GB2312833A

GB2312833A - Garment hanger

Info

Publication number: GB2312833A
Application number: GB9609690A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sebastian Conran
Original assignee: KARNER BATTS Ltd
Current assignee: KARNER BATTS Ltd
Priority date: 1996-05-09
Filing date: 1996-05-09
Publication date: 1997-11-12
Also published as: WO1997042863A1; GB9609690D0; IL126945A0

Abstract

A garment hanger has a support bar 2 and suspension means 3 Respective holding means 5 are coupled to the bar at or adjacent the opposite distal extremities of the bar to receive and releasably hold a thickness of material at a waistband of a garment. Location means 10 receiving widthwise excess material of a garment exceeding the length of the bar from one holding means to the other 11,12 comprise pairs of location element 11,12. The location elements of each pair are separated from each other by a spacing 14. Extreme portions of the excess material are received and located in the spacing between the location elements of each pair and held in place in this spacing by interference elements 9.

Description

GARMENT RANGER This invention relates to garment hangers. It is particularly concerned with hangers adapted for supporting garments having a waistband. More particularly, but not necessarily exclusively, it is concerned with hangers suitable for display in a retail store of briefs, shorts and underpants for men.

It is the common practice in retail stores to display garments for sale from a hanging rail. This practice, formerly restricted to jackets, suits, coats and other items of outerwear, has been extended in recent years to relatively lightweight garments such as swimwear and lingerie for women, which garments, formerly, would have been packaged in a film wrapping or a cardboard box. Nowadays, customers wish to see and to touch a garment before they purchase it.

There have been a number of proposals, primarily designed with the display of women's underwear in mind, for resolving this problem. Though hangers designed primarily for supporting women's underwear can also be used with partial success for displaying men's underwear, there is a need, as explained below, for an improved hanger particularly adapted for displaying such garments.

There are a number of criteria to be met for garment hangers of the kind concerned. Whether the garment hanger is removed from the garment at the point of sale or is left on the garment, and therefore effectively given away with each purchase, the same ideal requirements exist. Any garment hanger should be inexpensive and of virtually universal application; in particular, it must be capable of supporting garments of different sizes, and in particular, garments with a different sized waistband but otherwise the same. It is simply unacceptable, both in terms of the labour cost involved and in terms of the need to maintain a variety of different stocks, to support otherwise identical garments but of different sizes on hangers of different sizes.

One approach to this problem has been the development of various forms of telescopic or spring-loaded hangers which can automatically adjust for different sized waistbands. Such hangers are relatively expensive to manufacture, not always fully reliable with repeated use, and they tend to stretch the waistband of underwear. In general, they have been restricted to the display of trousers and skirts.

An alternative approach has been the design of so-called "wishbone" hangers in which the springiness of the plastics material from which these hangers are made, combined with a generally bow shape provides for a degree of accommodation for garments of different sized waistbands. Although such hangers have enjoyed a success, they tend to be relatively large and relatively flimsy in construction and so are not ideal for repeated use, particularly in the display of men's underwear, for which it is generally desired that the hanger be relatively robust.

A further attempt is exemplified by British Patent Specification No: 2 181 046 in which there are a plurality of support elements inboard of the outer extremities of the hanger, which in the orientation of use extend downwardly. Either the garment is suspended between two such support elements separated by a width corresponding to the size of the waistband (obviously there must be a degree of stretch or the garment will not be supported); or, as suggested in British Patent Specification No: 2 181 046, the garment may be mounted about the outermost support element, with a return portion looped about one of the more inboard supports.

Hangers of this general kind have achieved a measure of success but they, too, entail a necessary stretch at the waistband in order to support the garment adequately. Retailers tend to err on the side of over-stretching the waistband when mounting garments to such hangers since otherwise the garments may slip off the hangers leading to an untidy display of garments in a retail store. Retail store customers also appear to have some difficulty in relocating a garment on a hanger of the kind shown in British Patent Specification No: 2 181 046, having detached the hanger in order to better see the particular garment.

