Abstract:
A clothes-hanger is disclosed having a fixed hook member which pivotably supports a second hook member. The second hook member can pivot to a position in which it locks the hanger on a rail, but can be released by operating handle portions provided on the hook members.

Description:
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a clothes-hanger and more particularly to a clothes-hanger provided with a hook for suspending the hanger on a clothes rail or the like. The hook comprises a member secured to the body of the hanger having a recess to receive the clothes rail and an opening leading to the recess so that the said member can be readily passed over a rail, the rail being received in the recess. 
     In conventional clothes-hangers a hook is provided which consists of an ordinary single hook screwed into the body of the hanger, if the hanger is made of wood, or attached to the body in some other convenient way, or made integrally with the hanger if the hanger is formed of wire or is integrally moulded from a plastics material. Such clothes-hangers may be utilised with clothes rails of many different shapes, but one disadvantage experienced with such hangers is that when a plurality of garments mounted on individual hangers are packed closely on a rail it is easy, when removing or hanging up another garment, accidentally to release an adjacent hanger from the rail so that it falls to the ground. Of course, this is a great inconvenience not only in the home, but also in cloakrooms and cupboards, and in premises which are open to the public such as restaurants, waiting rooms, offices, and the like. However, the disadvantage is especially inconvenient in shops where clothing is sold, particularly if the clothing if of a kind which is easily spoiled by being dropped on the floor, for example, clothing that is light in colour so that it becomes visibly dirty when the clothing is dropped on the floor. 
     This particular problem experienced with conventional clothes-hangers, namely the problem that the clothes-hangers are easily accidentally dislodged from the clothes rail so that they fall onto the floor, has been known for a long time and various proposals have been made which seek to solve this problem. Almost without exception these proposals involve the use of a especially designed clothes rail, the hook or hanging means provided on the clothes-hanger being specifically designed to cooperate with the special clothes rail. One example of a prior proposed clothes hanger of this type is a hanger in which the conventional hook is replaced by a hanging element comprising a shaft projecting vertically upwardly from the body of the hanger and terminating in a head. The clothes rail is in the form of a tube, and the lower side of the tube is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending slots, each dimensioned to accommodate one of the shafts. A number of notches are provided which are connected to the slots, the notches being dimensioned so that the head on a shaft can be inserted into the tube through one of the notches, the head then engaging the sides of the slot so that the shaft is supported by the inside of the tube, the body of the hanger thus being suspended below the clothes rail. In commercially available embodiments of this proposal a hanger can only be removed from the clothes rail when its head is immediately opposite a notch and in order to remove a particular hanger from the clothes rail it may be necessary to push one or more other hangers past the notch, and thus one or more of the hangers may catch in the notch. 
     A hook arrangement which cannot be unintentionally dislodged from an ordinary rail has been proposed previously in connection with a hanger for suspending boots. This prior proposed hook arrangement comprises a hook member defining an eye, and a tongue which extends upwardly from the end of the eye adjacent the body of the boot hanger and which terminates a predetermined distance from the free end of the member forming the eye of the hook. This predetermined distance is less than the diameter of the clothes rail on which the hook is to be mounted, and the tongue is rigid in the plane of the eye, but is flexible in a direction perpendicular to this plane. The tongue thus prevents the hook from being unintentionally dislodged from the rail. The hanger is removed or hung up by withdrawing or inserting the hook member over the rail at an angle to the vertical plane so that the tongue can be pressed out of the way. It has been found that this particular design is suitable for use with hangers that are intended to support boots, since these hangers are not normally removed from the clothes rail once they have been hung up. This is because a conventional hanger for boots is provided with a clamp, which may resemble a large clothes-peg, which grips the upper edges of the legs of the boots to be supported. It has been found that this particular hook design is not, however, suitable for use with clothes-hangers, since the hanger must be inclined for removal and hanging up. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     The primary object of the present invention is to provide a clothes hanger which, when suspended on a clothes rail, cannot be unintentionally dislodged therefrom, but which, in spite of this, is easy to hang or remove from the rail. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a clothes hanger which can be readily manufactured. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to this invention there is provided a clothes-hanger comprising a hanger body, a hook for suspending the hanger on a clothes rail, said hook comprising a first member secured to the body of the hanger, said first hook member defining a recess to receive a clothes rail and an opening leading to the recess so that the first hook member can be passed over a rail, the rail being received in the recess, a second hook member, the second hook member being rearwardly mounted in relation to the first hook member, and together with the first hook member forming a locking mechanism which, when the hanger is suspended on a rail, limits the width of the said opening leading to the recess, thus locking the hanger on the rail and preventing unintentional dislodgement of the hanger from the rail, and which in an open position permits the hanger readily to be removed from or hung up on a rail without inclining the hanger. 
     Preferably the second hook member is pivotable in a vertical plane in relation to the stationary first hook member when the hanger is mounted on a rail and conveniently the pivot axis for the pivoting movement of the second hook member is located so that the force of gravity acting on the second hook member at least contributes to the locking action of the said locking mechanism. 
     Preferably the movable second hook member is spring loaded in such a way that in the absence of any external influence the locking mechanism will assume a closed locking position. 
     Conveniently the first member comprises a first protruding section adapted to act as a handle, and the movable second hook member is provided with a protruding section which also acts as a handle, the two protruding sections being arranged substantially side by side, the movable handle section being movable in a vertical plane, movement of the second handle portion relative to the first handle portion causing the locking mechanism to enter its closed or opened position. 
     Conveniently the hanger may be provided with guide means to guide the hanger when the hanger is being hung upon a rail, the guide means extending obliquely above the recess defined by the hook means and being located on the opposite side of the recess to said first protruding means. 
     Preferably the clothes-hanger in accordance with the invention is designed so that the sections of the hanger balance one another, so that when the hanger is suspended the hanger hangs vertically. 
     In one particular embodiment of the invention the hanger body defines a trouser bar having a free end located between the said handle sections. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In order that the invention may be more readily understood and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of a clothes-hanger in accordance with the invention, and 
     FIG. 2 is a front view of part of an alternative embodiment of a clothes-hanger in accordance with the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings a clothes-hanger in accordance with the present invention comprises a body 1 and hook means 2 for suspending the hanger on a clothes rail 3 or the like, the clothes rail being illustrated in phantom. The hook device 2 comprises a first hook member which is integrally formed with or rigidly secured to the body 1 of the hanger, and a second hook member which is pivotally mounted relative to the first hook member 4. The stationary first hook member 4 defines a recess to receive and accommodate the rail 3, and also defines an opening 7 leading to the recess so that the hook member 4 can be passed over the rail and so that the rail can be received within the recesss, the hanger thus being suspended from the rail. 
     The first hook member 4, together with the second hook member 5, together form a locking member, which in one position, which can be termed a closed or rest position, this being the position illustrated in FIG. 1, limits the width 8 of the opening 7 to less than the diameter 9 of the rail 3, thus locking the hanger in position on the rail 3 and preventing unintentional dislodgement of the hanger from the rail 3. The locking mechanism normally enters the closed, rest position when the hanger is suspended on the rail. The locking mechanism also has an opened position, not shown in the accompanying drawings which permits the hangers to be removed from the rail, or hung on the rail without the hanger being inclined. 
     The hook members 4 and 5, as well as the body of the hanger 1, are made of a suitable plastics material, for instance ABS plastics material, as illustrated in FIG. 1, but the hook members and the hanger body may also be made of plywood or any other suitable material. Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiment, the stationary first hook member 4 is made integrally with the body of the hanger 1 and in the same plane as the body of the hanger 1. It is to be understood that alternative arrangements may be utilised. 
