GB2203033A

GB2203033A - A garment hanger

Info

Publication number: GB2203033A
Application number: GB08703760A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony Edward Radcliffe; Neil Simon Owen
Original assignee: Pendy Plastic Products Ltd
Current assignee: Pendy Plastic Products Ltd
Priority date: 1987-02-18
Filing date: 1987-02-18
Publication date: 1988-10-12
Anticipated expiration: 2007-02-18
Also published as: GB8703760D0; GB2203033B

Abstract

A hanger for garments such as skirts and blouses is provided which has a hanging member such as a hook 12, a body portion 10 comprising two arms 11, and a flat member 21, such as a cardboard former, adapted to be releasably attachable to the two arms to act as a former for a garment supported on the hanger. Flaps 22, 24 on the member 21 are received in recesses 16, 19 in the body portion 10 and are retained therein by resilient tongues 15, 18 having projections which engage in holes 23, 25 in the flaps. <IMAGE>

Description

A GARMENT HANGER This invention relates to a garment hanger and a flat member which may act as a backing card for a garment or as a label, bearing promotional material, or information relating to the garment.

In the retailing trade, it is becoming more and more common to hang garments, such as shirts and blouses, on hangers, instead of displaying them packaged in transparent wrappers. As customers browse through such hung garments, however, the garments tend to be disturbed, so that they do not hang correctly on the hanger.

Moreover, garments such as casual shirts made from twill or similar relatively heavy fabrics tend to hang with vertical folds which may detract from the appearance of the garments. A further, independent problem is that of providing the customer with the pictorial and/or textual information which would normally be found on the wrapper of a packaged garment.

The present invention provides a hanger which is intended to meet these problems.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a garment hanger comprising a hanging member (usually a hook), a body portion comprising two arms, and a flat member adapted to be releasably attachable to the two arms to acts as a former for a garment supported on the hanger.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a garment hanger, having a hanging member, a body comprising two arms, and having a slot formed therein, opening generally downwards (when the hanging member is uppermost) adapted to receive and retain a flat member when inserted into said slot from below, whereby, in use, said flat member may hang beneath the hanger body.

Preferably the hanger has a recess in the body, and retaining means in the form of a resilient tongue extend within the recess to form one wall of the slot. This slot preferably extends along the hanger body in the plane of the two arms. The tongue is preferably provided with a projection extending across the slot, for engagement in a hole in a flat member, thereby to retain the flat member against being pulled out of the slot.

The hanger may be formed of moulded plastics material, with the retaining means formed on one side of the body, a hole provided on the opposite side of the body, in a position corresponding to the tongue, and a projection provided on the tongue, extending towards the hole, whereby the tongue and recess are adapted to be molded by a mould element positioned on one side of the body, and the hole and projection are adapted to be moulded by a mould element positioned on the other side of the body, with the hole and recess meeting to form a slot.

One such retaining means, forming such a slot, may be formed in a central, or label, region of the hanger, beneath the hanging member. In addition, or as an alternative, retaining means as described may be formed in each arm of the hanger.

A flat member may be provided, having a flap adapted to be inserted into, and retained by, the or each slot. The flap may have a hole in it, for engagement with the projection extending across the slot.

This aspect of the invention provides a convenient and unobtrusive way of hanging a former beneath the hanger, inside a garment, to stiffen the garment. Alternatively, or in addition, the invention enables a card to be attached to the hanger, beneath the hanging member, in the label region, so as to enable promotional material or information concerning the garment, e.g. its size, to be displayed. It is particularly preferred that no unnecessary projections are provided, which would otherwise detract from the appearance of the hanger. In particular, retaining means are herein described, which are recessed into the body of the hanger, without projecting beyond the hanger profile.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which; Fig. 1 shows a side view of a hanger and former according to the invention Fig. 2 shows a cross-section on the line B-B in Fig.

1; Fig. 3 shows a cross-section on the line D-D in Fig.

1; Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of a portion of the hanger of Fig. 1 in the region A; and Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of a portion of the hanger of Fig. 1 in the region C.

Referring to Fig. 1, a hanger is generally shown at 10, comprising an arm 11, a hanging member in the form of a hook 12, and a label region 13. The hanger is generally symmetrical, apart from the hook, about a vertical plane passing through D-D, normal to the paper. The hanger is of moulded plastics material.

Situated in the arm 11, there is a tongue 15, formed by virtue of a moulded recess 16 surrounding the tongue 15.

Situated in the label region 13, there is a further tongue 18 formed by a further recess 19 moulded in the label region.

In Fig. 1, there is also shown a garment former 21. This former has flaps 22 and 24, with holes 23 and 25 respectively, formed centrally in flaps 22 and 24. These flaps are positioned to be received by recesses 16 and 19, as will be described further.

