Garment Hanger

In prior portable hangers for clothes and kindred articles having a suspendable hanger frame and a rack comprising spaced, parallel, horizontal rods mounted thereon, it has not been feasible to drape superposed articles on a given rod because the underlying articles could not be withdrawn lengthwise of the rod.

If the articles were draped, one on another, any wanted article would have to be lifted clear of the rod, and if the wanted article was an inner article of those on the involved rod, all the unwanted overlying articles would have to be taken off, either with it or one after another, tediously rearranged, and put back on the rod. Each rod was accordingly provided with clothespins for suspending garments such as trousers singly, full length from the rack.

By providing for lateral withdrawal of garments from the rack (length-wise of the rods) it is made feasible to drape superposed garments or other articles in groups on each rod and to withdraw any chosen garment or article by merely inserting a forearm between the garment wanted and the overlying unwanted garment or garments, and then laterally pulling the wanted garment clear with the free hand.

The fact that draping of superposed articles is made feasible, goes to the very heart of feasibility of the entire scheme, because multiple draping not only increases the capacity of the hanger, but it also cuts in half the floor clearance that must be provided for. If articles having the length of trousers, for example, must hang full length when the rack is down, this would generally preclude the use of the hanger in a passenger vehicle. In a closet a shelf generally restricts the level at which a hanger rod or hook can be provided so that trousers, for example, hanging full length from the lower rods of the rack, would be partially on the floor.

If the hanger is being used by two persons of unequal height the hanger should be hung low enough so that the shorter person can unlatch the rack and let it down to a chosen level at which the rack rods are well spaced horizontally but the longer garments, draped on all of the rack rods, hang clear of the floor or ground.

In the drawing forming part of this specification:

FIG. 1 is a view in front elevation of my composite garment hanger with the rack in storage position, but with chain limit-stops and elastic chain tenders omitted to give a clearer view of the configuration and disposition of certain chain hooks;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the garment hanger of FIG. 1 with the rack released from storage position and beginning its travel downward to loading and unloading position;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view from the right side of the carrier illustrating its appearance when hung from a carside hook, with a partial cut-away of the right hand main support frame leg. This view illustrates the appearance of the rack when down, a minimum of 70 degrees at the loading and unloading position;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view from the right side of the hanger, similar to FIG. 3, showing the rack in storage position when hanging from a hook on a door or wall, and showing the hanging inclination of pants in relation to one another when in storage position; and

FIG. 5 is a horizontal, cross-sectional view of the hanger from above with the rack in storage position, the section being taken on line 5--5 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Following is a detailed description of all parts of a preferred embodiment of the invention and an explanation of the purpose and function of each part as represented in the individual drawings described above.

A main hanger hook 10 is formed from larger diameter wire than the other parts of the hanger to carry the total garment load. The hook 10 is connected to the coat and dust cover hanger 12. A stiffener rod 14 doubles as support for hanging accessories; it is formed integral with 14a, the left hand main support frame leg, and 14b the right hand main support frame leg, and with them makes up the complete support frame. The support frame 14, 14a 14b is inserted into the hanger 12 from below and is coplanar therewith. The corners at either end of 14 intersect the under side of 12 and are connected thereto, maintaining a common plane therewith. The horizontal ends below the shoulder points of 12 contact the outer sides of 14a and 14b and are permanently joined thereto, as by welding. Connected to the respective bottom ends of 14a and 14b are bearing members 16 and 16a. The bearing members 16 and 16a are identical flattened, tubular sleeves, formed with oblong holes slightly larger in width than the diameter of a connecting rod 24, and are attached to 14a and 14b with their side openings in alignment with each. The oblong openings in 16 and 16a extend vertically. The sleeves 16 and 16a extend a predetermined distance inboard relative to the respective support legs 14a and 14b to which they are attached; the purpose of this being to maintain a predetermined gap between the main support frame legs (14a and 14b) and the rack support legs 22a and 22b, as plainly shown in FIG. 1. Distinctive right and left hand combination catch and chain hook fittings 18 and 18a are affixed, respectively, to 14a and 14b, being formulated from flat stock or strap, a maximum of one-sixteenth inch thick, and bent in opposition to each other at ninety degree angles. The fittings 18 and 18a are attached to the inboard sides of legs 22a and 22b at the same elevation as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5. The distance from the bottom of the catches or notches in 18 and 18a to the bottom of the sleeve holes in 16 and 16a is precisely the same distance as that measured from the bottom of the catch rods 18b and 18c to the bottom of a pivot bar 24. The depth of the catch notches is desirably the same as the diameter of the catch rods.

Catch rods 18b and 18c normally lie in the notches of 18 and 18a to maintain the rack 23 in vertical or storage position. The weight of the carriage with the help of the garments keeps the rods 18b and 18c in the catches 18 and 18a.

