WO1998014102A1

WO1998014102A1 - Dress-hanger

Info

Publication number: WO1998014102A1
Application number: PCT/EP1996/004275
Authority: WO
Inventors: Domenico Lorenzon; Pietro Spricigo
Original assignee: Domenico Lorenzon; Pietro Spricigo
Priority date: 1996-09-30
Filing date: 1996-09-30
Publication date: 1998-04-09
Also published as: EP0888075A1; SI9620125A

Abstract

Dress-hanger adapted to support dresses with different kind, shapes and sizes, comprising a horizontal rectilinear portion (11) provided with a central hook (13) for hanging it on the wardrobes, and sprung coupling elements (23, 24) slidable along the dress-hanger half-portions (21, 22), in order to change the distance from one another depending on the sizes of dresses to be supported. Dress-hanger in which each coupling element (23, 24) engages a covering element (45), which is displaceable from an inserted to an extracted position thereof with respect to such coupling element, wherein such covering element covers the coupling element or provides an extension thereof, thereby permitting such coupling element not to be grasped or to be grasped, so as to be displaced on the opening or closing position thereof. In this way, there are reduced the overall dimensions of the dress-hanger.

Description

DRESS -HANGER

The invention relates to a dress -hanger shaped in such a manner as to permit dresses of different kind and forms to be supported.

Dress -hangers of different kinds and forms are known, which are made of wood or molded plastic material and foreseen for supporting dresses of different types, sizes and forms in the wardrobes and other furniture for guarding dresses.

In particular, a dress -hanger is known which comprises a horizontal rectilinear portion made of molded plastic material, having reduced thickness and width and different lenght, which is variable depending on the different sizes and the dresses to be supported and guarded, whose central portion is provided with a thickened zone where a bent hook is foreseen, which can be hung on the correspondent supporting rods provided into the wardrobes and other suitable furniture for guarding dresses, and whose horizontal rectilinear portion has at its ends two sprung coupling elements, which can be opened and closed so as to be able to catch and support a respective end of one or more dresses, with the interposition of soft material applied on the inner surfaces of the same elements assigned to be pressed around such ends, the one of the coupling elements being fixed and made integral with the rectilinear portion and the other thereof being movable and hinged with respect the the previous one, in a manner to be able to be displaced with respect thereto from an opened to a closed position thereof. However, this type of dress-hanger has clear applicative limits deriving from the fact to be able to support only dresses with pre-established sizes or provided with sizes slightly different therefrom, due to the impossibility to change the reciprocal position of the coupling elements, and therefore do not lends itself to be adapted also to dresses having various size ranges, as on the contrary it would be desirable for making versatile the same dress -hanger , with consequent savings of other dress -hangers which are needed from time to time for the respective sizes of the dresses to be supported.

Moreover, the coupling elements of this dress -henger can be handled with difficulty, therefore making not much practical and useful the same dress -hanger, and these operations lend themselves scarcely to be perfor- med automatically by any possible automatized systems to be coupled with some plants for carrying and transporting dresses, which are installed on the laboratories and industrial ironing shops for cleaning and ironing of large quantities of dresses or dress transpor- ting plants for great warehouses and the like, in order to convey such dresses from the loading area of the respective plant, wherein they are hung onto movable conveyors provided on the plant, to the unloading area of the same plant wherein the dresses are unloaded by the operator.

The present invention has the object to overcome the drawbacks and applicative limits of the types of dress - hangers referred to, by means of a dress -hanger of a simple and useful kind made in such a manner as to per- mit it to be adapted easily and quickly to dresses to be supported having widely different sizes, and to be handled with simple operations permitting it to be paired also with any possible automatized system, which can be associated to plants for supporting and carrying dresses of the kind referred to.

