Abstract:
A hanger trolley for supporting and transporting hanger-hung garments in a vertical and horizontal position is provided. The hanger trolley includes a load carrying member for carrying the at least one article, the load carrying member having a free end and rotating end; and first and second coupling members for coupling each end of the load carrying member to the rail system, wherein the first coupling member is detachable from the load carrying member and the second coupling member enables the load carrying member to be positioned in two different orientations.

Description:
PRIORITY  
       [0001]    This application claims priority to an application entitled “HANGER TROLLEY” filed in the United States patent and Trademark Office on May 29, 2003 and assigned Ser. No. 60/474,832, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present disclosure relates generally to garment conveyor systems, and more particularly, to a hanger trolley for supporting and transporting garments hung on hangers.  
           [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0005]    In the garment trade, garments manufactured in a factory must ultimately reach retail facilities where they are offered for sale to consumers. The trade is therefore faced with the problem of how best to transport factory-produced garments which leave the factory on hangers from this initial point to various intermediate points such as distribution centers and warehouses, and then to its final destination such as a retail store, and to do so in a manner maintaining the transported garments in a clean and marketable condition.  
           [0006]    To this end, the present practice is to transport a set of hanger-hung garments on a trolley that runs on an overhead rail, each hanger in the set being hooked onto the load bar of the trolley. Typically, a rail at the factory site leads to the terminal provided with a truck-loading platform. This terminal, when a delivery truck arrives at the platform, is connectable to a series of short trolley rails mounted on the ceiling of the truck. In this way, trolleys carrying hanger-hung garments can be transferred at the loading platform terminal to the delivery truck which when fully loaded carries several garment-loaded trolleys.  
           [0007]    When a loaded delivery truck arrives at an unloading platform at a distribution center or other point, the trolleys carrying the garments must be rolled out of the truck onto the unloading platform where another rail is provided for transporting the trolleys to the next processing point. This processing point may be a warehouse to temporarily store the trolleys or a final destination, this being a retail establishment at which the garments are removed from the trolley and put on sale.  
           [0008]    However, transporting the garments with the trolleys in a horizontal position requires a relatively large amount of space in the transportation vehicle. Hanging the garments from a vertically disposed garment holder saves space and allows a maximum amount of garments to be transported. One drawback, however, is that the garments lie on top of one another when supported in this manner and tend to become wrinkled more easily. Therefore, when the garments are to be supported for an extended period of time in, for example, a warehouse, it is preferable that the garments hang side-by-side from a horizontal support assembly.  
           [0009]    Therefore, a need exists for a trolley which can support hanger-hung garments in both a vertical and horizontal position.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    A hanger trolley for supporting and transporting hanger-hung garments in a vertical and horizontal position is provided. The hanger trolley according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can support garments in a horizontal position when being transported along a rail conveyor system and when the garments are being stored for a long period of time so as to prevent wrinkling of the garments. Additionally, the hanger trolley can support the garments in a vertical position where the garments will lay on top of each other as to save space during transportation of the garments to different facilities.  
           [0011]    According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a device for transporting at least one article in a rail system is provided. The device including a load carrying member for carrying the at least one article, the load carrying member having a free end and rotating end; and first and second coupling members for coupling each end of the load carrying member to the rail system, wherein the first coupling member is detachable from the load carrying member and the second coupling member enables the load carrying member to be positioned in two different orientations.  
           [0012]    According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a trolley for transporting at least one garment along a conveyor system includes a load carrying member for carrying the at least one garment, the load carrying member including a top bar of a predetermined length, a bottom bar of substantially the same predetermined length and a plurality of lock wires extending therebetween the top and bottom bars; and first and second coupling members for coupling each end of the load carrying member to the conveyor system, wherein the first coupling member is detachable from the load carrying member and the second coupling member enables the load carrying member to be positioned in two different orientations, wherein when the load carrying member is in a horizontal orientation, the at least one garment is supported by the bottom bar and, when the load carrying member is in a vertical orientation, the at least one garment is supported by at least one lock wire. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a side plan view of a hanger trolley in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is a partial view of a swivel plate of the hanger trolley in an unlocked state in accordance with the present disclosure;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is a partial bottom view of the swivel plate of the hanger trolley in a locked state in accordance with the present disclosure;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 4(A) is a side plan view of a top bar of the hanger trolley in accordance with the present disclosure and FIG. 4(B) is a bottom plan view of the top bar of the hanger trolley in accordance with the present disclosure;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 5(A) is a top plan view of a bottom bar of the hanger trolley in accordance with the present disclosure and FIG. 5(B) is a side plan view of the bottom bar of the hanger trolley in accordance with the present disclosure;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 6(A) is a side plan view of a lock wire of the hanger trolley in accordance with the present disclosure and FIG. 6(B) is a side plan view of an altered lock wire of the hanger trolley in accordance with the present disclosure;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 7 is a side plan view of a lock plate of the hanger trolley in accordance with the present disclosure;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 8(A) is a bottom plan view of the swivel plate of the hanger trolley in accordance with the present disclosure and FIG. 8(B) is a side plan view of the swivel plate of the hanger trolley in accordance with the present disclosure;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 9 is a side plan view of a hanger trolley in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure; and  
         [0023]    [0023]FIGS. 10A and 10B are side plan views of lock plates employed with the hanger trolley illustrated in FIG. 9.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0024]    Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the disclosure in unnecessary detail.  