Relatively flimsy, and usually transparent lingerie hangers have been proposed in German Gebrauchsmuster G8902362.5 and G9005393.1. These hangers employ clips at the two distal ends of the main support bar of the hanger, the two sides of the clip touch, and indeed, are resiliently biased against each other to provide a very firm grip. This may prevent thin items of lingerie from falling from the hanger, but in practice, the hanger tends to mark garments. These hangers have a number of further clips for mounting different forms of lingerie for women.

The arrangement of Gebrauchsmuster G9005393.1 also includes a finger 24 of rather flimsy construction which extends below the main support bar over a short distance and provides a spacing in which it is suggested excess material may be tucked. However, the very small size of this finger means that in practice, it will work only with the very flimsiest of garments.

In our own British Patent Application No: 8925214 and related European Patent Application No: 90312237.2, now granted as European Patent No: 0 427 552, we propose a garment hanger which has a support bar, suspension means for supporting a central portion of the support bar from a hanging rail or the like so that the support bar is supported generally horizontally in operation, and respective gripping means at or adjacent the opposite distal extremities of the support bar and adapted to receive and releasably hold a thickness of material of garment supported by the hanger. Location bars extend for a major portion of the length of the support bar and generally therealongside on either side of the central portion. The spacing between each location bar and the associated portion of the support bar and the resilience of each location bar is such that a garment of greater width than the length of the support bar may be laid across the hanger, releasably held by the gripping means, and returned behind the hanger, with extreme portions of the garment width received and located between the support bar and the respective location bars. Hangers of this general construction sold under the designation KARNER 955 have achieved a substantial measure of commercial success. We have found that these hangers work particularly well with lingerie.

The form of the gripping means and the way in which the location bars are positioned and work in operation allow lingerie readily to be mounted neatly on the hanger with the excess material tucked between the location bars and the support bar.

Though the KARNER 955 hanger will work with some satisfaction with men's underwear, because of the difference in the material from which these garments are made as compared with the relatively flimsier and often silkier (whether made of silk or not) material from which women's undergarments are made, and the differences in construction of such garments (The waistband in men's briefs, shorts and underpants is usually significantly more substantial than the waistband in knickers for women, and may have a width of up to an inch (2.54cm).) the drape of the garment is not so good with men's underwear. We have therefore set out to provide a new and improved construction of garment hanger, particularly suitable for mounting men's underwear having a waistband.

In accordance with the present invention, we provide a garment hanger adapted for supporting garments having a waistband and comprising: a support bar; suspension means adapted for supporting a central portion of the support bar from a hanging rail or the like, the support bar being supported generally horizontally in operation; respective holding means coupled to the support bar at or adjacent the opposite distal extremities of the support bar and adapted to receive and releasably hold a thickness of material at a waistband of a garment; and location means integral with the support bar and arranged to receive widthwise excess material of a garment exceeding the length of the support bar from one holding means to the other; the location means comprising respective pairs of location elements, each pair extending over a span generally parallel to the support bar on one side of the central portion so as to extend, in operation of the hanger, generally horizontally and generally vertically beneath the support bar over said span, the location elements of each pair being separated from each other over said span by a spacing, the said spacing and the resilience of the said location elements being such that a garment having a waistband and being of greater garment width than the length of the support bar may be laid across the hanger with material in the region of the waistband being releasably held by the holding means, and returned behind the hanger, with extreme portions of such material received and located in said spacing between the location elements of each pair and held in place in said spacing by interference.

Practical embodiments of hanger constructed in accordance with the present invention have proved particularly suitable for mounting men's underwear having a relatively wide waistband. The holding means suitably comprise clips in the form of a jaw, the two sides of which are separated by a space but in which at least one side is resilient so that a thickness of material may be pushed between the jaws of the clip into said space, at least one of the jaws preferably having interference elements extending into the said space between the jaws so as to assist in resisting ready detachment of material from the jaw. The length of each jaw preferably corresponds to the width of the waistband of the garment concerned.