This dress -hanger is made with the constructive characteristics substantially described with particular reference to the enclosed claims of the present patent. The invention will be more evident from the following description, given by way of not- limiting example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein :

- Fig. 1 shows a schematic front view of the dress -han- ger according to the invention, in a first embodiment thereof ;

- Fig. 1 A shows a front view of a possible constructive variant of the dress -hanger of Fig. 1 ; - Fig. 2 shows a first constructive item of the dress - hanger of Fig. 1, in an enlarged and cutaway side view thereof ;

- Figs. 3 and 4 show the constructive item of Fig. 2, in the respective front and back view thereof ; - Fig. 5 shows a second enlarged constructive item of the dress -hanger of Fig. 1, in a front view thereof ;

- Figs. 6 and 7 show a third enlarged constructive i- tem of the dress -hanger of Fig. 1, in the respecti- ve front and back view thereof ;

- Figs. 8 and 9 show a side view of the dress -hanger of Fig. 1, moved into two different operative positions thereof, to provide for hanging the dresses ;

- Fig. 10 shows a schematic front view of the dress - hanger according to the invention, in a second embodiment thereof ;

- Fig. 11 shows a first constructive item of the dress - hanger of Fig. 10, in an enlarged side view thereof;

- Fig. 12 shows the constructive item of Fig. 11 in a cutaway side view thereof ;

- Fig. 13 shows a second enlarged constructive item of the dress -hanger of Fig. 10, in a front view thereof;

- Fig. 14 shows a third enlarged constructive item of the dress -hanger of Fig. 10, in a back view thereof; - Fig. 15 shows a fourth constructive item of the dress -hanger of Fig. 10, in a front view thereof ;

- Figs. 16 and 17 show a side view of the dress -hanger of Fig. 10, displaced in two different operative positions thereof for hanging the dresses thereon. The figure 1 illustrates schematically a dress -hanger 10 in accordance to the invention, which is made of molded plastic material or also other suitable rigid material and foreseen for supporting dresses of diffe- rent kind, sizes and forms in the wardrobes and other furniture for guarding dresses, and constituted by at least a horizontal rectilinear portion 11 of reduced thickness and width and greater lenght, such as to per- mit to support dresses provided with sizes widely different thereamong, which portion is thickened on its central zone 12 in the direction of the width of the same portion, and into the upper side of which a bent hook 13 is included, which can be hung onto the corre- sponding support rods (not shown) provided on wardrobes and other suitable furniture for guarding dresses. Such a horizontal rectilinear portion 11 is shaped at its ends as hooks 14 and 15, and on its front and back surfaces is provided with rectilinear ribs 16, 17, 18 which are parallel to each other and extended for the entire lenght of the same rectilinear portion, thereby forming corresponding longitudinal hollows 19 and 20, in the present case having rectangular outline, but they may be made also with different geometric shapes, and the two half -portions 21 and 22 defined between each end and the central zone 12 of said rectilinear portion are provided for housing a respective sprung coupling means 23 and 24 made of molded plastic material or other suitable rigid material, which is slida- ble longitudinally and reciprocatingly in a horizontal direction for the entire extent of each half -portion and provided ^'for supporting a correspondent end of one or more dresses. Each coupling means is, according to the invention, substantially constituted as evident from the Figs. 1, 8 and 9 by a pair of catching elements 25 and 26, which can be opened and closed reciprocally so as to be able to be coupled with such ends of the dresses and pressed thereagainst, as well as a respective metallic lamina spring 27, 28 supported by and co-operating with the corresponding pair of coupling means, in order to interact therewith in such a manner as to open or close them as it will be described later. In the Figs. 2, 3 and 4 it is shown a catching element 25 of said pairs of catching elements, which in the present case has an almost rectangular outline and is identical and profiled symmetrically with respect to the other catching element of the pairs, and is sub- tantially formed by an extended flat portion 29 having vertical extension and rectangular shape, whose width is smaller than the lenght and provided with reduced thickness, and by an enlarged flat portion 30 made in- tegral with the preceding portion at the lower side thereof, which portion has also a rectangular shape and extends horizontally and orthogonally as well as symmetrically with respect to the preceding extended portion 29, and is made with a width smaller than its lenght and reduced thickness.

