US2931547A - Trousers hanger - Google Patents

Description

April 5, 1960 Filed NOV. 15 1954 D. H. DICK TROUSERS HANGER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. flauams H D/c/d D. H. DICK TROUSERS HANGER April 5, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 15 1954 mzw NM 17 5 m MUM m f w n L W. 0 0% TROUSERS HANGER Douglas H. Dick, North Hollywood, Calif. 1 Application November 15, 1954, Serial No. 468,765

8 Claims. (Cl. 223-95) My invention relates generally to the art of garment hangers and has particular reference to hangers for holding trousers and similar items of clothing.

In storing items of clothing such as men's trousers it is desirable to hang the trousers in a position in which there are no wrinkles or folds because the fabric tends to take a temporary set along the line of the fold or wrinkle and upon re-use, the garment does not have the neat, pleasing appearance which is desired.

One of the objectives of my invention is to provide a new and novel hanger for trousers which holds the trousers in an inverted position whereby there are no wrinkles or folds in the material and which permits the natural weight of the trousers to remove any temporary wrinkle while hanging.

Most prior art hangers of this general type depend upon some form of clamping action to securely hold the trousers. A further object of my invention is to provide a trouser hanger which holds the trouser in inverted position but which has no clamping mechanism for gripping the trouser.

The prior art trouser hangers have been awkward to use in that it has proved difficult to hold the hanger in one hand, the trousers in the other hand and still be able to operate the clamping mechanism.

Another object of my invention is to provide a trouser hanger into which a pair of trousers can be inserted quickly and easily with one hand.

In connection with the above-described difliculty of putting the trousers into such clamping type hanger, it has also been found exceedingly difiicult to clamp the trousers into the hanger with both legs even and parallel. If the clamping device does not grip each trouser leg at the same distance from the bottom and in a line perpendicular to the leg, there is danger that one or both legs may stretch unevenly.

A further object of my invention is to provide a trouser hanger which automatically holds each leg at the same point and holds the bottom edge'perpendicular to the leg.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a trouser hanger which is economical to make; which contains no movable parts and which is exceedingly durable and easy to operate.

It is also among the objects of my invention to provide a trouser hanger of the general type herein disclosed which is provided with easily removable means for suspending it from a clothes pole or other stationary object. Such a hanger assembly increases the convenience of such garment hangers when it is desired to pack them in a suitcase for travel and also permits use of a smaller sales carton and hence less storage space during shipment and while on a store shelf.

It is yet another object of my invention to provide a 2,931,547 Patented Apr. 5, 1969 apparent from the drawings and specifications relative thereto, in which I have shown by way of illustration what I consider a preferred embodiment of my invention.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one form of garment hanger embodying the principles of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the hanger illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 isa perspective view of a modified form of a hanger showing how the basic unit can be combined into a multiple hanger unit.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig. 1 and illustrating the method of hanging a pair of trousers.

7 Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 wherein I show one form of my invention, I provide a basic unit for the support of a pair of trousers which for convenience I have designated by the letter A.

The basic unit illustrated in this embodiment is formed of a single piece of wire or rod which is bent in an elongated U-shape to form arms 10 and 11 which are joined at one end by a curved or bent end portion 12. The arms 10 and 11 are preferably disposed in substantially parallel spaced relation; the spacing being preferably such as to permit the free insertion of the two legs of a pair of trousers therebetween, whereby the trousers will not be wrinkled or pulled out of shape.

The basic rod or wire is bent upwardly to define the limits of the unjoined ends of the arms 10 and 11 and trouser hanger, the basic unit of which can readily be I to form upwardly extending trouser supporting members 14 and 15. The rod or wire is next bent reversely to define the upper limit of the supports 14 and 15 and for the sake of rigidity and appearance the reversely bent portions form arcuate sections 16 and 17 which are tangent to the arms 10 and 11.

The arcuate sections 16 and 17 terminate in downwardly bent ends remote from the point of tangency to thereby define further garment supporting members 19 and 20 spaced from the supports 14 and 15. The sup port members 19 and 20 are reversely bent to define ends 21 and 22 which lie substantially parallel to and abut against the arms 10 and 11.

In order to increase the rigidity of the basic unit A, I prefer to spot weld the arcuate sections 16 and 17 to the arms 10 and 11 respectively at the points-of tangency and the ends 21 and 22 to the arms 10 and 11 at the point of contact.

Garmenthangers of the type herein illustrated are usually provided with a means for suspending them from a rod or clothes pole or stationary support of some nature usually found in clothes closets or wardrobes. Such suspending means usually assumes the shape of a hookwhich extends upwardly from the garment hanger. As pointed out among the objects of this invention, it is desirable to provide a substantially rigid but easily removable suspending means so the hanger can be stored in a smaller space and can be sold in smaller cartons.

