U.S. patent application number 12/185693 was filed with the patent office on 2009-02-19 for hang tight hanger.
This patent application is currently assigned to N-STYLE, LLC. Invention is credited to Natalie Gray.
Application Number | 20090045232 12/185693 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40362183 |
Filed Date | 2009-02-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090045232 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gray; Natalie |
February 19, 2009 |
HANG TIGHT HANGER
Abstract
A one-piece hanger designed with clips on each side of the
downward slopes of the hanger body is disclosed. The unique
placement of the clips allows garment necks to be held tightly onto
the hanger. Having clips on the two sloping sides of the hanger
provides the present hanger unique advantages.
Inventors: |
Gray; Natalie; (Cedar Hills,
UT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WEILI CHENG
CLAYTON, HOWARTH & CANNON, P.C., P.O.BOX 1909
SANDY
UT
84091
US
|
Assignee: |
N-STYLE, LLC
Cedar Hills
UT
|
Family ID: |
40362183 |
Appl. No.: |
12/185693 |
Filed: |
August 4, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60956236 |
Aug 16, 2007 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
223/93 ;
223/85 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G 25/486
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
223/93 ;
223/85 |
International
Class: |
A41D 27/22 20060101
A41D027/22 |
Claims
1. A garment hanger comprised of a hook having two slopes extending
from the hook, a rod base connecting the two slopes and finishing
the body of the hanger, and a clip mechanism on each of the two
slopes.
2. The garment hanger of claim 1, wherein said clip mechanism is
comprised of a top piece, blunt teeth, and grooves opposite the
teeth, as a built-in piece on the hanger.
3. The garment hanger of claim 2, wherein said blunt teeth are
angled toward the hook and have blunt edges so as grip any garment
firmly onto the hanger's slopes.
4. The garment hanger of claim 1, wherein said clip mechanism is
removable from or adjustable on the slope.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 60/956,236, filed Aug. 16, 2007, which is hereby
incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, including but not
limited to those portions that specifically appear hereinafter, the
incorporation by reference being made with the following exception:
In the event that any portion of the above-referenced provisional
application is inconsistent with this application, this application
supercedes said above-referenced provisional application.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] This invention relates generally to garment hangers and more
particularly to hangers with clips for-holding garments onto
them.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] There are many types hangers with different kinds of clips
and clamps claiming to hold garments tightly onto them. There are
many effective hangers that strive to address this issue. Hangers
have been disclosed in the patent literature and are commercially
available which include portions of the hanger being covered to
provide strength and prevent mis-forming of the hanger when
garments are hung thereon, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,516
(Rice). The Rice patent teaches the application of materials to
wire hangers to increase the surface area of the frame of the
hanger and to strengthen the hanger. The material attached to the
hanger is made of hard plastic or like material. A longitudinal
opening in the material enables it to be placed upon the wires of
the hanger frame, and bar attachments connect the material together
to provide further strengthening. A clothing hanger guard is
disclosed in Hill in U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,545. The guard comprises a
soft plastic sleeve, with one end closed and the other end open.
The open end is slipped over the open end of the hanging hook of a
wire hanger to strengthen the hook. Other methods include the
gluing of non-slip material to the frame of the hanger or the
sewing of soft material onto the hanger after the hanger has been
manufactured. The sewing of soft material coverings onto hangers is
tedious and expensive and does not allow for easy removal of the
covering or replacement of the covering when the hanger is in use.
Existing devices do not provide for simple, inexpensive means for
manufacturing a covered hanger which incorporates a pre-formed and
pre-sewn sleeve of material for preventing slippage, clinging,
snagging or tearing, mis-forming and creasing of garments, and
which enables efficient drip drying of garments.
[0006] For conventional hangers, clips are normally placed on the
bottom rod of the hanger, but that is ineffective for holding a
garment along the slope of the hanger. These are normally used to
hold pants. They fail to keep shirts or jackets from sliding off of
their slopes. The clips of hangers disclosed in the present
invention, with their unique location, ensure a tight hold on the
necks of jackets and shirts, particularly garments with wide necks.
This is achieved by the practical and inexpensive design of the
clip. Other hangers claiming to keep shirts and jackets from
slipping off of them may have rubber stops or some kind of fabric
or material along the slopes of their hanger to solve the problem
of the garments slipping off. This does prove somewhat effective,
but lack an actual clip to grab the garments tightly and are also
typically more expensive to manufacture and so for the consumer to
purchase.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,384, for example, has clips along the
straight, bottom rod. U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,727 also has clips on the
bottom rod as well as notches along the two downward slopes. The
disadvantages of these types of clips and notches are the clip
placement is not effective for holding onto the neck of a shirt in
its natural hanger position. In addition, the notches do not hold
the neck of a basic shirt. They are also typically more expensive
to manufacture due to the separate pieces and metal materials they
are made with. Other hangers are made with fabric or cohesive
material along their downward slopes. The disadvantages of these
types of hangers are that clothing hung onto these hangers are
still able to fall off or be pulled off with little opposing force
and clothing or jackets with very wide necks are completely unable
to remain fastened onto the hanger.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] It has been recognized that it would be advantageous to
develop a one-piece hanger designed with clips on each side of the
downward slopes of the hanger body. The unique placement of the
clips allows garment necks to be held tightly onto the hanger.
