US2642210A

US2642210A - Coat retainer

Info

Publication number: US2642210A
Application number: US222978A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ivan R Lang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1951-04-26
Filing date: 1951-04-26
Publication date: 1953-06-16
Anticipated expiration: 1970-06-16

Description

June 1e, '1953 y l, R ANG v2,642,210

I COAT RETAINER Filed Kpril 2e, 1951 @ven/10x cfvazz 7;? Zw

Patented June 16, 1953 UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

My invention consists of an elongated piece of material that is adapted to be secured to the button of a coat at one end and the button hole of a coat at the other end to hold the same in an unnaturally snug position on a coat hanger.

When coats are placed on hangers in cleaning establishments and the like after they have been cleaned and pressed, they are frequently still damp. A damp garment may not hold exactly the press imparted to it unless it is aided in some manner. Perhaps the most frequent distortion occurs when the lapels roll down farther than the roll given to them by the presser. Some means of avoiding this unsatisfactory alteration of the press of the garment is highly desirable. Metal devices for achieving this end have been conceived but seldom used because of the excessive expense involved in using metal. A structure devised to solve the above problem without requiring the use of metal would appear to Abe particularly desirable.

A further diiculty encountered by cleanin establishments occurs when coats are delivered. The garments are vusually hung on hangers. Frequently a paper wrapper surrounds the garment s that it is not readily visible to a person handling it. It is also not uncommon for the garment to become disarranged on the hanger. Be-

cause the garments vare covered, the disarray is' not apparent.

The trucks used by cleaners in delivering gartrucks to permit a single delivery run to do the maximum amount of work. When the garments are crowded together, any disarray of the garments is pressed into the garments by the close proximity of other garments or the walls of the vehicle. It is obviously important to hold the garment on the hanger squarely and snugly, therefore, to avoid any "pressing into the garment of unsightly wrinkles or the like that result from the garment not being held squarely o the hanger.

It is even possible for coats, particularly single breasted ones, to come completely ofi the hanger on which they are hung by reason of not being securely held thereon. If a coat falls off a hanger', of course, it may become soiled to the point' of necessitating recleaning with accompanying loss of human time and eifort and iinancial loss'to the cleaning establishment. What may be even more damaging to the cleaning establishment would be the unfortunate election by a route man to try to pass the soiled garment to the customer without returning it to the plant for a second cleaning. It may also be that the garmentis needed bythe customer and there is not time for a recleaning and also use by the customer as of some predetermined time agreed upon by the cleaners and the customer when the coat was sent to be cleaned. It is obvious, therefore, that if a means can be provided inexpensively that will hold coats on hangers and prevent unsightly distorting of lapels and press resulting from disarray; it would be highly desirable and welcomed by those engaged in the art of dry cleaning and pressing. y

Another factor that must be taken into consideration when devising a coat retainer is the time and eiort that may -be necessary in the use of the retainer. In order for the retainer to be useful, it must be quick and easy to use or the labor cost in using it will be excessive. If it is diilicult or complex to use or requires any exercise of judgment, employees will be loathto .use it.- Unless the retainer is used consistently, Vits value will be minimized or even totally destroyed. As a matter of fact, if the retainer is used by some of the employees in an establishment and not by others, delivery personnel may get a false sense of security by believing that most ofthe coats have retainers. Such a belief may lead the delivery personnel to handle the coats somewhat more recklessly than otherwise. l

vln view of the foregoing, it is the principal object of my invention to provide a coat retainer that will hold a coat .more snugly on a Wire hanger than Would be the case i1 it were merely buttoned thereon.

It is a further object of my invention to pro-l vide a coat retainer that prevents the lapels of a coat on a hanger from rolling down.

It is a furtherr object of my invention to provide a coat retainer that aids in preventing the disarray of a coat on a hanger as it is being handled.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a coat retainer that will insure that the coat will be retained on the hanger as it is bing handled.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a coat retainer than can be made from inexpensive material.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a coat retainer that is so -obvious in use for the personnel who are to use the device.

hole and the means for securing my coat retainer thereto,

Fig. 3 is a reduced view of my coat retainer holding a single breasted coat on a hanger. Hidden portions of the right front of the coat and. f

portions of my retainer are shown with broken lines, and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of my retainer in operative-positionV on a coat and'taken onthe line I-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, I have used the numeral II to indicate my retainer generally which is made from a nat piece of material such as cardboard or the like. A flap or locking member designated I I is formed by merely folding one end of the retainerback upon the main body thereof as shown inthe drawings. The flap II has .an unbalanced V or check-shaped cut I2 t=herein,.the longer legY of which is formed at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the retainer for a reason which will bemade clear hereinafter. A tab I3 is stamped out of the retainer body at a point that causes its upper portion, designated I by the dotted line in Fig.. l, to register with the cut I2. There is a hooking shoulder I4 formed on the upper part of the tab the purpose of which will be explained below.

In the body of the retainer'is formed a zigzag or saw tooth like slot designated I5 thatextends downwardly and away from its starting point near the flap and tab. This completes the description of the structure of my device and I turn now to a description of the use or operation of my device.

