US2878978A - Protective covering for garment hangers - Google Patents

Description

March 24, 1959 PROTECTIVE COVERING FOR GARMENT HANGERS Filed Aug. 29, 1955 M. GLOWKA 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 J4 I/l E rag-EFL INVENTOR. #1 i1; 9- 32 MARTIN GLowKA March 24; 1959 Filed Aug. 29, 1955 M. GLOWKA 2,878,978

PROTECTIVE COVERING FOR GARMENT HANGERS 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. MARTIN GLowKA March 24, 1959 Filed Aug. 29, 1955 M. GLOWKA PROTECTIVE COVERING FOR GARMENT HANGERS 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR. MARTIN GLowKA March 24, 1959 M. GLOWKA 2,878,978 PROTECTIVE covxzamc FOR GARMENT HANGERS Filed Aug. 29, 1955 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 1N VEN TOR. MARTIN GLOWKA BY 8 AY'YWRME) March 24, 1959' Filed Aug. 29, 1955 M. GLOWKA PROTECTIVE COVERING FOR GARMENT HANGERS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. MARTIN GLOWKA March 2 1 M. GLOWKA 2,878,978

PROTECTIVE! COVERING FOR GARMENT HANGERS Filed Aug. 29, 1955 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 I INVENTOR. MARTIN GLOWKA United States Patent PROTECTIVE COVERING FOR GARMENT HANGERS Martin Gl'owka, New York, NY.

Application August 29, .1955, Serial No. 530,941

1 Claim. (Cl. 223--98) This invention relates to a covering for a garment hanger, and more particularly has reference to a covering of flexible plastic material, that can be applied to a garment hanger with a minimum of difficulty, for the purpose ofprotecting the same.

It has been found that garment hangers having metal suspending hooks tend to become rusty upon the surface of the hook, and also at nearby locations upon the body of the hanger. This is due to the fact that this portion of the hanger is continuously exposed, and is at all times out of contact with the supported garment.

In view of the above, the main object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive covering for these normally exposed parts of a garment hanger, which covering can be applied to a conventional garment hanger with a minimum of difiiculty, in position to protect the metallic parts of the hanger at the center thereof where the garment is not in contact with the hanger.

Another object is to so design the covering as to extend the same throughout the length of the hook, thus to cause the. covering to engage the clothes bar from which the hook is dependingly supported, to prevent scratching of the bar and also to reduce the noise caused by metal-tometal contact of the hook and support bar during the movements of the hanger relative to the bar.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

.Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a garment hanger equipped With a covering formed according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on line, 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is. an enlarged bottom plan view of the covering as seen from the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a, fragmentary front elevational view of a modification.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary. front elevation of a second modification.

Fig. 8 is a section on line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

.Fig. 9 is an enlarged, fragmentary, front elevation of a third modification.

Fig. 10 is a section on line 10-10 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a front elevation of a fourth modification.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged perspective view of the covering shown in Fig. 11, per se.

Fig. 13 is a front elevation of a fifth modification.

Fig. 14 is an enlarged section on line 14-14 -of'Fig. 13.

Fig. 15 is a longitudinal section through a sixth modification, a wire garment hanger to which the covering is applied being illustrated fragmentarily and in elevation.

r 2,878,978 Patented Mar. 24, 1959 ICC Fig. 16 is an enlarged transverse section on line 16--1'6 of 'Fig. 1.5.

Fig. 1.7 is a view similar to Fig. 15 showing a seventh modification.

Fig. 18 is. a fragmentary side elevational view of a garment hanger and covering, showing an eighth modification.

Fig. 19 is a transverse section on line 19-49 of Fig. 18.

Fig. 20 is a perspective view of a ninth modification, a garment hanger being illustrated-in dotted lines fragmentarily.

Fig. 21 is a view similar to. Fig. 20 showing a tenth modification.

Fig. 22 is a view similar to Fig. 20 showing an eleventh modification.

Fig. 23 is a perspective view of a garment hanger and covering, showing a twelfth modification.

Fig. 24 is an enlarged section on line 24-24 of Fig. 23.

Fig. 25 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a thirteenth modification.

Fig. 26 is a view similar to Fig. 25 showing afourteenth modification.

Fig. 27 is a view similar to Fig. 25 showing a fifteenth modification.

Fig. 28 is a view similar to Fig. 26 showing a sixteenth modification.

Fig. 29 is a view similar to Fig. 27 showing a seventeenth modification. 1

Fig. 30 is a view similar to Fig. 27 showing an eighteenth modification.

Fig. 31 is a view similar to Fig. 27 showing a nineteent modification.

Fig. 32 is a perspective View similar to Fig. 27 showing a twentieth modification.

Fig. 3.3 is a front elevational view similar to Fig. 1 showing a twenty-first modification.

