GB2177905A

GB2177905A - Clothes-hanger

Info

Publication number: GB2177905A
Application number: GB08528546A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sven Bertil Knut Swardh; Ulf Sandberg
Original assignee: SWENTO SYSTEM AB
Current assignee: SWENTO SYSTEM AB
Priority date: 1984-11-30
Filing date: 1985-11-20
Publication date: 1987-02-04
Also published as: GB2177905B; DE3542108A1; GB8528546D0; SE8406050L; SE446205B; SE8406050D0

Abstract

For anti-theft purposes, a garment is connected to a stationary rack or other not readily movable furnishing by a clothes-hanger (10) which is provided with a wire (16) extending through a tubular hook (14) on the hanger. For securing the garment to the rack, the wire is passed around the rack and through a sleeve or like opening of the garment, whereupon the wire ends are locked together by a lock (17, 18) and a key (19).

Description

SPECIFICATION Clothes-hanger The present invention relates to a clothes-hanger having two arms projecting in opposite directions from a central part and adapted to support a garment, as well as a hook.

Every year, garments for vast sums of money are being stolen in hotels, restaurants, outfitting shops and many other places. Furrier's shops, in particular, are badly victimised and have long been trying to find a lockable hanger which is both easily handled and easily locked so that the garment can be conveniently put on the hanger and locked and also conveniently removed therefrom. Furthermore, such a hanger must be of attractive design and compatible with the shop or hotel furnishings.

It has previously been attempted to provide such a hanger, as will appear from, inter alia, FR A 2,331,662, but the result does not satisfy the above requirements. The main disadvantage of the hanger according to this patent specification is that it is very easy to break off the hook adjacent the connection point of the arms and pull the wire with the hook through the arm so that the garment comes off.

Although it appears that the wire may form a closed loop, this loop is established by interconnecting the wire ends within the lock, without the intermediary of the hook, and this means that the whole idea of the hanger will be frustrated, and one could just as well use a loose wire with interlockable ends, a solution which has been available for many years but which has not been used because the locking arrangement was both unaesthetic and difficult to use. Besides, it was easy to forget it.

The present invention aims at providing a hanger which satisfies the above-mentioned requirements, and this is accomplished in that the hook is in the form of an open-ended tube, that a flexible steel wire or the like extends through the tube and the central part of the hanger, said wire having a length such that it can be passed through an arm or other tubular part or hole of the garment, and that one wire end has a lock with an opening within which a locking member on the other wire end is insertable and lockable by means of a key.

The essential feature of the hanger according to the present invention thus is that the hook is in the form of a tube through which the wire extends. This brings the advantage that one cannot forget anchoring the garment to the clothes-rack or similar furnishing which cannot readily be removed from the premises and around which the wire can be affixed, and that the garment remains locked to the rack also if a thief should succeed in breaking off the tube which forms the hook. Afurther advantage is that the wire ends are locked together.

The invention will now be described in more detail below, reference being had to the accompanying drawing which is a lateral view of an embodiment of a clothes-hanger according to the invention.

The clothes-hanger as shown in the drawing may have a main piece of any conventional design comprising a central part 11 from which two downwardly sloping and slightly curved arms 12, 13 project In opposite directions. Protruding from the upper side of the central part is a hook 14 in the form of an open-ended tube. The hookortube 14 preferably extends transversely through the entire central part and is fixedly connected therewith in some suitable manner, for example by means of rivets or screws. A flexible wire, such as a plasticscoated steel wire, extends through the tube 14. A plastics-coated chain may also be used for this purpose, and materials other than steel may also be used as long as the wire or the like cannot be cut by means of a simple tool, such as a pair of nippers.

The wire 16 is of a length permitting it to be passed through an arm or other tubular portion or hole in the garment hanging on the hanger, and has at one end a tubular lock 17 of conventional type comprising a radial lock opening into which a locking member 18 at the opposite wire end can be inserted and locked by means of a key 19. The wire 16 is displaceably accommodated in the tube 14so that the wire ends and locking members can be mounted in any location between the free end 15 of the hook 14 and the central part 11.

In a furrier's shop, for example, the furs are hung on the hangers in conventional manner, whereupon the hangers are hooked over the rack of a display stand. After that, one wire end (the lowermost end in the drawing) of each hanger is passed through its associated fur sleeve and locked, by means of the locking members 17, 18 and the key 19, with the other wire end which, via the hook 14, extends around the rack. In this manner, the fur cannot be removed from the display stand without unlocking the lock 17, but when a shop assistant wishes to remove a fur from the display stand, the lock can readily be opened and the wire 16 pulled out of the fur sleeve.

The present invention provides a simple means for preventing theft of, in particular, garments and satisfies the main requirements placed on such an arrangement, viz. that is should be easily handled and not display the goods in an unaesthetic manner.

The clothes-hanger according to the present invention is useful not only in shops but also in such premises where people hang up their outer garments for longer or shorter periods of time, for example in hotels, restaurants, schools and other meeting places.

