US3537627A - Clamp type garment hanger - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventor John H. Batts Grand Rapids, Michigan [21] Appl. No. 771,234 [22] Filed Oct. 28, 1968 [45] Patented Nov. 3, 1970 [73] Assignee John Thomas Batts Inc.

Zeeland, Michigan a corporation of Michigan [54] CLAMP TYPE GARMENT HANGER 1,102,545 7/1914 Prouty 9/1928 Wood 24/137 .s)ux

Primary Examiner-Jordan Franklin Assistant Examiner-George H. Krizmanich Attorney Price, Heneveld, Huizenga and Qooper ABSTRACT: A garment hanger of the clamping variety including a pair of bar members having facing garment-engaging surfaces. The bars are forced toward one another resiliently by a U-shaped spring. The base of the spring passes through suitable apertures in the bars at the extremity of the garmentclamping sections thereof and the legs extend along the exterior surfaces of the bar in suitable grooves. The legs of the spring are formed so as to contact the bars near their midpoints such that primary compression force is exerted centrallyof the bar rather than at the extremities thereof.

CLAMP TYPE GARMENT HANGER This invention relates to a garment hanger and, more particularly, to garment hangers of the clamping type. This invention comprises, briefly, such a hanger having first and second bar members with facing garment-engaging surfaces. A generally U-shaped resilient member having a base and two legs is affixed to the bars such that the legs lie in generally parallel relationship to the bars and tend to compress them together and, thus, resiliently force the garment engaging surfaces toward one another.

Garment hangers of the clamping variety have been utilized for some time to hang such articles as slacks, skirts and the like. The hangers, basically, function by clamping the garment between two surfaces and retaining the surfaces in compression by means of a spring, cam or the like.

It is an object of this invention to provide a hanger of this general type embodying a novel structural design which lends itself to I easy and relatively inexpensive fabrication. The hanger which is the subject of this invention, additionally, will compress evenly on the garment positioned therein and, thus, will not permit one side of it to fall away from the hanger. Other advantages of the hanger which is the subject of this invention include its relatively low profile which permits it to be suspended in spaces of limited clearance and, additionally, to be hung from the end on a display rack or the like as well as from the center. p p

The objects and advantages of this invention will be readily apparent to those skilled'in the art with reference to the following specification and accompanying figures in which:

FIG. I is a side elevational view of the novel hanger;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along plane Il-ll of FIG. I illustrating the hanger in its relaxed configuration;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along plane ll-ll of FIG. 1 illustrating the hanger in itsexpanded position;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view, partially in cross section, of a modified embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, side elevational view of the modified embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4.

Referring initiallyto FIGS. 1 through 3, the hanger which forms the subject'of this invention comprises a pair of elongated bar members 11 and 12. Bar member 11 has a clamping surface 21 and bar member 12 has a clamping surface 22 which surfaces are positioned adjacent one another during assembly of the hanger. Clamping surfaces 21 and 22 may, if desirable, be grooved parallel to the length of the bar members in order to increase the frictional properties of the hanger.

Bar member 11 is of greater length than bar member 12 to provide the smoothly curved overhang 13.Bar member 12, similarly, has a curved extremity 15. The curved portions 13 and 15 form a smoothly converging, generally V-shaped passageway into which the garment may be slid to cam the hanger into its garment-receiving position to be discussed hereinafter. The rear section 16 of the bars 11 and 12 (at the left as viewed in FIGSyI through 3) are flush.

Bar 11 has an elongated'groove 17 running lengthwise near the midpoint thereof. Bar 12, similarly, has a groove 18 running a similar distance and in a similar direction. Grooves 17 and 18, as shown best in FIGS. 2 and 3, areon the opposed surfaces of the bars 11 and 12 i.e. the sides opposite of the garment-clampingsurfaces 21 and 22. At the extremity of the garment-engaging section of the hanger aligned apertures 19 and 23 are formed in bars 11 and 12 respectively'The apertures 19 and 23, as illustrated in FIG. 1, communicate from the base of the grooves 17 and 18.

The bars 11 and 1-2 are retainedtogether in compression by means of a generally U-shapedc'lamping spring 30. The spring 30 has a base or webbing 31 which passes through the apertures 19 and 23. Elongated sides or legs 32 extend in generally parallel fashion from base 31 a substantial distance and then converge as indicated at 3,4 to form the bearing members 33. A conventional book 35 may "be utilized in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 through 3 to suspend the hanger and garment positioned therein from a rail or the like.

Referring now specifically to FIG. 2, it will be noted that the parallel 'portions 32 of spring member 30 do not contact resiliently the bases of grooves 17 and 18. These portions 32, rather, are spaced from the bottoms of the groove and, thus, in and by themselves, exert no compression force on the bar members 11 and 12. The compression force on the bar members 11 and 12 is exerted, rather, by the bearing sections 33 of the spring member 30. The compressive force on the two bar members, thus, is exerted near the center of their lengths, preferably to the right of center as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 3, and there is little tendency for the garment to be clinched more tightly at one extremity of the hanger than at the other. This avoids, of course, the possiblity of the garment being placed in the hanger in sucha fashion as to restrict the compressive force to one end thereof, the other end of the garment being permitted to fall free.

