WO2003047399A1

WO2003047399A1 - Clothes-hanger

Info

Publication number: WO2003047399A1
Application number: PCT/NL2002/000800
Authority: WO
Inventors: David Marinus Harry
Original assignee: ASWANDESIGN
Current assignee: ASWANDESIGN
Priority date: 2001-12-06
Filing date: 2002-12-06
Publication date: 2003-06-12
Anticipated expiration: 2004-06-06
Also published as: AU2002365860A1; NL1019505C2

Abstract

The invention relates to a clothes-hanger with a body provided with a hook, comprising a central part and two arms extending on either side thereof, which body has a curved plate shape which is releasing in one specific direction and has a hanger thickness which is substantially everywhere the same in this direction.

Description

CLOTHES-HANGER

The invention relates to a clothes-hanger. Clothes-hangers are very generally known and serve to hang up articles of clothing, such as blouses, jackets, dresses and the like. These articles of clothing are usually transported and displayed in shops while hanging on the clothes-hangers . The clothes- hangers are sometimes given away with the sold clothing, but it also occurs that these clothes-hangers are collected again. Empty clothes-hangers are transported from the manufacturer thereof to the clothing manufacturer and, at a later stage, back again from the shop to for instance the clothing manufacturer. This transport is relatively expensive, since the clothes-hangers, normally transported in loosely stacked state, take up a great deal of space .

The invention now has for its object to provide a clothes-hanger of the type specified in the preamble, whereby this drawback is alleviated. According to the invention this object is achieved with a clothes-hanger according to claim 1. It is hereby possible to "nest" the clothes-hangers. Compared to the loosely stacked clothes-hangers, the nested clothes- hangers take up very little space, so that they can be transported efficiently. When the empty clothes-hangers are stored at the manufacturers, the clothes manufacturer, the shop and other places where they have to be stored, this storage can also take place very efficiently since the hangers take up little space in the nested form.

Because the clothes-hanger has a curved plate shape, it can have relatively large surfaces for supporting the clothing thereon. Despite the nesting option, the function of the clothes-hanger according to the invention does not therefore lose any of its quality.

It is noted that in the context of this application the term "curved" is understood to mean both rounded and angular shapes.

A very favourable further development of the clothes-hanger according to the invention is characterized in claim 2. By temporarily connecting the clothes-hangers to each other to form a stack using the snap connection, they can be easily displaced as a stack. In a suitable further embodiment it is also possible to vertically stack and set down the series of clothes-hangers, optionally on a specially formed support. The space taken up by the empty clothes-hangers is thereby extremely limited per clothes-hanger. A suitable embodiment of the snap means is characterized in claim 3. The hangers can be easily clicked together close to the hook, where the hangers are readily accessible.

A suitable further development is characterized in claim 4. Because the hooks of the series of nested clothes-hangers are free, the whole horizontal stack of clothes-hangers can be hooked onto the rod or tube in one operation. This is convenient for instance at a clothing manufacturer, since a series of clothes-hangers can thus be hung in one operation in for instance a packing station, and the separate clothes-hangers can be removed individually from the front or rear end of the series by the packers who hang clothing thereon.

In order to minimize the hanger thickness and thus allow nesting of the largest possible number of clothes- hangers per unit of length, the measure of claim 5 is applied in favourable manner. A very suitable embodiment of the clothes-hanger according to the invention is characterized in claim 6. The surfaces of the curved plate shape of the body of the clothes-hanger can hereby be oriented upward or inclining to the rear, whereby a well-formed carrying surface for the clothing is presented.

The invention is further elucidated in the following description on the basis of the embodiments of the invention shown in the figures. Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a series of nested clothes-hangers according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 shows a view corresponding with figure 1 of a second embodiment . Figure 3 shows a detail according to arrow III in figure 2.

Figure 4 shows a view corresponding with figures 1 and 2 of a third embodiment .

Figure 5 shows a detail according to arrow V in figure 4.

The hangers 1 shown in figure 1 each have a body 2 comprising a central part 3 and arms 4 and 5 on either side. Arms 4 and 5 are mutually connected on their lower end by a connecting piece 7. The central part is provided with a hook 6 with which the clothes-hanger 1 can be hung in known manner on a rod or tube .

