GB2440450A

GB2440450A - Clothes hanger storage device

Info

Publication number: GB2440450A
Application number: GB0714641A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Stuart Owen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-07-25
Filing date: 2007-07-25
Publication date: 2008-01-30
Also published as: GB0614729D0; GB0714641D0

Abstract

A device for storing coat hangers when they are not in use comprises a rectangular frame having upper and lower cross members 3, 4 and two vertical side members 1,2, the upper cross member being provided with a suspension hook 5 and a finger piece 6. The vertical side members have fingers 7 projecting from one side of the device and arranged in pairs to provide supports for coat hangers, the ratio of the distance between the fingers of each pair and the distance between each adjacent two supports being 3:1. Further supports 9, 10 for coat hangers may be provided on the other side of the device.

Description

COAT HANGER STORAGE DEVICE

This invention relates to devices for storing coat hangers when they are not in use.

Generally there are three kinds of coat hanger in common use, all of which comprise two arms extending in opposite directions from a central hook for suspending the hanger from a clothes rail or other support. In one kind, hereinafter referred to as the first kind, the two arms extend downwardly at an angle to the horizontal for hanging garments such as coats, shirts and blouses. Another kind, hereinafter referred to as the second kind, is similar to the first kind but additionally has a cross bar extending horizontally between the outer ends of the arms for hanging a garment such as trousers. In the third kind, hereinafter referred to as such, the two arms are disposed horizontally and are provided with means such as clips for gripping the upper part of a garment such as a skirt or trousers hung from the hanger.

The first and second kinds of hanger are generally of the same width, namely approximately 400 to 450mm wide, the depth of the space occupied by the arms usually :. varying from 120 to 180mm. In the third kind of hanger the width of the arms is usually in range of 330 to 390mm. There are also children's versions of all three kinds of hanger in which the arms are typically 280 to 300mm wide. * *. * * * * **

Various forms of devices for storing unused coat hangers have previously been proposed.

US5I 88241 discloses an apparatus for collecting coat hangers which comprises a vertical *. : column provided with a number of vertically spaced horizontal branches attached at their centres to the column and each having at each of its outer ends two fingers projecting in opposite directions at right angles to the branch. The apparatus is designed to hold hangers of the second kind referred to above, such a hanger being suspended in an inverted position from a pair of fingers projecting from either side of any one of the branches with the cross bar of the hanger resting on the fingers. The vertical spacing of the branches is such that the hangers do not overlap and a hanger can be removed from any one of the branches without disturbing any hangers on adjacent branches. This apparatus has been devised to enable the recycling of hangers used in retail dry cleaning establishments and therefore the amount of space taken up by the apparatus is not such an important consideration as it would be if the apparatus were intended for use in the home.

The object of the present invention is to provide a coat hanger storage device of a compact form which can be used to store coat hangers of all three kinds referred to and is suitable for domestic use.

According to the invention there is provided a coat hanger storage device comprising a body having a number of vertically spaced supports each comprising two horizontally spaced fingers for supporting a hanger at opposite sides of its hook, wherein the ratio of the distance between the fingers of each support to the distance between each adjacent two supports is 3:1 or substantially 3:1.

It has been found that whilst the device can be made compact, the said ratio enables it to be used for storing all three kinds of coat hanger referred to having the range of dimensions described above without any hanger supported by any one of the supports .4ouling any other support. Although the said ratio requires hangers to be placed on the *...

....device in a tiered or layered fashion, this does not cause a problem because hangers can *:*::s removed from the device in an orderly manner. Thus, although adjacent hangers * overlap, all a user requiring a hanger has to do is ensure that he or she takes a hanger which is not overlapped by any other hanger. * * * * .

*j. The device according to the invention is therefore particularly suitable for use in the home. Its compact form permits a relatively large number of coat hangers to be stored in a limited space.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the distance between the fingers of each support is 150mm or approximately 150mm and the distance between each adjacent two supports is 50mm or approximately 50mm.

Preferably the fingers extend upwardly from the body at an angle to the horizontal to ensure that hangers placed on the supports do not slide off them. As further insurance against this happening each finger may be provided with an upwardly projecting part at its outer end.

The body is conveniently provided with a hook enabling the device to be suspended from a support such, for example, as a clothes rail. Preferably the body is provided with a finger piece enabling a user to pick up the device by a finger placed beneath it. Thus, the user can easily place the device on, and remove it from a support.

