EP1240859A2

EP1240859A2 - Attachment to apply to clothes hangers for clothes with shoulders

Info

Publication number: EP1240859A2
Application number: EP02005028A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Mario Mainetti
Original assignee: Mainetti Tecnologie SpA
Current assignee: Mainetti Tecnologie SpA
Priority date: 2001-03-13
Filing date: 2002-03-06
Publication date: 2002-09-18
Also published as: EP1240859A3; ITVI20010058A1

Abstract

Concerns an attachment to apply to clothes hangers for shouldered clothing, to hang clothing with both fitted and soft shoulders. Such an attachment is characterised in that it comprises two shaped bodies, which affix onto the two ends of the arch of the clothes hanger, so as to constitute two shaped small shoulders.

Description

The finding regards an attachment to apply to clothes hangers for clothes with shoulders.
Clothes hangers used to support shouldered clothing, like jackets, coats, shirts and the like, consist of an arched rigid structure, equipped with a centre hook, which ends at the two sides with a rounded shape.
A first drawback which shows up with the use of arched clothes hangers is a consequence of the fact that the two rounded ends of the arched structure do not integrally support the item of clothing being hung since, in most uses, they do not perfectly correspond to the profile which the shoulder of the item of clothing itself has.
Such a drawback shows up both with items of clothing which are hung with fitted shoulders and, above all, with items of clothing which have soft shoulders, such as T-shirts and shirts.
A second drawback which shows up with the use of common arched clothes hangers is a consequence of the fact that the distance between the two rounded ends of the arch hardly ever corresponds to the distance between the two shoulders of the hung item of clothing.
Consequently, if the breadth of the hanger is less than the distance between the two shoulders of the hung item of clothing, there is a curving of the shoulder portion which hangs over the clothes hanger.
In the contrary case, if the breadth of the clothes hanger is greater than the distance between the two shoulders of the hung item of clothing, the rounded ends of the arch push the upper part of the shoulder of the item of clothing itself outwards.
In both situations, when the item of clothing remains hung for some time, a permanent deformation of the shoulders of the item of clothing itself is created, with negative aesthetic results.
Moreover, it should be noted that in jackets with fitted shoulders it is necessary that the sleeve falls in a vertical manner in correspondence with the armhole where it is sewn on and the arm of which it consists must be kept reasonably flat in the upper part, to be able to follow the profile of the sewing itself; all of this, however, cannot be obtained with arched clothes hangers of the known type.
A purpose of the present finding is that of foreseeing a clothes hanger for shouldered items of clothing which eliminates the drawbacks described above, so as to guarantee, for every type of clothing hung, a profile of the end part of the arched clothes hanger which is perfectly fitted to the shoulder of the item of clothing itself.
A further purpose of the finding is that of foreseeing a clothes hanger for shouldered items of clothing which can be used in a correct manner with clothing of different sizes and thus with different shoulder sizes.
A further purpose of the finding is that of foreseeing a shouldered clothes hanger which allows the space taken up by the hung clothing to be reduced to the minimum during transportation and, at the same time, which allows said clothing to be put on display in shops with the shoulders being perfectly shaped.
A further purpose of the finding is that of foreseeing a clothes hanger for shouldered clothing of the type described above which is not very expensive.
Such purposes are obtained by foreseeing that an attachment is applied to the clothes hanger consisting of two shaped bodies, which affix onto the two ends of the arch, so as to constitute by themselves two shaped small shoulders.
Such two shaped bodies, defined hereafter with the term "small shoulders", are removable with respect to the arched structure for which reason they can, from time to time, be replaced with others, of a different shape and size, so that, still with the same arched structure (also consisting of normally produced clothes hangers), it is possible to hang a plurality of items of clothing with shoulders which are both fitted and soft in a perfect manner.
The two removable small shoulders constituting the pair, with a reciprocally symmetrical shape, are equipped with suitable fasteners to ensure their mobile affixing to the arched body.
Constructively, every small shoulder, obtained by moulding of plastic material, consists of a substantially convex shaped sheet, wherein on its inner wall fins are formed suitable for ensuring the affixing to the body of the clothes hanger.
A variant of the affixing system foresees the use of rapid fasteners such as clips or the use of strips of material of the Velcro type.
Advantageously the finding foresees that the shaped sheet has different elasticity values from zone to zone; specifically, a more rigid portion in direct contact with the body of the clothes hanger and a more flexible portion protruding from the body itself.
In such a way an exact adaptation of the small plastic shoulder to the configuration of the shoulder of the hung item of clothing is obtained, without the risk of a deformation thereof.
The characteristics of the finding shall be shown more clearly through the description of a possible embodiment thereof, given only as an illustrative and non-limiting example, with the help of the attached tables of drawings, where:

