Apparel apparatus – Garment hangers
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-18
2001-07-17
Mohanty, Bibhu (Department: 3741)
Apparel apparatus
Garment hangers
C223S092000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260746
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to garment hangers, in general, and, more particularly, to hangers which have a swivel hook and are especially useful with garments having relatively small collar or neck openings.
2. Prior Art
Many garment hangers are known in the art. The known hangers have many shapes and configurations related to specific uses of the hangers. One such use is a hanger for use with a garment having a relatively small neck opening.
The most pertinent prior art known discloses a hanger structure wherein the hanger support structure (i.e. hook) and the hanger arms are specifically interrelated with a convex, angulated leg extension of the hanger support structure in order to effectively lengthen the perimeter distance along one hanger arm while still achieving a common interconnection location between upper ends of the two shoulder supports of the hanger and the lower end of the angular leg extension of the hook. In the known hanger structures, the support structure or hook is fixed in position relative to the hanger arms.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,164,4100 to Petty discloses a wire clothes hanger for a garment having a comparatively small neck. However, the Petty hanger requires an integrally associated garment retaining means to hold the garment on the hanger.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,423 to Wagar et al discloses a wire hanger potentially usable for clothes having small neck openings. The lower end of one hanger shoulder support is joined by a continuous wire to the upper end of the other shoulder support. However, the Wagar et al '423 hanger has geometric restrictions and is relatively inconvenient and cumbersome to use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,727 to Joseph discloses a plastic hanger for garments having a small neck opening but requires a J-slot configuration of the hanger and does not have a swivel hook.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,653 to Joseph discloses a plastic hanger for garments having a small neck opening but requires an angled knee in the hook portion of the hanger which hook portion does not swivel.
Nevertheless, there is still a need for new and improved clothes hangers which are adapted for use with small-necked garments and which overcome and avoid such prior art problems while providing unique features such as a swivel hook therefor. The present invention satisfies this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to an improved garment hanger particularly adapted for use with clothes having small neck openings and with the additional advantage of a hook which is able to swivel to provide the advantages of such a hook structure. The hook is selectively detachable from the hanger body.
The hanger includes two opposed support arms for supporting a garment. The support arms are joined together at a mid-region location. In addition to an upper support surface, the support arms may also include a lower surface in the form of a common connecting leg. The hanger also includes a hanger hook which is swivelably mounted to an elongated hook attachment leg which extends from one of the two support arms of the hanger. The connection between the hook attachment leg and the support arm is offset from the mid-region location between the support arms. The attachment leg of the hook is generally coplanar with the support arms.
Because the attachment leg of the hook is off-center relative to the hanger, one support arm of the hanger has, effectively, a greater unobstructed perimeter distance than the other support arm of the hanger. This arrangement permits the longer arm to be inserted through a garment neck whereby the garment can be advanced along the longer arm to a location where the shorter arm can be slipped through the neck and into o the garment. This configuration of the hanger avoids and prevents damage to the garment neck region.
In addition, the hanger may include a shaped support, for example, but not limited to an inverted V-shaped portion, in one of the support arms to complement the attachment leg of the hook structure in the other support arm in order to better receive the garment thereon.
Also, in one embodiment, the hanger structure may include a strengthening support ribs formed on, or as part of, the basic hanger components to add strength and rigidity thereto.
The preferred embodiments of the hanger are simple, rugged and economical to fabricate and manufacture and can be made with various materials and various production processes.
The objects and advantages of the several embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the present specification taken with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 200942 (1965-04-01), Goldin
patent: 4709838 (1987-12-01), Campbell
patent: 5806727 (1998-09-01), Joseph
patent: 6036062 (2000-03-01), Von Fabris Auf Mayerhofen
Merrick Engineering Inc.
Mohanty Bibhu
Weber, Jr. G. Donald
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