Abstract:
A clothes hanger storage device includes a container and a plurality of pillars inside the container for retaining a multitude of variously-sized and -shaped hangers. The plurality of pillars may be arranged as two sets of pillars, or two elongated pillar units, wherein large triangular hangers extend around both sets of pillars or around the two elongated pillar units, and small triangular hangers extend around only one set of pillars or one elongated pillar unit. Non-triangular hangers, such as hangers only comprising two shoulders, may be stored in the container by being trapped between the container wall and the pillars, but not extending around the pillars. The clothes hanger storage device may be adapted to be hung from a door, stored underneath a counter or in a closet, or attached to the door of a cabinet. In an optional embodiment, the container may be fitted with a releasable lid that fits over the top of the container. The preferred lid may be moved to a dispensing position, which leaves room between the container and the lid through which one or more hangers may be removed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     This invention relates to clothing hangers, and more specifically, to a container for stacking, storing, carrying, or dispensing a plurality of clothes hangers. The invention further relates to a container for storing clothes hangers comprising triangularly arranged pillars upending from the base of the container, so that a variety of differently-sized or -shaped hangers may be stacked over the pillars.  
         [0003]     2. Related Art  
         [0004]     In the dry cleaning business, retail businesses, and in home use, it is important to have a storage device for excess hangers. Do to the unusual shapes and sizes of clothing hangers, many become interlocked and tangled when stored loosely in a box. Often the box in which hangers are stored can be aesthetically unpleasing, and may take up valuable under-counter or other storage space. In an effort to provide an effective means for storing clothing hangers, many clothing hanger storage devices have been patented.  
         [0005]     Issued patents relating to clothes hanger storing and carrying devices are reviewed hereinafter.  
         [0006]     Peterson (U.S. Pat. No. 3,115,968) discloses a collapsible carton member for the storage of clothes hangers.  
         [0007]     Hildt (U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,981) discloses a rack for storing clothes hangers having a single neck portion and two shoulder portions wherein the rack comprises a base and a plurality of elongated posts extending upwardly and perpendicular to the upper surface of the base.  
         [0008]     Keen (U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,905) discloses a device for organizing, storing and dispensing garment hangers comprising a vertically disposed glide rod for engaging the hanger hook and two vertically disposed guide rods positioned on opposite sides of said glide rod and spaced forward thereof for engaging the respective outer shoulder portions of the garment hanger. The bottom ends of the guide rods and glide rod are mounted to a base.  
         [0009]     Scola (U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,184) discloses a clothes hanger carrying device for neatly stacking and storing a plurality of conventional wire type clothes hangers. The carrying device includes a bottom base flange having a greater perimeter than the triangular body of the clothes hanger to provide a support for a plurality of the hangers, and a stacking body extending upwardly from the base flange.  
         [0010]     Dahnke (U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,457) discloses a hanger guide attached to a base wherein the clothes hangers are received on the hanger guide.  
         [0011]     Licari (U.S. Pat. No. 6,230,904) discloses a hanger package and display assembly comprising a top and bottom platform, and at least two spaced-apart rods vertically disposed between the platforms.  
         [0012]     Design applications relating to clothes hanger storage devices are as follows: Kiggens et al. (U.S. Pat. No. D237,442); Pawuk et al. (U.S. Pat. No. D382,402); Shawhan (U.S. Pat. No. 392,818); Jones (U.S. Pat. No. 403,862); Spurgeon et al. (U.S. Pat. No. D417,802); Wacks (U.S. Pat. No. D421,686); and, Kim (U.S. Pat. No. D465,352).  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0013]     The present invention is a clothes hanger storage device, and more specifically, a clothes hanger storage device comprising a container and a plurality of pillars inside said container for retaining a multitude of variously-sized and -shaped hangers. The plurality of pillars may be arranged as two sets of pillars, or two elongated pillar units, wherein large triangular hangers extend around both sets of pillars or around the two elongated pillar units, and small triangular hangers only extend around one set of pillars or one elongated pillar unit. Non-triangular hangers, such as hangers only comprising two shoulders, may be stored in the container by being trapped between the container wall and the pillars, but not extending around the pillars.  
         [0014]     The preferred clothes hanger storage device may be adapted to be hung from a door, stored underneath a counter or in a closet, or attached to the door of a cabinet. In an optional embodiment, the container may be fitted with a releasable lid that fits over the top of the container. The preferred lid may be moved to a dispensing position, which leaves room between the container and the lid through which one or more hangers may be removed. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]      FIG. 1A  is a front view of an example of a large triangular hanger.  
         [0016]      FIG. 1B  is a front view of an example of a small triangular hanger.  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invented clothes hanger storage device.  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0019]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invented clothes hanger storage device, wherein the container is fitted with brackets for attaching the clothes hanger storage device to a door, and wherein hangers are shown positioned inside the container.  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  is a top view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , wherein a large triangular hanger is shown positioned inside the container.  
         [0021]      FIG. 6  is a top view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , wherein a small triangular hanger is shown positioned inside the container.  
         [0022]      FIG. 7  is a top view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0023]      FIG. 8  is a side perspective view of one embodiment of a lid that may cooperate with the containers shown in  FIGS. 1-7 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 9  is a top perspective view of the lid shown in  FIG. 8 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 10A  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invented clothes hanger storage device, wherein the lid of  FIGS. 8 and 9  is shown in combination with the container of  FIGS. 4 and 7  and the lid is in a closed position.  
         [0026]      FIG. 10B  is a detail of the latch of  FIG. 10  in the closed position.  
         [0027]      FIG. 11A  is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 10A , wherein the lid is shown in a raised position.  
         [0028]      FIG. 11B  is a detail of the latch of  FIG. 11  in the raised position.  
         [0029]      FIG. 12  is a top view of an alternative embodiment of the invented clothes hanger storage device, wherein the front pillars are shown as one elongated unit, and the rear pillars are shown as one elongated unit.  
         [0030]      FIG. 13  is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 11A , wherein the clothes hanger storage device is shown hung from a door, and the lid is in the raised position.  
         [0031]      FIG. 14  is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 11A , wherein the clothes hanger storage device is shown attached to the underside of a counter-top, and the lid is in the raised position.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0032]     Referring to the figures, there are shown some, but not the only embodiments of the invented clothes hanger storage device. In the preferred embodiment, the clothes hanger storage device  100  is used to stack, store, and carry a plurality of differently-shaped and -sized hangers. The clothes hangers comprise a hook H, a neck N, two shoulder sections S′, S″, and some hangers may comprise a base B′, B″ connecting the shoulder sections to form a triangular hanger (see  FIGS. 1A and 1B ).  
         [0033]     In the preferred embodiment, the clothes hanger storage device  100  is a generally rectangular container  10  comprising a plurality of side walls—a base  12 , a front wall  14 , a rear wall  16 , and two end walls  18 . The base  12  and the side walls define an interior space  70 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . Preferably, the two end walls  18  are of equal length and the front  14  and rear  16  walls are of equal length. The front wall  14  comprises an elongated slot  22  that extends from the base  12  of the container to the top edge  20  of the front wall  14  for receiving the clothes hanger hooks H. The container  10  may comprise additional neck structure that extends from the elongated slot  22  and encloses the necks N and hooks H of the hangers. The container  10  is preferably of a height that will carry a reasonable number of hangers, for example 6″-10″, so that the container is not too heavy to carry (see  FIGS. 4 and 7 ). Larger containers may also be desired for clothing stores, dry cleaners, or laundry mats, for example. In the preferred embodiment, the container  10  is rectangular in shape; however, the inventor envisions that other shapes, such as a triangle, might be used so long as the entire hanger fits within the container. Additionally, handles with apertures  21  may be provided in the top edge  20  of the two end walls  18  for grasping the container  10  or for securing a lid  30  to the container  10 .  
         [0034]     The preferred embodiment further comprises a plurality of pillars extending upward and generally perpendicular to the base  12  of the container  10 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the plurality of pillars are preferably arranged as two sets of pillars in a triangular fashion—two pillars  22 ,  23  are positioned toward the front wall  14  of the container  10  and two pillars  24 ,  25  are positioned toward the rear wall  16  of the container  10 . The rear pillars  24 ,  25  are in a plane parallel to the front pillars  22 ,  23 , but spaced out a distance, so that the respective rear pillars  24 ,  25  are closer to the end walls  18  than are the front pillars  22 ,  23 .  
         [0035]     In the preferred embodiment, the pillars are integral with the base  12  of the container  10  meaning they are formed as an extension of the base, preferably by molding. The pillars are preferably not solid, so that there is a detent corresponding to each pillar in the bottom of the base of the container, so that the containers may be stacked one on top of the other with the pillars from one container sliding into the detents created by the hollow pillars of the other container. To accommodate the stacking of the containers, the pillar sides are sloped, as shown to best advantage in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , so that the tops  26  of the pillars are preferably smaller in dimension than the bottoms  28  of the pillars. The front pillars  22 ,  23  are generally cylindrical in shape, and the rear pillars  24 ,  25  are generally kidney-shaped; however, other shapes may be used, such as, conical, rectaganol, or other aesthetically pleasing or easy-to-mold shapes.  
         [0036]     The sets of pillars are spaced-apart in a triangular arrangement, so that they can accommodate different shapes and sizes of hangers. The spacing between the two sets of pillars is sufficient, so that when a large triangular hanger (shown in  FIG. 1A ), having a base length between 12″ and 14″, and a height (from the base B′ to the top of the hook H) between 9″ and 10″, is placed in the container, the two sets of pillars  22 ,  23  and  24 ,  25  are completely contained within the framed-space FS of the hanger, and the neck N and the hook H of the hanger extend out through the elongated slot  22  in the front wall  14  of the container  10  (see  FIG. 5 ). Additionally, when a small triangular hanger (shown in  FIG. 1B ), having a base length between 9″ and 12″ and a height between 7″ and 9″, is placed in the container, only the front pillars  22 ,  23  are completely contained within the framed-space FS of the hanger, and the base B″ of the smaller hanger is trapped in the space between the front pillars  22 ,  23 , and the rear pillars  24 ,  25  (see  FIG. 6 ). Further, the spacing between the front pillars  22 ,  23  and the front wall  14  of the container  10  is sufficient to accommodate a hanger comprising only a hook H, a neck N, and two shoulders, without a base connecting the two shoulders, so that the front pillars  22 ,  23  engage the underside of the neck portion and the rear pillars  24 ,  25  engage the underside of the two shoulders S. Thus, the hanger is trapped between the front wall  14  of the container  10  and the two sets of pillars  22 ,  23  and  24 ,  25 ; however, none of the hanger extends around the pillars (see  FIG. 7 ).  
         [0037]     In the preferred embodiment, the relationship between the container  10 , the elongated slot  22 , and the pillars  22 ,  23  and  24 ,  25  is such that they are oriented to accommodate a wide variety of hangers. The front  14  and rear  16  walls of the container  10  are preferably between 12″-14″ in length from corner C to corner C, and the end walls  18  are preferably between 6″-10″ long from corner C to corner C, but in the preferred embodiment, they are 7″ long (see  FIG. 2 ). The elongated slot  22 , in the front wall  14 , is between 1″-2″ in width between its generally vertical walls W (see  FIG. 3 ). The elongated slot  22  must be wide enough to fit differently-sized and -shaped hanger necks, but not too wide that the hanger necks move around significantly. The space between the front most extremities of the front pillars  22 ,  23  and the front wall  14  is preferably between 2.5″-4″. The space between the rear most extremities of the rear pillars  24 ,  25  and the rear wall  16  is between 0.5″-4″. Preferably, the relationship between the pillars and the respective walls is close enough in order to tightly retain the hangers around the pillars, or between the walls of the container and the pillars. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the two front pillars  22 ,  23  are spaced apart a distance d, between 2″-3″, and the two back pillars  24 ,  25  are spaced apart a distance d 2  between 8″-10″. The distance d 3  between one front pillar and one rear pillar is preferably between 0.5″-1″; however, this distance needs to be only as wide as the thickest small triangular hanger base.  
         [0038]     In an alternative embodiment, the plurality of pillars may be a set of two elongated pillars/units, one elongated pillar  60  being positioned toward the front wall  14  of the container  10  and the second elongated pillar  62  being positioned toward the rear wall  16  of the container  10  (see  FIG. 12 ). Preferably, the two elongated pillars  60 ,  62  are parallel to each other, and the rear pillar  62  is longer in length than the front pillar  60 . The two elongated pillars  60 ,  62  still resemble a triangular shape, so that they can accommodate a variety of hangers. The distance d 3  between the front pillar  60  and the back pillar  62  is preferably between 0.5″-1″. In the alternative embodiment, the elongated pillars  60 ,  62  comprise ends  64 ,  66  that are slanted relative to the elongated pillar lengths, contributing to the triangular shape of the outer perimeter of the pillar grouping.  
         [0039]     In an especially preferred embodiment, the container  10  is fitted with a lid  30 . The lid  30  is adapted to be secured to the top edge  20  of the container  10  (see  FIGS. 10A and 10B ). Preferably, the lid  30  is the same shape as the container  10  and the lid  30  is also substantially flat or planar, so that multiple containers could be stacked upon one another with their lids on, and so that the lid may be attached to the underside of a table or countertop (see  FIG. 14 ). Further, the lid  30  may be adapted to include latches  40  for further securing the lid  30  to the container  10 . In the preferred embodiment, the latches  40  are attached to the short ends  31  of the lid  30 . The latches  40  comprise a plurality of spaced connection members that may be releasably connected to the container  10 . Preferably, the connection members comprise a single protrusion  42  near the top of the latch  40  and a set of two protrusions  44 ,  46  near the bottom of the latch  40  (see  FIGS. 10B and 11B ).  
         [0040]     The latches  40  permit the lid  30  to moved from a closed position, as shown in  FIG. 10A , to a raised or dispensing position, as shown in  FIG. 11A . When the lid  30  is in the closed position (see  FIGS. 10A and 10B ), the latches  40  are slid all the way into the apertures  21  in the top edge  20  of the container  10 , so that the lid  30  is fitted entirely around the top edge  20  of the container  10 , and the single protrusion  42  abuts against the edge  21 ′ of the aperture  21  preventing the lid  30  from coming off of the container  10 . When the lid  30  is in the raised or dispensing position (see  FIGS. 11A and 11B ), the lid  30  is positioned above the container  10 , so that it is generally parallel to, but slightly distanced from the container  10 , and the lower set of protrusions  44 ,  46  are positioned around the edge  21 ′ of the aperture  21 . As shown in  FIG. 11B , protrusion  44  is positioned above the edge  21 ′, and protrusion  46  is positioned below the edge  21 ′, so that the edge  21 ′ is trapped between the lower two protrusions  44 ,  46 . Thus, the protrusions  42 ,  44 ,  46  act as stops or grips, which retain the latches  40 , and hence, the lid  30  in either of the two desired positions. The protrusions  42 ,  44 ,  46  may themselves snap onto or around the edge  21 ′, or may simply abut against the edge  21 ′, but preferably there is some resilience in either the protrusions  42 ,  44 ,  46  or the latch hinges, in order to retain the latches  40  in the selected position once the user has moved the latches  40  (as discussed below), and/or purposely snapped the protrusions around the edge  21 ′.  
         [0041]     In order to move the lid  30  from the closed position to the raised or dispensing position, the user must press the latches  40  toward the end walls  18  of the container  10 , and then raise the lid  30  until the protrusions  44 ,  46  snap around the edge  21 ′ securing the lid  30  in the raised position. The latches  40  may be designed to create, in the raised position, a space  50  that is 2″-4″ from the bottom of the lid  30  to the top edge  20  of the container  10 . When the lid  30  is in the raised position, the user may remove one or more hangers by sliding the hangers off of the pillars  22 ,  23  and/or  24 ,  25 , and out through the space  50  between the top edge  20  of the container  10  and the lid  30 . Preferably, 1-3 hangers may be lifted up and forward out of the device through the space  50 . The latches  40  are preferably made of a sturdy material, so as to support the lid  30  above the container  10 . Additionally, other latch mechanisms may be used, such as a latch mechanism that wraps or snaps around the outside of the container wall instead of going through an aperture in the container, such as arm(s), rod(s), or other fasteners that can hold the lid in multiple positions relative to the container.  
         [0042]     The lid  30  and/or container  10  may be adapted to include mechanisms for aiding in storing or carrying the clothes hanger storage device  100 . For example, in order to attach the lid  30  to the underside of a table or countertop, holes  34  may be molded into the lid  30 , or otherwise provided, in order to screw the lid  30  into a table or countertop. Other means of attaching the lid  30  or container  10  without the lid  30  to a table or countertop may be used, such as adhesive strips, chain links, or the lid  30  and/or container  10  may cooperate with glide rails that allow the clothes hanger storage device to be slid out from underneath the table or countertop. As shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the lid  30  has apertures  32  that act as a handle for gripping the container and carrying it. The lid  30  may be adapted to have other handle structures, such as a handle that is raised above the lid; however, this would be less preferable because it would be difficult to stack the containers. Additionally, the lid  30  may be adapted to not include a handle and the user could carry the clothes hanger storage device  100  by gripping the sides of the container  10  and the lid  30 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the container  10  may also be fitted with holes  39  in a side wall for attaching brackets  38 . The brackets  38  preferably have a hooked end  38 ′ allowing the container  10  to be hung from a door, cabinet door, or other structure comprising an edge (see  FIG. 13 ). Alternatively, the container  10  may be attached to a door or cabinet by drilling through the holes  39  and securing the container with screws. Further, the clothes hanger storage device  100  may be stored in a closet or cabinet with no additional securement mechanism.  
         [0043]     Although this invention has been described above with reference to particular means, materials and embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these disclosed particulars, but extends instead to all equivalents within the scope of the following claims.