         [0025]    Referring to the several FIGS., a hanger trolley  100  for supporting and transporting hander-hung garments in both a vertical and horizontal position is provided. Table 1 identifies each element by reference numeral used to assemble a hanger trolley in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.  
                           TABLE 1                                   Reference Numeral:   Description                            1   Lock Plate            2   Swivel Plate            3   Non-swivel Plate            4   Lock Wire            4A   Altered Lock Wire            5   Top Bar            6   Bottom Bar            7   Collar            8   Nylotron Washer            9   Roll Pin           10   STD Pendant           11   Clevis Pin           12   Roll Pin           13   Spring           14   Flat Washer           15   Swivel Bushing           16   Rivet           17   Pin Antislide                      
 
         [0026]    Generally, hanger trolley  100  includes a load carrying member  102  for carrying hanger-hung garments in a plurality of positions and coupling members  10 - 1 ,  10 - 2  for coupling the load carrying member  102  to a rail  150  of a conveyor system. The coupling members  10 - 1 ,  10 - 2  are pendants, as are known in the art, and releasably engage conventional roller mechanisms or trolley heads (not shown) to enable the hanger trolley  100  to freely travel along the rail  150  of the conveyor system.  
         [0027]    The first coupling member  10 - 1  is in a fixed relationship in a first direction relative to the load carrying member  102 ; as shown in FIG. 1, the first coupling member  10 - 1  is generally perpendicular to the load carrying member  102 . It is to be appreciated, as will be explained below, that although the first coupling member is fixed perpendicular to the load carrying member  102 , it is rotatably coupled to the load carrying member  102  in a second direction to allow the hanger trolley  100  to freely travel along non-straight, e.g., curves, portions of the rail system. The second coupling member  10 - 2  is rotatably coupled to the load carrying member  102  along a direction of the rail  150  to allow the load carrying member  102  to move from a first position parallel to the rail  150 , e.g., horizontal position, to a second position perpendicular to the rail  150 , e.g., vertical position. As with the first coupling member  10 - 1 , the second coupling member  10 - 2  is rotatably coupled to the load carrying member  102  in a second direction to allow the hanger trolley  100  to freely travel along non-straight, e.g., curves, portions of the rail system and to allow the load carrying member  102  to rotate along an axis perpendicular to the rail when the load carrying member  102  is set to the vertical position.  
         [0028]    The assembling of the load carrying member  102  will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4- 8 . Starting with bottom bar  6 , also known as a load bar, lock wires  4  are inserted into each slot SB of the bottom bar  6 , from left to right. The slots SB are located along the bottom bar  6  at a predetermined distance d 1  from each other. Distance d 3  is a distance from a first end of the bottom bar  6  to the first slot SB. The last slot SBL on the right receives an altered lock wire  4 A. The top of all lock wires  4 ,  4 A are pointing to right.  
         [0029]    Then, the top of the lock wires  4 ,  4 A are positioned and inserted into the slots ST of a top bar  5 . The slots ST are located along the top bar  5  at a predetermined distance d 1  from each other. Distance d 2  is a distance from a first end of the top bar  5  to the first slot ST The top and bottom bars  5 ,  6  are slid in opposing directions, top bar  5  to right and bottom bar  6  to left, to lock the wires and bars together.  
         [0030]    The top bar  5  and bottom bar  6  are preferably tubular in shape and hollow to reduce the overall weight of the trolley hanger  100 . Other configurations are contemplated such as having a square, rectangular, elliptical, etc. cross-section. The lock wires  4 ,  4 A are preferably drawn steel wires having sufficient rigidity to support a hanger-hung garment when the hanger trolley  100  is disposed in a vertical direction.  
         [0031]    The top and bottom bars  5 , 6  are then clamped at a predetermined distance from each other. A lock plate  1  is welded on the left end, e.g., a rotating end, of the assembly  100  and a non-swivel plate  3  is welded on the right end, e.g., a free end. The first pendant  10 - 1  is inserted into the non-swivel plate  3  and the second pendant  10 - 2  is inserted into a swivel plate  2  which is then coupled to the lock plate  1  using pin  21 , as shown more clearly in FIG. 2. The pendants  10 - 1 ,  10 - 2  are then coupled to the rail by rollers or the like for transporting the hanger trolley along the rail  150 .  
