US20080296323A1

US20080296323A1 - Hanging device

Info

Publication number: US20080296323A1
Application number: US12/056,898
Authority: US
Inventors: Sam Simeone
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-03-27
Filing date: 2008-03-27
Publication date: 2008-12-04
Also published as: CA2627252A1

Abstract

A hanging device is provided including a hook, an upper hanging portion attached below the hook, a downwardly extending shaft extending downwardly from the upper hanging portion, and a lower hanging portion attached at a lower extremity of the extended shaft. A hanging device is also provided including a hook, a downwardly extending shaft extending downwardly from the hook, a lower hanging portion attached at a lower extremity of the extended shaft, and a general child-pleasing shape which incorporates each of the hook, downwardly extending shaft and lower hanging portion.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a household article. More particularly, and in a preferred intended use, the present invention relates to a hanging device for hanging clothing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Simplicity and organization are two elements for which most individuals strive. As many individuals lead fast-paced and complex lives, organizing belongings can help save time and help to simplify daily activities. The abundance of products designed to help people become organized testifies to the aspiration of the majority of people to make their lives simpler and mange their time more efficiently.
New products that are being created for the purpose of bringing simplicity and organization to people's lives typically relate to tasks that are carried out on a daily basis. Products that have to do with cleaning, caring for children, and preparing meals are becoming increasingly prevalent. Individuals are more apt to spend money on an item when it will save them time or money later, or will make particular tasks easier.
Organizing clothing is a way in which individuals can ensure that they are able to keep their home neat, while also ensuring that they can locate clothing to wear each day. Most individuals keep clothing folded in dresser drawers in addition to hanging in a closet. As closet rails are customarily installed high so that clothes can hang without touching the ground, they can be too high for children, persons of diminutive stature, or the wheelchair-bound to reach.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,496, issued Dec. 21, 1992 to BRIDGEMAN entitled “Coat hanger” describes a hanger having an elongated shaft, a triangular portion and a pair of hooks located at either end of the elongated shaft. Extending radially outward from the elongated shaft near one of the pair of hooks, a flange is provided for engaging the triangular garment supporting portion. The orientation of the triangular garment supporting portion can be reversed with respect to the elongated shaft so as to be operable to support a garment hanging from either of the pair of hooks.
Also known in the art are U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,038 issued Mar. 14, 1995 to HUNT entitled “Expandable garment hanger” and U.S. design patent No. 376,916 issued Dec. 31, 1996 to McDOWELL et al. entitled <<Garment hanger>>, which describe similar adjustable garment hangers.
Also known in the art are the various disadvantages associated with the use of these types of conventional hangers and the like.
Further known in the art is U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,337 issued Sep. 3, 2002 to MUEHLHOUSER entitled “Ornamental hangers” which describes elongated hangers for children with an ornamental figure built thereon.
Hence, there remains to need for a hanging device which, by virtue of its design and components, will be able to overcome some of these known prior art problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a hanging device for hanging a pair of garments which by virtue of its design and components satisfies some of the above-mentioned needs and is thus an improvement over related devices and/or hangers known in the prior art.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, the above object is achieved, as will be easily understood, with a hanging device such as the one briefly described herein and such as the one exemplified in the accompanying drawings. More particularly, a hanging device is provided including a hook, an upper hanging portion attached below the hook, a downwardly extending shaft extending downwardly from the upper hanging portion, and a lower hanging portion attached at a lower extremity of the extended shaft.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, the above object is achieved, by a hanging device including a hook, a downwardly extending shaft extending downwardly from the hook, a lower hanging portion attached at a lower extremity of the extended shaft, and a general child-pleasing shape which incorporates each of the hook, downwardly extending shaft and lower hanging portion.
The invention and its advantages will be better understood by reading the following non-restrictive description of a preferred embodiment thereof, made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the detailed description and upon referring to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hanging device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the hanging device shown in FIG. 1 taken alone lines A-A.

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the hanging device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the hanging device, shown in an adjusted position.