Fig. 34 is a disassembled perspective view of the covering of Fig. 3-3.

The reference numeral 10 has been applied generally to one form of garment hanger to which the protective covering constituting the present invention can be applied. Such a garment hanger is of conventional construction per se, and. includes a horizontally extending trousers support bar 12, upwardly converging coat support arms 14 integrally formed upon the ends of the bar, and a hook 16 formed as an integral extension of the upper ends of. the one of the arms, the upper end of the other arm being twisted about the shank of the hook. The hanger is formed from a single length of wire material, and often, the center portion of the hanger, that is, the hook and the convergent ends of the arms, tends to corrode, rust, or be otherwise adversely affected by the surrounding air, due to the fact that this part of the hanger is not engaged completely by the supported garment.

Accordingly, to protect the designated part of the hanger, there is provided a plastic covering 18, formed from a single piece of flexible plastic material shaped approximately as an inverted Y, with said Y including a leg or hook enclosing portion 20, extending the length of the hook 16. The hook 16 may be bent straight temporarily, to permit application of the portion 20, after which the hook can be returned to its curved shape together with the part of the sleeve 20 through which it extends.

At its lower end, the sleeve 20 is integral with downwardly divergent branch sleeves 22, extending in opposite directions and receiving the inner or convergent end are provided depending enlargements to which are connected cooperating gripper fastener elements 26. It will thus be seen that with the elements 26 separated, the entire device can be slipped downwardly uponthe hanger while the upper end of the hook is bent straight. There- ,after, the gripper fastener elements are connected together while the upper portion of the hook is bent back to its previous shape. The cover is thus efiectively mounted upon the hanger and will not slip from place throughout the time that it is in protective relation to the center part of the hanger.

'and 8, the garment hanger 38 is of the conventional plastic type having a swiveled metal hook at its center. In such a hanger, there are provided downwardly divergent arms 40 integrally formed from a single piece of plastic material shaped with a flat web 42 and a continuous, peripheral flange 44. At the intersection of the arms, a vertical boss 46 is aligned with an enlargement 48 of the lower portion of the web, a slot 50 being disposed between the boss and enlargement. The shank of the hook extends through the boss and enlargement and through the slot, and is swivelly connected to the hanger by the provision of flattened portions on the shank within the slot which prevent endwise movement of the hook shank.

The protective covering has been designated at 52, and as in the previous forms of the invention, it is 'formed from flexible plastic material, with a tubular hook-enclosing part 54 merging at its lower end into side walls 56 overlying the opposite sides of the hanger. The side walls 56 have inwardly facing lugs 58 integrally formed thereupon, these engaging under the flange, against the opposite faces of the web. This holds the protective covering upon the hanger, due to the fact that the inherently resilient sides of the protective covering tend to swing inwardly to hold the lugs under the flange.

In the fourth form of the invention shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the device is applied to the same type of hanger as that shown at 38. However, in this arrangement, the hanger covering is in matching halves. Each half has a hook-receiving part 60 widened at its lower end, to define side walls fitted with snap fasteners 62 connectable to one another at opposite sides of the base of the hook, immediately above the body of the hanger. Below the snap fasteners 62 the side walls are extended at opposite sides of the center portion of the body of the hanger,

' nated at 68, and is of the type formed of wood material with a metal hook, the hanger having wooden arms 70 and a metal hook 72 at the inner ends of the arms. The protective covering includes a tubular hook receiving portion 74 merging at its lower end into opposed side walls 76 adapted to engage against opposite sides of the midlength part of the hanger. The side walls have downwardly convergent side edges, reducing the respective side walls in widthin the direction of their lower ends, and thelower ends of the side walls are projected below the underside of the midlength part of the hanger body and are provided with snap fasteners 78 to connect the covering securely in place about the hanger body.

In the next form of the invention shown in Figs. 13 and 14, the garment hanger 80 is also a conventional type, having a body portion of arcuate formation formed from a single piece of wood material. The hanger hook has been designated at 82, and has a flattened part 83 intermediate its ends. The protective covering includes a hook-receiving tubular portion 84 and this also has a flattened part as shown at 86, contacting the opposite faces of the flattened part 83. The construction is adapted to hold the tubular hook-receiving portion 84 against endwise movement along the length of the hook, thus effectively holding the covering in place to sheathe the hook against exposure to the surrounding air. The hanger hook 83 is formed with an intermediate fiat portion 85 adapted to engage the wood material and an end flattened portion 87 engaged in a recess 88 formed at the bottom center portion of the wood material of the hanger 80 to prevent rotation or turning of the hanger hook 82. In the form shown in Figs. 15 and 16, molded about the base of the hook of a conventional wire hanger 10 is a solid plastic sheath 190 integrally formed with outwardly extending legs 192 enclosing the inner ends of the downwardly divergent coat support arms of the hanger. On the outer ends of legs 192 there are formed upwardly and inwardly directed books 194, adapted to cooperate with the legs 192 in affording a support for ties, belts, and the like, which can be draped over the legs 192 'and held against movement off the legs by the hook elements 194. The plastic sheath is of a hard plastic,

T but alternatively, can be of a relatively soft plastic the hook and seating at its lower end upon the inner end portions of the downwardly divergent coat support arms of the hanger 128. The sleeve can be of soft material, and can be slightly resilient, so as to permit the same to he slipped over the enlargement 130, after which the small end of the sleeve contracts under the enlargement to hold the same in place.

