U.S. patent application number 10/395095 was filed with the patent office on 2003-10-02 for clothes hanger.
Invention is credited to Kameda, Haruhiko.
Application Number | 20030183666 10/395095 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 28449337 |
Filed Date | 2003-10-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030183666 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kameda, Haruhiko |
October 2, 2003 |
Clothes hanger
Abstract
The invention relates to a clothes hanger including a hanger
body having a hook portion projecting upwardly therefrom, defining
an insertion portion for insertion of a neck portion of a garment,
and provided with a movable arm for openably closing an aperture of
the insertion portion. The hanger further includes switching means
for switching the movable arm between open and close positions. The
switching means has a function to open the aperture of the
insertion portion when the hanger body is inclined and to close the
aperture of the insertion portion when the hanger body is returned
to its initial horizontal position.
Inventors: |
Kameda, Haruhiko; (Kobe-shi,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SMITH, GAMBRELL & RUSSELL, LLP
1850 M STREET, N.W., SUITE 800
WASHINGTON
DC
20036
US
|
Family ID: |
28449337 |
Appl. No.: |
10/395095 |
Filed: |
March 25, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
223/85 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G 25/487 20130101;
A47G 25/32 20130101; A47G 25/28 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
223/85 |
International
Class: |
A41D 027/22 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 26, 2002 |
JP |
2002-86901 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A clothes hanger comprising: a hook portion projecting upwardly;
a fixed arm formed integrally with the hook portion and extended
angularly downwardly from the hook portion toward one transverse
side; an insertion portion defined by the fixed arm in a manner to
open toward the other transverse side for insertion of a neck
portion of a garment; a movable arm pivoted on the fixed arm for
openably closing an aperture of the insertion portion and brought
into a position to extend angularly downwardly from the hook
portion toward the other transverse side when closing the insertion
portion; and switching means for switching the movable arm between
a position to open the aperture of the insertion portion when the
fixed arm is inclined and a position to close the aperture of the
insertion portion when the fixed arm is returned to its initial
horizontal position.
2. A clothes hanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the switching
means has a function to switch the movable arm to the open position
when the fixed arm is inclined to direct the aperture of the
insertion portion downwardly.
3. A clothes hanger as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the
switching means comprises a movable linking mechanism which
switches the movable arm between the open and close positions
utilizing change in relative positions between pivotal fulcrums
caused by the gravity of a member operatively associated with
change in the inclination degree of the fixed arm.
4. A clothes hanger as claimed in claim 3, wherein the movable
linking mechanism comprises the fixed arm and the movable arm; a
link arm transversely bridged between lower ends of the fixed arm
and movable arm; a first fulcrum for transversely slidably and
pivotally connecting one transverse end of the link arm with the
lower end of the fixed arm; a second fulcrum for pivotally
connecting the other transverse end of the link arm with the lower
end of the movable arm; and a third fulcrum for pivotally
connecting a central part of the movable arm with a lower end of
the aperture of the insertion portion.
5. A clothes hanger as claimed in claim 4, wherein the third
fulcrum is located transversely inwardly from a point of action of
load applied to the movable arm by a shoulder portion of the
garment.
6. A clothes hanger as claimed in claim 5, wherein the movable arm
has an intersection portion at a distal end thereof, the
intersection portion intersecting an upper end of the aperture of
the insertion portion of the fixed arm when the movable arm is
placed in the close position.
7. A clothes hanger as claimed in claim 6, wherein the intersection
portion of the movable arm comprises a fork portion brought from
below into fitting relation with the upper end of the aperture of
the insertion portion of the fixed arm.
8. A clothes hanger as claimed in claim 7, wherein a transversely
elongated slide slot for supporting the first fulcrum is formed at
the lower end of the fixed arm, and wherein the slide slot has play
of a degree that the first fulcrum does not reach one end of the
slide slot in the closed state where the fork portion fits with the
upper end of the aperture of the insertion portion of the fixed
arm.
9. A clothes hanger as claimed in claim 4, wherein a transversely
elongated slide slot for supporting the first fulcrum is formed at
the lower end of the fixed arm, and wherein the slide slot has play
of a degree that the first fulcrum does not reach the other end of
the slide slot in the open state where the movable arm overlaps
with a lower side of the aperture of the insertion portion of the
fixed arm.