Having clips on the two sloping sides of the hanger provides the
present hanger with unique advantages.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The features and advantages of the disclosure will be set
forth in the description which follows, and in part will be
apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of
the disclosure without undue experimentation. The features and
advantages of the disclosure may be realized and obtained by means
of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the
appended claims.
[0010] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the entire hanger with
two clip mechanisms, in accordance with an embodiment of the
present invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 is an enlarged, front perspective view of the entire
clip mechanism;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a front, angled perspective view of the entire
clip mechanism;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the entire hanger
showing also the two clip mechanisms and
[0014] FIG. 5 is a side perspective view of the entire hanger as
seen in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENT(S)
[0015] For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the
principles in accordance with the disclosure, reference will now be
made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific
language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be
understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is
thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the
inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional
applications of the principles of the disclosure as illustrated
herein, which would normally occur to one skilled in the relevant
art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered
within the scope of the disclosure claimed. Reference will now be
made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, and specific
language will be used herein to describe the same. It will
nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the
invention is thereby intended.
[0016] Before the present invention is disclosed and described, it
is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the
particular configurations, process steps, and materials disclosed
herein as such configurations, process steps, and materials may
vary somewhat. It is also to be understood that the terminology
employed herein is used for the purpose of describing particular
embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting since the scope
of the disclosure will be limited only by the appended claims and
equivalents thereof.
[0017] The publications and other reference materials referred to
herein to describe the background of the disclosure, and to provide
additional detail regarding its practice, are hereby incorporated
by reference herein in their entireties, with the following
exception: In the event that any portion of said reference
materials is inconsistent with this application, this application
supercedes said reference materials. The reference materials
discussed herein are provided solely for their disclosure prior to
the filing date of this application. Nothing herein is to be
construed as a suggestion or admission that the inventors are not
entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior disclosure,
or to distinguish the disclosure from the subject matter disclosed
in the reference materials.
[0018] It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the
appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include
plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In
describing and claiming the subject matter of the disclosure, the
following terminology will be used in accordance with the
definitions set out below.
[0019] As used herein, the terms "comprising," "including,"
"containing," "characterized by," and grammatical equivalents
thereof are inclusive or open-ended terms that do not exclude
additional, unrecited elements or method steps.
[0020] As used herein, the phrase "consisting of" and grammatical
equivalents thereof exclude any element, step, or ingredient not
specified in the claim.
[0021] As used herein, the phrase "consisting essentially of" and
grammatical equivalents thereof limit the scope of a claim to the
specified materials or steps and those that do not materially
affect the basic and novel characteristic or characteristics of the
claimed disclosure
[0022] FIG. 1 shows a front perspective view of the hanger. It is
comprised of a hook 2-5 which suspends the hanger, two slopes 2-4
extending from the hook, a rod base 2-6, connecting the two slopes
and finishing the body of the hanger, and two clip mechanisms 2-0,
one on each of the slopes 2-4. The hanger itself may be made of any
material such as plastic, wood, metal, etc. Preferably, the hanger
is made in one-piece, however, variations may include any removable
parts or removable clips. Also, other materials such as hinges,
metal pieces, rubber, or fabrics may be comprised into this hanger.
The clip mechanisms 2-0 may also be manufactured to be in any
different location along the hanger's slopes 2-4. The hook 2-5 of
this hanger may be of any shape or material that will efficiently
suspend the hanger. The whole design of this hanger is pleasing and
unique in appearance; however, variations may be made to the
appearance, color or size of the hanger design, as well as the size
or appearance of the clip 2-0.
[0023] FIG. 2 shows a front perspective view of the entire clip
mechanism 2-0 on the hanger's slopes 2-4. This clip mechanism and
its location on the hanger is an important element of this
invention. The whole clip 2-0 is comprised of a top piece 2-1,
blunt teeth 2-2, and grooves opposite the teeth 2-3. It shows the
clip mechanism 2-0 as a built-in piece on the hanger. This is to
keep manufacturing and consumer costs at a minimum, but the clip
may be altered to be a separate part or include separate pieces or
parts such as hinges or to other leverage enforcing elements. The
embodiment of the clip comprises several aspects. 2-1 shows the
curve design of the top of the clip that extends from the hanger's
slope 2-4 and curves back down toward the hanger's slope 2-4. This
curve design allows the clip to flex slightly at this point in
order to lift the top of the clip 2-1 away from the slopes 2-4 and
place garments underneath it. This design is not only functional
for use of the hanger without utilizing the clip mechanism 2-0, it
also keeps a pleasing design enhancing the overall appearance of
the hanger.