FIGS. 5 to 9 are front views of a hanging device in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In the following description the same numeral references refer to similar elements. The embodiment shown in the figures are preferred, for exemplification of purpose only.
In addition, although the preferred embodiments of the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings comprise various components, etc., and although the preferred embodiments of the hanging device and corresponding parts of the present invention as shown consist of certain geometrical configurations as explained and illustrated herein, not all of these components and geometries are essential to the invention and thus should not be taken in their restrictive sense, i.e. these components and geometries should not be taken as to limit the scope of the present invention. It is to be understood, as also apparent to a person skilled in the art, that other suitable components and cooperation therebetween, as well as other suitable geometrical configurations may be used for the hanging device according to the present invention, as will be briefly explained herein and as can be easily inferred herefrom by a person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention.
Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, there is shown a hanging device 10 including a hook for engaging a rail, bar, peg or the like, an upper hanging portion 14, a lower hanging portion 18, and a downwardly extending rod 16 separating the two. The rod 16 passes through apertures 20 and 22 of the upper and lower hanging portions 14 and 18, respectively. The rod 16 is preferably unitary with the hook 12 at an upper end 24, and terminates with a locking mechanism 26 at a lower end 28.
In a preferred embodiment, the rod 16 is a threaded rod having a threaded surface 24 extending along at least a portion of its exterior surface. The threaded surface 24 engages a corresponding threaded surface 30 inside the aperture 22 of the lower hanging portion 18. In the present embodiment, the locking mechanism 26 can be a nut 26 operable to engage the threaded surface 24 at the lower end 28 of the rod 16 and thereby prevent the lower hanging portion 18 from descending.
Alternatively, the inner surface 30 of the aperture 22 need not directly engage the threaded surface 24 of the rod 16. Rather, the lower hanging portion 18 can be kept in place solely by the nut 26, possibly in combination with another nut (not shown) positioned on the rod 16 above the lower hanging portion 18. In order to prevent the lower hanging portion 18 from rotating freely about the rod 16, the rod 16 may be keyed and the aperture 22 may comprise a mating keyway.
In use, the upper hanging portion 14 is operable to support and retain a garment (not shown), for example a robe, as is known in the art. Advantageously, the lower hanging portion 18 is further provided for receiving an additional garment. As disclosed herein, the hanging device 10 advantageously enables individuals in wheel chairs and those who are not tall enough, children for example, to be able to reach a garment hanging from the lower portion 18 in addition to providing the upper portion 14 for retaining a garment at a regular height.
Alternatively, the lower hanging portion 18 can be used to store garments which are not likely to be immediately required, while the upper hanging portion 14 is used to suspend everyday garments. For example, the upper and lower hanging portions may each be used to hang garments which are each suitable to be worn in different seasons. In this manner, even when a garment is out of season, such as a light spring/fall jacket in the winter months, the garment can still be stored in the closet on the same hanging device 10 as a more seasonally appropriate garment, in this case a heavy winter coat, without preventing access thereto. The out-of-season garment stored on the lower hanging portion 18 can then replace the seasonal garment on the upper hanging portion 14 at the end of that season, and vice versa.
Similarly, the hanging device 10 is operable to retain the multiple pieces of a clothing ensemble, or otherwise matching garments.
The device 10 is preferably further operable to allow a user to adjust the position of the lower hanging portion 18 along the downwardly extending rod 16. Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown the hanging device 10 with the lower hanging portion 18 being positioned in an intermediate position between the upper and lower ends 24 and 28, at a height above that shown in the previous figures. By rotating the lower hanging portion 18 about the rod 16 in a particular direction as it engages the threaded surface 30 of aperture 22, the lower hanging portion 18 can be raised or lowered with respect to the upper hanging portion 14 and the hook 12. The nut 26 is then used to retain the lower hanging portion 18 at the desired height. The lower hanging portion 18 may also be solely retained from underneath by the nut 26, or sandwiched between two nuts at the desired height, in accordance with the alternative embodiment discussed hereinabove in which the hanging portion 18 does not directly engage the rod 16.
This operability enables a user to customize the height to which the lower hanging portion 18 is lowered from the hook 12. Furthermore, this operability allows a parent to periodically raise the lower hanging portion 18 as their child grows.
As will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, further methods and arrangements of adjusting the height of the lower hanging portion 18 are possible, and well within the scope of the present invention. For example, in place of the threaded surface 24, the rod 16 may be provided with a series of physical markings, such as projections or indentations, operable to engage a corresponding physical marking or markings on the lower hanging portion 18. More specifically, the rod 16 can be provided with a series of indentations demarcating discreet positions thereon for engagement with a complementary projection, or pair of complementary projections inwards from the surface 30 of aperture 22. These projections are preferably resilient or spring-loaded.
