GB2097668A - Garment protector - Google Patents

Abstract

A protector for an article of clothing carried on a hanger 24 comprises two plies 11, 12 overlying one another with their edges secured by tape- reinforced seaming 13. At one end of the protector a third ply 18 having a gusset 20 in its curved edge is secured by its edges to the edges of the protector to define a pocket 19. Stiffening 17 is located within the other end of the protector and a handle 15 is rivetted to the outside of the same end. In order to carry the protector and its contents, the protector is folded in half, as shown, the stiffened handle end is introduced into pocket 19 and the handle 15 is taken through an opening 21 in the gusset 20. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Garment protection This invention concerns a garment protector, that is to say an evelope-type wrapper, made of relatively strong pliable sheet material (such as polyvinyl chloride film), composed of two plies, one overlying the other, and shaped to accommodate and enclose an article of clothing (such as a suit or dress) carried on a hanger, an opening to the interior of the wrapper being closable, for instance by means of a sliding clasp fastener.With such garment protectors (which are sometimes known as "suit covers", but whose use is by no means confined to suits) it is known to provide at one end a reinforced opening for the usual hook of the garment hanger to project therethrough and to provide at the other end of the protector a loop which, after the protector and its contents have been folded about midway along the length thereof, can be engaged with the hook of the hanger to maintain the filled protector in its folded condition. Such garments protectors are usually carried by means of the hanger hook.It will readily be appreciated that with such an arrangement it has been necessary, if the folded-up end of the protector is to be located satisfactorily and tidily relative to the rest of the protector, and creasing and/or crumpling of its contained garment is to be avoided, to provide some sort of means, additional to the loop, such as press studs, to retain the folded-up end in place.

An object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement whereby the tidy and satisfactory re Invention of the folded-up end of the protector is achieved simply as a result of the folding-up operation, no further fastening means having to be manipulated other than a loop or the like (which may, if desired be adapted to act as a handle for carrying the protector).

With this object in view, the present invention provides a garment protector of the kind referred to, having at one end an opening for a garment hanger hook to project therethrough and at the other end a loop or the like engageable with such a hanger hook for maintaining the protector in a folded condition, characterised by the provision, across the wrapper at the said one end, of a third ply seamed by its edges to the edges of the wrapper to define a pocket open at its end away from the opening and by the provision, at the said other end of the wrapper, if a stiffening shaped to tend to maintain said other end in a configuration which will fit snugly in the pocket, when the protector is in its folded condition.

With the arrangement of the invention; therefore, upon folding of the protector, the said other end of the wrapper, which end is stiffend, is inserted into the pocket, and is retained therein by the loop, (e.g.

by the latter being engaged around the garment hanger hook) and the pocket and stiffening cooperate to maintain the folded-over end tidy and uncrumpled.

The stiffening is conveniently provided by a board located within the said other end of the wrapper, and may have the loop secured thereto.

Preferably the third ply is reinforced, at the said one end, by means of an oval gusset having an opening therethrough for the hook and the loop, this gusset preferably having a reinforced tab for the hook to project therethrough and thus be retained.

The loop is conveniently in the form of a U-shaped handle secured to the respective end of the wrapper, and the stiffener, e.g. by rivetting or welding, which will extend through the opening in the third ply and provide a handle for carrying the protector and its contents.

The overall configuration of the protector preferably approximates to a generally oval shape, being likened to a rectangle with its two opposite ends (being the ends above referred to) rounded off, the third ply being approximately of semi-circular configuration to define a corresponding pocket shape at the said one end of the wrapper. The wrapper itself may, then, comprise a pair of superimposed oval plies joined at their edges by tape-reinforced seams.

The opening to the interior of the wrapper is conveniently by way of a sliding clasp fastener extending approximately along the middle line of the wrapper to close an opening in the wrapper ply over which the third ply is disposed, this opening extending from near to the said other end of the wrapper to near to the commencement of the pocket.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to a preferred practical embodiment, as shown in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that the following description is illustrative, and not restrictive, of the scope of the invention.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front view of a preferred embodiment of the garment protector of the present invention in its flat, non-folded condition and with a portion of one ply broken away at two places; Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective rear view of the upper end of the same garment protector; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the same garment protector with a clothes hanger in position and with the lower end folded only part way to the upper end; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the same garment protector as in use in the completed folded condition; Figure 5 is a partial cross-section to a larger scale on the line 4-4 of Figure 4; and Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary rear view of the upper end of another embodiment of the garment protector of the invention.

The preferred embodiment of the garment protector of the invention, which is suitable for domestic use e.g. for the protection of garments whilst stored in a wardrobe or as an overnight bag or may be used industrially e.g. for the protection of a garment after it has been made and during its storage and transport between factory and retail customer, is made principally of relatively tough but pliable polyvinyl sheeting or film. Basically, as shown in Figure 1,the protector comprises an approximately oval-shaped wrapper 10 composed of two plies 11, 12 each generally of rectangular shape with the ends rounded off to approach semicircular configuration, these two plies being secured together around their peripheries by tape-reinforced seaming 13.At one end, which may be considered to be the "hanger" end, the wrapper has a centre aperture 14, as indicated in Figures 1 and 5, therethrough, this aperture 14 arising from a short portion of the two layers 11,12 not being seamed together.