In order to hold a coat such as the single breasted one designated by the numeral I6 in Fig. 3 on a hanger designated Il, the slot I5 is first engaged with a button I8 of the coat that is just at the base of -the lapelsas formed during the pressing operation. Where thebutton of the coat is placed in the slot is not too material :as will be shown, hereinafter, but a person of any intelligence will soonlearn about'where to insert the buttonwith regard to a particular garment- The edge of t-he coat that has the button holes in it is then brought across the'retainer far enough to'cause the buttonhole I9 of coat I6 to align i with the tab I3. The tab is then inserted through the button *hole I9. To hold the button hole securely to the retainer, flap II is folded over the edge of the coat and tab I3 is started through the check-shaped cut I2 as shown in Fig. 2. As the flap II is pushed flat against the coat, the tab I3 goes clear through the cut I2 until'-l shoulder I4 engages the edge of cut I2 as shown in Fig. 3. The diagonal direction of the cutI2 causes a downward or flattening force to be exerted on tab I3 after it has been pushed entirely through cut I2. This fiattening of the tab I3 holds it in Aa position to minimize the likelihood of its catching on other garments adjacent a retainerfequipped coat on a rack. OnceV the retainer is thus secured at both ends, itis a relatively easy matter for the operator to then adjust the coat with regard to the retainer by forcing the button retaining threads along slot I5 closer or farther from the tab end of the retainer. The zigzag character of the slot I5 resi-sts such movement of the coat but does not resist suiiiciently to overcome intentional movement of the button therein. Obviously it is not necessary to locate the button exactly in the slot- I5 to produce the correct amount of tension on the coat since the proper adjustment may be made readily after the retainer is mounted. As was pointed out earlier, however, anyone of reasonable intelligence will soon learn to locate the button in the approximately correct position for a given size of garment.

It should be clear by the foregoing that I have devised a structure that is susceptible of being T-'aashoulder formed thereon to engage the edge of Y made from materials other than metal which is very satisfactory for holding a coat more snugly about'a hanger than could be true from merely buttoning the coat thereon. It should also be apparent that little or no time would be lost in using the device and that personnel would not, therefore, be discouraged from using it. The amount of time consumed in using the device would not be so excessive as to negative the benefits that flow from its use either.

. Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my coat retainer without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

l. In a coat retainer, an elongated body member, a tab near one end of said body member for entering thebutton hole of a coat, a flap adjacent said tab; said flap having a check-shaped Y cut therein; said flap and said cut constructed and arranged to have said cut register with the portion of said tab that is secured to said body member when said flap is folded back upon the body member of said retainer, and a saw tooth shaped slot for engaging the button retaining member of Aa coat to frictionally hold the button against unintentional movement with respect to said retainer; said saw tooth shaped slot being elongated and operating effectively. through its length; said saw tooth shaped slot extending away from said tab.

2. Ina garment retainer, an elongated body of a at piece of material, a flap formed by bending a `portion of said ilat piece of material back upon itself; said flap having ak cut therein, a tabk formed on the part of said body that lies under said flap and secured to said body at a point registering with the cut in said flap when said flap is folded flat against said body, and a saw tooth shaped opening cut in said elongated body and extending longitudinally of said body from a point near said flap and tab and near one edge of said elongated body to a point a substantial distance from said flap and tab and near the other edge of said elongated body.

3. In a garment retainer, an elongated body of a dat piece of material, a flap formed by bending a portion of said flat piece of material back upon itself; said flap having a cut therein, a. tab

formed on the part of said body that lies under said flap and secured to said body at a point registering with the cut in said nap when said flap is folded at against said body; said tab having said cut and prevent the accidental disengagement of said tab from the cut in said flap, and a saw tooth shaped opening cut in said elongated body and extending longitudinally of said body from a point near said ilap `and tab and near one edge of said elongated body to a point a substantial distance from said ap and tab and near the other edge of said elongated body.

4. In a garment retainer, 'an elongated body of a iiat piece of material, a flap formed by bending a portion of said flat piece of material back upon itself; said flap having a check-shaped cut therein; said check-shaped cut having its long leg extending downwardly and toward the body of said retainer, -a tab formed on the part of said body that lies under said flap and secured to said body at a point registering with the cut in said ap when said iiap is folded flat against said body, and a saw tooth shaped opening cut in said elongated body and extending longitudinally of said body from a point near said ilap and tab and near one edge of said elongated body to a point a substantial distance from said flap and tab and near the other edge of said elongated body.

5. In a garment retainer, an elongated body of a at piece of material, a iiap formed by bending a portion of said flat piece of material back upon itself, said nap having a check shaped cut therein, a tab formed on the portion of said body that underlies said flap; said tab secured to said body at a. point registering with the cut in said iiap when said flap is folded flat against said body, and a means for securing a button toL said body at a substan-tial distance from said flap.

6. In a garment retainer, an elongated body of a nat piece of material, a flap formed by bend--V ing a portion of said at piece of material back upon itself; said nap having a cut therein, a tab formed on the part of said body that lies under said flap and secured Ito saidI body at a point registering with the out in said flap when said flap is folded nat against said body, and a saw tooth shaped cut extending from a point near said tab and flap and one side of said body toward the opposite end and side of said body.

7. In a garment retainer, a flat elongated piece of material, a ap formed'by bending a portion of said piece of material back upon itself, a saw tooth shaped slot extending substantially longitudinally of said piece of material nearits lateral center and spaced from said flap, and a ltab secured to the part of said piece of material over which said flap lies; said flap having a cut therein through which said tab is inserted to secure saidV ap against the balance of said nat elongated piece of material.

IVAN R. LANG.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS