Abstract:
[Object of the invention] Releasing all clips at once easily. 
     [Solution] A clothes hanger comprising;
   a substantially horizontally arranged rod;   a rigid hanger body which support said rod at the both ends thereof;   a plural clip through which said pole is inserted;   and a plural spacer through which said pole is inserted between said clips;   wherein said each clip has a pair of clip bodies, a hinge situated near the center of said clip bodies, a through hole formed above said hinge, an operation part situated above said through hole, a holding part at the lower end of said clip bodies;   and an elastic element which forces said holding part to the closed position.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    I claim the benefit of priority of Japanese patent application No.
       2012-052490 (filed on 9 Mar. 2012),   2012-179113 (filed on 11 Aug. 2012),   2012-180690 (filed on 16 Aug. 2012),   2012-223731 (filed on 7 Oct. 2012).       
 
       TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0006]    This invention relates generally to a clothes hanger for hanging clothes or laundries with plural clips. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0007]    Heretofore, there are various types of clothes hanger with a square or a round frame and plural clips for hanging clothes or laundries. However, it is troublesome to release all the clothes, because it is necessary to open each clip one by one. 
       CITATION LIST 
     Patent Literature 
       [0008]    [PTL 1] JP1995-255995 
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
     Technical Problem 
       [0009]    A prior art disclosed by PTL1 relates to a clothes hanger of which all clips can be opened at once. However, the prior art has problems as follows. When each clip is tried to be opened with fingers, a strong force is necessary, because a part of the clip nearer to the fulcrum point thereof must be pressed as shown by Fl in  FIG. 2 . Besides, when opening the clips, fingers must be inserted under the hanger frame where is crowded with the clips and the clothes. Moreover, the prior art is complicated and heavy. 
       Solution to Problem 
       [0010]    A clothes hanger comprising;
   a substantially horizontally arranged rod;   a hanger body which supports said rod at the both ends thereof;   a plural clip through which said pole is inserted;   and a plural spacer through which said pole is inserted between said clips;   wherein said each clip has a pair of clip bodies, a hinge situated near the center of said clip bodies, a through hole formed above said hinge, an operation part situated above said through hole, a holding part at the lower end of said clip bodies;   and an elastic element which forces said holding part to the closed position.   
 
         [0017]    The above clothes hanger, wherein said spacers have tube shape and said operation parts are longer than 5 mm. 
         [0018]    The above clothes hanger, wherein said hanger body is comprised of a no. 1 hanger body and a no. 2 hanger body, a moving element between said no. 1 hanger body and no. 2 hanger body, a no. 1 clip pressing part and a no. 2 clip pressing part provided at each outer end of the no. 1 hanger body and the no. 2 hanger body, and a no. 1 pushing part and a no. 2 pushing part situated between said each clip pressing part and said moving element, wherein said rod is slidably inserted into said no. 1 clip pressing part and no. 2 clip pressing part. 
         [0019]    The above clothes hanger, wherein said hanger body has a lateral projection near upper center thereof. 
         [0020]    A method of hanging and releasing clothes or laundries, using a clothes hanger comprising;
   a substantially horizontally arranged rod;   a rigid hanger body which support said rod at the both ends thereof;   a plural clip through which said pole is inserted;   and a plural spacer through which said pole is inserted between said clips;   wherein said each clip has a pair of clip bodies, a hinge situated near the center of said clip bodies, a through hole and an operation part formed above said hinge, a holding part at the lower end of said clip bodies; and an elastic element which forces said holding part to the closed position.   wherein said hanger body is comprised of a no. 1 hanger body and a no. 2 hanger body, a moving element between said no. 1 hanger body and no. 2 hanger body, a no. 1 clip pressing part and a no. 2 clip pressing part provided at each outer end of said no. 1 hanger body and no. 2 hanger body, and a no. 1 pushing part and a no. 2 pushing part situated between said each clip pressing part and said moving element,   wherein said rod is slidably inserted into said no. 1 clip pressing part and no. 2 clip pressing part, when holding the clothes, said operation parts are pressed inwardly, when all clothes and laundries are released at once, said no. 1 pushing part and no. 2 pushing part are grasped by a hand.   
 
       Advantageous Effects of Invention 
       [0028]    Based on above mentioned invention, it becomes possible to release all the clothes at once with smaller force, solving the above mentioned problems. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0029]    [ FIG. 1 ] is a front view of a first embodiment of the invention. 
           [0030]    [ FIG. 2 ] is an enlarged front view of a clip of the invention. 
           [0031]    [ FIG. 3 ] is a front view of the first embodiment of the invention to show how to hold and release the clothes. 
           [0032]    [ FIG. 4 ] is a rear view of the first embodiment of the invention. 
           [0033]    [ FIG. 5 ] is a plan view of the first embodiment of the invention. 
           [0034]    [ FIG. 6 ] is a bottom view of the first embodiment of the invention. 
           [0035]    [ FIG. 7 ] is a left side view of the first embodiment of the invention. 
           [0036]    [ FIG. 8 ] is a right side view of the first embodiment of the invention. 
           [0037]    [ FIG. 9 ] is an enlarged view of a second embodiment of the invention. 
           [0038]    [ FIG. 10 ] is a perspective view of a spacer of the second embodiment of the invention. 
           [0039]    [ FIG. 11 ] is a front view of a third embodiment of the invention. 
           [0040]    [ FIG. 12 ] is a front view of a fourth embodiment of the invention. 
           [0041]    [ FIG. 13 ] is a front view of the fourth embodiment of the invention just before opening all the clips. 
           [0042]    [ FIG. 14 ] is a front view of the fourth embodiment of the invention opening all the clips at once. 
           [0043]    [ FIG. 15 ] is a front view of the fifth embodiment of the invention. 
           [0044]    [ FIG. 16 ] is a front view of the sixth embodiment of the invention. 
           [0045]    [ FIG. 17 ] is a front view of a seventh embodiment of the invention. 
           [0046]    [ FIG. 18 ] is a front view of an eighth embodiment of the invention. 
           [0047]    [ FIG. 19 ] is a front view of a nineth embodiment of the invention. 
           [0048]    [ FIG. 20 ] is a front view of a tenth embodiment of the invention. 
           [0049]    [ FIG. 21 ] is a front view of an eleventh embodiment of the invention with a lateral projection. 
           [0050]    [ FIG. 22 ] is a WW cross section view of the  FIG. 21 . 
           [0051]    [ FIG. 23 ] is a perspective view of a 12th embodiment of the invention with a larger rigidity. 
           [0052]    [ FIG. 24 ] is a perspective view of the 13th embodiment of the invention with two clothes hangers connected together. 
           [0053]    [ FIG. 25 ] is a front view of the first embodiment of the invention to place it at a higher position. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0054]    Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  a first embodiment of the invention is shown. A clothes hanger  10  is comprised of a rod  23 , a hanger body  20  supporting the rod  23 , clips  30 , and spacers  40 . The hanger body  20  is comprised of a mountain like shape shoulder  22 , and a hook  21 . The both ends of the shoulder  22  are extended to the rod  23 . 
         [0055]    The hanger body  20  is made of rigid material such as plastics, metal, wood and like. Therefore, the shape of the hanger body  20  is kept, even though the hanger body is held at any point thereof. So, as shown by  FIG. 25 , it is possible to hook the clothes hanger  10  at a higher position by holding the lower part of the clothes hanger  10 . 
         [0056]    The clip  30  is comprised of two clip bodies  31  and an elastic element  35 . The two clip bodies  31  are pivotally connected by a hinge  33  near the center thereof. The two clip bodies  31  are forced to close by the elastic element  35 . Through holes  32  are formed above the hinge  33 , and the operation parts  36  is formed extending above and upward from the through holes  32 . The spacers  40  have a tube type shape having the through hole which is a little bit larger than the outer diameter of the rod  23 . The diameter of the through holes  32  is smaller than the outer diameter of the spacer  40 . The rod  23  is inserted into the through holes  32  of the clips  30  and the through holes of the spacer  40  alternately. 
         [0057]    When holding the clothes, an operation part  36  of the clip  30  is pressed like Fu. As shown by  FIG. 2 , in the case of the prior art, the lower point below the rod  23  must be pressed like Fl of which the force must be much greater than Fu. Therefore, the clip  30  can be opened with smaller force by this invention. 
         [0058]    The two clip bodies  31  may be unitarily formed by one material such as plastics. They may be formed by one piece of metal wire including the elastic element  35 . 
         [0059]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , the method of holding the clothes and releasing is shown. When holding the clothes, the operation part  36  is pressed by fingers like P (=Fu). When releasing all the clothes at once, the outer most clip  30  is pressed like Fb, supporting the hanger body  20  like Fa. 
         [0060]    Referring to Table 1 (the test data of the examples), the force Fu to open each clip is 663 g (49% of Fl) which is 51% smaller than the prior art force 1340 g (Fl). 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                                        
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 N1 
                 N2 
                 N3 
                 N4 
                 N5 
                 N6 
                 N7 
                 N8 
                 N9 
                 N10 
                 
                           
                 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Fu (           ) g 
                 670 
                 680 
                 670 
                 660 
                 670 
                 660 
                 680 
                 650 
                 640 
                 650 
                 663 
               
               
                 F1 (           ) g 
                 1300 
                 1500 
                 1300 
                 1200 
                 1200 
                 1500 
                 1300 
                 1400 
                 1300 
                 1400 
                 1340 
               
               
                 Fu/F1 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 49% 
               
               
                 Fh (           ) g 
                 880 
                 850 
                 860 
                 860 
                 850 
                 860 
                 840 
                 880 
                 840 
                 840 
                 856 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0061]    Referring to Table 2 (the evaluation data of maneuverability, when opening each clips  30 ), the length L of the operation part  36  must be 5 mm at least and 10 mm or more preferably. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
               
                   
               
               
                                                   
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 L mm 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 5 
                 6 
                 7 
                 8 
                 9 
                 10 
                 11 
                 12 
               
               
                 
                           
                 
                 x 
                 x 
                 x 
                 ∘ 
                 ∘ 
                 ∘ 
                 ∘ 
                 ∘ 
                 ⊚ 
                 ⊚ 
                 ⊚ 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 
                           
                 
                 x 
                 
                           
                 
               
               
                   
                 ∘ 
                                                   
               
               
                   
                 ⊚ 
                                        
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Maneuverability x; difficult ∘; possible ⊚; easily possible 
               
               
                 L mm; the length of the operation part as shown in FIG. 2 
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0062]    As shown by this embodiment 1, opening the clips  30  become easy, because the operation part  36  is accessible from the upper open space rather than under crowded space with clothes. 
         [0063]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , we can understand that Fu&lt;Fh&lt;F 1 , because of fulcrum principle. When opening the each clip  30  with two fingers, smaller force Fu is preferable. When releasing the all clothes at once, the opening force Fh may be bigger than Fu, because more than two fingers are used to open the clips  30 . 
         [0064]    The clothes hanger  10  of this embodiment can be used as a normal clothes hanger, because the hanger body has a rigid mountain like shoulder  22 . 
         [0065]    Referring to  FIG. 9  and  FIG. 10 , the second embodiment is shown. The spacer  40  has a tube  41  and two flanges  42 . 
         [0066]    Referring to  FIG. 11 , the third embodiment is shown. The clothes hanger  10  has a release assistant part  50 . 
         [0067]    Referring to  FIG. 12 , the fourth embodiment is shown. The hanger body  20  has a no. 1 hanger body  20 - 1  and a no. 2 hanger body  20 - 2 . The no. 1 hanger body  20 - 1  and the no. 2 hanger body  20 - 2  are pivotally connected by a moving element  70  such as a hinge at the center thereof. The no. 1 hanger body  20 - 1  and the no. 2 hanger body  20 - 2  also have a no. 1 clip pressing part  63  and a no. 2 clip pressing part  64  provided at each outer end of the no. 1 hanger body  20 - 1  and the no. 2 hanger body  20 - 2 . The rod  23  is slidably inserted into each through hole of the no. 1 clip pressing part  63  and the no. 2 clip pressing part  64 . Retainers  65 ,  66  are fixed at the both ends of the rod  23 . If the retainers  65 ,  66  are removably connected to the rod  23 , changing the clip  30  becomes easy. 
         [0068]    The no. 1 hanger body  20 - 1  and the no. 2 hanger body  20 - 2  also have, a no. 1 pushing part  60  and a no. 2 pushing part  61  situated between the each clip pressing part and the moving element  70 . 
         [0069]    As shown by  FIG. 13 , when opening all the clips  30  at once, a hand is placed between the no. 1 pushing part  60  and the no. 2 pushing part  61  and grasp the no. 1 pushing part  60  and the no. 2 pushing part  61 . Then all the clips are opened like  FIG. 14 . 
         [0070]    As shown by  FIG. 14 , after the no. 1 pushing part  60  and the no. 2 pushing part  61  are grasped, the no. 1 hanger body  20 - 1  and the no. 2 hanger body  20 - 2  turn inwardly and all the clips  30  are pressed and opened. 
         [0071]    The smaller positive angle α between the no. 1 pushing part  60  and the no. 2 is preferable. If a is small positive angle, after grasping, α becomes nearly 0 degree, which is easy to grasp. 
         [0072]    In this case, the test result of grasping force is 1.8 Kg. According to the statistics, the grip force of average Japanese 6 years old girl is 8.55 Kg, the grip force of average Japanese 75 to 79 years old women is 21.9 Kg. Therefore, it is easy to handle this clothes hanger regardless of age or sex. 
         [0073]    With this clothes hanger, we can release all the clothes, by grasping the no. 1 pushing part  60  and no. 2 pushing part  61 , at the same time as putting away the clothes hanger on the laundry pole. This can be done by one hand, this is convenient not only for persons with normal body but also for physically handicapped persons. 
         [0074]      FIG. 15  shows the embodiment of the clothes hanger  10  which can be operated from the both sides of it. 
         [0075]      FIG. 16  shows the embodiment of the clothes hanger  10  which has thin plastic flexible hinge as the moving element  70 . 
         [0076]      FIG. 17  shows the embodiment of the clothes hanger  10  which has a slider  71  as the moving element  70 . 
         [0077]      FIG. 18  shows the eighth embodiment which has a symmetric hanger body  20 . With this clothes hanger  10  we can access from both side of the clothes hanger  10 . 
         [0078]      FIG. 19  shows the embodiment of the clothes hanger  10  with raided shoulders  22 . 
         [0079]      FIG. 20  shows the embodiment of the clothes hanger  10  which a flexible hinge  70  with thin plastic films and stopper  70 - 1 ,  70 - 2 . 
         [0080]      FIG. 21  shows the embodiment of the clothes hanger  10  which has a lateral projection  80  at near the hook  21 . With this lateral projection  80 , the clothes hanger  10  can be hung on the crosspiece S. 
         [0081]      FIG. 22  shows the cross section WW of  FIG. 21 . The lateral projection  80  can be inserted into a lateral projection containing space  81 . 
         [0082]      FIG. 23  shows the embodiment of the clothes hanger  10  which has a higher rigidity of the hanger body  20 . The rigidity of hanger body  20  near the center is higher than the outer thereof. The hanger body  20  has U type cross section to increase strength. 
         [0083]      FIG. 24  shows the embodiment of the two clothes hangers  10  connected together by a no. 3 hanger body  20 - 3 . 
       INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
       [0084]    This invention is available for not only hanging clothes but also some other goods. 
       REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 
       [0000]    
       
           10  is a clothes hanger. 
           20  is a hanger body. 
           20 - 1  is a no. 1 hanger body. 
           20 - 2  is a no. 2 hanger body. 
           20 - 3  is a no. 3 hanger body. 
           21  is a hook. 
           22  is a shoulder. 
           23  is a rod. 
           30  is a clip. 
           31  is a clip body. 
           32  is a through hole. 
           33  is a hinge. 
           34  is a holding part. 
           35  is an elastic element. 
           36  is an operation part. 
           40  is a spacer. 
           41  is a tube. 
           42  is a flange; 
           50  is a release assisting part, 
           60  is a first pushing part. 
           61  is a second pushing part. 
           63  is a first clip pressing part. 
           64  is a second clip pressing part. 
           65 ,  66  are retainers. 
           70  is a hinge. 
           80  is a lateral projection. 
           81  is a lateral projection containing space.