10. A clothes hanger comprising a hanger body having a hook portion
projecting upwardly therefrom, defining an insertion portion for
insertion of a neck portion of a garment, and provided with a
movable arm for openably closing an aperture of the insertion
portion, the clothes hanger further including switching means for
switching the movable arm between a position to open the aperture
of the insertion portion when the hanger body is inclined and a
position to close the aperture of the insertion portion when the
hanger body is returned to its initial horizontal position.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a clothes hanger easy to
insert in or remove from a garment having a relatively small
neck-line size, such as an T-shirt, sweat shirt, high-necked
(turtleneck) sweater and the like.
[0003] 2. Description of the Background
[0004] When a common clothes hanger is inserted in or removed from
the above garment having a relatively small neck-line size, a neck
portion of the garment need be expanded to accommodate a hanger
body portion extending between a hook portion and an end thereof.
Thus, the insertion/removal of the hanger into/from the garment
involves the stretching of the neck portion of the garment,
resulting in fast deterioration of texture quality of the
garment.
[0005] In view of this, there has been developed a clothes hanger
arranged such that a hanger body has a hook portion extending
centrally thereof and is formed with an insertion portion for
insertion of the neck portion of the garment thereby permitting the
garment such as a T-shirt or sweat shirt to be readily hung thereon
or removed therefrom without expanding the neck portion more than
required (see, for example, JP-A-6-52661 or JP-T-11-509755).
[0006] However, the clothes hanger formed with the insertion
portion will encounter a problem that where the insertion portion
has an excessively large aperture, the garment is liable to slip
down on the hanger because of an insufficient contact area between
a shoulder portion of the garment and the hanger body.
Consequently, the insertion portion has a limited aperture, which
results in a difficult insertion of the hanger through the neck
portion of the garment.
[0007] As a solution to this problem, a clothes hanger has been
proposed which employs a movable arm for openably closing the
aperture of the insertion portion in order to prevent the slip-down
of the garment even if the insertion portion functioning as a
relief groove for the neck portion of the garment has a large
aperture (see, for example, JP-A-2001-314304).
[0008] Specifically, the conventional clothes hanger with the
movable arm has an arrangement wherein an upper end of the movable
arm is pivoted on an upper end of the aperture of the insertion
portion, and that a helical spring is anchored to a pivotal point
of the movable arm for constantly biasing the movable arm in a
closing direction.
[0009] The conventional clothes hanger having the movable arm
openably closing the aperture of the insertion portion has the
following problem. Since the movable arm is constantly biased by
the helical spring in a direction to close the aperture of the
insertion portion, the movable arm must be turned against a
resilient force of the helical spring and held in the turned
position, thereby opening the insertion portion for permitting the
garment to be hung on or removed from the hanger body.
[0010] Thus, in order to insert/remove the conventional clothes
hanger via the neck portion of the garment, the movable arm must be
directly pushed down with hand and forcibly held in the open
position while the neck portion of the garment is inserted in the
insertion portion of the hanger body. This rather complicates the
operation for inserting/removing the hanger into/from the
garment.
[0011] Furthermore, the conventional clothes hanger requires the
helical spring to be anchored to the pivotal point of the movable
arm. The provision of the helical spring leads to the increased
number of components and assembly steps, which results in increased
fabrication costs.
[0012] The conventional clothes hanger has another problem
associated with the movable arm held in the close position by the
resilient force of the helical spring anchored to the pivotal point
of the movable arm. Where a heavy garment is hung on the hanger to
subject the movable arm to a load overcoming the resilient force of
the helical spring, the movable arm may be automatically opened to
cause deformation of a shoulder portion of the garment.
[0013] In view of the foregoing, a first object of the invention is
to provide a clothes hanger capable of automatically switching the
movable arm between the open and close positions without directly
applying a force thereto, thereby facilitating the
insertion/removal of the hanger into/from the garment.
[0014] A second object of the invention is to reduce the
fabrication costs for the clothes hanger by providing an ability to
hold the movable arm in the close position without resorting to the
biasing member such as a helical spring.
