US2568674A - Coat hanger - Google Patents

Description

Sgpt. 18, 1951 E w D 2,568,674

COAT HANGER Filed June 23, 1947 I; I0 12 f iii INVENTOR.

flue: E VVIEDER.

Patented Sept. 18, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COAT HANGER Alice E. Wieder, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application June 23, 1947, Serial No. 756,382

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to coat hangers and more particularly to coat hangers of general utility embodying several features designed to increase the usefulness and effectiveness of articles of this general character.

Clothes hangers in general use generally comprise a hook member, a pair of shoulders and occasionally also a horizontal cross piece designed to hold trousers, skirts, or similar articles folded thereover. In the course of use conventional hangers become loosened from the rod upon which they are hung and thereupon either fall to the floor together with any clothing suspended on them or tilt when unbalanced and permit the clothing to slide loose from the shoulders.

Moveover, it has been impractical to hang garments of the sleeveless type or to secure the collars of any type of garment in a natural position to prevent sagging. Trousers or the like when folded over the rod at the bottom of the hanger have a tendency to slide off or to occupy one side of the hanger in a tilted position, thereby retaining the hanger in a tilted position and frequently causing it also to fall from the rack. Also at times it is undesirable to hang trousers or similar garments in a folded condition. Notwithstanding this fact conventional hangers provide no means for hanging these garments in any other position.

Another unsatisfactory condition in hangers of conventional construction is their unnatural shape in the shoulder portions or their undue weight and bulkiness when the shoulders are formed with a satisfactory contour.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new improved hanger of great utility which is in a form to be hung from a clothes pole orthe like, but which has novel and improved features associated with the hook for preventing the dislodgment thereof.

It is another further object to provide a new and improved hanger of the desired character provided with a positive hook releasing mechanism for removing the hanger from a normal position of use.

Another object ofv this invention is to provide anew and improved hanger of simple construction and light weight but having good qualities of durability and many useful and improved auxiliary features.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved hanger having positive looking characteristics both'with respect to the hanger as a whole or garments hung therefrom.

Another object of this invention is to-provide a 2 new useful and improved means for properly holding the collar of a garment in a natural and secure position.

Another further object is to provide a new and improved construction for preventing garments from sliding from the shoulders of the hanger and also designed to receive sleeveless or strap type garments.

Yet another object is to provide a new and improved hanger of the desired character described upon which trousers, skirts and the like may be hung in a folded condition or optionally in a secure but unfolded condition.

Other specific objects are the provision of a new and improved safety catch and hook construction associated with a hanger body of compact and pleasing appearance which is at the same time highly utilitarian in function.

It is also an object of this invention to provide improvements in construction, operation and design over prior hangers intended toaccomplish analagous purposes.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a preferred form of hanger partially in section intended to illustrate this invention.

Figure 2 is a top view of the hanger.

Figure 3 is an end view thereof.

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail view in vertica sectionof the hook mechanism.

Figure 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view on the line 66 ing the arms or shoulders I1 and [8 should be suitably rounded upon its upper edges to conform as much as possible without undue wastage of space to the normal configuration of the shoulders of a garment. Nevertheless the top edge I9 of the body may be flattened to facilitate the securement of the hook II and tongue I2. Thereby likewise a suitable breadth to the body of the hanger may be optionally obtained for the satisfactory securement of a substantially U- shaped spring clip 20 extending downwardly on both sides of the hanger body for the purpose especially of securing and preventing the drooping of the collar or neck portion of a garment with equal facilit from both sides of the hanger. The body may be formed with a hollow interior 2I, the whole having an inverted U-shaped cross section.

Approximately midway along the shoulders suitable notches 22 may be formed providing an undercut intended primarily, though not necessarily exclusively, for the non-slidable securement of the strap of a sleeveless type of garment,

but useful also for retaining garments in place formed with short sleeves or with seams or other like construction to prevent the garment from sliding from the shoulders of the hanger.

- -To further insure the retention of the straps within the notches 22 appropriately formed wirelike tips 23 and 24 may extend upwardly and inwardly partly over and within the notches and preferably in a line with the upper edge of the shoulders. As illustrated, the tips 23 and 24 may be formed from the ends of the cross bar I3 which for this purpose may be formed into loops 25 and 26 and which after proper securement within the associated shoulder, as by flattening and soldering or riveting appropriate areas 21 and 28, the wire may be formed with depending portions 29 and 30 at either end of the hanger which thereafter are bent to continuously form the horizontal portion 3| of the rod I3.

Depending ends 29 and 30 of the rod I3 are preferably inset slightly from the ends I and I6 of the shoulders to permit a more natural hang of the garment at these places. Thelength of the dependin portions is intended to furnish a satisfactory clearance for the manipulation of thumb pieces 32 and 33 on corresponding clips 34 and 35 intended, by springs or other well known resilient means, to.clamp the upper or lower portions of a pair of trousers, skirt or the like which may be hung therefrom.

In order to properly adjust for garments of different widths and to enable them to be hung :at their most effective points of suspension the clips 34 and 35 are preferably slidable along the horizontal cross bar 3|. The construction of the clips is such that their marginal edges 31 engage the bar 3I to prevent sliding movement of the clamps therealong and in fact to pinchand bind against the bar to restrain slidable movement caused by the weight of a garment tending to draw them together. On the other hand an evenly distributed axial force along the rod will cause them to slide quite readily.

The hook II may be of any suitable cross section but is preferably tubular as is most desir-.

abl the case also with the tongue I2. In order to firmly secure the hook to the hanger body the lower end 40 may be pinched and flattened at right angles against the body to enable the introduction of rivets All or any other desired then pass upwardly through an opening 43 in 1 the top of the hanger body where it is preferably formed with an offset 44 to provide clearance for a finger piece 45 formed in the manner of a horizontally flat loop at the upper end of the straight lever arm 46.

