EP0620997A1

EP0620997A1 - A trouser hanger

Info

Publication number: EP0620997A1
Application number: EP94302897A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Michael Anthony Hawkins
Original assignee: FERGUSON HANGERS Ltd
Current assignee: FERGUSON HANGERS Ltd
Priority date: 1993-04-23
Filing date: 1994-04-22
Publication date: 1994-10-26
Also published as: GB9308399D0; GB2277255A

Abstract

A trouser hanger 1 for supporting and displaying a pair of trousers 21, comprising a support bar 3, means 5, 7 for suspending the support bar 3 from a rail or the like, such that the support bar 3, in use, is positioned substantially horizontally, and a fold bar 17 spaced a significant distance below and attached to the support bar 3, such that, in use, a pair of trousers 21 can be hung over the support bar 3 and the trouser legs 25 can pass below the fold bar 17 and back over the support bar 3 to present the trousers 21 for display purposes in a neat and attractive fashion.

Description

This invention relates to garment hangers, and in particular to a hanger for supporting and displaying a pair of trousers in a neat and attractive fashion.
Prior art trouser hangers are well known which comprise a pair of substantially parallel bars joined together to define a slit therebetween and a hook attached to the upper bar to enable the hanger to be suspended from a rail or the like. A pair of trousers can be readily passed through the slit of the hanger, between the bars, so that the top portion, including the waistband, of the trousers hangs on one side of the hanger and the lower portion, including the turn-ups of the trouser legs, hangs on the other side of the hanger. It is also known to include transport grips below the lower bar, directed inwardly from either end of the hanger, for pinching a portion of the trousers to prevent the trousers from sliding off the hanger.
Although such known prior art trouser hangers have been used for many years satisfactorily, the present invention aims to improve upon them by enabling a pair of trousers to be displayed even more neatly and attractively. Furthermore, a trouser hanger according to the present invention will reduce the vertical distance needed to display a pair of trousers whilst allowing more of the features of the trousers to be readily viewed from the front of the trouser hanger.
In accordance with the foregoing, the present invention provides a trouser hanger for supporting and displaying a pair of trousers, comprising
a support bar,
means for suspending the support bar from a rail or the like such that the support bar, in use, is positioned substantially horizontally, and
a fold bar spaced a significant distance below and attached to the support bar,
such that, in use, a pair of trousers can be hung over the support bar and the trouser legs can pass below the fold bar and back over the support bar to present the trousers for display purposes in a neat and attractive fashion.
By providing a facility wherein the bottom of the legs of a pair of trousers can pass below the fold bar and back over the support bar so that the bottom of the trouser legs are displayed down the front of the garment hanger (in front of the upper portion of the trousers), both the waistband and the turn-ups of the trousers can be viewed from the front of the garment hanger simultaneously.
Preferably the support bar and the fold bar are formed integrally. In theory, however, they could be formed separately and joined together for use.
The fold bar is preferably broken (i.e. has a gap along its length) to facilitate mounting of the trousers on the hanger.
The fold bar may be formed as one side of a loop through which the trouser legs can pass prior to passing below the fold bar. By including such a loop, a more reliable positioning of the trousers on the hanger can be achieved.
Preferably one or more transport grip is positioned below the support bar for gripping a pair of trousers mounted on the hanger. More preferably, two transport grips are provided, one grip extending inwardly from either end of the support bar.
The support bar preferably defines with a portion of the suspending means a horizontal slit through which a pair of trousers, mounted on the hanger, passes twice during use. Such a slit, depending on its width, helps to assist in holding the trousers in position on the hanger.
A height guide is preferably formed integrally with the hanger to indicate a desired maximum vertical display length of a pair of trousers mounted on the hanger. By including such a height guide, a user can readily arrange trousers on a plurality of hangers consistently, so that all the trousers are presented in essentially the same neat and attractive fashion.
The height guide may extend substantially vertically below the fold bar. Alternatively, the height guide may comprise a bar parallel to and spaced below the fold bar.
As will be appreciated, a trouser hanger according to the present invention is preferably formed primarily as a one piece moulding from plastics material. A metal hook may, however, be included in the means for suspending the support bar. A plastics hook could, of course, alternatively be used.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of mounting a pair of trousers on a trouser hanger in a neat and attractive fashion, the method comprising:

(a) passing the trouser legs over a support bar of the trouser hanger,
(b) passing the legs of the trousers below a fold bar spaced a significant distance below and attached to the support bar, and
(c) passing the lower ends of the trouser legs back over the support bar such that both the waistband and the turn-ups of the legs of the trousers can be viewed from the same side of the trouser hanger simultaneously.

Specific embodiments of the present invention are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a front view of a trouser hanger according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective rear view of the trouser hanger of Figure 1 with a pair of trousers partially mounted thereon;
Figure 3 is a perspective rear view as shown in Figure 2, but with the trousers mounted further on the hanger;
Figure 4 is a front view of the hanger of Figures 1-3 with a pair of trousers fully mounted for display purposes on the hanger;
Figure 5 is a front view of a second embodiment of trouser hanger according to the present invention; and
Figure 6 is a front view of a third embodiment of trouser hanger according to the present invention.