[0015] A third object of the invention is to prevent the
deformation of the shoulder portion of the garment by biasing the
movable arm toward the close position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0016] For achieving the first object, the invention adopts the
following technical measures.
[0017] In accordance with the invention, a clothes hanger
comprising a hanger body having a hook portion projecting upwardly
therefrom, defining an insertion portion for insertion of a neck
portion of a garment, and provided with a movable arm for openably
closing an aperture of the insertion portion, the clothes hanger
further includes switching means for switching the movable arm
between a position to open the aperture of the insertion portion
when the hanger body is inclined and a position to close the
aperture of the insertion portion when the hanger body is returned
to its initial horizontal position.
[0018] More specifically, a clothes hanger according to the
invention comprises a hook portion projecting upwardly; a fixed arm
formed integrally with the hook portion and extended angularly
downwardly from the hook portion toward one transverse side; an
insertion portion defined by the fixed arm in a manner to open
toward the other transverse side for insertion of a neck portion of
a garment; a movable arm pivoted on the fixed arm for openably
closing an aperture of the insertion portion and brought into a
position to extend angularly downwardly from the hook portion
toward the other transverse side when closing the insertion
portion; and switching means for switching the movable arm between
a position to open the aperture of the insertion portion when the
fixed arm is inclined and a position to close the aperture of the
insertion portion when the fixed arm is returned to its initial
horizontal position.
[0019] According to the invention, the switching means causes the
movable arm to open the aperture of the insertion portion when the
hanger body (fixed arm) is inclined, and causes the movable arm to
close the aperture of the insertion portion when the hanger body
(fixed arm) is returned to its initial horizontal position. Unlike
the conventional clothes hanger with the movable arm, the invention
negates the need for holding the movable arm in the open state
before the hanger body is inserted/removed into/from the garment.
Thus, the inventive hanger may be more easily inserted/removed
into/from the garment.
[0020] In a mode of the invention, the switching may be made to
shift the movable arm to the open position when the fixed arm is
inclined to direct the aperture of the insertion portion downwardly
(an embodiment of the invention to be described hereinlater).
Conversely, the switching may be made to shift the movable arm to
the open position when the fixed arm is inclined to direct the
aperture of the insertion portion upwardly.
[0021] However, the former switching mode is more preferred because
it is easier to insert the hanger body with the downwardly opened
insertion portion into the neck portion of the garment from above
than to insert the hanger body with the upwardly opened insertion
portion into the neck portion of the garment from below.
[0022] On the other hand, the switching means may comprise a
movable linking mechanism which switches the movable arm between
the open and close positions utilizing change in relative positions
between pivotal fulcrums caused by the gravity of a member
operatively associated with change in the inclination degree of the
fixed arm.
[0023] The movable linking mechanism operating based on the gravity
may have a specific configuration comprising the fixed arm and the
movable arm; a link arm transversely bridged between lower ends of
the fixed arm and movable arm; a first fulcrum for transversely
slidably and pivotally connecting one transverse end of the link
arm with the lower end of the fixed arm; a second fulcrum for
pivotally connecting the other transverse end of the link arm with
the lower end of the movable arm; and a third fulcrum for pivotally
connecting a central part of the movable arm with a lower end of
the aperture of the insertion portion.
[0024] In this case, when the fixed arm is so inclined as to direct
the aperture of the insertion portion downwardly, the link arm is
slidably moved away from the fixed arm via the first fulcrum. The
link arm thus slidably moved acts as a weight to push up the lower
end of the movable arm via the second fulcrum, thereby turning the
movable arm about the third fulcrum in a direction to open the
aperture of the insertion portion.
[0025] When, conversely, the fixed arm is returned to its initial
horizontal position, the link arm is slidably moved toward the
fixed arm by its own gravity as turned downwardly about the first
fulcrum. The link arm thus slidably moved acts as a weight to push
down the lower end of the movable arm via the second fulcrum,
thereby turning the movable arm about the third fulcrum in a
direction to close the aperture of the insertion portion.
[0026] Where the movable linking mechanism is employed for
switching the movable arm between the open and close positions
utilizing the change in the relative positions between the pivotal
fulcrums caused by the gravity of the movable member operatively
associated with the change in the inclination degree of the fixed
arm, the movable member can be held in the close position without
resorting to the biasing member such as a helical spring. The
omission of the helical spring leads to the reduced number of
components or assembly steps, which results in the reduced
fabrication costs.
