Abstract:
A clothes hanger comprises a garment support surface that is substantially greater in diameter as compared with conventional clothes hangers thereby supporting garments without creasing or otherwise damaging the garments. A clothes hanger comprises wings supported for sliding movement along a hanger support rod. The wings engage interior surfaces of garments thereby supporting the garments without damage. A garment transportation and storage device comprises a support rod at the bottom, a hook at the top, and a ball-shaped handle between the support rod and the hook for transporting garments supported on the support rod by hangers and for engaging the hook with a support structure.

Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY  
       [0001]     Applicant claims priority based on provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/659,248 filed Mar. 7, 2005, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002]     This invention relates generally to clothes hangers, and more particularly to improved clothes hangers which prevent creases and fabric wear in articles of clothing supported thereby.  
       BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     When pants are cleaned by a laundry or dry cleaning service they are traditionally returned hung over a clothes hanger having a cardboard garment support tube. If the pants are left on the clothes hanger for an extended period of time a crease is formed at the point where the pants engage the garment support tube. Further, the cardboard support tube traditionally has a light adhesive coating which retains the pants on the hanger; however the coating can adversely affect the pile of the fabric and eventually degrade the appearance thereof.  
         [0004]     Other items of clothing such as shorts, skirts, scarves, and linens are also returned on traditional hangers. As described above, the cardboard support tube can imprint a crease on these and other clothing items and the adhesive coating can damage articles comprising delicate fabrics.  
         [0005]     The present invention comprises improvements in the art of clothes hanger design which overcome the foregoing and other difficulties which have long since characterized the prior art. In accordance with a first embodiment of the invention the effective diameter of the support surface of an otherwise traditional clothes hanger is substantially increased thereby substantially reducing the likelihood that garments supported on the clothes hanger will become creased and eliminating the necessity of an adhesive layer for securing garments in engagement with the support surface. The effective diameter of the support surface of a hanger may be increased either by surrounding the cardboard support tube with a layer of plastic foam or by wrapping a fabric layer around the support tube.  
         [0006]     In accordance with a second embodiment of the invention an otherwise conventional clothes hanger of the type comprising a plastic frame, a metal support rod secured on the plastic frame, and spring loaded clips for retaining garments on the metal support rod is provided with a pair of garment supporting wings. The wings are slidably supported on the support rod and extend laterally outwardly to engage opposed interior surfaces of skirts and similar garments. In this manner the garments are supported on the hanger without danger of creasing.  
         [0007]     A related problem comprises the fact that clothes are often returned from the laundry or dry cleaners supported on a plurality of hangers. As is well known to consumers, handling a plurality of garments supported on a plurality of hangers is awkward at best. Also, it is virtually impossible to support a plurality of hangers from the small coat hooks that are typically found in automobiles.  
         [0008]     In accordance with a third embodiment of the invention a clothes hanger transporting device comprises a hook at the top, a support rod at the bottom, and a ball-shaped handle positioned between the hook and the support rod to facilitate carrying a plurality of hanger support garments and to facilitate engaging the hook a support structure.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0000]    
       
         
           
              A more complete understanding of the present invention may be had by reference to the following Detailed Description when taken in connection with the accompanying Drawings, wherein:  
           
         
       
