EP0670134A1

EP0670134A1 - Garment hanger

Info

Publication number: EP0670134A1
Application number: EP95301211A
Authority: EP
Inventors: William Joseph Hunt
Original assignee: Braitrim UK Ltd
Current assignee: Braitrim UK Ltd
Priority date: 1994-02-28
Filing date: 1995-02-24
Publication date: 1995-09-06
Also published as: GB2286964B; GB9403780D0; GB2286964A

Abstract

A garment hanger for hanging a pair of trousers thereon characterised by a main support preferably comprising a pair of hinged arms (9,10) for clamping the waistband region of a pair of trousers therebetween. With a suspension device (3) such as a hook uppermost further support can be provided by a cross-bar (5) and below the cross-bar inwardly directed separate arms (6,7).

A pair of trousers is mounted on the garment hanger by clamping the waistband region of the trousers between the arms (9,10) of the main support (1) with the trouser legs hanging downwardly on one side of the further support (5,6,7). The bottom of the trousers is folded upwardly on the opposite side of the hanger, passing the bottom of the trouser legs between the separate arms (6,7) and the cross-bar 5, and then passing the bottom of the trouser legs through the space (32) between the cross-bar and main support so that the waistband, rear pocket and bottom of the trouser legs are all to be seen from the same side of the garment hanger.