[0027] Where the above movable linking mechanism is employed, there
is a fear that the movable arm may be turned by a load from the
garment in the direction to open the insertion portion, thereby
varying the degree of inclination of the movable link to cause the
deformation of the shoulder portion of the garment.
[0028] This problem may be solved by making an arrangement wherein
the third fulcrum interconnecting the fixed arm and the movable arm
is located transversely inwardly from a point of action of the load
applied to the movable arm by the shoulder portion of the garment,
so that the load from the shoulder portion of the garment may
constantly urge the movable arm in the closing direction.
[0029] Where the above movable linking mechanism is employed, it is
preferred that the movable arm has an intersection portion at a
distal end thereof, the intersection portion intersecting an upper
end of the aperture of the insertion portion of the fixed arm when
the movable arm is placed in the close position.
[0030] In this case, the upper end of the aperture of the insertion
portion is completely closed by the intersection portion of the
movable arm, so that the shoulder portion of the garment hung on
the inventive hanger is prevented from dropping in the insertion
portion.
[0031] As the intersection portion of the movable arm, there may be
employed a fork portion brought from below into fitting relation
with the upper end of the aperture of the insertion portion of the
fixed arm. The fork portion ensures that the distal end of the
movable arm is not disengaged from the upper end of the aperture of
the insertion portion if the movable arm or the fixed arm suffers
torsional deformation. Hence, the garment is positively prevented
from dropping in the insertion portion when the movable arm is in
the close position.
[0032] Where the fork portion is formed at the distal end of the
movable arm, a slide slot for supporting the first fulcrum may be
formed in the fixed arm in a manner to have play of a degree that
the first fulcrum does not reach one end of the slide slot in the
closed state where the fork portion fits with the upper end of the
aperture of the insertion portion of the fixed arm. Thus, the
turning motion of the movable arm in the closing direction is
restricted by the fork portion and hence, the movable arm in the
close position is stabilized.
[0033] Furthermore, the slide slot may be provided with play of a
degree that the first fulcrum does not reach the other end of the
slide slot in the closed state where the fork portion overlaps with
a lower side of the aperture of the insertion portion of the fixed
arm. Thus, the turning motion of the movable arm in the opening
direction is restricted by the lower side of the aperture of the
insertion portion and hence, the insertion portion can be opened as
wide as possible.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0034] FIG. 1 is a front view of a clothes hanger according to a
first embodiment of the invention for showing a state where an
aperture of an insertion portion is closed by a movable arm;
[0035] FIG. 2 is a front view of the above clothes hanger for
showing a state where the movable arm is moved to open the aperture
of the insertion portion;
[0036] FIG. 3 is an exploded front view showing components of the
above clothes hanger;
[0037] FIG. 4 are diagrams explanatory of how to use the above
clothes hanger, FIG. 4A showing a state where a neck portion of a
garment is inserted in the insertion portion of a hanger body, FIG.
4B showing a state where a base end of the hanger body is inserted
in a shoulder portion through the neck portion;
[0038] FIG. 5 is a front view showing the garment hung on the above
clothes hanger;
[0039] FIG. 6 is a front view of a clothes hanger according to a
second embodiment of the invention for showing a state where an
aperture of an insertion portion is closed by a movable arm;
[0040] FIG. 7 is a front view of the above clothes hanger for
showing a state where the movable arm is moved to open the aperture
of the insertion portion; and
[0041] FIG. 8 is an exploded front view showing components of the
above clothes hanger.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0042] Preferred embodiments of the invention will hereinbelow be
described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0043] FIGS. 1 to 5 illustrate a clothes hanger 1 according a first
embodiment of the invention. FIGS. 1 and 2 show an overall
configuration of the clothes hanger 1, whereas FIG. 3 shows
disassembled components of the clothes hanger 1.
[0044] As seen in these figures, the clothes hanger 1 according to
the embodiment includes a hanger body 6 having a hook portion 2
projected upwardly and an insertion portion 5 for insertion of a
neck portion 4 of a garment 3; a movable arm 7 for openably closing
an aperture of the insertion portion 5; and a link arm 8 for moving
the movable arm 7 between an open position and a close
position.