It is particularly desirable in a garment hanger of thei assumes the form of an easily removable suspending hook comprising a single piece of wire or rod designated generally B which is bent to form spaced legs 24 and 25.

The joined ends are bent to form ahanging hook 26.

The free ends of the legs 24 and 25 are bent inwardly to form members 27 and 28 and thence rearwardly to form member-s29 and 30 which abut against each other.

3 Each of the members 29 and 30 is formed with a downwardly directed hook 31 and 32 respectively.

It will be noted that the legs 24 and 25 are spaced farther apart than the arms and 11 of unit A and that the members 27 and 28 pass under the arms 10 and 31. Also the members 29 and 30 extend slightly 'upwardly so that the hooks 31 and 32 pass over the top of the section 12 of unit A.

Upon disposing a garment on the unit A and placing the suspending unit B over a clothes pole, the weight of the garment will bias unit A in a clockwise direction (Fig. 1) which will cause the arms 10 and 11 to bear against the members 27 and and the curved section 12 to bear upwardly against the hooks and 31.

The units A and B can be quickly and easily disassembled by lifting upwardly on the unit A and sliding it earwardly out of engagement with the hooks 31' and 32.

it will become clear from a consideration of Fig. 4 that the garment supporting members 14, 15,19 and 20 are preferably of equal height and the lines defined by the supporting members 14 and 19 and the members 15 and 2%} are preferably substantially parallel. In order to make this more clear and in order to illustrate how the objectives of my invention have been accomplished, specific reference is made to Fig. 4.

In illustrating the use of the hanger unit A, I have shown a fragmentary portion of a pair of trousers in inverted position and comprising legs 35 and 36 each of which-is formed with a standard cuff illustrated by the numerals 37 and 38.

Both legs 35 and 36 are inserted between the arms 10 and 11 with the cuffs 37 and 38 above the upper limits of the support members 14, 15, 19 and 20. The trousers are then lowered so that the support members 14 and 19 are inserted. between the cuff 37 and the leg 35 and the supports 15 and 20 are inserted between the cuff 3S and leg 36.

Since the cuff is a reverse fold of the fabric forming the legs of the trousers, the trousers will be effectively supportedwith no wrinkles or distortions and will preserve the desired neat appearance.

In Fig. 3, I have illustrated a modified form, or multiple garment hanger, wherein a plurality of the basic units A are combined in a hanging means designated C.

The hanging means C comprises a block 40 formed with a transverse substantially horizontal slot 41. A plurality of units A are disposed with their curved ends 12 extending into the slot 41 and a plurality of pins, such as 42 are disposed through the block 40 and pass inside the curved ends 12 to thereby pivotally secure the units A in the assembly.

The block 40 is formed with spaced holes 43 and 44 which are adapted to receive a hanging hook designated generally D. The hanging hook D comprises a pair of rods or wires 45 and 46 which are formed with bent ends 483ml 49 which are removably inserted into the holes 43 and 44.

The legs 45 and 46 extend upwardly and forwardly over the units A and cross at point 50 Where, for the sake of rigidity, they are preferably spot welded. The upper-forward ends are bent to form hooks 51 and 52 for securing the garment hanger to a clothes pole.

While the embodiment above-described constitutes the presently preferred form of garment hanger embodying the principles of my invention, numerous changes can be made within the scope of my invention.

For example, the arcuate members 16 and 17 can be formed as straight members and can extend straight across from the tops of the garment supporting members 14 and 19, and 15 and 20. It is preferred however to form themembers 16 and 17 with at least the center portion depressed to approximately the level of the arms 10 and 11. The reason for this preference lies in the fact that inimost trousers, the cuff is tacked or sewed to the leg at the mid-point.

The embodiment described is formed of wire or rod. The use of wood, plastic or sheet metal can also be used so long as its configuration is such as to perform the same function. For example, the configuration as shown can be cast or molded from plastic; can be die cast; sawed from wood or made in a great many other manners. The 'wire or rod construction as illustrated is preferred because of the low cost of manufacture and the fact that finished edges contact the fabric and no extra finishing operations are necessary.

While the forms of my invention herein described are fully capable of accomplishing the objects and providing the advantages stated, it will be understood that I do not mean to be limited thereto except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A garment hanger adapted to suspend trousers having folded cuffs, comprising: a pair of spaced apart substantially parallel arms confronting one another and having a common support means only at one end adapted to maintain said arms in spaced apart substantially parallel relationship, the other adjacent ends of said arms being free to provide an unobstructed passage thercbetween to freely admit the legs of said trousers thercthrough, each said arm being formed with upwardly directed spaced garment supporting means adapted to be inserted between one of said cuffs and said garment to thereby support said garment.