Description

This invention relates to a garment hanger and more particularly, but not exclusively, to a garment hanger on which a pair of trousers can be hung particularly for both transportation or display purposes.
It is common practice in the retail clothing industry to transport or display a pair of trousers, with the waistband held in a clip or clips of a garment hanger and with the legs of the trousers allowed to extend downwardly by their full length. In another known arrangement the trousers may be folded approximately in half and hung over a cross member so that one half of the pair of trousers hangs on one side of the hanger and the other half on the opposite side of the hanger.
There are two main disadvantages, from a retail viewpoint, to both these particular arrangements for displaying trousers. The first is that in any both arrangements occupy considerable space lengthwise of the garment and limit the number of pairs of trousers which may be hung in that space. For the full length type display only trousers displayed side by side can be displayed. Whilst the second method of display appears to save space in fact this is usually not possible because trousers are rarely folded in half and it is often the case that perhaps the top one third of the trousers would hang on one side of the hanger and two thirds on the opposite side of the hanger, thereby again taking up a substantial amount of the room available below the hanger. Secondly, the general public when viewing the trousers on a hanger wish to assess the various features of the particular trousers in which they are interested. Therefore, they like to look at the waistband, the positioning of the rear pocket and side pockets and also the styling of the bottom of the trousers legs, such as whether or not the width of the bottoms are plain or have turn-ups. On all hangers known to date these features are to be found on both sides of the hinge. Also, in the first of the two arrangements referred to above for a customer to view the lower leg part of the trousers, it is often necessary for the customer to lift the hanger into the air in order to hold a lower portion of the trouser leg to look at the bottom of the trousers and in so doing may soil the trousers.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a garment hanger in which the above mentioned disadvantages are substantially eliminated.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a garment hanger for hanging a pair of trousers thereon, characterised in that the main support means for supporting the trouser waistband region of a pair of trousers, and in further support means spaced from and below the main support means so that when the trousers are mounted on the hanger the waistband, rear pocket and bottom of the trouser legs are all to be seen from the same side of the garment hanger.
In one preferred embodiment the main support means comprises generally parallel arms spaced from one another to clamp the trouser waistband between said arms.
In another preferred embodiment the further support means includes a cross bar which extends parallel to and spaced from the main support means. Conveniently, the suspension means is provided so that when the hanger is suspended by said suspension means the further support means is below the main support means. Preferably, the further support means also includes two support arms spaced along a longitudinally one from the other, both spaced on a remote side of the cross bar from the main support means and extending inwardly from each outer end respectively of the cross bar. Conveniently, the further support means has a C-shaped cross-section with the opening thereof directed to the front of the hanger in use.
Preferably, the garment hanger is of an integral moulding with the generally parallel arms joined by resilient integral hinge.
Conveniently, the generally parallel arms comprise a front arm and a rear arm, in use and the resilience of the integral hinge allows the front arm to pivot about the longitudinal axis thereof through 180°. Conveniently, the resilient hinge also has sufficient resilience to permit the front arm to move in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis thereof.
Preferably, each of the front and rear arms includes a strengthening rod therein which is conveniently a metal rod which may be of circular cross-section. Preferably, a clip arrangement is provided at the end of the main generally parallel arms remote from the hinge for fixedly locating the front arm relative to the rear arm when supporting a garment between the front and rear arms. Conveniently, the clip arrangement has a slot in an upper surface of the rear arm into which an extended part of the strengthening rod of the front arm is arranged to be located. The slot has an upper recessed portion by an inwardly directed flange under which said extended part of the strengthening rod is located to prevent the rod and therefore the pivotable front arm being removed from the clip when a garment is held between the front and rear arms. Conveniently, the suspension means for the hanger is located on the rear arm to which the further support means is also connected. Preferably, the suspension means is located centrally of the rear arm.
In yet another preferred embodiment each outermost end of each arm of the main support means is inclined outwardly sideways (front or rear respectively) away from the longitudinal axis of the arms. Conveniently, the angle of inclination is substantially 8°.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of supporting a pair of trousers on a garment hanger characterised by main support means for supporting a waistband region of a pair of trousers, further support means spaced from and below the main support means when the garment hanger is in a suspended condition, said further support means including a cross bar and two support arms spaced along a longitudinal axis one from the other and below the cross bar said support arms extending from respective outer ends of the cross bar, the method comprising supporting a pair of trousers in the region of the waistband thereof between the arms of the main support means on one side of the further support means, folding the bottom of the trousers upwardly to an opposite side of the further support means, passing the bottom of the trouser legs through the space between said support arms and the cross bar to the said one side of the further support means, and passing the bottom of the trouser legs through the space between the cross bar and the main support means to the opposite side of the further support means so that the waistband, rear pocket and bottom of the trouser legs are all to be seen from the same side of the garment hanger.
In one preferred method, where the main support means comprise generally parallel arms spaced from one another, the method including clamping the trousers in the region of the waistband between the generally parallel arms.
In another preferred method the trousers are folded in the region of the waistband so that the side pockets are displayed on the same side of the further support means as the rear pocket and bottoms of the trouser legs.
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. 1 is a rear elevational view of a garment hanger in accordance with the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the hanger of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the hanger of Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the hanger of Fig. 1;
Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view of the hanger of Fig. 1 with its front arm illustrated in an outwardly extending direction, and
Fig. 6 is a partial sectional view along line 6-6 of Fig. 1 to illustrate a folded pair of trousers on the garment hanger.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, there is illustrated a plastics garment hanger having a main elongate support device 1 with centrally disposed suspension device 2 in the form of a hook 3 on one side thereof. The hook 3 is attached to the main support device by a flat triangular support which also is used as an information or label area. On the side of the main support device remote from the hook 3 is a further support arrangement 4 comprising a cross bar 5 and two shorter support arms 6, 7 extending inwardly from each end respectively of the cross bar. Main support device 1 is as particularly shown in Fig. 3, divided into two parts and having a vertically (as shown in Fig. 1) extending hinge 8 interconnecting a front pivotal arm 9 and a rear arm 10 on which the further support arm arrangement 4 is mounted. A clip arrangement 15 is provided at the end of the arms 9 and 10 remote from the hinge 8 to interconnect the separable arms 9, 10 to clamp a garment therebetween in use.
A strengthening rod is integrally moulded internally of each of the front and rear arms 9 and 10. The strengthening rod extends the full length of the respective arm with one end of the rod in the front arm being illustrated in Fig. 2. The rod with front arm has an extension 16 extending forwardly of the free end of the front arm 9 by an amount sufficient to engage in a slot 23 in the rear arm 10 for locking the two arms 9,10 together. The rod 17 in the rear arm is illustrated in Fig. 1 where it can be seen through an open portion 18 of the clip arrangement.
As illustrated in Fig. 4 the hinge 8 and clip arrangement 15 are arranged to ensure front arm 9 is generally parallel and replaced from the rear arms by sufficient thickness for a pair of trousers for example to be clamped between arms 9 and 10 at the waistband region thereof.
Clip arrangement 15 generally includes flat upper and lower surfaces 20, 21 respectively. Lower surface 21 is a flat plane solid surface whilst upper surface 20 has a cutaway portion 22 which defines a slot 23 between the edge 26 and an inwardly directed flange 24. Hollow space 18 extends internally of the clip beneath flange 24.
To display a pair of trousers on the embodiment of the hanger just described above, free end 25 of front arm 9 is moved towards arm 10 in Fig. 3 until strengthening rod 16 is in line with slot 23. The resilience of integral hinge 8 then allows arm 9 to be moved in a manner that allows rod 16 to move upwardly through the slot 23 to free the arm 9 from the clip 15. Once this has happened the arm 9 is free to pivot through, for example 180° or more, normally about the hinge in an upwardly direction in Fig. 3, until the condition shown in Fig. 5 is achieved. A pair of trousers is then placed against the arm 10 with the waistband located just above the arm 10. The arm 9 is then pivoted about hinge 8 to entrap the trousers between arms 9 and 10 whereupon the free end of the arm 25 is lifted upwardly over flange 24 so that rod 16 overlies slot 23. The rod is then passed downwardly through slot 23 and under the pressure of the trousers pushing the arms 9 and 10 apart the rod 16 moves beneath the flange 24 and the arm 9 is locked in position supporting the trousers on the hanger.
With the trousers on the hanger in this position the trousers hang down on one side of the further support arrangement 4. With the waistband held the bottom of the trousers is then lifted to achieve a fold which is approximately one third of the length of the trousers and the remainder of the bottom of the trousers is passed over the shorter arms 6, 7 on the side thereof remote from the side of the further support arrangement to which the trousers are attached between the arms 9 and 10. The trousers are then located in slots 30 and 31 respectively between the arms 6, 7 respectively and the support bar 5. The bottom portion of the trousers is then folded around the support bar 5, through space 32 between the main support bar 1 and the further support bar 5 on the side of the hanger remote from that on which the waistband of the trousers is supported.
In such a folded position the waistband of the trousers is clearly on view and the rear pocket of the trousers can be seen through the space 32. The extended length 33, 34 of the main support arm 1 at each end thereof accommodates the increased width of the trousers in the region of the waistband and in this folded condition the side pocket of the trousers would, for example, be displayed at the left hand end of Fig. 1. Furthermore, as described above, the bottom of the trousers will also appear on the side of the hanger as viewed in Fig. 1 just short of the initial fold so that the total height of the trousers on the hanger is approximately one third of the length of the trousers.
In using the garment hanger in this manner to support the trousers it is possible for a retailer to have display rails on which trousers are supported in rows one above the other. Thereby in a given space the number of given trousers on display may be doubled, or even trebled.
Although one embodiment of the garment hanger according to the present invention has been described other embodiments of garment hangers may fall within the scope of the present invention. For example, the cross bar 5 may extend the full width of the main support device 1 and in the case illustrated above the spacing between the shorter arm 6, 7 in the direction of the longitudinal axis thereof must be shorter than the width of the trousers which are to be supported on the arms 6, 7.
In another alternative embodiment, the suspension device in the form of hook 3 may be of a different form such as an annular ring, or may be located at one end of the hanger and comprise a bracket arrangement to support one arm.
In a further alternative embodiment the hanger may be provided with a pressure depression so that over a central portion of the hanger in a direction transverse to longitudinal aces of arms 9, 10 and through both arms 9, 10, the thickness of the main support device is less than at its ends. The depression has the effect of introducing bends into the arms 9, 10 to ensure that the inner surfaces of the arms 9, 10 are clamped together tightly and that the two ends of each arm are inclined outwardly relative to the central area which ensures a firm connection of the free end 25 with arm 9 when located beneath flange 24. Each outer end of both arms 9, 10 are inclined relative to the central portion thereof at an angle of substantially 8°. In this manner a pair of trousers will be more securely held within the hanger by the central portion. Simultaneously, in locking arm 9 relative to the clip 15 the inherent resilience in the strengthening rod 16, 17 permits an outwardly directed force to be applied to the outer end of rod 16 so that arm 16 is securely held in position beneath flange 24.
In yet another embodiment the garment hanger, moulded from a plastics material, is removed from the mould and the strengthening rods are then inserted into the respective arm 9,10. The strengthening rods may be of any suitable length to strengthen the arms.

