US3168970A

US3168970A - Garment hanger having slip preventing means

Info

Publication number: US3168970A
Application number: US188427A
Authority: US
Inventors: Harry W Wilson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1962-04-18
Filing date: 1962-04-18
Publication date: 1965-02-09
Anticipated expiration: 1982-02-09

Description

Feb. 9, 1965 H. w. WILSON 3,168,970

GARMENT HANGER HAVING sup PREVENTING MEANS Filed April 18, 1952 INVENTOR. HARRY w. WILSON 33PM W United States Patent Office 3,168,976 Patented Feb. 9, 1965 3,163,979 GARMENT HANGER HAVING @LIP PREVENTING MEANS Harry W. i" iison, 2 Flower I toad, Garden City, NH. Fiied Apr. 18, 1962, Ser. No. 183,427 3 #Ciaims. (ill. 223 32) This invention relates to friction or slip preventing means for garment hangers.

Many types of garment hangers having arms adapted to support items of clothing in display cases, closets and the like are commercially available. One type of hanger, for example, has an arm in which there are hooks and slots on which garments having various types of straps may be conveniently hung. But this type of hanger is often inconvenient for hanging garments over the arm because they slip out of position and wrinkle or fall off. This is especially troublesome for hard surfaced or slippery garments and a different type of hanger is often used for such garments to avoid this difliculty.

The principal purpose of my invention is to provide friction means adapted for installation on hangers of the type indicated so that they may also be conveniently used for hanging garments, especially of the hard or slippery surfaced variety, over the arm of the hanger.

Another purpose of my invention is to provide friction means which enhance the usefulness of hangers which may be used in this manner.

According to an embodiment of my invention, I provide a flexible, sleeve-type member having an upper surface of uneven contour. The member may have, for example, a plurality of short, bristle-like projections which define the uneven contour of the upper surface. This surface is adapted to be supported on the arm of the hanger so that when a garment is hung over the arm, it bears against the uneven contour. This in turn causes substantial friction forces to be exerted on the garment so that it does not slip from its proper position.

The embodiment also has gripping means dependent from the sides of the upper surface for engaging the hanger arm to keep the friction means in place.

The slip preventing means which I provide may be readily and inexpensively fabricated from any suitable flexible material such as, for example, semi-rigid polyethylene plastic. When installed on a hanger of the type mentioned, it does not detract from the existing utility of the hanger. But, it does substantially enhance the usefulness of such a hanger for hanging garments in the usual manner, that is, over the arm of the hanger, so that they do not easily slide out of place and wrinkle or fall off.

With my invention, one type of hanger may be used for all the hanging requirements of, for example, one large clothing store, and the added costs otherwise required for keeping many special purpose hangers available can be avoided.

These and other features of my invention are described in detail in the following portion of the specification.

In the description which follows reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view showing a hanger with an embodiment of my invention installed for use.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a pictorial view of the embodimentof FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6--6 of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7 is a side view showing a hanger on which the embodiment of FIGURE 1 is installed to illustrate other positions in which it may be used.

In FIGURE 1, a hanger on which my invention may be used is indicated at It). The hanger has an arm 11 on which garments are hung and which is adapted to be supported at its center by means such as hook 12. Arm Ii, which is commonly made from rigid plastic material, has a generally I-shaped cross section, as may be observed in FIGURE 2, so that it is both strong and light in weight. The I-shape is also advantageous because the upper flange 13 of the arm provides a wide upper edge so that garments which are hung over the arm bearing on the upper edge are not creased by the hanger.

In the hanger shown, arm 11 has hooks 14 at its ends so that garments having narrow straps, such as, for example, ladies slips, or hanging loops as are often provided inside the waist of a skirt, may be conveniently supported. The hanger also has a slot 15 on each side of arm 11 under the upper edge or flange 13. The slots 15 are adapted to receive wider straps of a garment, such as, for example, shoulder straps of an evening dress, for hanging.

Each slot 15 also has wide lip or flange portions around its edges, as indicated at It: and 17 in FIGURES 1 and 3. The upper edge or flange 13 of the arm projects over slots 15 a sufficient distance so that garments hung over the arm receive adequate, continuous support. But, an opening 18 over each slot 15 is provided through the upper edge so that hanging straps may be readily inserted into the slots.