In Figs. 18 and 19, applied to the hanger 128 is a sectionally constituted, tapering sleeve composed of confronting sections 198 of semicircular cross section, each of said sections having outwardly extending ears 200. The ears 200 are extended in engagement with one another and are fitted with complementary gripper fastener elements 202, 204, to permit the sleeve to be detachably secured about the base of the hook shank below the enlargement 130.

In Fig. 20, applied to the wire hanger 10 is a sectionally constituted covering including an elongated, openended bottom portion 88 forming outwardly and oppositely projecting sleeves enclosing the inner end portions of the coat support arms of the hanger. The portion 88 is formed with longitudinal slits extending inwardly from opposite ends of the portion 88, and merging into diametrically opposite, longitudinal slits formed in a tapering, tubular sleeve enclosing the base part of the support hook of the hanger. The formation of the diametrically opposite slits in said sleeve defines sleeve sections 92, said sections having outwardly, oppositely projecting cars 94 lying in a plane common to the plane of the garment support portion of the garment hanger 10, said ears being provided with cooperating gripper fastener elements 96.

Projecting upwardly from the opposite end portions of the bottom sleeve 88 are hook-like abutments 98 of inverted L-shape, the free end of said abutments being faced toward the hook-sha'ik-enclosing sleeve sections 92. Formed on the base parts of the sections '92 are projections or fingers 100, terminating short of the free ends of the abutments 98. By reason of this arrangement, there is defined between the base of the sections 92 and the abutments 98 a space in which ties or belts can be inserted, to be hung upon the bottom sleeve '88, the projections 100 and the free end portions of the abutments 98 cooperating to prevent accidental falling of the supported articles from the covering.

In Fig.21, applied to the base part of the support part of hanger is an upwardly tapering plastic sleeve 102, integrally formed at its base with outwardly and oppositely .projecting hook elements 104, the free ends of-which are turned upwardly. The elements 104 lie in a plane common to that of the main part or garment support portion of the hanger, and are relatively elongated, so as to permit ties or belts to be hung upon said elements.

In Figs. 22, an upwardly tapering sleeve is formed of complementary sections 106, having outwardly projecting ears 108 fitted with gripper fastener elements. The ears 108 lie in a plane normal to the plane of the main or garment support portion of the hanger, while the hook elements 110, integrally formed upon the base portion of each section 106, lie in a plane normal to the plane of the ears 108.

In Fig. 23, a garment hanger 10 is sheathed over the full length of the main portion thereof with plastic or rubber, and the covering includes an upwardly tapering sleeve 112 enclosing the base part of the support hook. Sleeve 112 is integral at its lower end with outwardly projecting, downwardly divergent arm coverings 114, said coverings 114 having a longitudinal slit extending from end to end thereof, on the undersides of the arm coverings. As a result, the sleeve 112 can be slipped over the hook of the hanger, and the slits can be opened to permit insertion of the inner end portions of the coat support arms of the hanger.

Enclosing the lower part or trousers bar of the hanger is an elongated sleeve 116, having a longitudinal slit 118 in its upper surface, to permit said sleeve 116 to be positioned about the trousers bar. At its opposite ends, the sleeve 116 is integral with upwardly convergent extensions 120, terminating in engagement with the outer ends of the arm coverings 114.

To clamp the free ends of the arm coverings 114 and extensions 120 to the downwardly divergent coat support arms of the hanger, there are provided spring metal bands 122, 124, which, as shown in Fig. 24, extend about their associated plastic members to hold the same in engagement with the associated part of the garment hanger. A single metal band 126 can be extended about the trousers bar sleeve 116, medially between the opposite ends of said sleeve 116.

In Fig. 25, the covering is applied to the hanger 128, and includes a pair of sections 132, cooperating to provide a tapering sleeve enclosing the base part of the support hook of the hanger. At their lower ends, sections 132 are integral with outwardly projecting sleeve extensions 134 enclosing the coat support arms of the hanger. The entire body of the garment hanger would be sheathed by the members 134 in the same manner as shown in Fig. 23, and the members 134, as will be understood, would terminate short of the outer ends of the arms of the hanger, so as to abut against the free ends of the extensions 120.

