Apparel apparatus – Garment hangers – Covers
Reexamination Certificate
1996-12-04
2001-05-08
Mohanty, Bibhu (Department: 3765)
Apparel apparatus
Garment hangers
Covers
Reexamination Certificate
active
06227423
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a clothes hanger pad, and more particularly to a clothes hanger pad which is dimensionally stable, interchangeable between clothes hangers and which can be retrofit to conventional clothes hangers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many types of garments which are hung onto clothes hangers have a tendency to slide off conventional clothes hangers. Such garments may be blouses which have wide neck openings or tank top-type garments. Furthermore, garments made from slippery materials such as silk or nylon may also slide off of convention clothes hangers.
Many clothes hangers are available which are directed to the problem set forth above. These include hangers having a non-slip material which is attached to the clothes hanger through various manufacturing processes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,345, issued Jan. 11, 1994, discloses a hanger having heat shrinkable tubes which are fitted on the ends of a clothes hanger and that are shrunk onto the ends by heating them until the tubes are secured to the hanger. Such a heat shrinking process adds to the cost of the clothes hanger and does not permit the tubes to be removed from the hanger for use on a different hanger. U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,307, issued Jan. 7, 1992, discloses a plastic hanger having a flocking material sprayed over the hanger to provide a non-slip surface. This configuration requires the extra step of spraying the flocking material on the hanger, and the flocking material is not removable. U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,694, issued Oct. 15, 1991, discloses a clothes hanger having heavy rubber pads which are fastened to the ends of the clothes hanger. These pads may be expensive to produce and install. Some clothes hangers have foam glued to each end of the clothes hanger in order to prevent the garment from slipping off the hanger. All of these clothes hangers require the user to purchase the entire hanger to take advantage of the non-slip features.
Other types of clothes hanger pads include foam pockets which are stretched over the ends of clothes hangers in order to provide a non-slip surface at the end of the hangers. Some have foam pieces which are stretched from one end of the hanger to the other end over the top of the hanger in order to provide a non-slip surface for the garment to hang on. However, these foam pockets tear easily, quickly deform through stretching, are not reliable for long-term use and must be replaced frequently. Many of these foam pockets cover most of the coat hanger arms and are not particularly aesthetically attractive.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Thus, it is desirable to provide a clothes hanger pad which is inexpensive to produce, dimensionally stable, durable and interchangeable between clothes hangers, so that a person who requires non-slip clothes hangers does not need to purchase complete new hangers. Rather, the person would only need to purchase the clothes hanger pad provided by the present invention, which can be fit onto conventional hooked clothes hangers.
One object of the present invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive coat hanger pad that is simple to secure to a coat hanger in a manner in which the aesthetic appearance of a decorative coat hanger is not materially affected.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a non-slip clothes hanger cover which is entirely concealed by the garment which is carried by the hanger on which the cover is mounted thereby avoiding an unsightly display when garments are offered for sale.
In a preferred embodiment, a clothes hanger pad is disclosed comprising a foam piece having a first edge opposite a second edge and a third edge opposite a fourth edge, and a dimensionally stable material laminated to a first side of the foam piece. The foam piece is folded along a midline of the foam piece, the midline being parallel to the first and second edges, so that the first side is folded against itself. The third edge is attached to itself and the fourth edge is attached to itself to form a pocket having, as an inside surface, the first side of the foam piece. The dimensionally stable material is a material selected from the group consisting of thermoplastic urethane, plastic film, flexible PVC, neoprene rubber, natural rubber, nitrile and low density polyethylene, and has a thickness of approximately 1 to 3 mils. The foam piece is a material selected from the group of polyester and polyether, has a thickness of approximately 0.0625 inches to 0.5 inches and a density of approximately 1.0-2.0 pounds per square foot. The third and fourth edges are respectively attached to the themselves by gluing, using heat to melt the edges together, by electronic impulse bonding, or by stitching the edges together. The dimensionally stable material is either heat bonded to the first side or bonded with an adhesive to the first side.
In another embodiment, a clothes hanger pad is disclosed comprising a foam pocket having a first bonded side, a second bonded side, a folded side, an open side, and a dimensionally stable material laminated to an inside surface of the pocket.
In another embodiment, a method of making clothes hanger pads is disclosed, the method comprising the steps of laminating a foam strip with a dimensionally stable material on a first side thereof, folding the strip so that the first side is folded against itself, bonding the strip to itself at a plurality of discrete locations along the strip and cutting the strip at the plurality of discrete locations to form a plurality of clothes hanger pads. In the laminating step, a dimensionally stable material selected from the group consisting of thermoplastic urethane, plastic film, flexible PVC, neoprene rubber, natural rubber, nitrile and low density polyethylene is heat bonded to the first side.
In another embodiment, a clothes hanger pad is disclosed having an elongated pocket shape adapted to engage the end of a coat hanger, formed of a laminate including an outer layer of a flexible resilient foam material and an inner layer that is more dimensionally stable but thinner than the outer layer with the two layers bonded together.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2178965 (1939-11-01), Johnson
patent: 2739745 (1956-03-01), Tufts
patent: 2828899 (1958-04-01), Zuckerman
patent: 3071298 (1963-01-01), Tufts
patent: 3212687 (1965-10-01), Bradley
patent: 5056964 (1991-10-01), Michalik
patent: 5293029 (1993-11-01), None
patent: 6205724 (1994-07-01), None
Mohanty Bibhu
Signal Industries, Inc.
Wolf Greenfield & Sacks P.C.
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