US20120080463A1

US20120080463A1 - Adjustable fitting intended for sliding along a strap and garment-hanging device provided with said adjustable fitting

Info

Publication number: US20120080463A1
Application number: US13/376,685
Authority: US
Inventors: Karim Mourad
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-06-09
Filing date: 2010-06-07
Publication date: 2012-04-05
Also published as: CH701233A2; JP2012529311A; WO2010142052A1; EP2440084A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (10) for hanging a garment, including: a strap (11) in which the ends are mutually connected such as to form a loop, and at least one adjustment part (12), said part (12) being suitable for dividing the strap (11) into two secondary loops, one of the secondary loops (11 a) being intended for enabling the device (10) to be hung from the shoulder of a user, the other secondary loop (11 b) being intended for enabling the insertion and support of a garment.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the garment field and, more specifically, relates to a device for hanging garments from one's shoulder.

STATE OF THE ART

In everyday life, it frequently happens that, depending on the outside weather or one's mood, one does not wish to wear a garment that one was wearing previously. When the garment becomes cumbersome one must either put it in a safe place, or carry it in one's hands or over one's shoulder or carry it in a bag. However, if one wants to both keep the garment available, especially during a hike or a stroll about town, and keep both hands free, the only solution currently available is to carry the garment in a bag slung across the shoulder. This solution, however, still has a number of disadvantages. First, the person must be burdened with a bag throughout the outing. But a bag, even slung across the shoulder, is bulky and inconvenient when moving around, especially due to its swinging and weight. Moreover, when one puts the garment back on, especially to protect against the rain or the cold, the bag is no longer needed. Thus, unless another use is found for the bag before going out, a solution that does not require a bag would be beneficial. In the end, it would be preferable to risk carrying the garment in his hand or over an arm rather than being unnecessarily burdened with a bag. However, this partial immobilisation of one's upper limbs is in danger of being a serious handicap during outdoor activities. This solution is therefore not desirable if, in certain of these activities, including walking on slippery or mountainous terrain, one needs to have both hands free.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore necessary to provide a device for transporting a garment during a walk, which does not involve the disadvantages of the prior art.
For this purpose, according to the invention, an adjustment part is provided intended for sliding along a strap and comprising a hollow body, substantially parallelepipedic, of which at least the upper and lower sides have a central ridge defining two slots through which the strap slides and of which two other sides, called front and back sides, comprise a central opening to allow the strap to pass through.
Other possible configurations of the adjustment part of the present invention are defined in claims 2 to 4.
Another subject of the present invention relates to a garment hanging device comprising:
a strap whose ends are connected to each other to form a loop,
at least one adjustment part according to one of the preceding claims, the said part being able to divide the strap into two secondary loops, one of the secondary loops being intended to allow the device to be hung from the shoulder of a user, the other secondary loop being intended to allow a garment to be inserted and held.
Other possible configurations of the device of the present invention are defined in claims 6 to 7.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other advantages and characteristics of the present invention will be better understood upon reading about a particular embodiment of the invention and with reference to the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a garment hanging device according to the invention, in position of use,

FIG. 2 is a view from above of a first variant of an adjustment part according to the invention,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the part shown in FIG. 2, the part being viewed in the direction D1,

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the part shown in FIG. 2, the part being viewed in the direction D2,

FIG. 5 is a sectional view according to the axis A-A of the part shown in FIG. 2,

FIG. 6 is a sectional view according to the axis A-A of the part shown in FIG. 2, in which the strap has been shown,

FIG. 7 is a view from above of a second embodiment of an adjustment part according to the invention,

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the part shown in FIG. 7, the part being viewed in the direction D,