[0045] The hanger body 6 and the arms 7, 8 are all constructed from
a synthetic resin material such as hard plastics.
[0046] The hanger body 6 includes a fixed arm 9 continuous with the
hook portion 2 and extended angularly downwardly therefrom toward
one transverse side (the right-hand side as seen in FIG. 1); and
the insertion portion 5 defined by the fixed arm 9 in a manner to
open to the other transverse side (the left-hand side as seen in
FIG. 1) for insertion of the neck portion 4 of the garment 3.
[0047] The fixed arm 9 according to the embodiment includes a pair
of upper arm 10 and lower arm 11 which extend angularly downwardly
toward the right side. These arms 10, 11 are combined together at
their right ends so as to substantially define an elongated V-shape
opening to the left side. That is, the insertion portion 5 is
defined by an internal space of the V-shape defined by the arms 10,
11.
[0048] The embodiment defines a length of the aperture of the
insertion portion 5 (a distance between distal ends of the upper
and lower arms 10, 11) to be about a half of the overall length of
the movable arm 7 in order that the insertion portion 5 has the
widest possible aperture for easy insertion of the neck portion 4
of the garment 3.
[0049] Furthermore, the embodiment defines a length between a
bottom of the insertion portion 5 and a right edge of the hanger
body 6 to be smaller than a width of a neck line of a common
garment 3, such that a necessity for stretching the neck portion 4
is eliminated when a shoulder portion 25 of the garment 3 is
inserted to the deepest possible point of the insertion portion 5
and then a base end of the hanger body 6 (an end of the hanger body
opposite from the aperture of the insertion portion 5) is inserted
through the neck portion 4 of the garment 3.
[0050] The upper and lower arms 10, 11 constituting the V-shaped
fixed arm 9 are so configured as to have the greatest width at the
right ends thereof forming a bottom of the V-shape for the purposes
of achieving strength of a degree to bear a load of the garment 3
and providing for the widest possible aperture and that arms, and
as to be progressively decreased in width toward the respective
distal ends thereof (the left-hand ends as seen in FIG. 1).
[0051] The fixed arm 9 includes a first connecting portion 12
protruding rightwardly from an outer side of a right end thereof
(the intersection of the upper and lower arms 10, 11), the first
connecting portion 12 including a semicircularly curved bar-like
member formed integrally with the fixed arm. The first connecting
portion 12 is provided with a pair of slide brackets 14 at its
distal end, each slide bracket including a transversely elongated
slide slot 13.
[0052] A first pin (first fulcrum) 15 integrally formed at one
longitudinal end (the right end as seen in FIG. 1) of the link arm
8 is inserted in the slide slot 13 of the slide bracket 14, whereby
the one end of the link arm 8 is pivotably connected with to a
lower end of the fixed arm 9 as allowed to slide transversely
relative to the fixed arm.
[0053] It is noted that the slide slot 13 of the slide bracket 14
has such a degree of play that the first pin 15 does not reach
either of the ends of the slide slot 13 in a closed state where a
fork portion 24A of the movable arm 7 (to be described hereinlater)
engages the upper arm 10 (the state shown in FIG. 1) or in an open
state where an upper half part of the movable arm 7 overlaps with
the lower arm 11 (the state shown in FIG. 2).
[0054] The hook portion 2 has an engaging portion 16 substantially
semicircularly curved to protrude upwardly; and a vertical portion
17 extending downwardly from the engaging portion 16. A lower end
of the vertical portion 17 is continuous with the distal end of the
upper arm 10 constituting the fixed arm 9. The vertical portion 17
of the hook portion 2 and the distal end of the upper arm 10
jointly form a corner portion, which is reinforced by a reinforcing
flange 18.
[0055] The movable arm 7 is a bar-like member which has the
greatest width at a longitudinally central part thereof, from which
the width is progressively decreased toward longitudinally opposite
ends. The movable arm 7 is formed with a second connecting portion
19 at a lower end thereof, the second connecting portion including
a bar-like member substantially semicircularly curved to protrude
leftwardly. The second connecting portion 19 is formed with a pair
of pivot brackets 20 (see FIG. 3) at its distal end, each pivot
bracket including a circular hole. Pivotally fitted in the circular
hole of the pivot bracket 20 is a second pin (second fulcrum)
integrally formed at the other longitudinal end of the link arm
(the left end as seen in FIG. 1). Thus, the other end of the link
arm 8 is pivoted on the lower end of the movable arm 7.