Lower chain hooks 20 and 20a are provided on the rack legs 22a and 22b for connection to the lower ends of chains 48 and 48a, to limit the extent to which the rack 23 can be lowered. The catch rods 18b and 18c are attached to the front side of the carriage support legs 22a and 22b, respectively, and at a predetermined position with the rods extending outboard in opposite directions as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5.

A lifting bar 22 is grasped with thumb and fingers to lift the catch rods 18b and 18c out of their respective catches 18 and 18a preparatory to lowering the garment carriage seventy degrees to a more or less horizontal position as shown, for example, in FIG. 3. The lifting bar 22 is formed integral with the rack legs 22a and 22b and is offset forward, for easier grasping and lifting, by placing a minimum bend of forty-five degrees at one-half inch below the ninety degree corners at each end of 22.

The pivot bar 24 is connected to the ends of 22a and 22b, the rack legs and the connecting bars, with the exception of 22, being disposed in a common plane and forming a rectangular rack frame. The ends of pivot bar 24 have short end threads that extend through the two sleeves 16 and 16a and are preferably secured by lock nuts 25. The nuts are safetied by staking the threads or other suitable means. Belt hooks 26 are connected to the stiffener rod 14, as may be desired or practical, and conveniently located in generally vertical or upright positions as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

Parallel bars 28, 30, 32, 34 and 36 are the primary hanger bars of the rack, and are identical to each other. One end of each is connected to rack leg 22a by lap welding. These bars extend horizontally and are parallel to one another and are preferably located a minimum of one and five-eighths inches apart. The free ends extend toward the right, crossing both 22b and 14b. The free ends of said hanger bars extend desirably about three-fourths of an inch beyond 14b. The last quarter inch of the free ends can desirably be bent forward a maximum of thirty degrees to aid in finger-tip manipulation. They act like an inverted "Sled runner" when loading the pants onto the rack. All open ends of bars or rods are rounded to avoid snagging of the garments.

Parts 38, 40, 42, 44 and 46 are the hanger bar hooks connected to the front surface of leg 22b and are spaced to carry the free ends of the hanger bars in parallel, horizontal positions and remain so except when loading or unloading one or more articles. The hanger bar hooks 38 through 46 are normally placed in upright position, the upper ends gapped just enough to allow the user to swing the free ends of the hanger bars out of the hooks individually as indicated in FIG. 3 part 34. Also in FIG. 3 as the rack pivots down toward horizontal, the garments continue to hang vertically and thus become separated side by side so that any individual one can be removed and replaced from its hanger bar, by removing the free end of the bar from its supporting hook and sliding the garment off. When replacing an article, the article is folded over the right forearm and hand. If the garment is a pair of trousers the crease is placed even with the finger tips of the right hand. The right hand finger tips are placed in contact with the free end of the hanger bar. With the left hand the operator reaches either under the rack or over the rack, grasps the creases of the trousers and slides them to the left, off of the right arm, and onto the selected hanger bar.

Lengths of chain, preferably heavy bead chain, 48 and 48a, are desirably long enough to allow the rack to lower at least seventy degrees below vertical with a few extra links or beads to permit adjustment to a greater degree if desired. The ends of each chain are placed in the chain hook slots 18 and 20 or 18a and 20a, respectively, one chain to each side of the hanger assembly. When the rack is lowered to loading position, it hangs on the chains in a fixed position, allowing both hands to be free for loading and unloading of garments. To then fold the rack to the storage position, the lift bar 22 is grasped and pivots the rack up until the catch rods 18b and 18c strike the inclined upper front surfaces of the catch fittings 18 and 18a, illustrated in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5. The lifting bar 22 will then slide up the inclined surfaces of 18 and 18a and drop into the notches of the catch fittings and at the same time the pivot bar 24 will be raised off the bottom of the slots in sleeves 16 and 16a and again drop to the bottom of the slots, completing a solidly supported rack position for hanging in storage. In this position the garments bind each other and in transit will not work free from the hanger bars of the rack.

While the hanger is in storage position, the chains 48 and 48a hang free and can become entangled on rod ends, hooks, etc. Therefore, elastic bands 50 and 50a, either of which can double its length without greatly increasing resistance, are installed at the looped bottom of the chains and connected to the pivot bar 24, one to each, and have slacked tension when in storage. These elastic bands are termed "chain tenders" and are illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 in operational sequence.

In addition it has been proved by a model in use that, contrary to appearance, a chosen pair of trousers on any one of the disconnect rack bars can be easily removed even while the rack is in storage position, simply and cleanly, by lifting the free end of the trousers supporting bar out of its hook, grasping the creases of the trousers wanted, and exerting a sharp pull to the right. This will have little effect upon neighboring garments. The pivot bar 24 is a practical place to hang a pair of denims or sun-tans. Anyone can soon learn the simple operational methods of this practical hanger assembly.