Apparel apparatus – Garment hangers
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-17
2001-11-13
Mohanty, Bibhu (Department: 3741)
Apparel apparatus
Garment hangers
C223SDIG004
Reexamination Certificate
active
06315176
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to garment hangers, in general, and, more particularly, to hangers for 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 (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.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,164,420 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.
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.
There is 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. 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. Several embodiments of the hanger are shown.
Each embodiment of the hanger includes two opposed support arms for supporting a garment. The support arms are joined together at a median point. In addition to an upper support surface (or leg), the support arms may also include a lower connecting leg or surface. The hanger also includes a hanger hook having an elongated connecting leg which extends between the hook, per se, and an interconnection location which is offset from the median (or Joinder) point of the upper ends of the support surface of the two opposed support arms of the hanger. The connecting leg of the hook is generally coplanar with the support arms.
Because the two hanger support arms have respective upper ends joined together at a median point and the lower end of the connecting 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 greater effective perimeter distance of one arm 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 the garment. (The procedure is reversed for removing a garment from the hanger.) This configuration of the hanger avoids and prevents damage to the garment neck region.
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. 206303 (1966-11-01), Louik
patent: 2164420 (1939-07-01), Petty
patent: 5649653 (1997-07-01), Joseph
patent: 5806727 (1998-09-01), Joseph
patent: 6047867 (2000-04-01), Heiber
Merrick Engineering Inc
Mohanty Bibhu
Weber, Jr. G. Donald
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