Alternatively, a collar having a physical marking for engaging the rod 16 could be provided the between the lower hanging portion 18 and the rod 16. Such a collar would be expandable when hanging portion is removed so that it may be moved along the rod 16 from marking to marking, and operable to contract and engage a given marking as the hanging portion is fitted therearound, as is commonly used in utility shelving.
In addition, the indentations along the rod can further be utilized to provide areas of reduced thickness in the rod 16 used to break off unused portions thereof. Such indentations could provide specific points of structural weakness operable to facilitate a clean breakage of the rod 16 in order to remove the lower portion 32 of the rod 16 when a child is tall enough to use the hanging device 10 in a higher position.
Referring to FIGS. 5 to 9, there is shown a hanging device 50 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. Hanging device 50 includes a hook 52, a downwardly extending portion 56, a lower hanging portion 58 extending outwardly therefrom for engaging a garment, and a general child-pleasing shape 60. FIGS. 5 to 9 provide a monkey shape 60, a giraffe shape 60, a snake shape 60, an elephant shape 60 and an orca shape 60, respectively.
In addition, the general child-pleasing shape 60 incorporates all the components of the hanging device 50. For example, the general child pleasing shape illustrated in FIG. 5 is a monkey having a hook 52 shaped like a banana, a downwardly extending portion 56 shaped like a tail holding the banana, and a lower hanging portion 58 formed with the remainder of the monkey's body. Similarly, the general child pleasing shape illustrated in FIG. 6 is a giraffe wherein a hook 52 is formed by the giraffe's head, the downwardly extending portion 56 is formed by its neck, and the lower hanging portion 58 is formed by its outwardly extending legs. In this manner, a child asked to hang up or put on a garment will not see a cold metal or plastic hanger, but rather a colorful plaything or friendly character.
In use, the downwardly extending portion 56 enables access to a garment hung from the lower hanging portion 58 by a child of insufficient height to reach the garment were it hung from a regular hanger. In addition, the general child-pleasing shape 60 encourages the child to seek a garment chosen by a parent or guardian, thereby giving the child a measure of independence and further engaging the child in the dressing process.
As will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, the general child-pleasing shape 60 can also be, for example, the shape of another jungle creature, such as a lion or a tiger, an ocean creature such as an octopus, a shark, a sea horse, a jelly fish or a dolphin, or indeed a forest creature such as a horse or a unicorn. Also within the scope of the present invention are other non-animal related shapes, such as vehicles, food products, sports equipment or other child-pleasing items.
The approximate dimension of the device 10 is preferably about 10 inches in length, 20 to 24 inches in height, and ½ inch in width.
The present invention could be created in a variety of colors in order to increase its aesthetic appeal to consumers and manufactured using various combinations of plastic, wood, and metal.
Any plastic components of device 10 are preferably formed with the use of plastic molding techniques, such as injection molding or blow molding. Injection molding is a process that has been in use since the 1920s and provides versatility almost unmatched in the mass production of any material. It requires that melted plastic be forcefully injected into relatively cool molds. As the plastic begins to harden, it takes on the shape of the mold cavity and, when cool, requires few post molding operations. Other advantages of this process include its speed of production and its ability to allow multiple parts to be simultaneously molded.
The present invention is be extremely easy to use and offers a simple and convenient alternative to having to lower a closet rail. For those who are not so inclined, do not have the time, or are not permitted to modify rental property, the hanging device 10 would prove very beneficial. The use of the hanging device 10 will also result in those in wheelchairs, of diminutive stature, or children feeling more independent and being able to do more unassisted, while still providing a utility to an adult of normal height.
As being now better appreciated, the present invention is an improvement and presents several advantages over other related devices and/or methods known in the prior art. Of course, numerous modifications could be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention, as apparent to a person skilled in the art. While a specific embodiment of the present invention has been described and illustrated, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A hanging device for hanging garments comprising a hook, an upper hanging portion attached below the hook, a downwardly extending shaft extending downwardly from the upper hanging portion, and a lower hanging portion attached at a lower extremity of the extended shaft.

2. A hanging device for hanging garments comprising a hook, a downwardly extending shaft extending downwardly from the hook, a lower hanging portion attached at a lower extremity of the extended shaft, and a general child-pleasing shape which incorporates each of the hook, the downwardly extending shaft and the lower hanging portion.