The spacing between the parallel leg members 32 of spring 30 is determined, of course, by the length of base section 31. This base section should be of sufficient length to permit the insertion of one or two pairs of slacks or the like into the hanger without the portions 32 coming into contact with the base of grooves 17 and I8 and, thus, compressing the lefthand side of the hanger as viewed in FIGS. 1 through 3 more tightly than the right-hand 'side thereof. Such pressing, of course, tends to swing thebearing sections 33 out of contact with the bars and, thus, permits one side of the garment to fall free from the hanger. I

The bars 11 and 12 are retained together by the base 31 passing'through apertures 19 and 23 therein. The spring is retained in position, of course, by base 31 and theriding of bearing sections 33'thereof in the grooves 17 and I8.lt will not be necessary in all circumstances, of course, to run the grooves 17 and 18 the complete length of the spring 30. Stability could be gained, for example, by merely providing a short section of grooves for the bearing sections 33 to seat into. In such a case, of course, the width of the bar members 11 and 12 would either have to be reduced or the length of the base section 31 of spring 30 increased.

The garment is placed in the hanger by merely placing one edge thereof into the V-shaped camming groove formed by the curved surfaces 13 and.15. The extra length at bar 11, of course, provides a bearing surface for the thumb or the like to assist in initial spreading of the bars. Once the garment has entered between the compression surfaces 21 and 22, it is merely slid toward the base 31 of spring 30. During such sliding, the bars 11 and 12 separate as illustrated in FIG. 3, the compression force of the spring 30 being transmitted to the bars only at the centrally located areas which the bearing sections 33 contact. The garment may be removed from the hanger by merely grasping it and pulling it sideways out of the opening formed by the curved surfaces 13 and 15.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a somewhat modified embodiment of-the invention suitable for utilization in a hanging and display structure such as that disclosed in US. Pat. application Ser. No. 681,207 filed Nov. 8, I967. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 the hook 35 is omitted and the extremities of the bars 11 and 12 lengthened to provide a hanging structure 50 including a head 51 with a depending vertical web 52 for support and reinforcement. By incorporating such a structure into the hanger, it may be suspended from the end in a clothing store or the like on suitable vertical display racks such as shown in the noted copending application. The web 52 may, as shown, be formed into sections, one on each of the bars 11 and 12. The head 51, alternatively, could be formed as i an integral part of one bar member only, the remaining bar being secured to the assembly by the spring 30 as is the case in FIGS. 1 through 3.

The hanger shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is identical to that shown in FIGS. 1 through 3 with the exceptions that (I) the head 50 has been added to the hanger extremity and (2) the hook 35 has been omitted. Garments are inserted into the hanger in precisely the same'manner as that described previously in connection with the embodiment shown in the other FIGS. of the application.

The bar members 11 and 12 in either embodiment of this invention may be fabricated from wood, plastic or any other suitable material. The spring member 30, ordinarily. .will be fabricated of metal although some types of resilient plastic may prove suitable depending upon the environment, hanging load and the like in and which the hangers are to be utilized.

While a preferred embodiment of this invention has been illustrated in detail along with the minor modifications thereof, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodiments may be conceived and fabricated without departing from the teachings of this specification and the accompanying drawings. Such other embodiments are to be deemed as included within the scope of the following claims unless these claims, by their language, expressly state otherwise.

I claim:

1. A clamp type trouser hanger particularly adapted for clampingly engaging a pair of trousers or the like at the lower leg portions thereof, said hanger comprising first and second elongated bar members having inner-facing trouser-engaging surfaces and outer opposed surfaces, said bar members extending horizontally when said hanger is suspended from a support, said bar members and the inner engaging surfaces thereof having a length adapted to exceed the width of the trousers or the like tobe clampingly engaged; a generally U- shaped, elongated resilient member having a base and two legs affixed to said bars with said legs lying in generally spaced parallel relationship to the bars along the opposed outer surfaces thereof, the end portions of said legs remote from said base converging toward one another and terminating in horizontal bearing sections compressingly contacting said opposed outer surfaces at areas only between the central and end portions of said bars, whereby said bars may be forced apart without being subjected to compressive contact from those portions of said legs adjacent said base; grooves formed in the outer surfaces of said bar members within which said legs are positioned; and, means affixed to said bar members for suspending said hanger from a support with said engaging surfaces oriented generally vertical. 7

2. The hanger as set forth in claim 1 wherein said base passes through said bars at a point therealong near one end of the garment-engaging section thereof.

3. The hanger as set forth in claim 1 wherein said bars include apertures formed therein at the bases of said grooves with the base of said resilient member extending therethrough, said grooves extending along said bar members the entire length of said legs.

4. The hanger as set forth in claim 1 wherein one of said bars extends beyond the other of said bars at that extremity of said bar remote from said base.

5. The hanger as set forth in claim 4 wherein said bars curve inwardly toward said garment-engaging surfaces of said bar members at that extremity of said bar remote from said base.

6. The hanger as set forth in claim 1 wherein said suspending means comprises means affixed to one extremity of said bar members for suspendingthem in cantilever fashion from a suitable support.

7. The hanger as set forth in claim 1 wherein said suspending means comprises a suspending hook affixed to one of said bar members near the center of said hanger.

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