An embodiment of my invention which is especially adapted for use on hanger it) is identified by number 20 in the drawings. As indicated in FIGURES 46, the slippreventing means of this embodiment has the general configuration of a sleeve type member that is open along at least a portion of its lower surface. It may be fabricated from many different flexible, resilient materials such as, for example, rubber, synthetic rubber or a thermoplastic. I have found that polyethylene plastic material is very satisfactory. Polyethylene is advantageous because it may be readily and inexpensively cast or molded in a desired shape and size and with suitable flexibility. There are also other plastic materials which are suitable.

The means which I provide has an upper surface of uneven contour so that there will be large friction forces between the upper surface and any item which bears against it. That is to say, I provide an uneven contour in the. upper surface of the means of my invention so that there are lar e coemcients of friction between that surface and any item bearing against it. Using polyethylene material, mentioned above, for the embodiment shown, such an uneven contour may be readily provided in the form of a plurality of short, blunt, bristle-like projections 21 which are molded integrally with the member 2d so that they stand out rom the upper surface 22.

The member 26 of the present embodiment has flexible lip portions 23 along the sides of upper surface 22. The lip portions 23 curl under the upper surface portion of the member 2% (as may be seen in FIGURES 2, 4 or 6) to engage and grip the flange 13 and hold the device in place when it is installed on the hanger. The lip portions may also have one or more serrations, as at 24, so that the means 20 remains in place even though it is installed in a position where the upper edge of the hanger arm has high degrees of curvature. The lip portions of this embodiment also have serrations at 25, the purpose of which is explained below.

Being flexible, the embodiment may be easily positioned so that it embraces the upper edge 13 of hanger arm 11. It may be snapped over the flange 1.3 and slid into place above the notches 15 (FIGURE 1), below the notches 15 (FIGURE 7) or both as illustrated on one side of arm 11 in FIGURE 7. Lip portions 23 grip the edge ofthe arm holding the means of this embodiment from sliding around the edge 13 and from pulling off. The serrations Z permit the lip portions to abut against the widened edges or flanges at the ends of slots 15 and serve to hold the member from longitudinal movement along the hanger arm.

One end of the present embodiment of my invention is shown closed. That end is the one which embraces the portion of flange 13 which projects over the top of a slot 15. This is a convenient construction which enhances the integrity of the member. Such an arrangement may be provided, of course, because the center or web portion 19 of the I-shaped arm is not present in the slots 15, so that the sleeve configuration need not be opened along the bottom surface at this end to accommodate it.

Other configurations may be provided for the hanger shown and for other types of hangers. I have described my invention by illustrating an embodiment which is especially adapted for the hanger 11 in the drawings, however, because this type of hanger has wide use in commerce today. Large quantities of such hangers may be used in one large clothing store, for example, and they represent a substantial investment by the owner. They are especially desirable for use in ladies wear departments or stores because the slots 15 and hooks 14, described above, permit a diversity of uses so that only one type of hanger is required. But, when smooth, hard finished or slippery garments are hung over the arm of the hanger, which is probably the most ordinary type of hanger use, the garments often slide out of place and fall or wrinkle. This is especially inconvenient in a crowded showcase or closet, for example, where many garments are hung and removed often with great frequency. Pressure of adjacent garments may cause the one which is being moved to be pulled off its hanger and vice versa. Additional time and care is required to prevent such occurrences or, say, for hanging such garments as a silk dress, nightgown, silk-lined jacket and peignoir, the expense of providing a completely different type of hanger must be borne.

With my invention, one type of hanger can be used in all of these applications. The slip preventing means which I provide is readily manufactured at very low unit cost. Two to four units of the embodiment described can be quickly and inexpensively installed on a hanger to enhance its usefulness for garments which are hung over the hanger arm. They may just as readily be removed as desired, or simply left in place because they do. not detract from the other useful features of the hanger. Hooks 14 may be used in the ordinary way. The same is true for the slots 15 because the ends 26 of the member 20 do not close the opening 18 through the upper edge 13 of the hanger arm. Moreover, the flexible bristle-like projections 21 provided on upper surface 22 have blunt or rounded ends so that they do not catch into a garment and even garments of rough or nappy fabric can be accommodated with ordinary facility. And in all cases where garments are hung over the arm of hangers on which slip preventing means of my invention are installed, friction forces which are exerted on the garments enhance assurance that they will stay in place.