Referring to Figures 2 and 4, tongue 15 and recess 16 can be seen in cross-section and in perspective, and it can be seen that recess 16 extends behind tongue 15 to form a slot between tongue 15 and rear wall 17 of recess 16, the slot being open generally downwards. The recess extends through arm 11, in region 16b. Region 16b approximately corresponds in size to tongue 15, in a manner convenient for moulding purposes. On the rear side of tongue 15, there can be seen a button 27, formed approximately centrally on tongue 15.

Referring to Figures 3 and 5, label region 13, tongue 18 and recess 19 can be seen in cross-section and in perspective. Tongue 18 and recess 19 are formed in a similar manner to tongue 15 and recess 16, with the exception that there is a bridging member 28 formed in label region 13, extending across recess 19, on the same side as tongue 18. In this case, therefore, there is a slot opening generally downwards which is formed between tongue 18 and bridging member 28 on the one side and rear wall 20 of recess 19 on the other side. On the rear side of the label region 13, there is a cut-out 19b, corresponding in size to tongue 18, as is convenient for moulding purposes. Similarly, there is a gap 30 corresponding to bridging member 28 and connecting with recess 19. A button 29 is formed approximately centrally on the rear side of tongue 18.

The manner in which the invention is used is shown in Fig.

1, and more conveniently in Fig. 4. A garment, for example a shirt, is hung on hanger 10. A former 21 is passed inside the garment, and flap 22 of former 21 is inserted underneath tongue 15, between tongue 15 and the rear side of arm 11, as shown by arrow E in Fig. 4. In inserting the flap into the recess, the flap encounters button 27, causing the flap and/or the tongue 15 to bend resiliently, allowing button 27 to pass over flap 22 and enter hole 23 in flap 22, whereupon the flap and/or the tongue returns to its relaxed position. At the same time, flap 24 is passed behind bridging member 28 in label region 13, through gap 30 into recess 19, behind tongue 18. In a similar manner, flap 24 encounters button 29 and is pushed past button 29, which engages in hole 25 of flap 24.

In this manner, former 21 is secured to hanger 10 at the central label region 13, and in each arm 11. The hanger with the garment thereon can be hung for display, and the former 21 will enhance the appearance of the garment and reduce the attention which would otherwise be required in periodically adjusting the garment on the hanger, as the garment is inspected by customers.

In Fig. 1, a dotted line F has been drawn on former 21, generally indicating two regions of the former 21 which serve different functions. The position of line F depends on the shape of the hanger, the garment to be hung and the presentation required. Above line F generally designates a display region, on which can be displayed -promotional material or information regarding the garment, for example the garment size. The region below line F will generally be hidden inside the garment, and serves primarily for the purpose of stiffening the garment. It will be appreciated, that, whereas the above description describes the use of both regions on a single former, either one of these regions can be used on its own. Accordingly, hanger 10 can incorporate only tongues 15 on the arms or it can incorporate only tongue 18 on the label region, as the case may be.

It will, of course, be understood that the above description has been given by way of example only, and that modifications of detail can be made within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A garment hanger comprising a hanging member, a body portion comprising two arms, and a flat member adapted to be releasably attachable to the two arms to act as a former for a garment supported on the hanger.

2. A hanger according to claim 1 wherein the flat member has holes therethrough and the body portion has retaining means in each arm arranged to protrude through the holes, to releasably attach the flat member to the two arms.

3. A hanger according to claim 2 wherein each arm of the body portion has a slot formed therein, opening generally downwards (when the hanging member is uppermost) and the flat member has protruding flaps through which the holes are formed, arranged to be received by the slots.

4. A garment hanger, having a hanging member, a body comprising two arms, and having a slot therein, opening generally downwards (when the hanging member is uppermost) adapted to receive and retain a flat member when inserted into said slot from below, whereby, in use, said flat member may hang beneath the hanger body.

5. A hanger according to claim 4 having a recess in the body, and retaining means in the form of a resilient tongue extending within the recess to form one wall of the slot.

6. A hanger according to claim 5 wherein the tongue is provided with a projection extending across the slot, for engagement in a hole in a flat member, thereby to retain the flat member against being pulled out of the slot.

7. A hanger according to either claim 5 or 6 formed of moulded plastics material, wherein the tongue extends within a recess in the body, formed on one side of the body, a hole is provided on the opposite side of the body, in a position corresponding to the tongue, and a projection is provided on the tongue, extending towards the hole, whereby the tongue and recess are adapted to be moulded by a mould element positioned on one side of the body, and the hole and projection are adapted to be moulded by a mould element positioned on the other side of the body, with the hole and recess meeting to form the slot.

8. A hanger according to any one of claims 4 to 7, having such a slot in a central region of the hanger, beneath the hanger member.

9. A hanger according to any one of claims 4 to 8 having such a slot in each arm of the hanger.

10. A hanger according to any one of claims 4 or 9 wherein the or each slot extends along the hanger body in the plane of the two arms.

11. A hanger according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and any one of claims 4 to 10.

12. The body portion of a hanger substantially as hereinbefore described and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

13. A hanger comprising a body portion according to claim 12 and a flat member substantially as hereinbefore described and as shown in Figures 1 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.