The device is preferably provided with further supports for coat hangers, these supports and the first-mentioned supports being disposed at opposite sides of the body. These further supports may comprise pairs of horizontally aligned channels.

In a preferred embodiment the body is in the form of a rectangular frame having two side members, an upper cross member and a lower cross member, the fingers of each support being provided on the respective side members. In this case the hook, or the hook and ..4he finger piece as the case may be, are preferably provided on the upper cross member. S... * S *SS.

upper cross member is preferably turnable about its longitudinal axis between an upright position and an inclined position. This enables the device to be suspended from a support such as a peg provided on a wall, the upper cross member being turned to a *:poston inclined to the vertical so that the hook can be engaged with such a support *. whilst keeping the device lying flat against the wall.

Conveniently the members of the body are formed separately, the side members being attached to the cross members by connections which are engagable to assemble the device. The device can therefore be supplied in a compact package.

The connection between each adjacent two members may comprise a spigot portion provided on one of the members and an aperture provided in the other member for receiving the spigot portion. Preferably in this event, the spigot portion on the said one member is resiliently deformable, has a tapered end slightly larger at its widest point than the aperture and a channel adjoining the tapered end for receiving a portion of the other member adjoining the aperture to lock the two members together, the spigot portion being formed with a slit extending in a longitudinal direction to its extremity to permit deformation of the tapered portion as it is pushed through the aperture to engage said portion of said other member in the channel. Preferably the said apertures are formed in the side members and the spigot portions are provided on the cross members, the apertures in the upper cross member being circular to enable the cross member to be turned about its longitudinal axis.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a preferred form of coat hanger storage device according to the invention, Figure 2 is a side elevation of the device, *... * S S...

3 is a front perspective view of the device showing a number of coat hangers * stored on the front and the rear of the device,

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* : : Figure 4 is a rear perspective view of the device showing a coat hanger stored on the rear *. of the device, Figure 5 is a side elevation corresponding to Figure 4, Figure 6 shows the components of the device separately, Figure 7 is a detailed perspective view of two of the connections securing the components of the device together, and Figure 8 is a detailed elevational view of one of the connections, The coat hanger storage device illustrated in the drawings consists of a body comprising four flat components which can be supplied in disassembled form as a compact package for assembly by a user of the device. The components are moulded in a suitable plastics material such as polypropylene.

The four components which are shown separately in Figure 6, are two side members I and 2, an upper cross member 3 and a lower cross member 4. The upper member 3 is formed with a hook 5 enabling the device to be suspended from a support such as a clothes rail, for example in a wardrobe, or a peg on a wall or a door handle, and a curved finger piece 6 which enables a user to pick up the device by a finger placed beneath it and position the hook on a support and remove the hook from the support.

The side members I and 2 are formed with nine pairs of identical fingers 7 each of which lies in the plane of the relevant member and projects upwardly and forwardly from it at an : ..angle to the horizontal. The fingers of each pair are horizontally aligned to provide a *.S.

....support for one or more coat hangers. Each finger 7 is formed with an upwardly projecting 8 at its outer end. The fingers are therefore arranged to prevent coat hangers placed * on them from falling off the device. The side members are also formed with five pairs of S..

rearwardly projecting hook-like projections 9 defining horizontally aligned, upwardly facing *:channeIs 10 for supporting further coat hangers.

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The device can be used to store different kinds of coat hanger. Figure 3 shows two coat hangers Cl of the first kind described above and two hangers C2 of the second kind which are stored in inverted positions at the front of the device, and two coat hangers C3 of the third kind referred to which are stored in inverted positions at the rear of the device.

The inclined arms of the hangers Cl and C2 rest on the relevant fingers 7 and the horizontal arms of the hangers C3 are located in the channels 10 of the relevant projections 9. Figures 4 and 5 show a single coat hanger C3 placed on one of the rear supports in the same way.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the hangers Cl and C2 are placed on the device in a tiered or layered fashion. The device can hold as many as forty hangers within the hanging space of a single garment in a wardrobe. Hangers of all kinds can be stored on the device in a neat and compact way. When a user needs a hanger, for example to hang a garment after ironing or to dry a garment after washing, he or she simply takes any hanger that is not overlapped by another hanger. The device is portable so that it can be carried to any location where it is needed.