I have disclosed and described my invention with detailed reference to a particular embodiment thereof. Changes and departures from the embodiment discussed may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. That scope is defined by the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. A garment hanger and slip preventing means installed upon said hanger, said hanger having a generally I-shaped cross-section, the vertical component of the I- shape being a vertically extending web and the upper and lower horizontal portions of the I-shape defining a pair of flanges which extend along the upper and lower edges of said vertical web, the upper flange of said hanger being adapted to support the shoulder portions of a garment, said upper flange being interrupted and separated to form two pairs of spaced end portions between which the shoulder straps of a garment may be hung, said slip preventing means comprising a generally channelshaped member of relatively flexible material conforming to the contours of the hanger, said channel-shaped memher having an upper yoke portion which extends its full length and rests against the upper flange portion of the hanger, a plurality of inwardly curved fingers formed along both side edges of said yoke, said fingers engaging the side and bottom edges of said upper flange to hold said channel-shaped member in place thereon, and a pocket portion formed at one end of said channel-shaped member, said pocket portion being slipped over one of said end portions of said upper flange of the hanger in order to prevent longitudinal displacement of said channelshaped member relative to said flange.

2. Slip preventing means in accordance with claim 1, wherein a plurality of pointed projections are formed on the upper surface of the yoke portion of said slip preventing means in order to prevent slipping of the garment thereon.

3. Slip preventing means in accordance with claim 1, wherein said yoke portion, side fingers and end pocket portion are all integrally molded of a resilient material having a relatively high frictional'coefiicient and selected from the group consisting of rubber, synthetic rubber, and polyethylene plastics.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,835,422 Stuard May 20, 1958' 2,904,233 Brothers Sept. 15, 1959 3,005,579 Thurber Oct. 24, 1961

Claims

1. A GARMENT HANGER AND SLIP PREVENTING MEANS INSTALLED UPON SAID HANGER, SAID HANGER HAVING A GENERALLY I-SHAPED CROSS-SECTION, THE VERTICAL COMPONENT OF THE ISHAPE HAVING A VERTICALLY EXTENDING WEB AND THE UPPER AND LOWER HORIZONTAL PORTIONS OF THE I-SHAPE DEFINING A PAIR OF FLANGES WHICH EXTEND ALONG THE UPPER AND LOWER EDGES OF SAID VERTICAL WEB, THE UPPER FLANGE OF SAID HANGER BEING ADAPTED TO SUPPORT THE SHOULDER PORTIONS OF A GARMENT, SAID UPPER FLANGE BEING INTERRUPTED AND SEPARATED TO FORM TWO PAIRS OF SPACED END PORTIONS BETWEEN WHICH THE SHOULDER STRAPS OF A GARMENT MAY BE HUNG, SAID SLIP PREVENTING MEANS COMPRISING A GENERALLY CHANNELSHAPED MEMBER OF RELATIVELY FLEXIBLE MATERIAL CONFORMING TO THE CONTOURS OF THE HANGER, SAID CHANNEL-SHAPED MEMBER HAVING AN UPPER YOKE PORTION WHICH EXTENDS ITS FULL LENGTH AND RESTS AGAINST THE UPPER FLANGE PORTION OF THE HANGER, A PLURALITY OF INWARDLY CURVED FINGERS FORMED ALONG BOTH SIDE EDGES OF SAID YOKE, SAID FINGERS ENGAGING THE SIDE AND BOTTOM EDGES OF SAID UPPER FLANGE TO HOLD SAID CHANNEL-SHAPED MEMBER IN PLACE THEREON, AND A POCKET PORTION FORMED AT ONE END OF SAID CHANNEL-SHAPED MEMBER, SAID POCKET PORTION BEING SLIPPED OVER ONE OF SAID END PORTIONS OF SAID UPPER FLANGE OF THE HANGER IN ORDER TO PREVENT LONGITUDINAL DISPLACEMENT OF SAID CHANNELSHAPED MEMBER RELATIVE TO SAID FLANGE.