[0056] The movable arm 7 is formed with a fan-shaped support
bracket 22 at a lower side of the central part thereof, the support
bracket 22 centrally including a circular hole. Pivotally fitted in
the circular hole of the support bracket 22 is a third pin (third
fulcrum) integrally formed at the distal end of the lower arm 11
constituting the fixed arm 9. Thus, the central part of the movable
arm 7 is pivoted on the distal end of the fixed arm 9.
[0057] According to the embodiment, a length of the upper half part
of the movable arm 7 (a portion extended between the third pin 23
and an upper end of the arm) is substantially equal to or somewhat
greater than the aperture of the insertion portion 5 of the fixed
arm 9. In addition, the movable arm 7 is further formed with an
intersection portion 24 at the upper end thereof, which intersects
the distal end of the upper arm 10 (the upper end of the aperture
of the insertion portion 5 of the fixed arm 9).
[0058] More specifically, the intersection portion 24 of the
movable arm 7 includes a bifurcate fork portion 24A brought from
below into removable engagement with the distal end of the upper
arm 10 in a manner to fit therewith.
[0059] The slide slot 13 has such a play that the first fulcrum 15
does not reach the right end thereof in the closed state where the
fork portion 24A is fitted with the distal end of the upper arm 10.
In addition, the slide slot 13 also has such a play that the first
fulcrum 15 does not reach the left end thereof in the open state
where the movable arm 7 overlaps with a lower side (an upper side
of the lower arm 11) of the aperture of the insertion portion 5 of
the fixed arm 9.
[0060] Accordingly, when the movable arm 7 is turned
counterclockwise about the third pin 23, the turning motion thereof
is inhibited at the point of time that the fork portion 24A engages
the distal end of the upper arm 10. At this time, the movable arm 7
is positioned to incline downwardly from the hook portion 2 and to
extend toward the other transverse side, so that the upper half
part of the movable arm 7 closes the aperture of the insertion
portion 5 (the state shown in FIG. 1).
[0061] On the other hand, when the movable arm 7 is turned
clockwise about the third pin 23, the turning motion thereof
releases the fork portion 24A from the distal end of the upper arm
10 and then is inhibited at the point of time that the upper half
part of the movable arm 7 abuts against the upper side of the lower
arm 11. Thus is opened the aperture of the insertion portion 5 (the
open state shown in FIG. 2)
[0062] As mentioned supra, the embodiment provides the play at the
opposite ends of the slide slot 13. Therefore, the turning motion
of the movable arm 7 in the closing direction is restricted by the
fork portion 24A so that the movable arm 7 can establish a stable
closed state. On the other hand, the turning motion of the movable
arm 7 in the opening direction is restricted by the lower side of
the aperture of the insertion portion so that the insertion portion
5 may be opened as wide as possible.
[0063] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the distal end of the lower arm
11 is pivoted on the movable arm 7 as sandwiched between the pair
of fan-shaped support brackets 22. This prevents the upper half
part of the movable arm 7 vertically pivoted from being deviated
with respect to the fixed arm 9. Hence, the movable arm 7 can be
switched between the open and close positions as maintained in
proper alignment with the upper arm 10 or the lower arm 11.
[0064] The movable arm 7 may be configured such that a lower half
part thereof extended downwardly from the third pin 23 is heavier
than the upper half part thereof extended upwardly from the third
pin, whereby the movable arm 7 is constantly urged in the closing
direction without resorting to a load via the second pin 21 of the
link arm 8. This contributes to a stable shape of the hanger body 6
in the closed state.
[0065] According to the embodiment, a fixing position of the third
pin 23 with respect to the movable arm 7 is located transversely
inwardly from a point of action (dot P in FIG. 5) of a load applied
to the movable arm 7 by the shoulder portion 25 of the garment 3.