Each pair of catching elements 25 and 26 is provided with a protective coating 31 made of soft material, as the plastic material, which is molded on the back surface of the enlarged flat portion 30 of one catching element, which is turned toward the identical enlarged flat portion of the catching element opposite thereto of the same pair, which is also provided with the same protective coating, so as to ensure an effective and soft pressure of the catching elements of each pair a- gainst the dresses, thus without damaging them.

The extended portion 29 of each catching element has a first and a second flat central zone 32 and 33 hollowed for a portion Of its lenght and width, which are provided on the respective front and back surfaces of the same element, of which the first hollowed zone 32 serves to house the corresponding lamina spring 27 and 28 and is depressed at its upper side for the passage of the same spring, and the second hollowed zone 33 defines two vertical rectilinear side ribs 34, which are parallel and projected backwards with respect to such second hollowed zone.

Furthermore, such extended portion 29 has on its front surface two side ribs 35 and 36, which are parallel to each other and delimite the first hollowed zone 32, said ribs being extended vertically up to the enlarged portion 30, acting as vertical rectilinear guide members for the scopes hereinafter described, while in turn such first hollowed zone 32 is joined centrally to a semicircular recess 37 provided for the insertion of the correspondent bent end portion 38 of said spring. Finally, the hollowed zone 33 and the side ribs 34 of each catching element, these latter being joined at their upper side to a semicircular recess 39, are shaped with a rectilinear outline tapered downwards from the upper side thereof, for the function set forth below. In the Fig. 5 it is now illustrated one of the lamina springs identical to each other, in this case the spring 27 which is made with reduced thickness, so as to be able to be adapted in the first hollowed central zone 32 and the respective semicircular recesses 37 of each pair of catching elements. Besides, this spring is shaped with two bent end portions 40 and 41, identical to each other, adapted to be coupled in the respective semicircular recesses 37 of the catching elements of each pair, and which are joined reciprocally by means of two rectilinear spring portions 42 and 43 having the same lenght and a semicircular central portion 44.