         [0032]    In use, hanger-hung garments are hung on the bottom bar  6  in between the plurality of lock wires  4 ,  4 A when the hanger trolley  100  is in the horizontal position, as shown in FIG. 1. To lock the hanger trolley  100  in the horizontal position, the load carrying member  102  is held horizontally so a closed-ended slot  18  of swivel plate  2  is aligned with an open-ended slot  19  of lock plate  1 . A clevis pin  11  disposed in slot  18  is then slid down slot  18  while also entering slot  19  of the lock plate  1 . When the clevis pin  11  is positioned at the bottom of slot  18 , the load carrying assembly  102  may be released and the slot  19  of the lock plate  1  will engage the clevis pin  11  locking the load carrying member  102  in the horizontal position. In this horizontal position, the hanger trolley  100  may easily be loaded with hanger-hung garments or other articles and used to transport such garments and articles along a rail conveyor system. The garments may be hung on the trolley by any known hanging device such as hooks, ropes, etc. Preferably, the articles are loaded onto the bottom bar  6  so when the load carrying member  102  is moved into the vertical position the articles will be supported by the lock wires between the top bar  5  and bottom bar  6  as will be described below.  
         [0033]    When transporting the garments or articles between various facilities, e.g., via trucks, it is beneficial to configure the hanger trolley  100  in a vertical position so the hanger trolley  100  with articles will take up less space and more garment-laden hanger trolleys can be loaded into a single vehicle.  
         [0034]    To position the hanger trolley  100  in the vertical position, the clevis pin  11  of the swivel plate  2  is pressed to compress spring  13  to allow the clevis pin  11  to be moved, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The clevis pin  11  is then slid toward the open end of slot  19  of the lock plate  1 . When the clevis pin  11  is positioned at the top of slot  18  of the swivel plate  2 , the clevis pin  11  is disengaged from the lock plate  1  and the first pendant  10 - 1  is removed from the rail. The hanger trolley  100  is then allowed to move into the vertical position by rotating via the pin  21 , disposed in aperture  20 , coupling the lock plate  1  to the swivel plate  2  supported by the second pendant  10 - 2 , as shown in FIG. 2, while the end including the first pendant  10 - 1  swings toward the ground. In this position, the top and bottom bars  5 , 6  of the load carrying member  102  are substantially perpendicular to the rail. In the vertical position, the garments are supported by the lock wires  4 ,  4 A which prevent the garments from sliding off the bottom bar  6  and bunching together.  
         [0035]    Optionally, the top bar  5  of the load carrying member  102  may include a plurality of pins  17  for fixing in place a garment bag covering the article. Any hanger-hung garment may have a conventional garment bag over the garment to protect and keep clean the garment. Typically, the garment bag will include a circular grommet at a top end. The grommet will be placed over pin  17  to prevent the garment bag from sliding and for securing the garment bag to the hanger trolley with a conventional fastener.  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 9 illustrates a hanger trolley  200  in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. Generally, the hanger trolley  200  is constructed under the substantial similar principles as the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and therefore, only the differences in construction will be described.  
         [0037]    The hanger trolley  200  includes load carrying member  202  including top bar  205 , bottom bar  206  and a plurality of lock wires  204 ,  204 A. Furthermore, the load carrying member  202  includes lock plate  201  and lock/release plate  203 , as shown in FIG. 10. Lock plate  201  is of similar construction to lock plate  1  and includes locking slot  219  and aperture  220  upon which the load carrying member will rotate between horizontal and vertical positions. Lock/release plate  203  includes a first lower slot  230  for engaging a coupling member and a locking slot  232  to secure or lock the lock/release plate  203  to the coupling member (not shown).  
         [0038]    In operation, the load carrying member  202  will be supported via coupling members on a rail of a conveyor system. To load the hanger trolley  200 , the load carrying member  202  will be rotated about a pin disposed in aperture  220  of locking plate  201 , the pin (not shown) being coupled to a swivel plate of a coupling member (as described above) and the first lower slot  230  of lock/release plate  203  will engage another coupling member. Once set in the horizontal position, a clevis pin similar to the clevis pin described above will be slid into locking slot  219  of lock plate  201 , and similarly, another clevis pin will be slid into locking slot  232  of lock/release plate  203 .  
         [0039]    To position the hanger trolley  200  in the vertical position, the clevis pins are removed from locking slot  219  of locking plate  201  and locking slot  232  of lock/release plate  203 . The end of the load carrying member  202  including the lock/release plate  203 , e.g., the free end, is lifted slightly to disengage slot  230  from the coupling member and the load carrying member  203  is then allowed to rotate to the vertical position about the pin in aperture  220 . It is to be appreciated that the end of the load carrying member  202  including the lock/release plate  203  is not coupled to any coupling member or rollers in the vertical position. According to this embodiment, since the end of the load carrying member  202  including the lock/release plate  203  is not coupled to any coupling member or rollers, successive hanger trolleys will lie closer together in the vertical position save space when being transported. Furthermore, since the pendants and rollers are regularly greased during maintenance of the conveyor system, the garments on the hanger trolley  200  will remain clean since they will not come into contact with greasy pendants and rollers.  
         [0040]    While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.