GB2355181A

GB2355181A - Footwear hanger

Info

Publication number: GB2355181A
Application number: GB9924319A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Anthony Hawkins
Original assignee: Mainetti UK Ltd
Current assignee: Mainetti UK Ltd
Priority date: 1999-10-15
Filing date: 1999-10-15
Publication date: 2001-04-18
Anticipated expiration: 2019-10-15
Also published as: GB9924319D0; GB2355181B

Abstract

A footwear hanger comprises a hook and a generally C-shaped member 13 having a first surface 15 for supporting the interior of the back 5 of a shoe 6, and a second surface 16 for engaging the other surface of the back 5 of the shoe 6. The first and second surfaces are spaced apart such that the shoe 6 is adapted to pivot about the first surface 15 under its own weight into engagement with the second surface 16. A spring clip 17 is provided to oppose pivoting of the shoe about the first surface out of engagement of the second surface.

Description

2355181 FOOTWEAR HANGER The present invention relates to footwear hangers

and relates particularly, but not exclusively, to footwear hangers for supporting the heels of shoes.

Figure I shows a known footwear hanger for supporting a shoe by the heel thereof on a display in a retail outlet in such a manner that a pair of shoes is presented with the toes pointing downwards. The hanger I is of plastics material and has a hook (not shown) from which a hanger body 2 extends. A clip 3 of resilient plastics material is provided at the lower part of hanger body 2, the clip 3 having jaws 4 which are forced apart by the back 5 of a shoe 6 such that the resilience of the clip 3 grips the back 5 of the shoe to hold the shoe in place on the hanger.

This known type of footwear hanger suffers from the drawback that because the jaws 4 of the clip 3 are often in a state of being permanently urged apart by the weight of the shoe and the thickness of the material of the shoe when a shoe is mounted to the hanger, and a repeatedly flexed apart as items of footwear are mounted onto the hanger, the plastics material of the clip 3 tends to creep, as a result of which the gripping force on the shoe diminishes with time.

Attempts have been made to overcome this problem in the known type of hanger shown in Figure 2. A flexible membrane 7 is provided on the lower surface of the upper part of clip 3 such that the membrane 7 can flex upwards to allow the back 5 of shoe 6 to enter the clip 3. Because the jaws 4 of the clip 3) do not need to be urged apart, the clip 3 can be made considerably stronger than the clip of Figure 1. However, the gripping force applied by membrane 7 rapidly decays as a result of the membrane 7 being continuously stressed.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to overcome the above disadvantages of the prior art.

According to the present invention, there is provided a footwear hanger comprising- -2hanger suspension means for suspending the hanger from a supportl- footwear support means having a first surface adapted to engage an internal surface of an item of footwear and a second surface adapted to engage an external surface of the item of footwear when mounted to said footwear support means, wherein said first and second surfaces are spaced apart such that the item of footwear is adapted to pivot about said first surface under its own weight into engagement with said second surface; and resilient means for opposing pivoting of said item of footwear about said first surface out of engagement with said second surface.

By providing footwear support means having spaced apart first and second surfaces, this provides the advantage that the hanger does not rely on the flexing of a resilient material for its operation, thus minirnising the problem of the gripping force of the hanger decaying with repeated use of the hanger. This therefore prolongs the useful lifetime of the hanger, while enabling the hanger to be constructed more robustly than in the prior art.

The hanger suspension means is preferably a hook.

In a preferred embodiment, said footwear support means is a substantially C-shaped member and said first surface in use is laterally spaced from said hanger suspension means.

The second surface may be provided on an internal surface of said substantially C-shaped member.

In a preferred embodiment, the resilient means extends from said first surface.

The resilient means preferably comprises at least one curved resilient member adapted to be flexed by pivoting of an item of footwear about said first surface out of engagement with said second surface.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which.

Figure I is a side elevation view of a first type of prior art shoe hanger with a shoe mounted thereon;

Figure 2 is a side elevation view, corresponding to Figure 1, of a second type of prior art shoe hanger-,

Figure 3 is a side elevation view, corresponding to Figure 1, of a shoe hanger embodying the present invention; and Figure 4 is a view of the shoe hanger of Figure 3 accommodating a shoe having a back of greater thickness.

Referring to Figure 3, a shoe hanger I I has a suspension means such as a hook (not shown) from which a hanger body 12 extends. A generally Cshaped member 13 having jaws 14 extends from the lower end of the hanger body 12 and has a first surface 15 for supporting the interior of the back 5 of a shoe 6, and a second surface 16, laterally spaced from the first surface 15, for engaging the outer surface of the back 5 of the shoe 6. A spring clip 17 extends from the first surface 15 and comprises a pair of convex flexible members such that the resilience of the flexible members tends to oppose compression of the spring clip 17.

The operation of the hanger 11 of Figure 3 will now be described.

To mount the shoe 6 to the hanger, the back 5 of the shoe 6 is mounted over the lower ofjaws 14 so that the first surface 15 engages the internal surface of the back 5 of the shoe. The weight of the shoe causes the shoe to pivot, in an anticlockwise direction as shown in Figure 3 3, about the first surface 15 until the outside of the back of the shoe comes into contact with second surface 16. The shoe 6 is then held in place on the hanger I I by its own weight, without causing significant flexing of the C-shaped member 13.

If the shoe 6 should be caused to pivot in a clockwise direction as shown in Figure 3 about first surface 15, for example as a result of the shoe 6 being lifted so that its weight no longer acts to hold the shoe on the hanger, the spring clip 17 is compressed, as a result of which it opposes further pivoting movement of the shoe. Consequently, if the shoe 6 is lifted, the spring clip 17 mininiises the risk of the hanger I I becoming disengaged from the shoe 6. The spring clip 17 can also accommodate shoes of greater thickness than that shown in Figure 3, as shown in Figure 4.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiment has been described by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

I. A footwear hanger comprising:

hanger suspension means for suspending the hanger from a support; footwear support means having a first surface adapted to engage an internal surface of an item of footwear and a second surface adapted to engage an external surface of the item of footwear when mounted to said footwear support means, wherein said first and second surfaces are spaced apart such that the item of footwear is adapted to pivot about said first surface under its own weight into engagement with said second surface; and resilient means for opposing pivoting of said item of footwear about said first surface out of engagement with said second surface.
2. A hanger according to claim 1, wherein the hanger suspension means is a hook.
3. A hanger according to claim I or 2, wherein said footwear support means is a substantially C-shaped member and said first surface in use is laterally spaced from said hanger suspension means.
4. A hanger according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second surface is provided on an internal surface of said substantially Cshaped member.
5. A hanger according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the resilient means extends from said first surface.
6. A hanger according to claim 5, wherein resilient means comprises at least one curved resilient member adapted to be flexed by pivoting of an item of footwear about said first surface out of engagement with said second surface.
7. A footwear hanger substantially as hereiribefore described with reference to Figures G I -) and 4 ofthe accompanying drawiffils.

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