According to the invention the ratio of the distance A between the fingers 7 of each support at the front of the device to the distance B between each adjacent two supports is 3:1 or substantially 3:1, the said distances being specifically 150mm and 50mm. As is apparent from Figure 3, this ratio ensures that no coat hanger Cl or C2 fouls any support beneath the support on which the hanger is placed.

:.Jhe four components of the device are secured together by connections which are *...

ngageable to assemble the device. These connections comprise spigot portions 11 formed at the ends of the cross members 3 and 4 and engageable in apertures formed in * the side members, the apertures 12 for the upper cross member being circular in shape and the apertures 13 for the lower cross member being in the form of slots. *.S* * S S S. S

As shown in Figures 7 and 8, each spigot portion II has a tapered end I Ia which at its widest point is slightly larger than the aperture 12 or 13 intended to receive it, and two channels 11 b disposed between the tapered end and the main part of the relevant cross member 3 or 4. Thus, referring to Figure 8, the spacing SI of the bottoms of the channels lib is the same as the diameter or length of the apertures 12, 13 and the width S2 of the tapered part I la at its widest point is greater than the said spacing. The spigot portions are each formed with a slit 14 which extends in a longitudinal direction to the extremity of the portion. The portions are resiliently deformable (by virtue of the plastics material from which the cross members are made) so that when each portion is pushed into the relevant aperture 12 or 13 the slit closes as the tapered end 11 a passes through the aperture and then portions of the relevant side member adjoining the aperture become located in the channels 11 b thereby securing the side member to the relevant cross member.

The circular shape of the apertures 12 enables the upper cross member 3 to be turned about its longitudinal axis between an upright position as seen in Figure 2 for suspension of the device from a clothes rail and an inclined position as shown in Figure 5 which enables the device to be hung from a support on a wall or door with the device lying flat against the wall or door.

In a modification the hook 5 and the finger piece 6 can be omitted and the device adapted to be suspended from a coat hanger. * * * **. *.*. * S S... * S. * . * * S. * S.. * S * *S * S..

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Claims

CLAIMS

1. A coat hanger storage device comprising a body having a number of vertically spaced supports each comprising two horizontally spaced fingers for supporting a hanger at opposite sides of its hook, wherein the ratio of the distance between the fingers of each support to the distance between each adjacent two supports is 3:1 or substantially 3:1.

2. A device as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the distance between the fingers of each support is approximately 150mm and the distance between each adjacent two supports is approximately 50mm.

3. A device as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 wherein the fingers extend upwardly from the body at an angle to the horizontal.

4. A device as claimed in Claim 3 wherein each finger is provided with an upwardly projecting part at its outer end.

.5. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the body is provided with a hook enabling the device to be suspended from a support such, for example, as a rail.

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6. A device as claimed in Claim 5 wherein the body is provided with a finger piece enab11ng a user to pick up the device by a finger placed beneath it. S..

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7. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims which is provided with further supports for coat hangers, these supports and the first-mentioned supports being disposed at opposite sides of the body.

8. A device as claimed in Claim 7 wherein the further supports comprise pairs of horizontally aligned channels.

9. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the body is in the form of a rectangular frame having two side members, an upper cross member and a lower cross member, the fingers of each support being provided on the respective side members.

10. A device as claimed in Claim 9 when dependent on Claim 5 or 6 wherein the hook or the hook and the finger piece are provided on the upper cross member.

11. A device as claimed in Claim 10 wherein the upper cross member is turnable about its longitudinal axis between an upright position and an inclined position.

12. A device as claimed in Claim 9, 10 or 11 wherein the members of the body are formed separately, the side members being attached to the cross members by connections which are engagable to assemble the device.

13. A device as claimed in Claim 12 wherein the connection between each adjacent two members comprises a spigot portion provided on one of the members and an aperture .provided in the other member for receiving the spigot portion. * S * *

A device as claimed in Claim 13 wherein the spigot portion on the said one member is * resiliently deformable, has a tapered end slightly larger at its widest point than the * aperture and a channel adjoining the tapered end for receiving a portion of the other *:member adjoining the aperture, the spigot portion being formed with a slit extending in a *. longitudinal direction to its extremity.

15, A device as claimed in Claim 14 when dependent on Claim 11 wherein the said apertures are formed in the side members and the spigot portions are provided on the cross members, the apertures in the upper cross member being circular to enable the cross member to be turned about its longitudinal axis.

16. A coat hanger storage device substantially as herein described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. I. * * * *** * * ** * * . * , S * **

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