FIG. 9 is a sectional view according to the axis A-A of the part shown in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In reference to FIG. 1, a garment hanging device according to the invention is shown.
This device 10 comprises a strap 11 whose ends are connected to each other to form a loop, the said loop being separated into two secondary loops 11 a and 11 b by means of an adjustment part or adjustment loop 12 sliding along the two strands of the strap 11. The first secondary loop 11 a must permit the insertion of a part of the user's chest so as to position the device across the shoulder, the strap 11 following an approximately straight trajectory from the right or left shoulder of the user and his left or right hip. The second secondary loop 11 b must in turn allow a garment to be inserted and held when the user no longer wishes to wear it. In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the length of the strap 11 intended to form the first loop 11 a has been modified by using the adjustment part 12 to guarantee an optimal tightening of the device 10 on the user's chest, limiting thus the swinging movement of the device 10 when the user is moving around. One notices, however, that in this configuration, the garment is not held sufficiently by the device 10. Therefore it may be preferable to move the adjustment part 12 in order to ensure above all an optimal tightness of the device on the garment. To ensure an optimal tightness of the device around the user's chest and around the garment to be hung, an advantageous solution will be to provide two adjustment parts in the device 10, one of the parts being designed to ensure the optimal tightness of the secondary loop 11 a on the user's chest and the other intended to ensure the optimal tightness of the secondary loop 11 b on the garment. Another advantageous solution will be to provide, in addition to the adjustment part 12, an additional means to reduce the length of the loops 11 a or 11 b. This additional means can in particular consist of a clamp or other means of attaching it, such as Velcro (registered trademark) bands or snap fasteners, integrated with the strap.
The device 10 thus has the advantage over existing solutions of the prior art to be easily transportable due to its low weight and especially due to its small size. Indeed, when the user wishes to again wear the garment hanging from the device 10, s/he can roll the strap 11 onto itself, especially around the guide part 12. The strap 11 can then be kept rolled up using additional attachment means 13 arranged on the strap 11. These means 13 may be advantageously selected from the bands known as Velcro (registered trademark) or snap fasteners, for example.
FIGS. 2 to 6 show a particular example of an adjustment part usable in the device represented in FIG. 1.
In reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, one can see that the adjustment part or loop 12 appears in the form of a hollow body, substantially parallelepipedic, defined by two full lateral sides Fl and by four hollowed sides, respectively front and rear sides Fa and the upper and lower sides Fd. The central opening of the upper side Fd, respectively from the lower, is bounded by the lateral sides Fl and by two end ridges 1 positioned at the corners of the parallelepiped joining the upper side Fd, respectively from the lower, to the front and back sides Fa. This central opening is separated by a central ridge 2, which joins the two lateral sides Fl arranged equidistant from the and ridges 1. Each end ridge 1 defines with the central ridge 2 a slot 3 through which the strap 11 will be able to slide, as can be seen on FIG. 6. Sliding the part 12 along the strap 11 is made possible by the presence of central recesses 5 and 5′, on the front and rear sides respectively. These recesses 5 and 5′ are bounded by the lateral sides Fl and the end ridges 1 mentioned above. The rear side Fa advantageously comprises a central ridge 4 joining the lateral sides Fl and positioned equidistant from the end ridges 1. The central ridge 4 will guide the strap 11 when moving the part 12 along the strap 11. One can see in FIG. 6, in addition to what is shown in FIG. 5, the course of strap 11 through the guide part 12. The strap 11 enters the inside of the guide part 12 through the central opening 5 of the front side Fa, then passes through one of the slots 3 of the upper side Fd, bypasses the central ridge 2 of this upper side Fd, again enters inside the part 12 by the other slot 3 of the upper side Fd, exits from the part 12 by the opening 5′ of the front side Fa by passing over the central ridge 4, forms a first secondary loop 11 a or 11 b, again enters the part 12 through the opening 5′ by passing under the central ridge 4, then passes by one of the slots 3 of the lower side Fd, bypasses the central ridge 2 of this lower side Fd, again enters into the part 12 by the other slot 3 of the lower side Fd and finally exits from part 12 by the opening 5 of the front side Fa. The two free ends of the strap 11 are then connected by a seam or other connecting means to form the second secondary loop 11 a or 11 b. In this configuration, the central ridge 4 also acts as a stop for strap 11, as shown in FIG. 6. Indeed, in the absence of this ridge 4 and in the case in which the adjustment part 12 would reach a limit position in which the strap 11 forms only one loop, one of the secondary loops 11 a or 11 b with zero length, the strap 11 would abut directly against the central ridges 2 of the sides Fd. In this position, it would be very difficult for the user to retrieve the end of strap 11 now arranged inside part 12, precisely between the central ridges 2. Thus, the central ridge 4 ensures that an end of the strap 11 will always be accessible to the user outside part 12. This would therefore facilitate the operation by reforming a second secondary loop from this single-loop configuration of the strap 11. In a variant not shown of the guide part, it is possible to form a central ridge on the front side Fa, which would also act as a guide and stop for the strap 11.
In reference to FIG. 2, we see that the central ridge 2 of the upper side Fd, and therefore by symmetry of the lower side Fd, has concave curved edges. This profile allows for accentuating the torsion of strap 11 as it travels through the guide part 12. This torsion ensures that the guide part 12 on the strap 11 stays in position better and prevents the part 12 from continuously slipping along the strap 11. To further diminish this risk of slipping, part 12 also comprises longitudinal ribs 8 set along the central ridges 2 of the sides Fd. The friction of the strap 11 against the ribs 8 ensures the relative braking of the strap 11. Instead of and in place of the said ribs, other braking means can be used. In particular, it is possible to use a very rough material to form the central ridges 2.
Moreover, one sees, especially in FIGS. 4 and 5, that the central ridge 4 of the rear side Fa has edges 6 arranged on each of its ends and forming parts projecting from the plane defined by the rear side Fa. The difference between the edges 6 will be defined to correspond approximately to the width of the strap 11. In this way, it is easier to roll the strap 11 around the part 12 in the stowed position of the device 10.
However, as represented in FIGS. 7 to 9, it is also possible to design an adjustment loop 12 in which the central ridge 4 is not equipped with the said edges 4.
As seen in FIG. 5, the lateral sides Fl advantageously comprise a hollow 7 on their edge leading on the front side Fa. In particular, this hollow 7 allows one to easily grasp the strap 11 when it is introduced into the part 12. In addition, the material savings generated by the formation of this hollow 7 allow a significant reduction of the production cost of part 12.
However, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, it is also possible to design an adjustment loop 12 in which the sides Fl do not comprise the hollow 7 and have a substantially hexagonal shape.
The part 12 as shown in FIGS. 2 to 6 will be advantageously formed from a cylindrical body with a hexagonal base. However, other possible shapes may be considered for the part 12 without departing from the scope of the present invention. In particular, it will be possible to form the adjustment part from a cylindrical body with a rectangular or circular base. In the latter case, the front/rear and upper/lower sides as defined previously will be substantially curved, except at the cross cuts intended to form the openings to allow the strap to pass through. We can therefore equate the flat geometrical figure defined by the edges of these openings as a side in the context of the invention.
Moreover, in a variant not shown, the adjustment part 12 can have non-flat lateral sides Fl, in particular curves, without the functionality of the said part being altered.