At the other end, which may be considered as the "handle" end, the wrapper has fixed thereto, approximately in the middle of the said end, a U-shaped handle 15, this being secured by rivetting. Extending along the middle of one of the plies 11 of the wrapper 10 in an access opening which is closed by a sliding clasp fastener 16 secured in place, for example, by seaming. This extends from between the limbs of the handle to about four fifths of the way along the length of the protector in its flat non-folded condition.

Located within the handle end of the wrapper 10, and conforming to the curved configuration thereof is a stiffening board 17, this being of thick card or PVC (polyvinyichioride) and held in position by the rivets of the handle 15.

A third ply 18 of the protector is generally of semicircular configuation and overlies the ply 11 in which the access opening is disposed, at the hanger end of the wrapper 10. This third ply 18 is secured in place by its curved perimeter being secured in with the seaming 13 of the other two plies 11, 12 of the wrapper 10 and accordingly defines an approximately semi-circular pocket 19 on the wrapper 10 with its end open towards the handle end of the wrapper.

An oval reinforcing gusset 20 is located approximately at the middle of the curved edge of the third ply 18. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, this gusset 20, normally lies folded to the rear of the wrapper The gusset 20 has a cenral opening 21 registering with the aperture 14 in the wrapper 10 and having a projecting tab 22, with a metal eyelet-reinforced hole 23 therethrough.

The manner of use ofthe protector will readily be understood from the foregoing description. A garment, such as a suit, for protection is introduced into the wrapper 10 in the normal way through the access opening. This is done with the garment on a hanger 24, and the hook 25 of the hanger 24 is caused to project through the aperture 14 in the hanger and and through the eyelet-reinforced hole 23 in the tab 22. This having been achieved, the wrapper 10 is now folded in half, as illustrated in Figures 3,4 and 5 and the board-stiffened handle end is introduced into the pocket 19 defined by the third ply 18. The handle 15 thereof is taken through the opening 21 in the gusset 20 and can be used to carry the protector and its contents.

The fact of the handle end locating in the pocket 19 ensures that the said end is retained in a tidy and uncrumpled condition, in spite of any rough handling to which it is subjected.

When the garment protector is used as a bag it is envisaged that it should be held by the handle 15 while the hook 25 is retained by the eyelet-reinforced hole 23. However, if the garment protector is used to protect clothing which is hanging from a rail, the handle 15 is retained around the hook 25 which engages the rail and the weight of the clothing and the protector is borne by the hanger 24.

The invention is not confined to the precise details of the foregoing example, and variations may be made thereto. In particular, a further embodiment as shown in Figure 6, includes two tabs 26, 27 each having a respective eyelet-reinforced hole 28,29 therethrough. One tab projects from each side of the central opening 21 of the gusset 20 and in use the hook 25 should project through both said holes 28 and 29. Moreover the shape of the wrapper, the materials from which it is made, the manner in which its plies are joined together and the form of its access opening and its closure may all vary from what has been described.

Claims (8)

1. A garment protector comprising an envelopetype wrapper composed of two plies, one overlying the other, and shaped to accommodate and enclose an article of clothing carried on a hanger, said garment protector having a closable opening to the interior of the wrapper and also having at one end an opening for a garment hanger to project therethrough and at the other end a loop or the like engageable with such a hanger hook maintaining the protector in a folded condition, characterised by the provision, across the wrapper at the said one end, of a third ply seamed by its edges to the edges of the wrapper to define a pocket open at its end away from the opening and by the provision, at the said other end of the wrapper, of a stiffening shaped to tend to maintain said other end in a configuration which will fit snugly in the pocket, when the protector is in its folded condition.

2. A garment protector as claimed in claim 1 wherein the stiffening is provided by a board located within the said other end of the wrapper.

3. A garment protector as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the third ply is reinforced, at the said one end, by means of an oval gusset having an opening therethrough for the hook and the loop.

4. A garment protector as claimed in claim 3 wherein the gusset has at least one reinforced tab for the hook to projecttherethrough.

5. A garment protector as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the loop is in the form of a U-shaped handle secured to the said other end of the wrapper and to the stiffening, said handle being adapted to extend through the opening in the third ply to provide a handle for carrying the protector and its contents.

6. A garment protector as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the two plies are substantially oval in shape and superimposed upon one another and wherein the third ply is of substantially semi-circular configuration and superimposed upon the two plies at said one end of the wrapper, all three plies being joined at their edges by tape-reinforced seams.

7. A garment protector as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the opening to the interior of the wrapper is by way of a slidable clasp fastener extending approximately along the middle line of the wrapper to close an opening in the wrapper ply over which the third ply is disposed.

8. A garment protector substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.