Claims

A garment hanger for hanging a pair of trousers thereon, characterised in that the main support means (1) for supporting the trouser waistband region of a pair of trousers, and in further support means (5,6,7) spaced from and below the main support means so that when the trousers are mounted on the hanger the waistband, rear pocket and bottom of the trouser legs are all to be seen from the same side of the garment hanger.
A garment hanger as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the main support means (1) comprises generally parallel arms spaced from one another to clamp the trouser waistband between said arms (9, 10).
A garment hanger as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the further support means (5,6,7) includes a cross bar (5) which extends parallel to and spaced from the main support means (1).
A garment hanger as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that suspension means (3) is provided so that when the hanger is suspended by said suspension means the further support means (5,6,7) is below the main support means.
A garment hanger as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the further support means (5,6,7) also includes two support arms (6,7) spaced along a longitudinal axis one from the other, both being spaced on a remote side of the cross bar (5) from the main support means and extending inwardly from each outer end respectively of the cross bar.
A garment hanger as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the further support means (5,6,7) has a C-shaped cross-section with the opening thereof directed to the front of the hanger in use.
A garment hanger as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the garment hanger is of an integral moulding with the generally parallel arms (9,10) joined by a resilient integral hinge.
A garment hanger as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the generally parallel arms (9,10) comprise a front arm (9) and a rear arm (10), in use and the resilience of the integral hinge (33) allows the front arm to pivot about the longitudinal axis thereof through 180°.
A garment hanger as claimed in claim 8, characterised in that the resilient hinge (33) has sufficient resilience to permit the front arm (9) to move in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis thereof.
A garment hanger as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in a clip arrangement (15) located at the end of the main generally parallel arms remote from the hinge (33) for fixedly locating the front arm (9) relative to the rear arm when supporting a garment between the front (9) and rear (10) arms.
A garment hanger as claimed in claim 9, characterised in that each of the front and rear arms (9,10) includes a strengthening rod (16) therein.
A garment hanger as claimed in claim 11, characterised in that the strengthening rod (16) is of a circular cross section.
A garment hanger as claimed in claim 11 or 12, characterised in that the strengthening rod (16) is of metal.
A garment hanger as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13, characterised in that the clip arrangement (15) has a slot in an upper surface of the rear arm into which an extended part of the strengthening rod of the front arm is arranged to be located.
A garment hanger as claimed in claim 11, characterised in that the slot has an upper recessed portion (22) defined by an inwardly directed flange (24) under which said extended part of the strengthening rod (16) is located to prevent the rod and therefore the pivotable front arm (9) being removed from the clip when a garment is held between the front and rear arms (9,10).
A garment hanger as claimed in claim 15, characterised in that suspension means (2) for the hanger is located on the rear arm (10) to which the further support means (5,6,7) is also connected.
A garment hanger as claimed in claim 16, characterised in that the suspension means (3) is located centrally of the rear arm (10).
A garment hanger as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that each outermost end of each arm of the main support means is inclined outwardly sideways away from the longitudinal axis of the arms.
A garment hanger as claimed in claim 18, characterised in that the angle of inclination is 8°.
A method of supporting a pair of trousers on a garment hanger characterised by main support means (1) for supporting a waistband region of a pair of trousers, further support means (5,6,7) spaced from and below the main support means when the garment hanger is in a suspended condition, said further support means including a cross bar (5) to support arms spaced along the longitudinal axis one from the other and below the cross bar, said support arms (6,7) extending from respective outer ends of the cross bar, the method comprising supporting a pair of trousers in the region of the waistband thereof between the arms (9,10) of the main support means (1) on one side of the further support means (5,6,7), folding the bottom of the trousers upwardly to an opposite side of the further support means (5,6,7), passing the bottom of the trouser legs through the space between said support arms (6,7) and the cross bar (5) to the said one side of the further support means, and passing the bottom of the trouser legs through the space (32) between the cross bar (5) and the main support means (1) to the opposite side of the further support means so that the waistband, rear pocket and bottom of the trouser legs are all to be seen from the same side of the garment hanger.
A method as claimed in claim 20, characterised in that the main support means (1) comprise generally parallel arms (9,10) spaced from one another, the method including clamping the trousers in the region of the waistband of between the generally parallel arms (9,10).
A method as claimed in claim 21, characterised in that the trousers are supported in the region of the waistband so that the side pockets are displayed on the same side of the further support means (5,6,7,) as the rear pocket and bottoms of the trouser legs.