1. A clothes-hanger having two arms projecting in opposite directions from a central part and adapted to support a garment, and also having a hook, characterised in that the hook is in the form of an open-ended tube, that a flexible steel wire or the like extends through the tube and the central part of the hanger, said wire having a length such that it can be passed through an arm or other tubular part or hole of the garment, and that one wire end has a lock with an opening within which a locking member on

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Clothes-hanger The present invention relates to a clothes-hanger having two arms projecting in opposite directions from a central part and adapted to support a garment, as well as a hook. Every year, garments for vast sums of money are being stolen in hotels, restaurants, outfitting shops and many other places. Furrier's shops, in particular, are badly victimised and have long been trying to find a lockable hanger which is both easily handled and easily locked so that the garment can be conveniently put on the hanger and locked and also conveniently removed therefrom. Furthermore, such a hanger must be of attractive design and compatible with the shop or hotel furnishings. It has previously been attempted to provide such a hanger, as will appear from, inter alia, FR A 2,331,662, but the result does not satisfy the above requirements. The main disadvantage of the hanger according to this patent specification is that it is very easy to break off the hook adjacent the connection point of the arms and pull the wire with the hook through the arm so that the garment comes off. Although it appears that the wire may form a closed loop, this loop is established by interconnecting the wire ends within the lock, without the intermediary of the hook, and this means that the whole idea of the hanger will be frustrated, and one could just as well use a loose wire with interlockable ends, a solution which has been available for many years but which has not been used because the locking arrangement was both unaesthetic and difficult to use. Besides, it was easy to forget it. The present invention aims at providing a hanger which satisfies the above-mentioned requirements, and this is accomplished in that the hook is in the form of an open-ended tube, that a flexible steel wire or the like extends through the tube and the central part of the hanger, said wire having a length such that it can be passed through an arm or other tubular part or hole of the garment, and that one wire end has a lock with an opening within which a locking member on the other wire end is insertable and lockable by means of a key. The essential feature of the hanger according to the present invention thus is that the hook is in the form of a tube through which the wire extends. This brings the advantage that one cannot forget anchoring the garment to the clothes-rack or similar furnishing which cannot readily be removed from the premises and around which the wire can be affixed, and that the garment remains locked to the rack also if a thief should succeed in breaking off the tube which forms the hook. Afurther advantage is that the wire ends are locked together. The invention will now be described in more detail below, reference being had to the accompanying drawing which is a lateral view of an embodiment of a clothes-hanger according to the invention. The clothes-hanger as shown in the drawing may have a main piece of any conventional design comprising a central part 11 from which two downwardly sloping and slightly curved arms 12, 13 project In opposite directions. Protruding from the upper side of the central part is a hook 14 in the form of an open-ended tube. The hookortube 14 preferably extends transversely through the entire central part and is fixedly connected therewith in some suitable manner, for example by means of rivets or screws. A flexible wire, such as a plasticscoated steel wire, extends through the tube 14. A plastics-coated chain may also be used for this purpose, and materials other than steel may also be used as long as the wire or the like cannot be cut by means of a simple tool, such as a pair of nippers. The wire 16 is of a length permitting it to be passed through an arm or other tubular portion or hole in the garment hanging on the hanger, and has at one end a tubular lock 17 of conventional type comprising a radial lock opening into which a locking member 18 at the opposite wire end can be inserted and locked by means of a key 19. The wire 16 is displaceably accommodated in the tube 14so that the wire ends and locking members can be mounted in any location between the free end 15 of the hook 14 and the central part 11. In a furrier's shop, for example, the furs are hung on the hangers in conventional manner, whereupon the hangers are hooked over the rack of a display stand. After that, one wire end (the lowermost end in the drawing) of each hanger is passed through its associated fur sleeve and locked, by means of the locking members 17, 18 and the key 19, with the other wire end which, via the hook 14, extends around the rack. In this manner, the fur cannot be removed from the display stand without unlocking the lock 17, but when a shop assistant wishes to remove a fur from the display stand, the lock can readily be opened and the wire 16 pulled out of the fur sleeve. The present invention provides a simple means for preventing theft of, in particular, garments and satisfies the main requirements placed on such an arrangement, viz. that is should be easily handled and not display the goods in an unaesthetic manner. The clothes-hanger according to the present invention is useful not only in shops but also in such premises where people hang up their outer garments for longer or shorter periods of time, for example in hotels, restaurants, schools and other meeting places. CLAIMS

1. A clothes-hanger having two arms projecting in opposite directions from a central part and adapted to support a garment, and also having a hook, characterised in that the hook is in the form of an open-ended tube, that a flexible steel wire or the like extends through the tube and the central part of the hanger, said wire having a length such that it can be passed through an arm or other tubular part or hole of the garment, and that one wire end has a lock with an opening within which a locking member on the other wire end is insertable and lockable by means of a key.

2. A clothes-hanger substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.