     
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a clothes hanger comprising a first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a clothes hanger comprising a variation of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a clothes hanger comprising a second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is a front view of the clothes hanger of  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of a portion of the clothes hanger of  FIG. 3 ; and  
         [0015]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a garment transportation device comprising a third embodiment of the invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0016]     Referring now to the Drawings, and particularly to  FIG. 1  thereof, there is shown a clothes hanger  10  comprising a first embodiment of the invention. The clothes hanger  10  comprises a conventional clothes hanger  12  including a length of wire  14  comprising an upper hook portion  16  extending to a twisted portion  18  which in turn extends to a pair of downwardly and outwardly extending arms  20  terminating in support members  22 . A cardboard garment support tube  24  extends between the support members  22  and is supported thereby.  
         [0017]     As is well known, utilization of the hanger  10  and similar clothes hangers in the transportation and storage of garments incorporates inherent difficulties. First, the cardboard garment support tube  24  defines a relatively small diameter garment support surface which tends to form creases in garments supported thereon for even a short period of time. Second, the cardboard garment support tube  24  is frequently provided with a light adhesive coating which can damage delicate fabrics and can also damage more durable fabrics if supported on the clothes hanger  10  over an extended period of time.  
         [0018]     In accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention a soft sponge rubber tube  26  is received on and supported by the cardboard tube  24 . The soft sponge rubber tube  26  substantially increases the effective diameter of the garment support surface of the hanger  10  thereby substantially decreasing the probability that garments supported thereon will be creased. Additionally, the soft sponge rubber tube  26  does not require a light adhesive coating as does the cardboard tube  24  thereby eliminating the possibility of damage to garments supported on the hanger  10  due to contact thereof with the light adhesive coating which is typically provided on the exterior surface on the cardboard tube  24 .  
         [0019]     For example, the cardboard garment support tube of a typical clothes hanger has an outside diameter of about ½ inch. The soft sponge rubber tube of the present invention has an outside diameter of about 1.25 inches. Thus, the effective diameter of the garment support surface of the hanger of the present invention is 2½ times as large as the effective diameter of the garment support surface of a conventional clothes hanger.  
         [0020]     The soft sponge rubber tube  26  is provided with a radial slit  28  which extends the entire length of the tube  26  thereby facilitating deployment of the tube  26  over the cardboard tube  24 . The opposite ends of the slit  28  comprising the tube  26  may be provided with lengths of double sided adhesive tape  30  whereby the ends of the slit are secured against opening during utilization of the hanger  10 .  
         [0021]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a clothes hanger  40  comprising a variation of the clothes hanger  10  illustrated in the first sheet of drawings. Many of the component parts of the clothes hanger  40  are substantially identical in construction and function to component parts of the hanger  10 . Such identical component parts are designated on the second sheet of drawings with the same reference numerals utilized above in the description of the clothes hanger  10  but are differentiated therefrom by means of a prime (′) designation.  
         [0022]     The clothes hanger  40  differs from the clothes hanger  10  in that rather than being provided with a soft sponge rubber tube surrounding the cardboard tube  24 ′, the clothes hanger  40  is provided with a tube  42  comprising a roll of fabric secured in place by an adhesive layer  44 . The function of the tube  42  is to substantially increase the effective diameter of the clothing support surface of the hanger  40 . In this manner the likelihood that garments supported by the clothes hanger  40  will be creased during utilization thereof is substantially reduced. Additionally, the tube  42  does not require use of a light adhesive coating as is frequently required in the use of the cardboard tube  24  thereby further diminishing the possibility of damage to garments supported by the clothes hanger  40 .  
         [0023]     Referring to  FIGS. 3, 4 , and  5  there is shown a clothes hanger  50  comprising a second embodiment of the invention. The clothes hanger  50  comprises a plastic frame  52  having a metal hook  54  extending upwardly therefrom. A metal support rod  56  extends between and is supported on the opposite ends of the plastic frame  52 . A pair of wings  58  are supported on the support rod  56  for longitudinal movement therealong. Each wing  58  is provided with a spring loaded clip  60  which functions to secure the wing at a predetermined location along the support rod  56  depending upon the requirements of particular applications of the invention.  
         [0024]     Because the wings  58  are movable inwardly and outwardly on the rod  56 , the hanger  50  is adapted for use with garments comprising a wide range of sizes, for example, from size 2 through and including size 20. The inward and outward movement of the wings  58  allows the hanger  50  to support garments thereon with no tension or stretching.  
         [0025]     In the utilization of the hanger  50  the plastic wings  58  are moved outwardly until the end surfaces  62  thereof engage interior surfaces of a skirt, a pair of shorts, or other garment. In use, the wings  58  function to secure a garment on the hanger  50  during transportation and storage of the garment. More importantly, the wings  58  function to prevent damage to of the garment during transportation and support thereof on the hanger  50 . The use of the hanger  50  facilitates support and transportation of garments with no marking, no clip mark, or other damage as is sometimes experienced in the use of conventional clothes hangers.  
         [0026]     Referring to  FIG. 6 , there is shown a garment transportation and storage device  70  comprises a third embodiment of the invention. The device  70  comprises length of wire  72  which is formed into a support hook  74  at the upper end thereof. The length of wire  72  extends downwardly from the hook  74  through a central portion  76 . At the lower end of the device  70  a length of wire  77  is bent into a triangular configuration  78  thus providing a hanger support rod  80 . The hook  74  is rotatably connected to the support rod  80 .  
         [0027]     A ball-shaped handle  82  is secured around the central section  76  of the length of wire  72 , it being understood that other handle configurations can be utilized in the practice of the invention. The handle  82  may comprise a unitary construction formed from molded plastic or molded rubber. Alternatively, the handle  82  may comprise a two part construction which snaps together around the central portion  72  of the length of wire  72  as shown.  
         [0028]     In use, the garment transportation device  70  is employed to receive garments from a laundry or dry cleaner. Garments supported on conventional hangers of the type utilized by laundries and dry cleaners are supported on the support rod  80  by engaging the hooks of the hangers therewith in the conventional manner. After the hangers which support all of the garments received from a particular laundry or dry cleaner are engaged with the support rod  80  the handle  82  is utilized to transport the device  70  and the garments supported thereby, for example, from the laundry or dry cleaners to a vehicle. At that point the hook  74  of the device  70  is utilized to support the device  70  and the garments supported thereby from the coat hanger of the vehicle. Another important use of the device  70  is the transportation of garments supported on hangers from a laundry or dry cleaners to a residence in crowded urban areas such as New York City.  
         [0029]     Upon arrival at a particular designation the device  70  is utilized to transport the garments supported by the support rod  80  to a storage location, for example, a closet. Once again the handle is utilized to facilitate lifting and carrying the garments supported on the support rod  80 . The hook  72  may be utilized to support the garments on a closet rod or the like while the garments are being individually disengaged from the support rod  80 . Thereafter the garments are preferably disengaged from the hangers utilized by the laundry or the dry cleaners to deliver garments to customers and are transferred to hangers comprising the present invention, for example, the hangers shown in  FIGS. 1 through 5 , inclusive, hereof.  
         [0030]     Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated in the accompanying Drawings and described in the foregoing Detailed Description, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions of parts and elements without departing from the spirit of the invention.