As the figure shows, the body 2 of each hanger 1 has a curved plate shape. This means that the material thickness of body 2 is everywhere relatively limited, as in the case of a plate. The shape is curved, whereby a surface is obtained which is well adapted to the articles of clothing for carrying. The articles of clothing can be supported on the curved plate shape of body 2 without high local concentrations of tension, thereby sparing the material of the articles of clothing in question.

The curved plate shape of body 2 is releasing in a direction lying in the central transverse plane of the clothes-hanger . In the embodiment of figure 1 this direction is a horizontal direction indicated with line 8.

Owing to this releasing form, a clothes-hanger 1 can be moved in the direction of line 8 against another corresponding clothes-hanger such that a respective rear surface and front surface of two mutually adjacent clothes-hangers are in at least almost full contact with each other. In the most ideal form, the hanger thickness 11 will only be fractionally larger in this nested state than the material thickness of body 2. Owing to the curved form, contact between two adjacent hangers will not however be possible at all positions. The hanger thickness 11 is however as far as possible the same substantially everywhere in order to obtain a minimal intermediate distance of adjacent clothes-hangers, and therefore a minimum of space occupied by each clothes- hanger.

Clothes-hanger 1 is provided with snap means, which comprise first snap means 10 on the inside of the concave portion of central part 3 and, co-acting therewith, second snap means 9 on the convex rear side of central part 3. The first snap means 10 can for instance be embodied as a cavity and the second snap means 9 as a protrusion. When the clothes-hangers 1 are pushed together, the protrusions engage in cavities 10, whereby these clothes-hangers snap together and remain temporarily connected to each other.

A number of the clothes-hangers 1 thus joined together can be handled and transported as one whole. Figure 2 shows a clothes-hanger 12 in another embodiment. The direction in which the plate shape of the body releases is obliquely from the rear at the top to the front at the bottom as according to line 13. The upper surfaces of arms 14 can hereby extend quite far forward, so that the articles of clothing to be supported can lie in properly uniform manner on these upper surfaces .

Each hanger 12 is provided with a hook 15, which in this case is also of metal.

As figure 3 shows more particularly, each hanger 12 is provided on the front side close to the hook 15 with a slot 18. This slot 18 can receive the neck 16 of another clothes-hanger, wherein the wall of slot 18 forms a snap connection together with the neck 16. In order to obtain a good locking of the neck 16, the slot wall is provided at the front end with narrowing portions 19 behind which the neck 16 comes to lie, and neck 16 is provided with a thickened portion 17 which prevents the clothes-hanger sliding downward out of the slot .

In the case of the clothes-hanger 22 according to the invention as shown in figure 4, the direction in which the curved plate shape of the hanger releases is vertical. This vertical direction is indicated with line 23. The arms 24 of the hanger can have a relatively great width, whereby the hanger is very suitable for carrying heavier items of clothing such as coats and the like. The hook 25 of clothes-hanger 22 is connected to the central part 26 on one side thereof. The central part itself has an opening on the upper end through which can protrude the hooks 25 of underlying clothes- hangers . The invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the figures. Many variations are possible. Instead of a metal hook as shown in the embodiments, the hook can for instance also be of plastic and integrated with the remaining part of the clothes-hanger. The form of the clothes-hanger can also be greatly varied, as long as it still has a curved plate form which is releasing in one specific direction.

The snap means applied according to the invention can be formed by all means which bring about a connection between clothes-hangers on the basis of a deformation of the material of the hangers.

Claims

1. Clothes-hanger with a body provided with a hook, comprising a central part and two arms extending on either side thereof, which body has a curved plate shape which is releasing in a direction lying in a central transverse plane and has a hanger thickness which is substantially everywhere the same in this direction.

2. Clothes-hanger as claimed in claim 1, which is provided with first and second snap means, wherein the first snap means can form a snap connection with second snap means of a corresponding clothes-hanger lying in the direction against this clothes-hanger.

3. Clothes-hanger as claimed in claim 2, wherein the snap means are formed by the hook of a corresponding clothes-hanger and a slot wall which can be snapped onto a neck of this hook.

4. Clothes-hanger as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the direction is chosen such that the hooks of a series of corresponding clothes- hanger lying against each other in the direction are free to be hooked onto a rod or tube.

5. Clothes-hanger as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the hook is flattened and the portion of the body which receives the hook has the hanger thickness.

6. Clothes-hanger as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein in a situation where the clothes-hanger hangs on the hook the direction lies between horizontal and vertical, from the rear at the top to the front at the bottom.