The two elements of each pair of location elements are integral with the support bar and extend beneath it in operation of the hanger. Once said element can conveniently be provided in the form of a loop which serves also and in part as a frame within the garment waistband to support the garment in the waistband region. One end of the loop, where it is attached to the support bar, can conveniently form one jaw of the gripping means. The other location element of each pair may comprise a generally L-shaped location bar which has the upright of the "L" extending downwardly in use of the hanger from the support bar with the horizontal limb of the "L" extending parallel to the first-mentioned element of the pair over said span. In a preferred arrangement, the region at which the two limbs of the "L" join is formed so as to project sideways of the hanger and away from its medial plane so as to provide an opening suitable for guiding material into the space between the two location elements of each pair. The distal end of the horizontal limb of the II "L" is suitably formed with an enlarged end as a protection against damage to the material of the garment.

The holding means may alternatively comprise a downwardly extending finger at the distal extremity of each support bar suitably provided with projections or other roughening thereon so as to assist in maintaining a garment mounted on the hanger, for those retailers who prefer not to hold their garments in place between the jaws of a clip. As will be apparent from the detailed description below, this alternative form of holding means can be provided in one and the self-same hanger as the holding means of the clip of jaw form by providing the downwardly extending finger aforesaid as the outer side of the jaw.

The invention is hereinafter more particularly described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows a front elevational view of a preferred embodiment of garment hanger constructed in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the hanger illustrated in Fig.

1; Fig. 3 is an end elevational view as seen from the right in the hanger of Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line V-V in Fig.

1; and Fig. 6 is an underneath plan view of the hanger shown in Fig. 1.

The hanger generally indicated 1 in the drawings is suitably formed as a one-piece plastics moulding from any of the conventional plastics materials employed in the manufacture of all-plastic hangers. Hanger 1 comprises a support bar 2 which extends generally horizontally in use and which is provided with suspension means (here in the form of an integrally moulded hook 3) allowing the hanger to be supported from a hanging rail or the like. In alternative arrangements, the suspension means may comprise an integrally moulded ring or a metal hook or ring to which the plastics material of the remainder of the hanger is moulded. On the suspension means is suitably provided a plaque 4 on which a retailer can provide, at their option, various indicia such as the name or Trade Mark of the retailer, information concerning the garment and possibly a stick-on size label.

Holding means, generally indicated 5, are coupled to the support bar 2 at or adjacent the opposite distal extremities of the support bar. In the present embodiment, the holding means are integrally formed with the support bar, but auxiliary metal clips could be used as an alternative. The holding means 5 is adapted to receive and releasably hold a thickness of material at a waistband of a garment. The illustrated hanger is particularly suitable for mounting men's underwear. Such underwear commonly has a waistband which is relatively wide, as compared with women's underwear. Often the waistband itself may have a width of as much as an inch (2.54cm). In the arrangement illustrated, the holding means 5 comprises a clip of jaw form, the clip having two jaws or sides 6 and 7. In the illustrated arrangement the two jaws are separated by a space 8. Into this space project a number of interference elements 9, here each in the form of a semi-spherical projection. At each of these projections the width of the space 8 is reduced. The net effect of this is that a thickness of material pushed into the space 8 through its open mouth at the lower end of the jaw-form clip in the orientation of Fig. 1 will be held in place, the interference elements 9 tending to resist removal.

Location means, generally indicated 10 are formed integrally with the support bar 2 and, as explained below, are arranged to receive widthwise excess material of a garment exceeding the length of the support bar 2 from one holding means 5 to the other. The location means 10 comprise a pair of location elements 11 and 12 which extend over a span S generally parallel to the support bar 2 on one side of the central part, generally indicated 13 of the support bar 2, to which central part the suspension means is connected. As will be seen from the drawings, in operation of the hanger the location means is generally located vertically beneath the support bar over this span, the span extending generally horizontally. The location elements 11 and 12 of each pair are separated from each other over the span S by a spacing 14. The size and extent of this spacing 14 and the resilience of the location elements 11 and 12 is such that a garment having a waistband and being of greater garment width than the length of the support bar from one distal extremity to the other may be laid across the hanger with material in the region of the waistband being releasably held between the two jaws 6 and 7 of the holding means 5, and returned behind the hanger, with extreme portions of such material being pushed between the location elements 11 and 12 into the spacing 14. Having been received and located in this spacing 14, the excess material is generally held in place in the spacing 14 by interference between the two location elements 11 and 12.