The so shaped spring, which may of course be shaped also in a different manner for performing the same function which will be described later, is used for joining reciprocally and removably each pair of catching elements 25 and 26 to the dress -hanger 10, by coupling the two end portions 40 and 41 of the spring 27 on the corresponding semicircular recesses 37 of the respective catching elements, which are laid in advan- ce with the back side ribs 34 thereof onto the respective front and back surfaces of the two half -portions 21 and 22 of the dress -hanger, and by housing the remaining rectilinear portions 42 and 43 and semicircu- lar portion 44 of said spring respectively in the central hollowed zones 32 and the upper depressed zones of said catching elements, in such a way that each pair of catching elements is engaged and can slide longitu- dinally with respect to the dress-hanger, in order to be able to change the distance between the pairs of catching elements, thereby adapting it to dresses with different and widely variable sizes. In the Figs. 6 and 7 it is shown now a covering ele- ment 45 which is used combined with each catching element, in order to permit each pair of catching elements to be effectively actuated in the two different operative positions thereof. To this aim, the covering element 45 is substantially constituted by a flat and thin plate 46 made of molded plastic material or other suitable rigid material, which is so shaped as for being adapted on the extended portion 29 of a respective catching element of the pair, and realized advantageously with rectangular shape provided with sizes slightly larger than those ones of said extended portion 29 and enlarged portion 30 of each catching element, wherein the flat front surface turned outwards said plate 46 is roughened by means of slightly projected ribs 47, so as to permit the operator to grasp the same plate, while the flat back surface of said plate turned toward the opposite front surface of the catching element is provided with a flat hollowed and central zone 48, for the entire extent thereof, which at its upper side is delimited by a thin horizontal rectilinear flange 49 acting as abutting surface, and laterally by two rectilinear edges 50 and 51 which are vertical and parallel to each other, in which two sidewise slightly recessed guide members 52 and 53 are provided. Each so formed covering element 45 is fitted on position on a correspondent catching element of each pair 25, 25, by inserting the side guide members 52 and 53 onto the correspondent vertical rectilinear guide mem- bers formed by the side ribs 35 and 36 of the same catching element, in a way that such covering element is slidable rectilinearly and reciprocatingly onto the catching element from the one to the other one of the two operative positions of insertion and extraction thereof, in which the covering element is respectively fully inserted, therefore by covering almost the whole catching element when this latter needs not to be actuated, or fully extracted from the catching element thereby forming an extension thereof, which then can be grasped by the operator for actuating the respective pair of said catching elements in the opened and closed position thereof. These insertion and extraction positions of the cove- ring element 45 are shown respectively in the Figs. 8 and 9, in which a single pair of catching elements 25 and 26 with the associated covering elements 45 is made evident. Then, in the first case the covering elements 45 are practically coincident with the outer outline of the respective catching elements 25 and 26 and therefore cannot be grasped by the operator, in which condition the upper edge of each catching element bears against the horizontal flange 49 of the covering element 45, while in the second case such covering elements 45 are projected at the upper side thereof beyond the respective catching elements up to a certain lenght thereof and therefore can be grasped by the operator, so as to displace the catching elements from the opened to the closed position thereof, in a way to hang the dresses. In this way, the catching elements of each pair are no more made projected at the upper side of the horizontal rectilinear portion 11 of the dress -hanger 10, as previously, in that such catching elements are dimensioned with an outline practically flushing said rectilinear portion 11, when the covering elements are fully inserted thereon* and are projected only temporarily when said covering elements are extracted therefrom, for hanging or releasing the dresses with respect to the dress -hanger, which circumstance awards extremely limited overall dimensions to the so realized dress -hanger, by making it practical and useful for supporting dresses with different size ranges, and for packing it, thereby avoiding undesired breakages of the plastic envelopes containing them, as sometimes it happened while packing the dress -hangers previously made, and also by making such dress -hanger suitable for transpor- ting dresses in combination with automatized transport plants for great warehouses, and plants for cleaning and ironing of large quantities of dresses, so as to ensure the transport of such dresses from the loading to the unloading zones of the same plants. Turning now to the Fig. 1 A, shown therein is another possible constructive version of the dress-hanger according to the invention, in which each one of the covering elements 45 has no more an almost rectangular outline, as previously, but a quadrangular outline rounded at its corners, and the catching elements 25 and 26 thereof have also another outline, namely an oval outline, which can be shaped also with other forms . By referring now to the Figs. 11, 12, 13 and 14, shown therein is a pair of catching elements in a second embodiment thereof, which are constituted by the respective elements 54 and 55 provided with an outline exactly symmetrical to each other and co-operating reciprocally as evident from the Figs. 16 and 17 and as it will be described later.

Also in this case, each catching element is substantially formed by an extended flat portion 56 having vertical extension, of rectangular shape with a width smaller than the lenght thereof and reduced thickness, and an enlarged flat portion 57 made integral with the previous portion at the lower side thereof, which portion has also rectangular shape and extends horizontally and orthogonally as well as symmetrically with respect to the preceding extended portion 56, and is made with a width smaller than its lenght and reduced thickness, said catching elements being also provided with a respective protective coating 58 made of soft material such as for example plastic material or other suitable material with similar characteristics, which is applied on the respective element as described previously for the same purposes, and is preferably molded onto the plastic material of the respec- tive catching element and slightly projected outside from such back surface.

The extended portion 56 of each catching element has a hollowed central zone 59 for a portion of its lenght, on the front surface of the same element, for housing the respective metallic spring, and such hollow has a surface outline constituted in succession by an upper inclined surface portion 60, whose slant is directed from the front to the back surface of the same element, a semicircular hollow 61 and an underlying re- cessed hollow 62 in correspondence of a through opening 63 provided through the entire thickness of the hollowed zone 59, which hollows are foreseen for inserting a correspondent end portion of the associated spring, in the manner hereinafter described. Besides, such extended portion 56 has two front and parallel side ribs 64 and 65, spaced away from each o- ther for delimiting the hollowed central zone 59, which are projected vertically up to the enlarged portion 57 and have a bent outline, and it has at its back side a variable outline provided with a first and a second semicircular side hollow 66 and 67, which are spaced away vertically to each other and adaptable on corresponding longitudinal slots of the horizontal rectilinear portion 11 of the present dress-hanger. By referring now to the Fig. 15, in which a metallic lamina spring 68 is shown, which is able to be adapted in the hollowed central zone 59 and the respective hollows 61 and 62 of a pair of catching elements, it is noted that such spring is shaped with a slightly bent first end portion 69, adapted to be coupled irre- movably with the lower recessed hollow 62 of a catching element, and is joined in succession to a first rectilinear portion 70, a second semicircular portion 71, a third rectilinear portion 72 and the other end portion 73 of the same spring, which latter is formed by a bent portion 74 adapted to enter either one of the hollows 62 or 61 of the other catching element, and by a rectilinear end portion 75.