The lever arm may pass through a slot 41 formed in the outside of the shank in the offset portion 44. At its lower end the lever may be peened to provide anabutment 48 limiting the upward movement of the lever which is slidably accommodated in a hole 49 formed in the lower end of the shank and/0r body.

The lever may also be formed with an abutment 50 as b flattening at a proper place along its length in order to permit the firm securement of a tie, such as wire or other flexible material 5I, which may then be passed through the hollow interior of the hook for tying at its opposite end 52 to a plug latch 53 slidably disposed in the tip 54 of the hook and extensible therefrom.

The hook, at a point spaced from its tip, may be constricted as at 55 or otherwise formed with an ear or abutment to limit and confine a coil spring '56 'or the like which resiliently bears against the plug 52- urging the same outwardly.

The plug 53 in its most outwardly extended position is thereby limited by the tie 5I in its securement to the lever 46 and the abutment 48 on the end thereof, all of which are under the influence of the coil spring 56. In said most extended position, as illustrated for example in Figures 1 and 4, the plug 53 normally engages a lip 58 formed in the upper end of the tongue I2 which is notched out at 59 for this purpose. .At its lower end the tongue I2 is yieldably secured to a coil spring which in turn is anchored to the body of the hanger by means of a rivet 6|. By this construction and by the additional fact that the tongue I2 is pivoted upon a transverse axis by a pin 52 the tongue is normally held in a vertical position yieldable about the axis B2. The application of an inward transverse force to its upper end allows the tongue to yield inwardly at all times but the tongue is restrained from relative outward pivotal movement by the engagement of the lip 58 with the plug 53 in an extended position of the latter. In order to permit such tiltable movement of the tongue I2 the body is provided with a slot 63 to accommodate the same.

It is apparent therefore that'the retraction of the plug 53 against the tension of the coil spring 56 by the depression of the finger piece 45 frees the tongue I2 for pivotal movement outwardly to open the hook as required for the convenient removal thereof from a clothes pole. Inward pivotal movement is achievable without retraction of the plug;

In use, in order to secure a sleeveless type of garment upon the hanger the straps thereof may be disposed within the notches 22 and restrained against slidable withdrawal from the shoulders I1 and I8 by their engagement under the tips 23and24. a

Garments of any character, particularly those having a collar or high neckline in the back or front and which, when hung upon conventional clothes hangers sag and lose their shape, may be held by tucking their corresponding'portions beneath the spring clip 25 on either or both sides of the hanger while the rest of the garment is draped over the same in a conventional manner.

Trousers, skirts and the like may be folded over the horizontal cross bar 3| or they may be susp nded at chos npo ts by t e s ing clips 4 and 35, which may be slid along the cross piece for this purpose as has previously been explained.

Either before or after the garment has been hung upon the hanger the hanger may be hung upon a clothes pole by pressing the tongue I2 against the pole forcing the same inwardly against the tension of the coil spring 6| which thereafter realigns the tongue with the tip of the hanger closing the hook and preventing the removal of the hanger therefrom.

The hanger is conveniently removable from the hook by grasping the shank of the hook as below the offset 44 and pressing downwardly upon the finger piece 45 thereby retracting the plug 53 and freeing the tongue l2 for forced pivotal movement outwardly.

The outwardly pivoted position of the tongue is shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 and designated by the numeral 18. The opposite position of the tongue, indicated in dotted outline in Figure 1 and numbered H, corresponds to its movement during the process of placing the hanger upon the clothes pole.

This invention features a drop-proof and fall-proof garment hanger utilizing appropriately placed and optionally movable clips, shoulder notches, strap hooks, properly designed light and durable shoulder portions and a suitably spaced cross piece. It likewise features a hook which may be readily and securely locked upon an endless clothes pole and which may be as readily removed by accessible manipulative devices associated with convenient hand-gripping portions. A hanger of minimum parts thereby contributes to the formation of a multipurpose hanger of wide acceptability and use.

Although I have herein shown and described my invention in what I have conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of my invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent structures.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An improvement in clothes hangers comprising a hanger body, a tubular hook having a shank secured to said hanger body and a tip, a bolt extensible from the tip, a coil spring confined in the tip normally urging the bolt out-' wardly, a finger piece, a tie threaded through the hook and secured at one end to the finger piece and at the other end to the bolt, a tongue ivoted to the hanger body and engageable with the bolt in one pivotal direction in an extended position of the bolt to close the hook against outwardly directed forces but freed to pass said bolt upon actuation of the finger piece against the tension of the spring to permit the hook to open in either pivotal direction of the tongue.

2. An improvement in clothes hangers comprising a hanger body, a tubular hook having a shank secured to said hanger body and a tip, a bolt extensible from the tip, a coil spring confined in the tip normally urging the bolt outwardly, a finger piece, a tie threaded through the hook and secured at one end to the finger piece and at the other end to the bolt, a tongue pivoted to the hanger body and engageable with the bolt in one pivotal direction in an extended position of the bolt to close the hook against outwardly directed forces but freed to pass said bolt upon actuation of the finger piece against the tension of the spring to permit the hook to open in either pivotal direction of the tongue, said shank being offset, said finger piece comprising a loop having an extension slidable Within one leg of the offset, and abutments on the extension and the hanger body limiting upward movement of the finger piece while permitting a downward movement thereof to retract said bolt.

ALICE. E. WIEDER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 886,042 Frear Apr. 28, 1908 1,817,621 Harding Aug. 4, 1931 1,962,399 Littledale June 12, 1934 1,973,376 Freedman Sept. 11, 1934 2,076,708 Comstock Apr. 13, 1937

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