     In the embodiment illustrated the hook member 4 comprises a shaft 10 which projects, in the plane of the hanger body 1, but at an angle to the vertical, generally upwardly from the body 1 and terminating in the member which protrudes horizontally on either side of the recess 3, the member defining a first protruding handle section 11, on one side of the recess 6 and, on the other side of the recess 6 a protruding portion 12 which defines a sloping guide surface to guide the hanger when it is being hung on the rail 3. A peg or boss 13 is located on the shaft 10, this peg 13 acting as a pivotal support for the second movable hook member 5. The hook member 5 comprises a protruding handle section 14 and a hook part 15, the hook part 15 extending below the recess 6, and, in the position illustrated in FIG. 1, protruding from below into the opening 7, thus limiting the width of the opening 7. The second handle section 14 is arranged substantially side by side with the first handle section 11, and since the second hook member 5 is pivotally mounted on the peg 13, the second handle section is movable relative to the first handle section between a position in which the second handle section 14 is substantially superimposed over the first handle section 11, and the position in which the second handle section 14 protrudes beyond the first handle section 11. The locking mechanism formed by the hook members 4 and 5 is in the closed or rest position when the second handle section 14 protrudes beyond the first handle section 11, this being the position illustrated in FIG. 1. It is to be noted that the distance 8 between the free end of the hook section 15 and the guide member 12 is less than the diameter 9 of the rail 3. 
     When the two handle sections 11 and 14 are gripped simultaneously the locking mechanism is opened, since the second handle section 14 will pivot from its initial position to a position in which the second handle section 14 is substantially superimposed over the first handle section 11, this causing pivotal movement of the hook section 15 away from the opening 7, thus permitting the rail 3 to be moved through the opening 7. Thus, when the two handle sections are gripped in order to remove the hanger from the rail, the hanger is forcibly released from its locking position. 
     As will be appreciated from a consideration of FIG. 1 it is possible for the movable second hook member 5 to be designed, with respect to the position of the peg 13, that the force of gravity exerted on the hook member 5 at least contributes to the locking mechanism assuming its closed position of rest as shown in FIG. 1. However, it is to be appreciated that a spring biassing means 16 may be arranged as well, or alternatively, to return the movable second hook member to its initial locking position after the locking mechanism has been opened so that the locking mechanism automatically assumes its closed position of rest. 
     In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 the body 1 of the hanger comprises an upper portion 17 in the form of an invert obtuse angled &#34;V&#34;, and a trouser bar 18 which is made in one piece with the upper portion 17. The trouser bar has a free end 19 located beneath the handle sections 11 and 14 the free end of the trouser bar thus being on the same side of a notional vertical line through the recess 6 for the clothes rail as the handle sections 11 and 14. The free end 19 is separated from the upper portion 17 of the hanger by a space 20 through which the trousers can easily be passed when hanging the trousers on the bar 18, or when removing the trousers from the bar 18. The opposite end of the bar 18 is connected to the upper portion 17 of the hanger by a reinforced section 21. 
     The handle sections 11 and 14 are designed to compensate the difference in weight caused by the guide member 12, the reinforced section 21 and the opening 20 so that the hanger hangs vertically in relation to the horizontal plane when suspended from the clothes rail 3. 
     The surface 22 of the body 1 below the shaft 10 provides the space which can carry a logo, a trademark, the name of the company or the like, this surface being at the same time designed to provide reinforcement of the central part of the body 1. The side of the first handle section 11 provides a space to enable a marking 23 to be provided, this marking indicating, for instance, the style or size or price of a garment supported on the rail. 
     Referring now to FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings which illustrates a second embodiment of the invention it will be appreciated that in this embodiment a stationary hook member 104 is provided constituting part of the hook device 102, the stationary hook 104 being substantially the same as the hook member 4 of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1. A peg or pivot support 113 is provided at the free end of the first handle section 111, and two stops 124 and 125 are provided which protrude from the plane of the hook member 114 to limit the pivotal movement of the second hook member 105 about the peg 113. The second hook member 105 comprises a second handle section 114 and a hook part 115, but the hook part 115 is located above the recess 106 and protrudes from above into the opening 107 limiting its width so that the clothes rail 103 is locked into the recess 106. In this embodiment of the invention the movable hook member 105 is pivotably journalled at one end so that the closing action caused by the force of gravity is extremely pronounced. In this embodiment, therefore, it is generally not necessary to provide any auxiliary spring means. It is to be appreciated that in all other respects the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 is similar to that described above and illustrated in FIG. 1. 
     It is to be appreciated that the clothes hanger in accordance with the present invention may be suitable for a valet stand. The horizontal upper side of the stationary hook member may in this case be utilized for supporting ties or socks. 
     It is to be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments described above that may be varied within the scope and spirit of the following claims.