[0024] The design of the top piece of the clip 2-1, however, may be
modified to be any shape or size. The whole clip mechanism 2-0 may
be designed in different ways for appearance or functionality. 2-2
shows the clip mechanism's 2-0 blunt teeth. The teeth are angled
toward the hook 2-5 and have blunt edges so as grip any garment
firmly onto the hanger's slopes 2-4 without harming the material.
These teeth may be modified to attach to rubber, fabric, or any
other material. The teeth 2-2 may also be manufactured to be
completely removable from the top piece of the clip 2-1 for use in
clamping delicate garments. These teeth 2-2 fit directly into
opposing grooves 2-3 cut out of the hanger's slopes 2-4. These
teeth and groove design allows a firm, but non-abrasive grip on any
garment that is placed between these two features. The grooves 2-3
may also be eliminated or modified to accommodate any modification
of the teeth 2-2 or design modifications of the top of the clip 2-1
as mentioned above. This clip mechanism 2-0 may be placed it
anywhere along the hanger's slope in order to accommodate wide or
small-necked garments. The teeth 2-2 and grooves 2-3 work together
to form a firm grip on garments hanging on the hanger so that they
do not slip or fall off of the hanger's slopes 2-4.
[0025] As the user lifts up on the top of the clip 2-1, a garment
is placed on the hanger's slope 2-4 over the grooves 2-3 and under
the top of the clip 2-1. As the clip is released by the user, it
will return to its original position along the hanger's slope 2-4,
resulting in a firm and non-abrasive grip onto the garment. The
hanger can then be tipped, moved around, or handled without the
worry and frustration caused by the garment coming off of the
hanger.
[0026] FIG. 3 is an angled front perspective view of the clip
mechanism 2-0. This shows the underside of the blunt-edged teeth
2-2. It also shows an angled view of the clip's grooves 2-3 and
further demonstrates how these two elements work together to form a
firm grasp of whatever is placed between them.
[0027] FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the entire hanger
showing also the top of the clip mechanism 2-0. This figure shows
the design of the top of the clips 2-1 on the hanger. This design
not only has a nice appearance, but also enables the user to lift
the top of the clip 2-1 from the slope 2-4 with ease. The
appearance may be modified in design or made using any other
material or added components such as, but not limited to, metal or
other plastic pieces to give a different look or different
functionality.
[0028] FIG. 5 is a side perspective view of the entire hanger as
shown in FIG. 1. This view shows the sleek design of the hanger and
clip mechanism. Modifications to any element of the hanger or
clips, however, may cause a change in this appearance.
[0029] In operation, one lifts the clip and slides a garment
underneath the clip and then simply lets the clip go. The clip will
return back into place, meeting the slope of the hanger and
grasping the garment tightly. One is now able to tilt the hanger,
pull lightly on the garment or move the hanger in any way and the
garment will stay in place on the hanger. The clip may be placed at
anywhere along the entire slope of the hanger (such as clips placed
more toward the base of the hanger for very wide necked garments or
placed more toward the hook of the hanger for small necked
garments)
[0030] Different kinds of clips/clasps/fasteners can be placed
anywhere along the slopes of the hanger including, but not limited
to, any kind of clips with hinges, metal parts, or screws. In
addition, clips that can be removed or removable parts for a clip
placed along the slopes of the hanger are included. Different types
of grips on the clips including, but not limited to, rubber,
different shapes or sizes of the "teeth", or material and fabric,
are all included in the present invention. Variation of size or
shape of the clips or clasps and variation of the size or shape of
the actual hanger body itself (such as small hangers for children's
clothing) can also be used in the present invention.
[0031] While the forgoing descriptions are illustrative of the
principles of the present invention in one or more particular
applications, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the
art that numerous modifications in form, usage and details of
implementation can be made without the exercise of inventive
faculty, and without departing from the principles and concepts of
the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention
be limited, except as by the claims set forth below
[0032] In the foregoing Detailed Description of the Disclosure,
various features of the disclosure are grouped together in a single
embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This
method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an
intention that the claimed disclosure requires more features than
are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following
claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of
a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims
are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description of the
Disclosure by this reference, with each claim standing on its own
as a separate embodiment of the disclosure.
[0033] It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements
are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the
disclosure. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may
be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the
spirit and scope of the disclosure. The appended claims are
intended to cover such modifications and arrangements. Thus, while
the disclosure has been shown in the drawings and described above
with particularity and detail, it will be apparent to those of
ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications, including,
but not limited to, variations in size, materials, shape, form,
function and manner of operation, assembly and use may be made
without departing from the principles and concepts set forth
herein.
* * * * *