figs. 1, 2 and 3 show orthogonal views of an arched clothes hanger equipped with the attachment according to the finding.
figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 show orthogonal and perspective views of a small shoulder according to the finding.

As can be seen in the figures, the clothes hanger substantially consists of an arched body 1, upon which two small shoulders 2 are affixed, so as to suitably shape the ends of the clothes hanger.
The small shoulders 2, which constitute an attachment for normally produced clothes hangers, can be removed with respect to the body 1, from which they can be quickly and easily removed and/or replaced with others of a different shape and size.
As can be seen in figs. 4 to 7, in the specific embodiment illustrated the small shoulder 2 is composed of a shaped sheet 3, upon which is applied in the lower part, a fastener consisting of two teeth 4, which engage on the body of the arch 1.
The sheet 3, shaped convexly, is moreover characterised by the presence of a portion thereof 5, protruding from the body of the clothes hanger and equipped with a certain degree of elasticity, so as to be able to slightly flex to adapt to the shape of the shoulder of the hung item of clothing.
Obviously, embodiments which are different to the one illustrated are possible, without for this reason leaving the scope of the following claims, which foresee the use of an attachment consisting of two removable small shoulders to be affixed, in a removable manner, onto the arched body of the clothes hanger.

Claims

ATTACHMENT TO APPLY TO CLOTHES HANGERS FOR SHOULDERED CLOTHING, to hang clothing with both fitted and soft shoulders,
Characterised in that
it comprises two shaped bodies which affix onto the two ends of the arch of the clothes hanger, so as to constitute two shaped small shoulders.
ATTACHMENT, according to claim 1, characterised in that the two shaped bodies are removable with respect to the arched structure for which reason, from time to time, they can be replaced with others, of a different shape and/or size.
ATTACHMENT, according to claim 2, characterised in that each of the two shaped bodies consists of a substantially convex shaped sheet, carrying on the inner part devices suitable for ensuring a mobile affixing to the body of the clothes hanger.
ATTACHMENT, according to claim 3, characterised in that the shaped sheet has different elasticity values from zone to zone.
ATTACHMENT, according to claim 4, characterised in that the shaped sheet has a first portion thereof, the one in contact with the body of the clothes hanger, sufficiently rigid so as not to deform and at least one second portion thereof, protruding with respect to the aforementioned body, which is more flexible with respect to the aforementioned first portion.
ATTACHMENT, according to claim 5, characterised in that the mobile affixing to the body of the clothes hanger is realised through two toothed fins which affix to the aforementioned body.
ATTACHMENT, according to claim 4, characterised in that the mobile affixing to the body of the clothes hanger is realised through a rapid fastener (clips).
ATTACHMENT, according to claim 4, characterised in that the mobile affixing to the body of the clothes hanger is realised through the use of strips of material of the Velcro type.
ATTACHMENT, according to one or more of the previous claims, characterised in that the shaped element is obtained by moulding of plastic material.
ATTACHMENT, according to claim 1, characterised in that it comprises a shaped sheet (3) upon which is applied, in its lower part, a fastener consisting of two teeth (4), which engage with the body of the arch (1), said sheet, shaped convexly, being equipped with a portion (5), protruding from the body of the clothes hanger, equipped with a certain degree of elasticity, so as to be able to slightly flex to adapt to the shape of the shoulder of the hung item of clothing.
ATTACHMENT, according to claim 10, characterised in that it is shaped according to the shape illustrated in the drawings.