With reference to Figures 1-4, a first embodiment of trouser hanger according to the present invention is disclosed. The trouser hanger 1 comprises a support bar 3 and an upper bar 5 carrying a metal hook 7, the upper bar 5 and the support bar 3 being joined at their ends to define a slit 9 therebetween. A pair of transport grips 11 extend inwardly from either end of the support bar 3, below the support bar 3. These features of the trouser hanger correspond to features incorporated in the well known prior art trouser hangers.
The trouser hanger of Figures 1-4 of this patent application also includes a pair of struts 13 extending below the support bar 3. The struts 13 support a broken loop 15, which incorporates a fold bar 17. The break 19 in the loop 15 actually occurs in the fold bar 17 and is included to facilitate mounting of the legs of a pair of trousers through the loop 15. As will be appreciated, however, the loop 15 does not need to be broken, but mounting of trouser legs through the loop 15 may prove more difficult as a result.
As can be seen from Figures 2-4, a pair of trousers can easily be mounted on a trouser hanger according to the present invention. In this regard, the legs of a pair of trousers 21 are firstly passed through the slit 9 as shown in Figure 2. The upper portion of the trousers, including the waistband 23, is positioned down the front of the trouser hanger 1. The legs 25 of the trousers are then passed down the back of the trouser hanger 1 and through the loop 15, as shown in Figure 3. The legs 25 of the trousers may be gripped between the support bar 3 and one or more of the transport grips 11, thereby ensuring that the trousers are held more firmly on the hanger 1. The transport grips 11 can, of course, be used at any time, but they are really only needed when the trousers 21 are being transported, in a vehicle for example, when they are likely to be jostled around on the hanger 1. The mounting of the trouser legs 25 through the loop 15 is facilitated by means of the opening 19 in the fold bar 17, as mentioned above.
Once the trouser legs 25 have passed through the loop 15, the free ends of the legs 25 are folded under the fold bar 17 back towards the slit 9 above the support bar 3. The turn-ups 27 of the trouser legs 25 are then passed back through the slit 9 so that they appear in front of the upper portion of the trousers, as shown in Figure 4. A person considering purchasing the trousers may, therefore, easily see both the waistband 23 and the turn-up region of the trouser legs 25 by viewing the front of the display alone. Furthermore, the trousers are presented in a particularly neat and attractive fashion, which may also inspire people to buy the trousers.
Although in theory it would be possible to mount a pair of trousers on a hanger in the proposed fashion even if the fold bar 17 was not present, it is far more difficult to do so and, as a result thereof, trousers mounted in that way tend to appear dishevelled and unattractive. A trouser hanger according to the present invention therefore provides a significant advantage over the known trouser hangers.
When using a trouser hanger 1 according to Figures 1-4, the person mounting the trousers 21 can choose the vertical height of the display as they wish. They would, of course, ensure that the amount of the upper portion of the trousers being displayed is sufficiently large to cover the fold bar 17 from front view. To assist in ensuring that a selection of trousers are all mounted in a standard form on a number of adjacent hangers, a height guide 29, 31, as shown in Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings, can be included.
With reference to Figure 5, a height guide 29 comprises a substantially vertical length of plastics material extending from the loop 15 below the fold bar 17 through the opening 19. The length of this height guide 29 can be used as a guide to a shop assistant mounting a pair of trousers on the garment hanger. In a preferred form, the maximum distance from the support bar 3 to the free end of the height guide 29 might be 43cm (17 inches). The shop assistant would then simply mount the trousers on the trouser hanger 1 with the waistband 23 positioned slightly below the free end of the height guide 29. The legs of the trousers 21 would then be mounted on the hanger as shown in Figures 2-4, as described above. Consistency between trousers on adjacent hangers can then be achieved.
Figure 6 shows an alternative embodiment of trouser hanger which includes a height guide 31. In this embodiment, the maximum height of the display is dictated by the distance between the support bar 3 and a lower bar 33 parallel to and spaced below the fold bar 17. This bar 33, in this embodiment, is attached by supports 35 to the loop 15.
It will of course be understood that the present invention has been described above purely by way of example, and that modifications of detail can be made within the scope of the invention.

Claims

A trouser hanger for supporting and displaying a pair of trousers, comprising
a support bar,
means for suspending the support bar from a rail or the like such that the support bar, in use, is positioned substantially horizontally, and
a fold bar spaced a significant distance below and attached to the support bar,
such that, in use, a pair of trousers can be hung over the support bar and the trouser legs can pass below the fold bar and back over the support bar to present the trousers for display purposes in a neat and attractive fashion.
A trouser hanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support bar and the fold bar are formed integrally.
A trouser hanger as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein fold bar is broken to facilitate mounting of trousers on the hanger.
A trouser hanger as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the fold bar is formed as one side of a loop through which the trouser legs can pass, in use, prior to passing below the fold bar.
A trouser hanger as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein one or more transport grip is positioned below the support bar for gripping a pair of trousers mounted on the hanger.
A trouser hanger as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the support bar defines with a portion of the suspending means a horizontal slit through which a pair of trousers, mounted on the hanger, passes twice.
A trouser hanger as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a height guide is formed integrally with the hanger to indicate a desired maximum vertical display length of a pair of trousers mounted on the hanger.
A trouser hanger as claimed in claim 7, wherein the height guide extends substantially vertically below the fold bar.
A trouser hanger as claimed in claim 7, wherein the height guide comprises a bar substantially parallel to and spaced below the fold bar.
A trouser hanger as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the trouser hanger is formed primarily as a one piece moulding from plastics material.
A trouser hanger as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the means for suspending the support bar includes a metal hook.
A method of mounting a pair of trousers on a trouser hanger comprising the steps of:
(a) passing the trouser legs over a support bar of the trouser hanger,

(b) passing the legs of the trousers below a fold bar spaced a significant distance below and attached to the support bar, and

(c) passing the lower ends of the trouser legs back over the support bar such that both the waistband and the turn-ups of the legs of the trousers can be viewed from the same side of the trouser hanger simultaneously.