conventional hangers by folding them at the mid section and suspending them across the bar thereof. This conventional way of hanging trousers, including wearer's trousers stored temporarily for wearing again, has the following unwanted draw-backs:

a) pockets must be emptied to avoid items falling out;
b) it is not very handy and it takes time to hang trousers well and to take them out again. These shortcomings present some inconveniences to the user especially when he or she is in a hurry.

The present invention seeks to overcome the shortcomings and disadvantages of the prior art by providing a clothes hanger that is adaptively designed to conveniently hold trousers, skirts and the like vertically without the necessity of folding them in half, removing belts, or emptying their pockets.
It is therefore the main object of this invention to provide a clothes hanger of the type having a pair of independently rotatable spring-tensioned wheels as the main element designed to efficiently hold trousers, skirts and the like downwardly unfolded against a flat vertical surface.
Another object thereof is to provide a clothes hanger that is adapted to securely hang clothing such as trousers and the like, whereby their pockets need not be emptied and folding them for suspension is not a practical necessity any more.
Still another object thereof is to provide a clothes hanger wherein hanging and taking out of trousers, skirts and the like take only about one or two seconds.
Yet another object thereof is to provide a clothes hanger that does not need a rail to hang from as it is fixedly attached on walls or any vertical plane such as a door.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a clothes hanger adapted to conveniently hang trousers, skirts and the like, comprising:
a back plate fixedly attached on a wall or vertical surface and provided with a mounting means at the top portion thereof;
a moveable front arm extending downwardly from the top of said plate through a bridge section defining a space between said plate and arm, the upper section of said arm being pivotally mounted on said mounting means and adjustably locked in place by a locking means, in such a manner that the lower section thereof is capable of moving back and forth relative to the plate, wherein the lower section of said arm is provided with a pair of oppositely extending wheel mountings;
a spring means consisting of a spring mounted directly above said mounting to connect both said arm and plate; and
a pair of wheels rotatably mounted on the corresponding wheel mountings, said wheels being constantly pressed on the surface of the plate by the action of said spring purposely to conveniently hold clothing such as trousers, skirts and the like insertably placed in between said plate and wheels.
Being a wheel-type clothes hanger, the present invention eliminates the time lag or delay involved in using the conventional way of hanging trousers and the like. In fact, insertion and taking of trousers into and from the spring-tensioned wheels of the present hanger would only take about one or two seconds.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and be appreciated upon reading the following detailed description thereof taken in conjunction with the appended drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention as installed on a wall, with securely held trousers shown in phantom;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view thereof taken along line 2-2 in Fig. 1;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view thereof taken along line 3-3 in Fig. 1; and
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a wheel mounting of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference numerals designate the same parts all throughout, there is shown in Fig. 1 a clothes hanger 10 comprising a generally smooth-surface back plate 11 provided with a mounting means 12, a movable front arm 13, a spring means 14 and a pair of wheels 15 rotatably mounted on said arm.
Said back plate is to be fixedly attached on walls 16 or any vertical surface as may be desired, with the aid of a fastening means such as screws 17. The front arm 13 downwardly extends from the top portion of said plate through a bridge section 18 defining a space 19 between said plate and arm. Said bridge section serves as a housing of said spring means and mounting means. Said arm is pivotally connected to said mounting means through a threaded rod 20 forwardly extending and fixedly attached on said back plate, wherein a hole 21 at the upper section of said arm is mounted on said rod and held in place by an adjustable locking means 22. A sufficient clearance is provided between said hole and rod to allow a pivotal motion of the arm thereby enabling it to move back and forth relative to the lower section of the back plate. Said spring means consists of a spring 14A fixedly mounted directly above and parallel said rod on an integral mounting base 12A provided at the upper portion of said back plate to connect both the arm and back plate so that a pulling force applied on the lower section of the arm below the rod is resisted by the spring action. A pair of oppositely extending wheel mountings 23 are integrally provided at the lower section of said arm, wherein said pair of wheels are correspondingly attached rotatably thereon through a bushing 24 and a lock screw 25 so that each of the wheels is perpendicularly positioned relative to the surface of said back plate. With this position, the wheels are capable of applying a pressure upon the surface of said plate. The wheels are pressed constantly on the plate surface by the action of said spring.
Another way of rotatably attaching the wheel to the wheel mounting 23 is by providing said mounting with an integral snap-on type wheel mounting extension 28 through which the hub of the wheel is snappingly inserted. Said extension is divided along its longitudinal axis by a slot 29 defining a pair of flexible axle members 30 with enlarged end section 31 serving as a lock.
The amount of pressure applied by said wheels on the back plate may be variably controlled by adjusting said locking means which may be a locking screw 26 as shown in Fig. 1. Tightening of said screw forcibly pushes the arm downward and compresses the spring thereby applying more pressure on the plate or the trousers held by the wheels.
In operation, the trousers (even with the belt in place), when held by two hands at the top, can be slipped into the space 19 under the wheels by a vertical lifting motion so that the trousers are held by pressure against said plate. With the frictional force component established, the level of which depends on the degree of pressure applied by the spring mechanism the trousers are now conveniently hung vertically. Removal of said trousers is done by simply pulling them downward. With this feature, the present invention is quick to use, causes no damage to trousers and does not crease same.
The present hanger as embodied in this invention may be preferably made of plastics material or any material such as metal, wood as long as it has the needed flexibility to serve its particular purpose.
While preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed and described, as previously noted, various other embodiments may be preferred by others skilled in the art. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited to the preferred embodiment.
For example, the wheels may be fitted with a ratchet device which would permit their rotation only at the time of insertion of the trousers thus increasing the friction needed to withdraw the trousers from the device.
Alternative ways to increase friction in case of need in certain cases would be to incorporated smooth horizontal ridges on the back plate, or even to replace the wheels by rigid skids mounted on the arms and pressing on the back plate.

