Garment hanger

Abstract

This disclosure provides a simple and cheap collapsible cloth hanger. According to one embodiment of the current invention the hanger consists of a hook attached to two arms that movably cross each other, thereby forming an X-configuration. By pressing the uppermost ends of the cross together the lowermost ends that form the hanger arms will move closer to each other, thereby forming a narrow assembly that can be inserted through a small neck hole. By releasing hold of the upper ends, the arms of the hanger are back to the original width and the cloth is supported by the lower ends of the arms. According to another preferred embodiment the invention works without the X-configuration and two movable arms are embedded through a pivot in a fixed structure. According to this embodiment the user pressures the two arms to allow the hanger to form a narrow assembly to be inserted through a small neck hole

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to garment hangers and more particularly it relates to collapsible garment hangers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Garments are often spoiled or even permanently damaged when a conventional cloth hanger is forced through a neck hole because usually the hanger is wider than the neck hole of the garment.

[0003] The conventional kind of cloth hangers thus require that the garment is placed on the hanger via its lower opening or that buttons of a shirt are opened before placing the shirt on a hanger. Similarly, the hanger has to be removed either from the lower opening of the garment or the buttons need to be opened again before a shirt can be taken off the hanger.

[0004] There are various designs of garment hangers that aim to solve this problem. Some of the designs available provide hangers with foldable arms or hangers with collapsible hook. In a number of available designs the arms of the hanger can be folded based on some kind of string mechanism. For example U.S. Pat. No. 6,540,121 discloses a hanger where the two arms are connected with a spring and the arms can be turned down due to this spring.

[0005] Some of the available hangers provide an easy way to fold the hanger but opening of the hanger arms after the cloth is on the hanger needs operation with two hands and thereby the result may be as complicated and burdensome as opening buttons of the shirt before hanging it and closing the buttons after the shirt is on the hanger.

[0006] Moreover, some of the foldable hangers available have such a complicated folding mechanism that it becomes impossible to manufacture the hanger with low costs. For example U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/541,135 discloses a hanger where the arms can be folded downward based on a gear wheel system. Such complicated systems will make the hanger rather expensive and therefore these designs have not become popular.

[0007] Accordingly, there is a need for simple and non expensive garment hanger that could provide solution to easy hanging of cloths with small neck holes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The invention according to this disclosure provides a hanger that is cheap to manufacture. Moreover, the hanger is easy and simple to use and it does not need operation with two hands nor complicated opening procedures after the cloth has been set on the hanger.

[0009] The instant invention provides a solution to the problems encountered by the currently known approaches. The object of the current invention is to provide a simple and practical collapsible hanger. The hanger according to this disclosure is cheap to manufacture and easy to use.

[0010] According to one preferred embodiment of the current invention the hanger consists of a hook attached to two arms that movably cross each other thereby forming an X-configuration. By pressing the uppermost ends of the cross together the lowermost ends that form the hanger arms will move closer to each other, thereby forming a narrow assembly that can be inserted through a small neck hole. By releasing hold of the upper ends, the arms of the hanger are back to the original width and the cloth is supported by the lower ends of the arms. According to another preferred embodiment the invention works without the X-configuration and two movable arms are embedded through a pivot in a fixed structure. According to this embodiment the user pressures the two arms to allow the hanger to form a narrow assembly to be inserted through a small neck hole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the hanger of this disclosure where the arms form an X-configuration.

[0012] FIG. 2 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the hanger of this disclosure where the arms are connected with a pin.

[0013] FIG. 3 illustrates how the hanger of this disclosure is inserted through a narrow neck hole of a shirt without stretching or widening the neck hole.

[0014] FIG. 4. illustrates a preferred embodiment of the hanger of this disclosure where the arms do not form an X-configuration, but are embedded through a pivot in a fixed structure that comprises the hook. A flexible support structure locates under the fixed structure.

[0015] FIG. 5. Illustrates the hanger of FIG. 4, where the arms are compressed to form a narrow assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0016] With reference now to the drawings, an improved garment hanger according to the present invention is described.

[0017] The improved garment hanger according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a hook (1) attached to two arms (2) that are movably crossing each other. The arms consist of a shorter upper ends (3) and longer lower ends (4). The arms are movably connected to each other at the crossing point (5) with a plug, pin, rivet, bolt or any similar means.

[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of the hanger, where the arms are attached to each other with a pin (6).

[0019] The lower ends of the hanger serve as the arms onto which the garment is hung. These lower ends (4) can be moved closer to each other by pressing the upper ends (3) together as is shown in FIG. 3. Pressing the upper ends together causes the lower ends to get closer to each other whereby the hanger is in a narrower configuration. Releasing hold of the upper wings releases the lower ends back to the original position and the hanger is ready to support the garment. The hanger has a mechanism that allows the arms to automatically come back to an open/released position once the user stops to apply pressure on the upper wings. The mechanism may be a flexible support (shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 as element 7) which may be a piece of flexible material or a spring that is positioned below the X-configuration. Once pressure is applied the flexible support (7) will be compressed and allow the arms to move closer to each other and once user no more applies pressure the flexible piece will return to its original form and the arms automatically return to open/released position.

[0020] According to another preferred embodiment the hanger of this invention works without the X-configuration and two movable arms are embedded through a pivot in a fixed structure (8). FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrates this embodiment. According to this embodiment the user pressures the two arms to allow the hanger to form a narrow assembly to be inserted through a small neck hole.

[0021] The hanger according to this disclosure may be made of metal, wood, plastic or any other suitable material. The lower ends of the arms that are supporting the garment may have various designs depending on the cloth type it is meant to use for. For example the arms may be wider and sturdier for hanging dresses than for hanging T-shirts.

[0022] A person skilled in the art will understand that invention according to this disclosure may be conducted with various changes without dividing from the idea of this invention.

Claims

1. A garment hanger comprising two collapsible arms for hanging a garment, said arms being movably connected to each other by means allowing the arms to move closer to each other, thereby forming a compressed assembly when pressure is applied, and said means allowing the arms automatically to return to original position when the pressure is released.

2. The garment hanger of claim 1, wherein the two collapsible arms are movably connected to each other at a crossing point to form an X-configuration, said X configuration having shorter upper ends and longer lower ends, whereby pressing the upper ends toward each other allows the lower ends to move closer to each other, thereby allowing the hanger to fit through a small neck hole of a garment.

3. The garment hanger of claim 2, wherein the arms are connected to each other with a plug, a pin, a rivet or a bolt.

4. The garment hanger of claim 1, wherein the means allowing the arms automatically to return to original position when the pressure is released comprises a flexible support structure.

5. The garment hanger of claim 4, wherein the flexible support structure is selected from the group consisting of a spring and a piece of flexible material.

6. The garment hanger of claim 1, wherein the hanger is made of metal, wood or plastic.

7. The garment hanger of claim 1, wherein the two collapsible arms are connected to each other through a pivot in a fixed structure, said fixed structure further comprising a hook.