The so shaped spring, which can of course be also shaped in a different manner for performing the same function which will be described later, is used to join reciprocally and removably each pair of catching ele- ments 54 and 55 with the dress -hanger 10, by hooking in advance the first end portion 69 of the spring on the recessed hollow 62 of the catching element 55, thereby providing for securing on position this end portion, and then by passing the spring through the hollowed central zone 59 of such catching element and introducing the bent portion 74 of the second end portion 73 thereof into the corresponding hollow 62 of the other catching element 54, upon laying said catching elements onto the respective front and back surfaces of the two half-portions 21 and 22 of the dress -hanger, in such a way that such catching elements adapt themselves with their semicircular hollows 66 and 67 against the correspondent rectilinear ribs 16 and 18 of said two dress-hanger half -portions . In this manner, each spring provides for the reciprocal and removable engagement of one pair of catching elements on the dress -hanger, thereby permitting also a free sliding at will thereof along the relative half -portions 21 and 22 of the same dress -hanger, in order to be able to change the reciprocal distance between both pairs of catching elements, thereby adapting it to dresses with different and widely variable sizes. Finally, by referring to the Figs. 16 and 17, shown therein are the two operative positions of reciprocal closing and opening of each pair of catching elements, which are obtained by acting simply on the spring without the need to perform additional manual actions, and in case by associating the same spring with some levers or other separated components (not shown) , which are shaped for being matched to said spring, so as to improve handling and facilitate the displacement onto the operative positions thereof. In the Fig. 16, in particular, it is noted that the pair of catching elements 54 and 55 is urged on the closing position thereof by the resilient action of the spring (in the present case, by the spring 68) , whose bent portion 74 is inserted in the correspondent reces- sed hollow 62, so that the respective protective coatings 58 of such elements are pushed toward each other and thus can grasp the end portions of dresses to be supported. On the contrary, in the Fig. 17 it is noted that the pair of catching elements 54 and 55 has been displaced in the opened position thereof, by letting the free end 73 of the spring slide upwards, by acting on its end portion 75 so as to disengage it from the hollow 62 of the element 55, until the spring bent portion 74 engages the hollow 61 of the catching element 54, which prevents it from being displaced further upwards, and in which situation the spring is on its balanced state and therefore cannot be displaced downwards again. Then, in the course of this operation the spring exerts such resilient action on the catching element 54, as to move away progressively this latter from the remaining catching element 55, which stays still, due to the partial rotation of said catching element 54 about the rib 19 of the respective half -portion 21 and 22 of the dress -hanger, so that when the spring has become completely displaced upwards, the two catching elements 54 and 55 with the associated protective coatings 58 are entirely spread apart from each other and therefore are arranged in a way to be able to be disposed around the end portions of dresses to be grasped. This latter operation is performed by pushing slightly downwards the spring free end 73, upon extraction from the hollow 61 of the catching element 54 thereof, so as as soon as the spring gets over its dead point returns elastically to its starting condition, thereby providing for displacing the catching elements 54 and 55 on their closing operative position of Fig. 16, with a movement which is opposite to the preceding one.