Claims

A clothes hanger adapted to conveniently hang trousers, skirts and the like, comprising:
a back plate fixedly attached on a wall or vertical surface and provided with a mounting means at the top portion thereof;
a moveable front arm extending downwardly from the top of said plate through a bridge section defining a space between said plate and arm, the upper section of said arm being pivotally mounted on said mounting means and adjustably locked in place by a locking means, in such a manner that the lower section thereof is capable of moving back and forth relative to the plate, wherein the lower section of said arm is provided with a pair of oppositely extending wheel mountings;
a spring means consisting of a spring mounted directly above said mounting to connect both said arm and plate; and
a pair of wheels rotatably mounted on the corresponding wheel mountings, said wheels being constantly pressed on the surface of the plate by the action of said spring purposely to conveniently hold clothing such as trousers, skirts and the like insertably placed in between said plate and wheels.
A clothes hanger as claimed in claim 1 wherein said mounting means consists of a threaded rod forwardly extending and fixedly attached on an integral mounting base provided on said back plate, wherein said arm is mounted on said mounting means through a hole provided on the upper section of said arm, said hole being insertably mounted on said rod leaving a sufficient clearance therebetween to allow pivotal motion of the arm to and from the plate wherein the degree of pressure effected by the wheels is variably controlled by adjusting said locking means.
A clothes hanger as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bridge section serves to limit the moving arm lateral movement and as a housing of said spring means and mounting means.
A clothes hanger as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pair of wheels are correspondingly attached rotatably on said wheel mountings through a bushing and a lock screw combination.
A clothes hanger as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pair of wheels are correspondingly attached rotatably on said wheel mountings by providing said mountings with an integral snap-on type wheel mounting extension through which the hub of the wheel is snappingly inserted.
A clothes hanger comprising a back plate, and gripping means which includes an attachment portion by which said gripping means is attached to said back plate and a gripping portion which is resiliently biassed against said back plate so as to enable a portion of a garment to be forcibly inserted and then gripped between said back plate and said gripping portion.