Apparel apparatus – Garment hangers – Sheet material
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-30
2001-08-07
Mohanty, Bibhu (Department: 3765)
Apparel apparatus
Garment hangers
Sheet material
Reexamination Certificate
active
06269989
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates generally to the preservation of desired contours in garments stored and transported on garment hangers and pertains, more specifically, to shoulder guards placed upon garment hangers to protect against unwanted distortion of garments hung on the garment hangers.
By virtue of the versatility and economy provided by garment hangers constructed of wire, the use of wire garment hangers has become widespread in the storage and transport of various garments. Because of the relatively small gage of the wire used in such garment hangers, convention has dictated the use of supplemental supports in connection with the garment hangers for supporting the shoulders of garments hung on the hangers so as to protect against unwanted distortion and creasing and thereby preserve the desired contours of the hung garments while stored and transported on the garment hangers.
As a result, numerous shoulder guard constructions have been proposed and used in connection with garment hangers. The most commonly available shoulder guards are constructed of relatively inexpensive material, such as card stock, which provides sufficient strength and resiliency for the task to be performed, while enabling economy for encouraging widespread use and allowing for expendability.
The present invention provides a shoulder guard which constitutes a departure from current shoulder guard configurations, enabling economy with increased ease of handling and use, and better overall performance characteristics. As such, the present invention attains several objects and advantages, some of which are summarized as follows: Enables increased economy through the use of minimal amounts of material and less waste, as a result of an overall configuration which allows such economical construction; allows economical storage and transportation in a flattened condition with ease of erection and assembly with a garment hanger at the site of use; resists inadvertent removal from a garment hanger, once assembled, so as to provide exemplary performance during both storage and transport of the garment hung on the garment hanger; accommodates variations in dimensions and configuration of garment hangers encountered in the field without sacrificing performance; enables quick and simple erection and assembly at the site of use; provides increased versatility, with economy and exemplary performance in the preservation of desired contours in garments hung on garment hangers.
The above objects and advantages, as well as further objects and advantages, are attained by the present invention which may be described briefly as a garment hanger shoulder guard a garment hanger shoulder guard for manipulation between a collapsed configuration, wherein the shoulder guard is essentially flattened for shipping and storage, and an erect configuration for placement upon a garment hanger to provide a desired garment-supporting contour configuration for a garment to be supported by the garment hanger, the garment hanger having a generally central altitudinally extending suspension hook, longitudinally spaced apart opposite end portions, and shoulder portions extending longitudinally and sloping altitudinally between the suspension hook and the opposite end portions for hanging the garment to be supported by the garment hanger, the shoulder guard comprising: an elongate member having a length extending in a longitudinal direction between opposite ends, and a generally central portion having a first lateral width extending in a lateral direction between opposite side edges, the longitudinal length being much greater than the lateral width; an aperture in the elongate member, the aperture being located generally centrally between the opposite ends and the opposite side edges for receiving the suspension hook of the garment hanger; the elongate member including intermediate shoulder support portions located between the central portion and each of the opposite ends, each shoulder support portion having a second lateral width greater than the first lateral width such that each shoulder support portion extends laterally beyond a corresponding side edge of the central portion; and a coupling member at each of the opposite ends for coupling the opposite ends to corresponding opposite end portions of the garment hanger, each coupling member including: an end wall at a corresponding end of the elongate member, the end wall being movable selectively between a collapsed position, wherein the end wall is placed essentially flat against the elongate member, and an erect position, wherein the end wall extends altitudinally from the elongate member for being coupled with the garment hanger; a slot in the end wall, the slot passing longitudinally through the end wall and extending altitudinally for receiving a corresponding end portion of the garment hanger and gripping the corresponding end portion to couple the elongate member to the garment hanger when the coupling member is erect; and laterally opposite gussets connecting the end wall with corresponding shoulder support portions, the gussets extending from the end wall laterally outwardly beyond the first lateral width toward the second lateral width, the gussets coupling the end wall with the shoulder support portions such that the gussets and the end wall lie essentially flat against the elongate member when the end wall is in the collapsed position, thereby placing the shoulder guard in the collapsed configuration and, upon movement of the end wall toward the erect position, the shoulder guard is placed in the erect configuration, with the shoulder support portions and the gussets coacting so as to bend the shoulder support portions into the desired garment-supporting contour configuration while biasing the end wall toward the collapsed position for facilitating retention of the coupling member securely coupled with the corresponding end portion of the garment hanger and further, upon hanging the garment over the shoulder guard, urging the end wall toward the erect position to maintain the desired garment-supporting contour configuration.
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patent: 3037676 (1962-06-01), Tillery et al.
patent: 4066193 (1978-01-01), Davis, Jr.
patent: 5927572 (1999-07-01), Kiselik
Jacob Arthur
Mohanty Bibhu
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