In other words, the natural spacing between elements 11 and 12 is less than the thickness of the material so that the elements 11 and 2 is less than the thickness of the material so that the elements 11 and 12 are slightly forced apart and, being biased for return, thus tend to hold the material in place.

Alternatively, frictional resistance resulting from looping material over the elements and into spacing 14 tends to resist removal. The term "interference" used in this context is intended to cover either or both of these effect.

Location element 11 of location means 12 takes the form of a loop, extending from the support bar 2 close to its distal end at one end 15 and being joined to the support bar 15 and being joined to the support bar 2 again at a position 16 significantly inboard of the first position and fairly close to the central portion 13. This loop-form location element 11 effectively forms a frame which aids in support of the garment draped about the hanger in the manner explained above, thereby giving the suspended underwear greater rigidity and form and improving the drape of the garment on the hanger. The second location element 12 is located essentially within the loop formed by element 11 and support bar 2 and takes a generally L-shape in the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, though other forms are feasible.

Location element 12 in its preferred L-shaped location bar form has the upright of the "L" 17 extending downwardly in use of the hanger from its connection at 18 with the support bar 2. The horizontal limb 19 of the "L" extends parallel to the loop-form location element 11 over the span S. As can be seen from the drawings, in the preferred illustrated embodiment, a region 20 at which the two limbs 17, 19 of the "L" join projects sideways of the hanger and away from its medial plane. In effect, the location bar 12 has a corner region 20 bent along a line 21.

Forming the location bar in this way, or bending it after forming, provides an opening into which material of the garment can be guided by a user mounting the garment on the hanger, and thus into the spacing 14. The horizontal limb 19 of the "L" is suitably formed with an enlarged end 22 as a protection against damage to the material of a garment.

In the illustrated arrangement, one jaw 7 of the jaw-form clip of holding means 5 is formed by portion 23 of loop 11 between connection point 15 with support bar 2 and the span S.

The other jaw 6 of the clip is formed as a generally downwardly extending finger 24 provided at the extreme distal end of the support bar 2. The outer side of this finger 24 is provided with projections 25 or other roughening. This arrangement allows a retailer who prefers not to force the material of his garment into a clip of jaw form to still make us of the hanger illustrated. Rather than pushing the material of the waistband of his garment into the space 8, such a retailer merely passes the garment in the waistband region about the outer side of the downwardly extending finger 24. The projections or roughening 25 help to retain the garment in position, the excess material being pushed between location elements 11 and 12 in the same manner as previously described. It will be appreciated that, used in this manner, the downwardly extending finger 24 can be regarded as a "holding means", since it receives the waistband region of the garment, the protjections 25 or roughening serving to hold the material passesd about the finger in a releasable manner.Thus, it will be appreciated that the illustrated embodiment enables the mounting of garments in two somewhat different ways.

Other arrangements are feasible. Thus, the descending finger 24 may be omitted altogether, in which case the projections 9 on the outer side of the loop 11 can serve a similar function to the projections or roughening 25 of descending finger 24. In other words, they constitute "holding means" in such embodiment.

Other arrangements are also possible. Thus, instead of forming element 12 in a generally "L" shape, it could comprise simply the horizontal portion 19, this portion being joined directly to the loop 11 at the end opposite enlarged end 22 of horizontal portion 19. It may also not always be necessary for element 11 to be formed in a loop form. Instead of being joined again to the support bar 2 at the point 16, element 11 could also terminate in an enlarged portion similar to the enlarged portion 22 of location element 12. Other variations will readily occur to the man of ordinary skills in the garment hanger art. As can be seen from the drawings, the illustrated embodiment of hanger is of C-section in the hook portion and of I-section in the plaque and in the main part of the support bar, while being of solid flat section in the location means. Other sectional variations can readily be devised by the man of ordinary skills in this art.

