Hook for coat-hangers, equipped with a double-jointed supporting base

A separable hook for a hanger (for garments) is pivotably mounted to the hanger about a horizontal axis, so that when the hanger is not in use, the hook may be swiveled about the horizontal axis and folded or collapsed within the frame or main body portion of the hanger, thereby saving space for storage or shipment of the hanger. Additionally, the hook includes a base portion and a hook portion pivotably mounted to each other about a vertical axis. With this arrangement, when the hanger with its garment is in use, that is, attached to the hook and the hook received on a fixed horizontal support, the hanger (with its garment thereon) may be swiveled about the vertical axis.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a hook for coat hangers, and more 
particularly, to a hook which is equipped with a double jointed support 
base that allows the hook to rotate freely around both a vertical and 
horizontal axis. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
While the coat hangers of the prior art are sufficient for most purposes, 
nevertheless, they have certain disadvantages intended to be alleviated by 
the present invention, which constitutes an improvement over the art. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
According to the present invention, the hook has been designed to satisfy 
the necessity of minimizing the overall dimensions of conventional coat 
hangers; it is thus possible to reduce packaging and transport costs, as a 
greater number of hangers will be contained in the same space or carton. 
Having established that packing of the hangers usually occurs by opposing 
two hangers on the same plane and superimposing the hooks so as to reduce 
the space occupied transversally to a minimum, this invention proposes an 
internally collapsible hook for the hanger, so that the space occupied 
transversally by two opposed hangers during packing can be further reduced 
by a quantity equivalent to the height of the hook itself. 
Realization of such a collapsible hook has been carried out taking into 
account the possible rotation of the hook on a vertical axis, which is a 
characteristic of most of the hanger hooks on the market, be they in 
plastic or metal. 
Keeping this in mind, a new type of hook has been invented, equipped with a 
supporting base to be hooked onto the upper bar of the coat hanger. This 
supporting base allows the hook itself to rotate around two orthogonal or 
mutually-perpendicular axes, comprising vertical and horizontal axes. In 
this manner, the base can rotate (with its hook) around the upper bar of 
the hanger, so as to facilitate the collapsibility of the hook. 
Additionally, the hook is also able to rotate in relation to its 
supporting base, around a vertical axis, which is perpendicular to the 
upper bar of the hanger. 
For clarity, the description continues with reference to the attached 
drawings, shown merely for illustrative purposes, and not restrictive.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to the above-mentioned figures, the model herein described 
includes a hook (1) having a circular base forming a bearing journal (1a). 
This bearing journal (1a) is of such shape and size so as to be 
complemental to, and received within, a blind channel (2a). This blind 
channel (2a), which has an inverted T cross-section, is formed in a 
supporting and swiveling base portion (2). This base portion (2) is 
preferably molded in plastic, in one piece only. The base portion (2) 
includes a plate (within which the blind channel (2a) is formed and the 
plate is connected to an open ring (2b) having a circular cross-section, 
so that its profile should resemble a "C" flattened in its upper portion. 
The open ring (2b) with its circular cross-section (as shown in FIGS. 1 and 
2 of the drawings) can be easily hooked onto the neck of the hanger using 
only a slight pressure sufficient to elastically expand the ring itself. 
At the connection point, the neck of the hanger should include a portion 
having a horizontal bar with a circular cross-section corresponding 
exactly in its diameter, to the inside diameter of the open ring (2b). 
The blind channel (2a) is designed for the insertion of the bearing journal 
(1a) of the hook (1), which remains fixed as there are two pairs of 
opposed nibs or protuberances (2c) and (2d) on the side edges of the blind 
channel (2a); after the protuberances (2c) and (2d) have been opened to 
permit insertion of the bearing journal (1a) of the hook, the 
protuberances (2c) and (2d) close back onto the bearing journal (1a) and 
around it with an elastic snap, that is, the protuberances (2c) and (2d) 
are elastically deformed. 
With reference to the above-mentioned figures, it is now clear how the 
hook, according to the invention, can be collapsed inside the hanger 
without losing its freedom of rotation round its longitudinal axis; that 
is, the entire hook (1) may be rotated about the horizontal axis of the 
circular opening (2b) to collapse the hook (1) within the frame or main 
body portion of the hanger. In fact, the collapse of the hook is obtained 
with the rotation of the circular portion of the open ring (2b) around the 
neck of the hanger, whilst the rotation or swiveling of the hook (1) 
around its own vertical axis is facilitated by the bearing journal (1a) of 
the hook itself, as the bearing journal (1a) is retained within the blind 
channel (2a) of the supporting base portion (2). 
As shown in the drawings, particularly FIG. 2, the blind channel (2a) 
further has a second socket for the reduced diameter portion of the hook 
portion, above its bearing journal (1a). 
With reference to FIGS. 5-7, a hanger H has a top portion 10, a bottom 
portion 11, and respective side portions 12 and 13 connecting the top 
portion 10 to the bottom portion 11. The bottom portion 10 supports a 
garment G which, for example, may be a pair of trousers as shown in the 
drawings. The hanger H, and at least the top portion 10 thereof, has a 
circular cross-section. Accordingly, the top portion of the hanger H may 
be received within the circular opening 14 in the base portion 2. When the 
hook 1 is removed from the rod or pipe 15, as shown in FIG. 7, the hook 1 
may be swiveled into the hanger H, thereby forming a compact structure for 
storage or shipment of the hanger H (or a plurality thereof).