Therefore, the movable arm is also urged in the closing direction
by the load applied from the shoulder portion 25 of the garment 3
hung on the hanger body 6 and hence, the shape of the hanger body 6
in the closed state is further stabilized.
[0066] In this manner, the clothes hanger 1 of the embodiment
utilizes the load from the garment 3 for urging the movable arm 7
in the closing direction, so that the hanger body 6 with the
garment 3 hung thereon does not loose its shape. Hence, the
shoulder portion 25 of the garment 3 is prevented from being
deformed.
[0067] The link arm 8 is a transversely elongated bar-like member
having the first pin 15 and the second pin 21 projecting integrally
from respective ends thereof. The bar-like member is integrally
formed with clip portions 26 at transversely opposite ends thereof
for holding edges of trousers or a towel. The link arm 8 is
transversely slidably and pivotally connected with the slide
bracket 14 of the fixed arm 9 via the first pin 15 and pivotally
connected with the pivot bracket 20 of the movable arm 7 via the
second pin 21, thereby transversely movably bridging between the
lower ends of the arms 7, 9.
[0068] Therefore, the clothes hanger 1 of the embodiment provides
the following operations. When the fixed arm 9 is inclined to
direct the aperture of the insertion portion 5 downwardly, as shown
in FIG. 2, the link arm 8 is slidably moved away from the fixed arm
9 via the first pin 15. The link arm 8 thus slidably moved acts as
a weight to push up the lower end of the movable arm 7 via the
second pin 21, thereby turning the movable arm 7 clockwise about
the third pin 23 to open the aperture of the insertion portion
5.
[0069] Conversely, when the fixed arm 9 is returned to its initial
horizontal position, as shown in FIG. 1, the link arm 8 is slidably
moved by its own gravity toward the fixed arm 9 as pivoting
downwardly about the first pin 15. The link arm 8 thus slidably
moved acts as a weight to push down the lower end of the movable
arm 7 via the second pin 21, thereby turning the movable arm 7
counterclockwise about the third pin 23 to close the aperture of
the insertion portion 5.
[0070] According to the clothes hanger 1 of the embodiment, the
fixed arm 9, movable arm 7 and link arm 8 jointly with the first to
third pins 15, 21, 23 for pivotally interconnecting the respective
ends thereof constitute a movable linking mechanism 27 which
switches the movable arm 7 between the open and close positions
utilizing the change in the relative positions between the pins 15,
21, 23 caused by the action of the gravity of the movable member
(the gravity of the link arm 8 in this embodiment) operatively
associated with the change in the inclination degree of the hanger
body 6 (fixed arm 9).
[0071] According to the clothes hanger 1 of the embodiment, the
movable linking mechanism 27 utilizing the gravity of the link arm
8 for opening or closing the movable arm 7 constitutes switching
means 28 for switching the movable arm between the open and close
positions such that the aperture of the insertion portion 5 is
opened by inclining the fixed arm 9 to direct the aperture of the
insertion portion 5 downwardly and that the aperture of the
insertion portion 5 is closed by returning the fixed arm 9 to its
initial horizontal position.
[0072] Next, the use and operations of the clothes hanger 1 of the
above arrangement are described with reference to FIGS. 4 and
5.
[0073] Firstly, the clothes hanger 1 of the embodiment may be
inserted in a garment 3 like a T-shirt having a relatively small
neck-line size in the following manner. As shown in FIG. 4A, the
hanger body 6 is inclined to direct the aperture of the insertion
portion 5 downwardly so that the movable arm 7 is switched open by
means of the switching function of the movable linking mechanism
27. In this state, the neck portion 4 of the garment 3 is inserted
to the deepest point of the insertion portion 5 of the hanger body
6.
[0074] Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, the base end (the opposite end of
the insertion portion 5 from the aperture) of the hanger body 6 is
inserted through the neck portion 4 of the garment 3. Subsequently,
the hanger body 6 is returned to its initial horizontal position as
shown in FIG. 5 and then the hook portion 2 may be hooked over a
clothespole or the like to permit the hanger 1 to dangle therefrom.
The clothes hanger 1 of the embodiment may be removed from the
garment 3 by reversing the above procedure.