2. A garment hanger adapted to suspend trousers having folded cuffs, comprising: elongated U-shaped member having a pair of spaced generally parallel arms joined at one end and having adjacent free other ends to define an openin into which a garment may be inserted, each said arm being formed with upwardly directed spaced garment supporting members adapted to be inserted between one of said cuffs and said garment; and suspending means connected to the joined ends only of said arms adapted to suspend said arms from a stationary support.

3. A garment hanger adapted to suspend trousers having folded cuffs comprising: a pair of arms, each of said arms being formed with upwardly directed garment support means adapted to be inserted between the cuff and garment, said support means being formed with end portions which are relatively higher than the center portions of said support means; and a suspending means including a hook member adapted to removably suspend said hanger from a stationary support and connected to said arms at one end only to maintain said arms in substantially parallel relationship with said arms closed only at said one end to permit entry between said arms of a garment only through the other free ends of said arms.

4. A garment hanger adapted to hold a plurality of garments each being formed with folded cuffs, which includes: a plurality of individual garment hanging units, each said unit including a pair of spaced apart arms between which a garment can be inserted past free ends thereof, each said arm being formed with upwardly directed garment support means adapted to be disposed between a' cuff and said garment and each of said units being closed at the other ends of said arms; a common supporting member; means for securing the other ends of said arms of each of said units to said supporting member with said free ends maintained in spaced apart relationship to provide an open end of each of said supported units; and hook means adapted to suspend said common supporting member.

5. A garment hanger adapted to hold a plurality of garments formed with folded cuffs, including: a plurality of individual garment hanging units, each said unit comprising a pair of spaced arms interconnected at one end only and between which a garment can be passed through an opening defined by adjacent free ends thereof, each said arm being formed with upwardly directed spaced members adapted to be disposed between the cuff and garment; a body member; means for securing each of said units to said body member at interconnected ends of said arms; and means adapted to suspend said body member.

6. A garment hanger adapted to hold a plurality of garments each formed with a folded cuff, including: a plurality of individual garment holding units, each said unit comprising a wire bent to form a pair of spaced arms having free ends between which a garment can be passed to occupy a position between said pair of arms, each said free end being portions of said wire bent upwardly and then reversely to form a garment supporting member, said reversely bent portion of each arm being arcuately bent to form a second garment supporting member spaced from said first garment supporting member and being bent downwardly between said spaced garment support members, each of said reversely bent portions having a terminal end at said second supporting member secured to said arm; a support member; means for pivotally securing each of said individual units to said support member; and a hook member removably secured to said support member adapted to suspend said garment hanger from a stationary support.

7. A garment hanger adapted to hold a plurality of pairs of trousers formed with cuffs, including: a plurality of individual trouser holding units, each comprising a wire bent to form a pair of spaced parallel arms joined at one end and having free other ends between which a garment can be replaced and removed from a unit, said free ends being bent upwardly and reversely to form a trouser supporting member, said reversely bent portion being downwardly arcuate and lying tangent to said am, said arcuate portion also being bent at a point remote from said point of tangency to form a second upwardly directed supporting member on said arm spaced from said first trouser supporting member in such relation whereby said support members may be inserted between said cuffs andsaid garment to thereby support said garment in inverted position; a body including a block formed with a horizontal slot adapted to pivotally receive the joined ends of each of said individual garment holding units; means for securing each of said individual units to said body comprising a pin disposed through said block and through each said garment supporting unit; and means to suspend said garment hanger from a stationary support.

8. A garment hanger which includes: a generally U- shaped member comprising a wire bent to form a pair of spaced generally parallel arms joined at one end, each said arm having a free other end bent upwardly and reversely to define an upwardly directed garment supporting member, said pair of free ends providing therebetween an open end of said hanger permitting unobstructed passage of the legs of a trouser, said reversely bent portion on each arm being bent at its terminal end to define a second upwardly directed garment supporting member adjacent to said joined ends of said arms and having a portion lying between said garment supporting members bent downwardly below the level of said supporting members; and hook means connected to the joined ends of said arms for suspending said arms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 471,858 Hamlin Mar. 29, 1892 622,112 Brock Mar. 28, 1899 954,364 Vail Apr. 5, 1910 1,771,085 Hurif July 22, 1930 2,014,165 Beutler Sept. 10, 1935 2,076,533 Fuller Apr. 13, 1937 2,127,333 Hall Aug. 16, 1938 2,409,956 Ramstack et al. Oct. 22, 1946 2,465,859 Fidler as Mar. 29, 1949 2,670,854 Einhorn Mar. 2, 1954

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