GB2290023A

GB2290023A - A foldable garment hanger

Info

Publication number: GB2290023A
Application number: GB9411542A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William Joseph Hunt
Original assignee: Braitrim UK Ltd
Current assignee: Braitrim UK Ltd
Priority date: 1994-06-08
Filing date: 1994-06-08
Publication date: 1995-12-13
Anticipated expiration: 2014-06-08
Also published as: DE19520592A1; HK1000932A1; GB2290023B; GB9411542D0; FR2720916A1

Description

GARMENT HANGER 2290023 This invention relates to a garment hanger.

It is well known in the garment industry, particularly in retail outlets, to advertise garments hung on garment hangers and one particular well known form of hanger is the fixed frame hanger generally comprising a main body having means for supporting the hanger and two shoulder portions extending outwardly in use from either side of the support member. Extending outwardly from the main body in a direction opposite to that in which the support means extend are two frame means which are interconnected by a further frame member at their ends remote from the main body.

Such hangers are ideal for hanging items of clothing such as the jacket of a pair of pyjamas, the trousers of the pyjamas being hung on the further crossmember so that this can be displayed simultaneously with the jacket. However, the disadvantage of such a hanger is that when a customer purchases, for example, the pyjamas, the retailer must fold the trouser portion back over the jacket portion and the whole of the garment, together with the frame hanger, must be placed inside a very large bag by the retailer. The main disadvantages of this construction are firstly the cost of supplying sufficiently large bags to cover the whole hanger and garments purchased, secondly storage of the hangers because they take up so much space, and thirdly the transportation of the hangers from the manufacturers where again space considerations must be taken into account, there being a severe limitation on the number of hangers that can be packaged in a container for example a cardboard box of a size to facilitate manual handling thereof.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a garment hanger in which the above disadvantages are substantially eliminated.

According to the present invention there is provided a garment hanger having a main body including means for supporting the hanger in use, the main body comprising at least one arm extending outwardly from the support means, extension means arranged to extend from the main body so that in use a remote end of the extension means is below the main body, further support means mounted on the said remote end for supporting a garment and hinge means located intermediate the ends of the extension means so that in packing the hanger the extension means is folded about the hinge means and the said remote end overlies the main body of the hanger.

In one preferred embodiment of a garment hanger according to the present invention there is provided a main body having two arms extending outwardly in use from the support means in mutually opposite directions.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention the extension means comprises two frame members both extending from the main body in a direction opposite to that in which the support means for the garment hanger extends. When the hanger is in use in its extended position the extending frame members will extend in a downward direction.

9 A c Conveniently, the ends of the extending f rame members remote from the main body are interconnected by a cross-member which extends outwardly of the frame members in opposite directions and at the outermost ends of this cross-member are provided clips. These can support a pair of trousers, for example, which form part of the pair of pyjamas. The jacket of the pair of pyjamas is hung on the two outwardly extending arms of the main body.

Preferably, the garment hanger is of a one piece plastics moulding and the hinge means is an integral reduced thickness part of that moulding.

Alternatively, the hinge may be provided separately and attached to the respective parts of the frame members.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a garment hanger in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the garment hanger of Fig. 1; and Figs. 3A and 3B illustrate diagrammatically the manner in which the garment hanger of Figs. 1 and 2 is foldable.

Referring specifically to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is shown a garment hanger having a main body 1 including a support 2 f or the hanger in the f orm of a hook of standard configuration. The main body 1 has two arms 3, 4 which extend in opposite directions outwardly in use as shown in the drawings from a central portion 5 of the main body.

In the region of the interconnection between the central portion 5 and the innermost ends of the arms 3, 4 are connected two frame members 6, 7 which extend downwardly in Figs. 1 and 2 to an arcuate cross-bar 8 which itself extends outwardly on either side of the frame members 6, 7 to terminate in clips 9,10.