Claims

1. A garment hanger adapted for supporting garments having a waistband, and comprising: a support bar; suspension means adapted for supporting a central portion of the support bar from a hanging rail or the like, the support bar being supported generally horizontally in operation; respective holding means coupled to the support bar at or adjacent the opposite distal extremities of the support bar and adapted to receive and releasably hold a thickness of material at a waistband of a garment; and location means integral with the support bar and arranged to receive widthwise excess material of a garment exceeding the length of the support bar from one holding means to the other; the location means comprising respective pairs of location elements, each pair extending over a span generally parallel to the support bar on one side of the central portion so as to extend, in operation of the hanger, generally horizontally and generally vertically beneath the support bar over said span, the location elements of each pair being separated from each other over said span by a spacing, the said spacing and the resilience of the said location elements being such that a garment having a waistband and being of greater garment width than the length of the support bar may be laid across the hanger with material in the region of the waistband being releasably held by the holding means, and returned behind the hanger, with extreme portions of such material received and located in said spacing between the location elements of each pair and held in place in said spacing by interference.

2. A hanger according to Claim 1, wherein said holding means comprise clips in the form of a jaw, the two sides of which are separated by a space, at least one side of the jaw being resilient so that a thickness of material may be pushed between the jaws of the clip into said space.

3. A hanger according to Claim 2, wherein at least one of the jaws has interference elements extending into the said space between the jaws so as to assist in resisting ready detachment of material from the jaws.

4. A hanger according to any preceding claim, wherein the two elements of each pair of location elements are integral with the support bar and extend therebeneath in operation of the hanger.

5. A hanger according to any preceding claim, wherein one element of each pair of said location elements is provided in the form of a loop integral with the support bar, said loop being adapted to serve as a frame within the garment waistband to support the garment in the waistband region.

6. A hanger according to Claim 5 and either Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein one end of the said loop, where it is attached to the support bar, is formed as one said jaw of the holding means.

7. A hanger according to Claim 5 or Claim 6, wherein the other said location element of each pair comprises a generally L-shaped location bar with an upright and a horizontal limb, the upright of the "L" extending downwardly in use of the hanger from the support bar, and the horizontal limb of the "L" extending parallel to the said one location element over said span.

8. A hanger according to Claim 7, wherein the region at which the two limbs of the "L" join is formed so as to project sideways of the hanger and away from its medial plane so as to provide an opening suitable for guiding material into the space between the two location elements of each pair.

9. A hanger according to Claim 7 or Claim 8, wherein the distal end of the horizontal limb of the "L" is formed with an enlarged end adapted to serve as a protection against damage to material of the garment.

10. A hanger according to Claim 1, wherein said holding means comprises a finger at the distal extremity of each support bar which extends downwardly in use of the hanger, preferably being provided with projections or other roughening thereon to assist in maintaining a garment mounted on the hanger.

11. A hanger according to both Claim 2 and Claim 10, wherein of the two sides of said jaw which form said clip, one is closer to said suspension means than the other, and the said other side is adapted to serve as said finger, whereby a user of the hanger is enabled to use the hanger either with said thickness of material being held in said jaw or with said thickness of material held by being passed around said finger with excess material received in said location means.

12. A garment mounted on a garment hanger for retail sale, the garment having a waistband and the garment hanger comprising a hanger according to any preceding claim, the garment in its waistband region being laid across the hanger with a thickness of material at the waistband being releasably held by said holding means and excess material received by said location means in said spacing.

13. A garment mounted on a garment hanger for retail sale, according to Claim 12, wherein the hanger comprises a hanger according to Claim 2 or any claim appendant thereto, wherein the length of each said jaw corresponds to the width of the waistband of the garment.

14. A garment mounted on a garment hanger for retail sale, and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

15. A garment hanger adapted for supporting garments having a waistband, and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.