[0075] The hanger 1 of the embodiment is arranged such that the
movable arm 7 automatically opens the aperture of the insertion
portion 5 as operatively associated with the inclined hanger body 6
and that the movable arm 7 automatically closes the aperture of the
insertion portion 5 as operatively associated with the hanger body
6 returned to the initial horizontal position. Therefore, unlike
the conventional hanger with the movable arm, the movable arm 7
need not be held open by directly applying a force thereto before
the hanger body 6 is inserted into or removed from the garment.
Thus is facilitated the insertion/removal of the hanger into/from
the garment.
[0076] Furthermore, the hanger 1 of the embodiment employs the
movable linking mechanism 27 adapted to switch the movable arm 7
between the open and close positions utilizing the change in the
relative positions between the pins 15, 21, 23 caused by the action
of the gravity of the link arm 8 operatively associated with the
change in the inclination degree of the fixed arm 9. Therefore, the
hanger of the embodiment can hold the movable arm 7 in the close
position without resorting to the biasing member such as a helical
spring or the like. In this respect, an advantage of reducing the
fabrication costs is provided.
[0077] FIGS. 6 to 8 illustrate a clothes hanger 1 according to a
second embodiment of the invention.
[0078] The hanger 1 of this embodiment differs from that of the
first embodiment principally in the intersection portion 24 formed
at the distal end of the movable arm 7, while the other parts
thereof are substantially the same as those of the first
embodiment.
[0079] The following description, therefore, focuses on the
different configuration of the intersection portion while the parts
resemblent to those of the first embodiment are represented by the
same reference numerals, respectively, so that the detailed
description thereof is dispensed with.
[0080] The intersection portion 24 according to this embodiment is
a bar-like member 24B formed in a step-like shape by eccentrically
displacing a distal end portion of the movable arm 7 along a
direction of the thickness of the arm 7 (a direction perpendicular
to the drawing surface). The bar-like member 24B intersects the
distal end of the upper arm 10 when the movable arm 7 is in the
close position (see FIG. 6). At this time, however, the bar-like
member 24B simply abuts against a side of the distal end of the
upper arm 10. The bar-like member 24B is not capable of restricting
the closing motion of the movable arm 7 by abutting against the
lower side of the upper arm 10.
[0081] Therefore, the hanger 1 of this embodiment is arranged such
that the turning motion of the movable arm 7 in the closing
direction is inhibited at the point of time that the first pin 15
reaches the right end of the slide slot 13. Although the
intersection portion 24 includes the bar-like member 24B without
the stopper function for the movable arm 7, the upper end of the
aperture of the insertion portion 5 can be completely closed by the
intersection portion 24 of the movable arm 7. Therefore, the
shoulder portion 25 of the garment 3 hung on the hanger 1 can be
prevented from dropping into the insertion portion 5.
[0082] According to the embodiment, only one of the support bracket
pair 22. is formed in the fan shape, which constitutes a difference
from the first embodiment.
[0083] It is to be noted that the invention is not limited to the
hangers 1 of the above embodiments.
[0084] For instance, the hanger 1 of the first embodiment may be
modified such that the link arm 8 is dispensed with so that the
movable arm 7 is switched between the open and close positions only
by its own gravity, although this modification is decreased in the
stability of the movable arm being opened, as compared with the
first embodiment.
[0085] What is required of the switching means 28 is to be capable
of switching the movable arm 7 between the open and close positions
according to the inclination of the hanger body 6. Hence, the
switching means may adopt a different working principle from that
of the movable linking mechanism 27 capitalizing on the gravity of
the member.
[0086] As described above, the invention automatically switches the
movable arm between the open and close positions according to the
inclination of the hanger body or the fixed arm. Thus, the
invention negates the need for holding the movable arm open by
applying a force thereto before the hanger body is inserted into
the garment. This results in a much easier insertion/removal of the
hanger into/from the garment.
[0087] Furthermore, the invention is adapted to hold the movable
arm closed without resorting to the biasing member such as a
helical spring. The omission of the helical spring leads to the
decreased number of components or assembly steps and thence, to the
reduction of fabrication costs.
[0088] In addition, the invention utilizes the load from the
garment for urging the movable arm in the closing direction, so
that the hanger body with the garment hung thereon does not loose
its shape. This prevents the shoulder portion of the garment from
being deformed.
* * * * *