The frame members 6,7 are provided approximately one quarter to one third the way along their length, nearest to the main body 1, with a reduced thickness portion 11, 12 which defines an integral hinge.

In use the hanger will, f or example, be used to display a pair of pyjamas suitable for a young child. The jacket will be supported on the arms 3, 4, whilst the pyjama trousers will be supported in the clips 9,10 so that the whole of the pair of pyjamas can be viewed by a customer.

When a customer decides to purchase the pair of pyjamas the retailer initially folds the pyjama trousers upwardly so that the bottoms of the trouser leg overlie the jacket. The cross-bar 8 together with portions 13 and 14 of the arms 6, 7 are then pivoted about the hinge 11, 12 to an extent that the portions 13, 14 and the cross-bar 8 overlie the main body 1 in a manner substantially parallel to the main body as shown in Figs. 3A and 3B.

Therefore, the longitudinal length of the hanger between the hook and the cross-bar 8 is substantially reduced by one half and this is advantageous in that it enables the retailer to place m 9 t, v the hanger and the garment purchased by the customer into a bag which is approximately one half the size of the bag which would otherwise be necessary for use with this hanger, thereby substantially reducing the costs of packaging for the retailer.

Savings are also to be made by the manufacturer of such garment hangers as is in accordance with the present invention because by using the same techniques by f olding the hanger it is possible to pack more of these hangers into a given space, for example, in a cardboard box dimensioned to facilitate manual handling thereof. This then reduces the manufacturersi transportation costs and subsequently allows the retailers to store the hangers in a lesser space than would otherwise be necessary.

The hanger described above, other than the hook 2, is conveniently a one piece plastics moulding into which the hook is moulded at the time of manufacture of the hanger and the hinges 11, 12 are of a reduced thickness to enable the bending of the arms 6, 7 so as to allow the bottom portions 13, 14 of the frame members 7, 6, respectively, to lie parallel with the main body 1.

In one alternative form of the invention the hinges may be made independently and attached to the arms 6, 7. Moreover, the clips 9, 10 may be of any suitable shape or format depending on the particular use to which the hanger is to be put in view of the particular style or form of clothing which is to be pl,n.ced upon the hanger.

The hook 2 may be of a plastics material and integrally moulded with the hanger as a unitary moulded hanger. Alternatively, the hook can be a metal hook moulded in position with the moulding of the hanger.

ir In addition, the shape of the main body may vary from that shown in the representations and may comprise an embodiment in which there is only one such arm 3 and one such extension arm 7 with an appropriate cross-bar at the end of the f rame member arm 7 remote from the main body 1, which will operate in the same manner as described for the garment hanger shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Conveniently, the arms 3, 4 of the hanger may be provided with underhooks/ clips 15, 16 respectively, on which a skirt may be hung for example.

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Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A garment hanger having a main body including means for supporting the hanger in use, the main body comprising at least one arm, extension means arranged to extend from the main body so that in use a remote end of the extension means is below the main body, further support means mounted on the said remote end for supporting a garment and hinge means located intermediate the ends of the extension means so that in packing the hanger the extension means is folded about the hinge means and said remote end overlies the main body of the hanger.

2. A hanger as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the main body has two arms extending outwardly in use from the support means in mutually opposite directions.

3. A hanger as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the extension means comprises two frame members both extending from the main body in a direction opposite to that in which the support means for the garment hanger extends.

4. A garment hanger as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the frame members extend in a downwardly direction when the hanger is in use in its extended position.

5. A hanger as claimed in Claim 3 or 4, wherein the ends of the extending frame members remote from the main body are interconnected by a cross-member which extends outwardly of the frame members in opposite directions and at the outermost ends of this cross member are provided with grippi-_, ii,.eans for holding a garment on the cross-member.

6. A hanger as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the hanger is of a one piece plastics moulding.

0 6. A hanger as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the hinge means is an integral reduced thickness part of that moulding.

8. A garment hanger substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.

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