In Fig. 25 construction, the sections 132 are not connected to one another, but by reason of their inherent resiliency are held in engagement with the hanger, the sleeves 134 having longitudinal slits 136 in their undersides to facilitate the attachment of the device to the hanger.

In Fig. 26, the construction is similar to Figs. 23 and E 25', except for the provision of means to connect the sections of the hanger support hook protective sleeve. In this form, said sleeve is composed of sections 138 having ears 140 provided with gripper fastener elements 142, the sections 138 being integral at their lower ends with arm enclosing sleeves 144 similar to the sleeves 134.

In Fig. 27, the construction is adapted for protectively covering a conventional :garment hanger 145 of the type having a wooden body. In this form, the upwardly projecting, tapering sleeve 146 is of one piece formation, and at its base has diametrically opposite, outwardly extending projections 148 spaced from projections 150 of inverted 'L-shape formed upon the arm-enclosing sleeves 152. The sleeves 152 would be extended to enclose the complete body of the hanger, in the manner shownin Fig. 23.

In Fig. 28, the covering is again used in association with a wooden garment hanger body having a wire sup port hook. The garment hanger has been designated'at 154,'and has a flattened enlargement 156 on the shank of the support hook thereof. The sleeve 158 enclosing the base of the hook shank is integral at its lower end with arm-enclosing sleeve portions 160. This form of the invention, like the form shown in Fig. 27, can be molded about the body of the hanger so as to completely enclose the same.

In Fig. 29, the protective covering is again applied to the hanger 154, and includes cooperating sleeve sections 162 enclosing the base part of the support hook. Sections 162 are formed with contacting ears 164 having cooperating gripper fastener elements 166, the ears lying in a plane normal to the plane of the body of the hanger. Integral with the lower ends of the respective sections 162 are outwardly extending arm-enclosing sleeves 168.

In Fig. 30, applied to the hanger 154 is a covering including sleeve sections having ears 172 provided with gripper fastener elements. The ears lie in a plane normal to the plane of the hanger, said plane being normal to the plane of outwardly projecting fingers 178 formed upon the respective sections 179. Fingers 178 terminate in closely spaced relation to the free ends of inverted L-shaped abutments 176 carried by the outwardly projecting arm-enclosing sleeves 174, that are formed integrally with the lower ends of the sections 170.

In Fig. 31, applied to the hanger 154 is a covering which does not enclose the body of the hanger. The covering, instead, comprises complementary sleeve sections 180 enclosing the base part of the support hook shank. Formed upon the opposite edges of the sections 180 are ears 182 having gripper fastener elements for connecting the same. Ears 182 lie in a plane normal to that of the body of the hanger, and formed upon the lower ends of the sections 180 are outwardly extending, upturned books 184 providing means for supporting belts or ties from the hanger. The books 184 are in a plane common to that of the body of the hanger.

In Fig. 32, applied to the hanger 154 is a protective sleeve 186 of integral formation, having at its base outwardly projecting hook elements 188 disposed in the plane of the garment hanger body.

In Figs. 33 and 34, applied to the hanger 190 is a covering including cooperative sleeve sections 191 and 192 enclosing the base part of the support hook. Sleeve sections 191 and 192 carry cooperating snap fastener elements 193 and 194 respectively. Integral with the lower end of sleeve section 191 are outwardly extending arms 195 and 196. The lower edge of arm 195 is curled upon itself to form an arm enclosing tubular portion 197.

Integral with the lower end of sleeve 192 are outwardly extending arms 198 and 199. The lower edge of arm 199 is curled upon itself to form an arm enclos ing tubular part 200.

In all forms of the invention, the device is characterized by its sheathing, either partially or completely, the

hook portion of a garment hanger, thus to protect said hook portion against corrosion and further, to eliminate noisy metal-to-metal contact between the hook of the hanger and an associated clothes support bar of a closet, not shown.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent A protective covering for a garment hanger having a hook and an angular-shaped body, comprising a flexible plastic tubular portion having a length corresponding to the length of said hook adapted to enclose completely said hook, said tubular portion at one end extending at least to said body, and means to hold said portion against slippage longitudinally ofr' the hook, the covering being formed substantially in an inverted Y-shape, with the tubular portion forming the leg of said Y, said covering including integral downwardly divergent branches at one end of the tubular portion forming the arms of the Y, said branches being adapted to receive the angular midlength portions of said body, said covering having a continuously extending slit disposed longitudinally of said branches, the branches at their divergent ends having, at opposite sides of the slit, mating separable fastener elements for closing the slit at its ends, said elements being formed as gripper fasteners.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,657,806 OBryon Jan. 31, 1928 2,192,237 Nettles Mar. 5, 1940 2,348,523 Chaikin May 9, 1944 2,525,158 Van Derbeck Oct. 10, 1950

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