GB2342853A

GB2342853A - Adjustable garment hangers

Info

Publication number: GB2342853A
Application number: GB9919809A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nicholas Andrew Lewis
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-08-21
Filing date: 1999-08-23
Publication date: 2000-04-26
Anticipated expiration: 2019-08-23
Also published as: GB2342853B; GB9919809D0

Abstract

An adjustable garment hanger comprises a pair of telescopically extendible arms(14)consisting of an inner channel 18 retained in an outer channel 16 by plate(22) incorporating a resilient spring clip 24 engaging recesses 26 in the side walls of the inner section channel. A detachable trouser rail (40) is engageable with recess 52 in the distal ends of retaining plates (22).

Description

GARMENT HANGERS The present invention relates to garment hangers.

Retailers often need to use different sized hangers for displaying garments because garments vary in size and style. However, the retailer is often forced to use inappropriately sized hangers due to the high cost of procuring and handling a large number of different sized hangers. As a result of using inappropriately sized hangers, the garment itself may often be mis-shapen along the shoulder ridge. There is therefore a need by retailers for a hanger which can be sized according to the size of the garment.

A resizable garment hanger is described in published British patent application No 2285746A. This hanger has two extendable arms which can be adjusted to suit the size and shape of the garment to be hung. Each arm comprises a telescopic section which slides inside an outer fixed section. The telescopic section has a rib which engages with a series of grooves defined on an inner surface of the outer fixed section. The arms can therefore be"locked"at the desired length defined by the position of the grooves. However, this locking mechanism can sometimes fail when the hanger is being inserted into the garment, resulting in unwanted movement of the extendable arms, leading to unwanted adjustment of the size of the hanger.

The present invention concerns aspects of the garment hangers described below. The scope of the invention includes the various novel aspects of the hangers whether separately or in the different t potential permutations of the range of features that are individually disclosed herein.

More specifically, in one aspect of the invention an adjustable garment hanger may comprise a central section and, extending in substantially opposite directions from the central section, a pair of telescopically extendable arms for supporting a garment; wherein each arm comprises inner and outer relatively slidable elongate sections, the outer section being formed as a channel with side walls outside the inner section and being provided with a retention plate bridging the side walls for retaining the inner section in the channel at that location, and resilient locking means carried by said retention plate adapted to engage the inner section and lock it relative to the outer section in one of a plurality of positions corresponding to different telescopic extensions of the arm. It is generally preferred that the outer sections of each telescopically extendable arm be fixed to the central portion of the hanger, the inner sections being slid out longitudinally from the outer sections to be locked in selected positions according to the size of the garment to be hung on the hanger.

The resilient locking means of each arm may comprise a sprung leg carried by the corresponding retention plate and having a foot urged into engagement with one of a plurality of recesses provided on the inner section according to the relative telescopic extension of the inner section. The resilient locking means accordingly acts as a spring clip.

The foot is the part at or near an end of a leg that functionally engages an appropriate recess to temporarily lock the inner and outer sections of an arm against relative longitudinal movement.

The inner arm section and the outer arm section are formed as channels and may have a substantially U-shaped, or archshaped, cross-section, the inner surface of the outer arm section being adjacent the outer surface of the inner arm section. The arms of the garment hanger may preferably be adjusted independently of one another. Preferably the arms define an obtuse angle between them. Most preferably the arms define an angle of between 110 degrees and 130 degrees.

Preferably, the inner section of each arm is formed as a channel with side walls adjacent the side walls of the outer section and the said plurality of recesses for engagement with the foot of the locking means is provided as a set of longitudinally spaced recesses on the side walls of a channel.

The recesses may be provided on both side walls of a channel and the locking means may comprise a pair of sprung legs each with a corresponding foot for engagement with the recesses on the respective side walls. In one embodiment of the invention, the recesses are on the inside faces of the side walls of a channel and the legs are sprung away from one another whereby to urge their respective feet into engagement with the recesses. In another embodiment, the recesses are on the tops of the side walls of a channel and the legs are sprung in a direction towards the interior of the channel whereby to urge their respective feet into engagement with the recesses.

The leg or legs of the locking means may be connected by resiliently flexible bridges to the retention plate. This enables the leg or legs to be sprung by the flexing of the bridges, typically by torsion of the bridges.

The locking means may include a lever operable by manual pressure to disengage the inner section from the outer section sufficiently to permit adjustment of the extension of the arm.

In another aspect of the invention, the adjustable garment hanger may be provided with a mounting on the retention plate for one end of a garment rail, and a detachable garment rail removably mounted between the respective mountings on the pair of arms. Each mounting may comprise an outward facing rail receiving portion on the retention plate, and each end of the rail may comprise a complementary inward facing portion adapted to engage such a rail receiving portion. Each rail receiving portion may comprise a cut away portion, such as a slot, in the retention plate, or at any distal end of the fixed arm section of the hanger. The complementary portion of the rail may comprise an I-section attachment member wherein the central web of the I is closely receivable in the slot such that the upper and lower portions of the I are adjacent the respective upper and lower surfaces of the plate around the slot.

The rail may be engageable with and disengageable from the mountings upon flexing the rail. Engagement and disengagement may be facilitated by angling the mountings on the respective arms of the hanger so that the directions of movement of the two ends of the rail upon engaging them or disengaging them from the respective mountings is substantially less than 180 degrees, such as by aligning them with the downwardly angled arms.

Preferably the garment hanger comprises a synthetic plastics material such as polystyrene, or any other suitable plastics material. The sprung legs may be made from acetyl, or other flexible plastics material. The plastic parts are preferably manufactured by injection moulding. The arms, or portions of the arms, may include a non-slip material, or may be textured, in order to prevent garments slipping from the hanger.

A number of embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of an adjustable garment hanger in accordance with the ; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the hanger from below, and a little to the rear; Figure 3 is an enlargement of the end of one of the arms of the hanger of Figure 2, from the same perspective; Figure 4 is a perspective end view of the fixed outer section of one arm of the hanger; Figure 5 is a similar view to Figure 4, showing a detachable trouser rail mounted on the end of the outer section of the arm; Figure 6 is a side elevation of one end of the trouser rail; Figure 7 is a partial view of a second embodiment of the invention, corresponding approximately to Figure 3, showing in a perspective view from below of alternative resilient locking means operative between inner and outer sections s cf a telescopic arm; and Figure 8 is a perspective view of the spring clip visible in Figure 7, and showing its other side.

In Figures 1-6, illustrating the first embodiment of the invention, contour lines are included to highlight the curved form of the various parts.

Figure 1 shows a garment hanger 10 which comprises a central section 20 with a boss 12 showing where a hook or other suspension device will be attached. On either side of the central section are two telescopically extendable arms 14 for supporting a garment (not shown); each arm comprises corresponding outer sections 16 and respective inner sections 18. The outer sections are integral with the central section 20, and the inner sections slide within the respective outer sections. The two arms extend outwardly and downwardly from the central section 20 at an angle of 25-35 degrees.

Figures 1-3, showing the inner sections 18 of the arms as well as the outer sections 16, illustrate the minimum extension of the arms. The inner sections 18 are fully retracted. The inner and outer sections are each moulded as channels with an approximately semi-circular or deeper U-shaped cross-section, fitting snugly one within the other, but without substantial frictional engagement.

Transverse movement of the inner section out of the outer section is prevented by a retention plate 22, bridging the side walls of each arm outer section 16 at its distal end.

It will be appreciated that the inner section of the arm is only exposed to the weight of a garment beyond the end of the outer section, and if it is supported at that point by the retaining plate, the tendency of the inward ends of the inner sections of the arm will be to stay within the channel of the outer section, rather than to fall from it.

The length of the retaining plate is in any event normally sufficient to prevent any part of the inner section leaving the outer section other than by the normal telescopic extension of the arm.

Resilient locking means 24 formed as a spring clip is integrally formed with each retaining plate 22 for engagement with a set of longitudinally spaced recesses 26 on the tops of the side walls of the channel formed by the inner section 18 of each arm 14.

Each locking means 24 comprises a pair of legs 30, each ending in a corresponding projecting foot 32, connected by resiliently flexible bridges 34 into the retention plate.

The neutral position of the locking means is illustrated in the drawings. A lever 36 with a raised stud 38 extends away from legs 30 on the opposite side of bridges 34, so that by manual pressure of a finger or thumb on stud 38, feet 32 can be lifted out of engagement with the recesses 26 and permit longitudinal movement of the inner section 18 in the outer section 16 of the arm 14. The bridges 34 are strained in torsion and urge legs 30 in a direction towards the interior of the channels formed by the arm sections, so that when the relative telescoping is such that a pair of recesses 26 are moved under feet 32, the feet are urged into engagement with the recesses and temporarily lock the extension of the arm at that position.

The distal end of retention plate 22, at the corresponding end of the outer section 16 of arm 14, includes a slot 52 which serves as an outward facing rail receiving portion of the plate, forming a mounting for one end of a garment rail 40, shown in Figures 5 and 6. Each end of the rail comprises an inward facing portion 42 complementary to the rail receiving portion on the retention plate, in that it comprises an I-section attachment element wherein a central web 44 is closely receivable, with little or no lateral play, in slot 52, while the upper and lower portions of the I, integral with respective upper and lower portions 46,48 of the attachment element, are adjacent the respective upper and lower surfaces of the plate 22 around the slot, being in contact therewith. Trouser rail 40 is provided at its ends with depending hooks 50 for supporting, for example, dress straps.

In the alternative embodiment illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, the sections 16 and 18 are designed so that their side walls frictionally engage and the sections are not able to slide freely with respect to one another. Additionally, there exists a locking means for defining a plurality of fixed positions for the arms to be engaged in. Figure 7 shows, in perspective view, the locking means of this embodiment of the invention. The locking means comprises a spring clip 56 attached to each inner arm section 18, and a series of recesses formed as grooves 54 defined in the inner surface of each outer arm section 16. Grooves 54 may have a generally rectangular, semi-circular or a triangular cross-section.

Spring clip 56 consists of a body 60 with generally semicircular cross-section, and two flexible legs 62 extending from body 60. Legs 62 have formed thereon feet 66 which are shaped to engage with grooves 54 defined in the outer arm section. Feet 66 may have a generally rectangular, semi-circular or triangular cross-section. However, feet 66 and grooves 54 may have any shape of cross-section, as long as the feet 66 are able to be engaged by the grooves 54. Legs 62 of spring clip 56 extend in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the arm, with the body 60 of the clip being positioned nearest to the distal end of the arm. In plan view, spring clip 56 is generally in the form of a capital A, with tapered sides.

A generally circular aperture 64 is formed in body 60.

Circular aperture 64 may be defined by tapered walls. A peg or other object may be inserted through the aperture 64 in order to affix the spring clip 56 to the inner arm section. Inner arm section 18 has a slot defined therein for receiving the peg or other object. The clip 56 may be affixed to inner arm section 18 by means of heat staking, the use of a non-return clip, or a plastic screw device.

In use, the length of the arms 14 may be adjusted by exerting a longitudinal force by pulling or pushing the appropriate inner arm section 18. Upon exertion of this force, the flexible legs 62 flex inwardly so that the feet 66 of the spring clip 56 may be located in any desired groove 54 in the inner wall of the outer arm section 16.

The inner arm section 18 may thus be temporarily locked into a groove of the outer arm section 16. This locking effect enables the arms 14 to stay in position until further adjustment is required.

The garment hanger may be manufactured in several sections.

The sections are formed from plastic by way of injection moulding. The central section 20 and adjacent arm sections 16 fixed thereto can be moulded in a single operation, together with retaining plates 22 and incorporated locking means 24. The inner arm sections 18 can be moulded as two separate sections. In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 8 and 9, spring clip 56 must be moulded in a separate operation, and affixed to inner arm section 18 subsequently. The trouser rail is an additional moulding The hanger is assembled by inserting the two inner arm sections 18 into the corresponding open distal ends of the outer sections 16, to assemble the arms 14. To attach th ( trouser rail 40, the attachment member portion of one end of the rail is engaged with the slot 52 at one end of the hanger. The rail is then bowed slightly to enable the unattached end of the rail to be engaged with the corresponding slot of the retention plate of the other outer arm section. Lateral forces exerted by the rail on the outer arm sections keep the rail securely in position.

Variations may be made to the aforementioned embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, with appropriate modification, the arm section attached to the central section of the hanger may be the inner one of the telescopically nested channels making up the arm 14. Appropriate adaptations would be required to the resilient locking means.

Claims

CLAIMS 1 An adjustable garment hanger comprising a central section and, extending in substantially opposite directions from the central section, a pair of telescopically extendable arms for supporting a garment; wherein each arm comprises inner and outer relatively slidable elongate sections, the outer section being formed as a channel with side walls outside the inner section and being provided with a retention plate bridging the side walls for retaining the inner section in the channel at that location, and resilient locking means carried by said retention plate adapted to engage the inner section and lock it relative to the outer section in one of a plurality of positions corresponding to different telescopic extensions of the arm.
2 A hanger according to claim 1 wherein the resilient locking means of each arm comprises a sprung leg carried by said retention plate and having a foot urged into engagement with one of a plurality of recesses provided on the inner section according to the relative telescopic extension thereof.
3 An adjustable garment hanger comprising a central section and, extending in substantially opposite directions from the central section, a pair of telescopically extendable arms for supporting a garment; wherein each arm comprises inner and outer relatively slidable elongate sections, the outer section being formed as a channel with side walls outside the inner section and being provided with a retention plate bridging the side walls for retaining the inner section in the channel at that location, and resilient locking means comprising a sprung leg carried by one of said inner and outer sections having a foot urged by the leg into engagement with one of a plurality of recesses provided on the other of said sections according to the relative telescopic extension thereof.
4 A hanger according to claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the inner section of each arm is formed as a channel with side walls adjacent the side walls of the outer section and the said plurality of recesses for engagement with the foot of the locking means is provided as a set of longitudinally spaced recesses on the side walls of a channel.
5 A hanger according to any one of claims 2-4 wherein the recesses are provided on both side walls of a channel and the locking means comprises a pair of sprung legs each with a corresponding foot for engagement with the recesses on the respective side walls.
6 A hanger according to claim 5 wherein the recesses are on the inside faces of the side walls of a channel and the legs are sprung away from one another whereby to urge their respective feet into engagement with the recesses.
7 A hanger according to claim 5 wherein the recesses are on the tops of the side walls of a channel and the legs are sprung in a direction towards the interior of the channel whereby to urge their respective feet into engagement with the recesses.
8 A hanger according to any one of claims 2 to 7 wherein the locking means comprises said leg or legs connected by resiliently flexible bridges to said retention plate.
9 A hanger according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the locking means is formed integrally with the retentior. plate.
10 A hanger according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said locking means includes a lever operable by manual pressure to disengage the inner section from the outer section sufficiently to permit adjustment of the extension of the arm.
11 A hanger according to any one of the preceding claims further comprising a mounting on said retention plate for one end of a garment rail; and a detachable garment rail removably mounted between the respective mountings on the said pair of arms.
12 An adjustable garment hanger comprising a central section and, extending in substantially opposite directions from the central section, a pair of telescopically extendable arms for supporting a garment; wherein each arm comprises inner and outer relatively slidable elongate sections, the outer section being formed as a channel with side walls outside the inner section and being provided with a retention plate bridging the side walls for retaining the inner section in the channel at that location, and a mounting on said retention plate for one end of a garment rail; and a detachable garment rail removably mounted between the respective mountings on the said pair of arms.
13 A hanger according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each mounting comprises an outward facing rail receiving portion on the retention plate, and each end of the rail comprises a complementary inward facing portion adapted to engage a said rail receiving portion.
14 A hanger according to claim 13 wherein each rail receiving portion comprises a slot in the retention plate, and the complementary portion comprises an I section attachment element wherein the central web of the I is closely receivable in the slot such that the upper and lower portions of the I are adjacent the respective upper and lower surfaces of the plate around the slot.
15 A hanger according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the rail is engageable with and disengageable from the mountings upon flexing the rail.
16 A hanger according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the outer sections of each telescopically extendable arm are fixed to the central portion of the hanger.
17 An adjustable garment hanger substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in any of the accompanying drawings.