US1193357A - Garment-hanger - Google Patents

Description

Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

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GARMENT-HANGER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

Application filed March 8, 1915. Serial No. 12,929.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, lVARNER R. BUXTON, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Garment-Hangers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in garment hangers.

More particularly, it relates to hangers of the type which are foldable into compact form, such as is disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 5359, filed February 1, 1915.

Garment hangers of the type alluded to comprise, in general, a central union having integral spaced ears between which a supporting hook is rigidly fastened. On either side of the hook and also between the ears are garment supporting arms, which are pivoted to the central union, and, when in unfolded position, are supported by the abutment of the arms with the bottom of the union. In order to permit the hanger to be folded compactly in the present invention, the pivoted garment supporting arms are each made with a plurality of sections successively connected one to the other. These sections are all arranged in the same plane and in the plane of the shank of the supporting hook and, when folded together, lie parallel with the shank of the hook. By such construction, the hanger may be folded compactly into substantially rectangular form.

An object of the invention is to provide a garment hanger of the class described having an improved joint or connecting means between the foldable sections of the pivoted garment supporting arms by the use of which joint my garment hanger will fold up in the desired .manner and cost little to manufacture.

This improved garment hanger comprises, in general, a central union with a hook portion attached and to which foldable garment supporting arms are pivoted, the latter being connected one to another by a U-shaped member having spaced ears between which the ends of two sections or arms to be joined substantially abut. Each section is pivoted to the spaced ears and, when unfolded to form a continuous garment supporting arm, is arranged to abut the bottom of the union.

hen the hanger is to be folded, the connection described permits two sections so joined to be folded one upon the other in parallel and abutting relation in the same plane, thus making a flat hanger of small compass. To further reduce the size of the hanger as folded, the parts are preferably made of metal of narrow width.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of my invention is shown for the purpose of illustration, Figure 1 is an elevational view of a coat hanger, showing my invention as applied thereto; Fig. 2 is an elevational view similar to Fig. 1, showing the parts of the hanger in folded position; Fig. 3 is an end elevation of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation on an en larged scale showing in detail my improved connection between the foldable sections; Fig. 5 is a plan view of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is an elevational view of a trousers hanger, show ing the application of my invention thereto; Fig. 7 is a partial plan view of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a View similar to Fig. 6, showing the parts of the hanger in folded position; Fig. 9 is an end elevation of Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing the sections partially folded together; and Fig. 11 is a transverse sectional View of the con nection between the foldable sections.

Referring to the drawings in detail and particularly to Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive: 1 represents a U-shaped central union and 2 a suitable supporting hook, the shank of which extends entirely through the union 1 and between the spaced upstanding ears thereof. The hook is rigidly secured 'to these cars by a rivet 12. Pivotally connected to the union at 11 on either side of the hook 2 are garment supporting arms 3, which also lie between the spaced ears. Each of these arms is made up of a plurality of sections, such as 4 and 5, to per mit the hanger to be folded into small compass.

The sections 4 and 5 lie in the same plane and are connected together by an improved device which will now be described. The ends of the sections 4 and '5 to be joined are rounded and substantially abut, as clearly shown in Fig. 4:. These ends lie between and closely fit a pair of spaced upstanding ears of a U-shaped connecting piece 6 to which the sections 4: and 5 are pivotally secured at 7 and 8, respectively. Near the prick punch applied on the outside of the The projection 13 materially assists in the proper folding of the sections 4 and 5 upon one another since it limits the relative movement between either arm and the U-shaped piece to ninety degrees. Since each of the sections 4 and 5, when properly folded re quire a movement of substantially ninety degrees relative to the U-shaped piece 6, the plositive limitation to this movement provided by the projections 13 prevents any possibility of binding. For example, in Fig. 10 the outer section 5 is partially folded with respect to the section 4, and a slight additional movement of the section 5 will cause the upper edge thereof to engage the projections 13. Further turning of the section 5 will now positively turn the U-shaped piece 6 until the two arms are in parallel relation.

Without such a projection or its equivalent, the U-shap.ed piece 6 would be turned primarily by a binding action between the two sections 4 and 5.

It is to be noted that, when the sections 4 and 5 are in unfolded position, as shown in Fig. 4, the bottom of each section abuts the bottom of the U-shaped piece, whereby the two sections are rigidly held against further relative rotation. Preferably, the sections 4 and 5 should have diiferent inclinations, as shown in F 1g. 1, to permit the sections, when unfolded, to approximate the curvature of the garment to be supported. To permit this condition, the bottom of the U-shaped piece 6 may be dished upwardly a slight amount in the central portion, as shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 1 shows the hanger with the parts unfolded to form a skeleton garment hanger. The arms .3, comprising the foldable sections 4 and 5, form, when unfolded, rigid garment supporting arms. The latter, when not in use, may be folded to bring the parts into the compact substantially rectangular flat form, shown in Fig. 2. Each section 5 is turned on its pivot 8, and the member 6 is turned on the pivot 7 until the section 5 overlies the section 4 in abut-ting and par allel relation. The folded sections 4 and 5 are then turned on the pivots 11 until they he parallel with the shank of the ilOOk'Q, and until one edge of each section 5 abuts the shank of the hook. It is to be noted that the upper portion of the hook 2 is off set (see Fig. 3) to permit the sections 4 and 5 to be folded therebehind and a large noninterfering hook portion to be used. Thus, the shank of the hook- 2 and the sections 4 and'5 all lie in a common plane, and one end of each of the sections 4 and 5 lies between the'spaced ears of the central union 1.