Claims

1.Dress -hanger adapted to support dresses of different kind, shapes and sizes, constituted substantially by at least a rectilinear portion made of plastic material or other suitable rigid material, provided centrally with at least a hook for hanging the dresses in the wardrobes or other suitable furniture for guarding dresses, and a plurality of rectilinear guide ribs, realized preferably parallel to each other for the entire extent of said rectilinear portion, as well as constituted by sprung coupling means made of plastic material or other suitable rigid material, for supporting the end portions of the respective dresses, characterized in that said sprung coupling means (23, 24) comprise substantially at least a first and a second pair of catching elements (25, 26 ; 54, 55) slidable longitudinally along a correspondent half -portion (21, 22) of said rectilinear portion (11), on different positions depending on the sizes of the dresses to be supported, and at least a respective resilient means (27, 28 ; 68) co-operating with the catching elements (25, 26 ; 54, 55) of each pair of catching elements, said catching elements (25, 26 ; 54, 55) being provided with protection means (31, 58) made of soft material, adapted to grasp the dresses and being displaceable by the action of the correspondent resilient means (27, 28 ; 68) from one operative position to another one of two operative positions, respectively opened and closed position thereof, in which said catching elements (25, 26 ; 54, 55) and said protection means (31, 58) are respectively moved away or approached to each other, so as to release or grasp the dresses.

2.Dress -hanger according to claim 1, characterized by one extended flat portion (29) with vertical extension, provided with a depressed hollowed zone (32,33) at the upper side thereof, for housing said resilient means (27, 28), and delimited by rectilinear side ribs (34) , and one enlarged flat portion (30) joined at its lower side to said extended portion (29) , and characterized in that each catching element (25, 26) co-operates with at least a covering element (45) , which is so dimensioned as to be adapted thereon and to be displaced from a first to a second operative position thereof, which is respectively inserted or extracted with respect to the same catching element, by constituting a longitudinal extension thereof on this latter position, so as to prevent or permit said covering element (45) from being grasped for displacing said catching elements (25, 26) from one operative position to the other one thereof.

3. Dress -hanger according to claim 2, characterized in that said covering element (45) is constituted by a flat and thin plate (46) made of plastic material or other suitable rigid material, whose dimensions are slightly larger than those ones of said extended portion (29) and enlarged portion (30) of each catching element (25, 26), wherein the flat front surface turned outwards said flat plate (46) is roughened by means of projected grasping ribs (47) and the flat back surface of said flat plate (46) is provided with a hollowed central zone (48) , delimited at its upper portion by a thin horizontal rectilinear flange (49) acting as abutting surface, and laterally by two rectilinear vertical and parallel edges (50, 51) , in which two corresponding sidewise recessed guide members (52, 53) are provided, said covering element (45) being couplable to the respective catching element by inserting and letting slide said side guide members (52, 53) with respect to the corresponding side ribs (35, 36) of said catching element.

4. Dress -hanger according to claim 3, characterized in that each catching element has an upper outline practically flushing said dress -hanger rectilinear portion (11) .

5. Dress -hanger according to claim 1, characterized in that each catching element (54, 55) is constituted by an extended flat portion (56) having vertical extension, preferably of rectangular shape, and by an en- larged flat portion (57) joined to the previous one at the lower side thereof, also preferably of rectangular shape, said extended portion (56) being provided with at least a hollowed central zone (59) for a portion of its lenght, whose surface outline comprises an upper inclined surface (60) whose slant is directed from the front to the back surface of the associated catching element, and also comprises a first and a second hollow (61, 62) for housing the respective resilient means (68) , on the position in which such catching elements (54, 55) are laid on and adapted to the respective front and back surfaces of said dress - hanger half -portions (21, 22) .

6. Dress -hanger according to claim 5, characterized in that said resilient means is constituted by a respec- tive lamina spring (68) , which is so shaped as to be adapted on the outer outline of each pair of catching elements (54, 55), and provided with a slightly bent first end portion (69) adapted to be coupled with the second hollow (62) of one catching element (55) , and a bent second end portion (74) adapted to engage removably either one of the hollows (62) or (61) of the other catching element (54) , said spring (68) being movable by acting onto said second bent end portion (74) in a manner that it is insertable from said se- cond to said first hollow (62, 61) and vice versa, so as to displace said catching elements (54, 55) from one operative position to another one, respectively closing and opening positions, and vice versa.