Claims

1. Adjustment part intended for sliding along a strap and comprising a hollow body, substantially parallelepipedic, of which at least the upper and lower sides have a central ridge defining two slots through which the strap slides and of which two other sides, called front and back sides, comprise a central opening to allow the strap to pass through.

2. Adjustment part according to claim 1, wherein the central ridges of the upper and lower sides have concave-shaped edges to create a torsion area for the strap.

3. Adjustment part according to claim 1, wherein the central ridges of upper and lower sides comprise on their side intended to come in contact with the strap longitudinal ribs able to brake the movement of the strap.

4. Adjustment part according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the front or rear sides comprises a central ridge acting as a stop for the strap.

5. Garment hanging device including:

a strap whose ends are connected to each other to form a loop,

at least one adjustment part according to claim 1, the said part being able to divide the strap into two secondary loops, one of the secondary loops being intended to allow the device to be hung from the shoulder of a user, the other secondary loop being intended to allow a garment to be inserted and held.

6. Device according to claim 5, wherein the additional means of attachment integrated with the strap are able to hold the same in a position rolled up on itself.

7. Device according to claim 6, wherein the additional means of attachment are chosen from snap fasteners and Velcro (registered trademark) bands.

8. Device according to claim 5, wherein the central ridges of the upper and lower sides of said hollow body have concave-shaped edges to create a torsion area for the strap.

9. Device according to claim 5, wherein the central ridges of the upper and lower sides of said hollow body comprise on their side intended to come in contact with the strap longitudinal ribs able to brake the movement of the strap.

10. Device according to claim 5, wherein at least one of the front or rear sides of said hollow body comprises a central ridge acting as a stop for the strap.