Fig. 6 shows a trousers hanger, wherein my improved oint is applied. The general structure of the hanger is identical with that shown in Fig. 1 except that the outer folding sections of the arms 3 are replaced by trouser supporting sections 9. Fig. 7 shows a plan View of one of these sections, wherein it will be seen each section 9 has an integral extension 1.0, which is bent backwardly upon itself in spaced and substantially parallel relation. Trousers or skirts may be supported by this hanger by passing the ends thereof between the portions 9 and 10, the latter portion having sufficient spring action to grip the garment. The connection between the sections 4 and 9 is identical with that already described, and the parts fold together in a similar manner into the compact form shown in Fig. 8. It will be noticed from Fig. 9 that the upper portion of the hook 2 in this instance is ofiset to he between the planes of the portions 9 and 10.

Thus, I have provided a simple device for connecting the fold-able sections of a garment hanger, which permits the sections so joined to be folded one upon the other in abutting and parallel relation.

It is understood that various modifications may be made in the structure heretofore described without departing from the scopesof my invention, which is defined in the .appended claims.

What I claim is 1. Agarmenthanger, comprising, a'union formed with two spaced plates, an upstanding hook portion attached centrallyto the union, foldable arm-s pivoted between the plates and at the ends of the union, each arm having an outer portion, a U-shaped member within which the arm and its outer portion is pivoted in substantially abutting relation, all constructed and arranged so that said arms may be folded into parallel relation in the same plane as the shank of the hook member, whereby certain ends of the arms will be received within the spaced plates of the union and the U-shaped member will cover the other ends of the arms to form a flat. compact hanger.

2. A garment hanger, comprising, a U- shaped union, an upstanding hook portion fastened transversely between the walls thereof, foldable arms pivoted between the walls of said union near the ends thereof, each of said arms arranged to swing through an arc of substantially 90,being limited by the stops provided by the bottom of the union and said hook, an outer portion for each armpivo-tally connected thereto by a U-shaped link which embraces the adjacent endsof the arm and its outer portion, said portion arranged to swing through an arc of substantially 180 with respect to its arm, a stop provided on said link adapted for engagement by either of the connected portions to turn the link and prevent binding, all constructed and arranged so that the arms may be folded into adjacent and parallel relation with the hook portion in a single plane between the walls of said union.

3. A metal garment hanger, comprising, a union, made up of flat metal bent in U shaped form, a fiat upstanding hook arm, the shank of which is fastened transversely and centrally between the walls of the union, said hook arm having an offset upper portion bent into a relatively large hook of a width about equal to the length of the union, a flat foldable arm at each end of the union with its inner end pivoted between the walls of the union near the end thereof, the pivotal movement of each arm being limited by the bottom wall of the union and said hook, and at the outer end of each arm a fiat foldable portion pivotally connected thereto by a U-shaped flat link within the walls of which the adjacent ends of the arm and foldable portion are pivoted for movement, limited in one direction by the bottom walls of the link and in the other by a stop on the link intermediate its pivots, all constructed and arranged so that the arms may be folded into the same plane between the walls of the union with the offset hook portion arranged flat against said arms or folded into spread out position to support a garment.

4:. A foldable garment hanger comprising a central union made up of flat metal bent in U-shaped form, a fiat upstanding hook arm, the shank of which is fastened transversely to and centrally between walls of said union, said hook arm having an offset upper portion bent into a relatively large hook of a width equal to the length of the union, a fiat foldable arm at each end of the union with its inner end pivoted between the walls of the union near the end thereof, said arm being limited in movement by the side of said hook and the bottom wall of the union, and at the outer end of each arm a fiat foldable portion connected thereto by a U-shaped flat link within the walls of which the adjacent ends of the arm and foldable portion are pivoted for movement, limited in one direction by the bottom walls of the link and in the other by a stop on the link intermediate its pivots, said stop disposed on the interior walls of said link and arranged to limit the movement of either the arm or foldable portion relative thereto to 90, all constructed and arranged so that the arms may be folded into the same plane between the walls of the union with the offset portion of the hook portion arranged flat against said arms or folded into spread out position to support a garment.

5. A garment hanger, adapted to be folded into thin, flat and compact form, comprising in combination, a fiat upstanding hook arm, a central union made of flat metal bent to form upstanding ears spaced apart just sufficiently to receive said arm therebetween, the latter being rigidly secured to and arranged centrally and transversely between the said spaced ears, a fiat foldable arm at each end of the union with its inner end pivoted between the ears near the ends thereof, the pivotal movement of each arm being limited by the bottom wall of the union and said hook, and at the outer end of each arm, a flat foldable portion pivotally connected thereto by a U-shaped link within the walls of which the adjacent ends of the arm and foldable ortion are pivoted for movement, limited 1n one direction by the bottom walls of the link and in the other by a stop on the walls of the link intermediate its pivots, said hook, arms and foldable portions of equal width and thickness so that the arms and foldable portions may be folded into the same plane and in parallel relation with said hook between said ears, whereby the hanger may be folded into flat, thin and substantially rectangular form.

WARNER ROCKWELL BUXTON.

Witnesses:

F. G. NEAL,

H. E. HARTWELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

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