Abstract:
A foldable shirt hanger includes a frame having a bottom portion foldable to the rear upon itself with the shirt. Wings are secured to the lateral uppermost part of the frame for folding the arms of the shirt. A collar element is secured to a stem extending from a hook element to support the shirt collar, whether hanging from a support or being packed for shipment. The collar element pivots about a pair of pins to either lie flat against the shirt frame or be tilted away from it.

Description:
DESCRIPTION 
     This application relates to foldable hangers and more particularly to a foldable shirt hanger with reinforced collar. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It has generally been known that certain hangers of foldable cardboard forms are useful when packing clothing to be placed in a suitcase. However, these forms which are generally made of cardboard are usually destroyed after the initial use or are not usable for reuse because of their flimsy construction. While the cardboard form serves a useful purpose, it does have its limitations and something that is reusable is more desirable. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     It has been found that a form or hanger that is capable of being folded and reusable is not only useful in hanging shirts from a hanger but when the upper hook element is recessed, it may be used to fold the shirt in a convenient package for packing. The present invention is directed to a shirt form made of a plastic material having hinge areas at the location of wings that attach where the arms are sewn into the shirt and also has a transverse axis so that the lower portion of the form may be folded upwardly for more convenient packing. The collar device is generally set for the proper size and will be secured to the shirt form that may be pivoted when a shirt is being folded for placement in a suitcase. 
     It is therefore a general object of this invention to provide a foldable frame with a reinforcing collar element to be used with a shirt that is to be packed in luggage or a wardrobe. 
     It is yet another object of this invention to provide an improved frame to be used with a detachable collar element. 
     It is still a further object of this invention to provide a releasable hook element for engaging the shirt frame so that it may be hung. 
     It is another object of this invention to provide a collar element that flexes into a usable position. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     A detailed description of one preferred embodiment of the FOLDABLE SHIRT HANGER is hereafter described with specific reference being made to the drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of my invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of my invention with a shirt draped over the frame. 
     FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of my invention with the wings and tail portions folded on the frame; 
     FIG. 4 is a section view of the collar of my invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a section view of the collar of my invention showing its relative position on the shirt frame; 
     FIG. 6 is a plan view of the collar secured to the shirt frame; 
     FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the frame hanger; 
     FIG. 8 is a second sectional view of the frame hanger; and 
     FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternate detachable collar in an open condition. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     An open two-piece shirt body frame 10 is formed of plastic material and may be made of a cellular plastic material. The shirt frame 10 is formed primarily in the shape of a flattened shirt body in which there is a tail panel hinge line 11 formed in the middle third of the shirt body frame. That is, the hinge line is aligned in the material and the tail panel 12. Disposed at the top central portion of the shirt frame 10 is an oblong cross-sectional-shaped stem element 13 in the nature of an element having a cross-section of a large pitch screw thread like that of an Acme thread 14. A stem hook element 15 is formed to engage Acme thread 14 that is formed in the central portion thereof and extends longitudinally therewith. Thus, a shirt 8 may be secured over the frame 10 for hanging and may be packed when folded as seen in FIG. 2. That is hook element 15 may be extended to its lowest position as found in FIG. 7 where it fits into a recess 40. When Acme thread 14 is turned in the other direction, its travel is limited by a cap 41. 
     To insure that tail panel 12 (FIG. 8) will remain in its vertical upright position when tilted there, a mechanical detent 16 is secured within a transverse section 17 extending at right angles toward hinge pin 11. Upon tail panel 12 being pivoted upwardly, the plunger in the detent encounters a recess 18 formed in tail panel 12 and it remains secured in that position until returned to the position found in FIG. 2. 
     The upper part of the shirt body frame has a pair of wing forms 20 and 21 hingedly secured thereto through the use of a plurality of pins 22 and 23 that slip through bores 24 and 25 formed in shirt body frame 10 and wing forms 20 and 21. The hinge elements consisting of pins and bores can be aligned in a vertical column along the shirt body frame as shown in FIG. 1. Wing forms 20 and 21 are formed so that they may be pivoted behind the shirt body frame 10. That is, the shirt may be secured about the body frame and the wing forms 20 and 21 pivoted behind the shirt form to fold the shirt. 
     It is desirable to have a detachable collar element 26 secured to the shirt frame 10 and this is accomplished through the use of a pair of forwardly extending upper portions 27 and 28 of shirt frame 10. The extensions 27 and 28 are tipped forwardly so that collar element 26 may be pivoted so that the shirt collar is protected. This is accomplished through the use of a pair of transverse pins 30 and 31 secured to collar 26 having enlarged tips formed on the ends thereof that extend through a pair of bores formed in extensions 27 and 28. The collar element 26 is collapsible through the use of additional fold lines formed vertically in the collar 26. 
     To insure that collar element 26 may be properly fitted into a shirt collar, two outside vertical fold lines, 33 and 35 are scored on the front of collar element 26&#39;. A third fold line 34 is scored in between scores 33 and 35 on the front of collar element 26. A bendable securing element formed by semi-flexible strip 36 is secured to collar strip 26 by suitable means such as cementing or stitching and is contained near the center fold line 34 through the use of a stop pin 37. Pin 37 has an enlarged head that secures the semi-flexible strip 36 to the front portion of the collar, thus reinforcing it and stiffening the same. 
     An alternate version of the collar 26 is found in FIG. 9 wherein a plurality of pins 41 are formed at the front of the collar that mate with a plurality of bores 42 to set the collar 26 for the correct size. When this version is used the collar has a fixed size, but will be collapsed like that shown in FIGS. 1 through 3. 
     With the shirt folded and the collar element in place, the shirt should be ready for packing in luggage or within a drawer. 
     In some versions, it may be helpful to eliminate the rim 43 that is formed on the upper edge of collar 26. The part to be eliminated appears much like a circumferential strip and will serve to reduce the size. 
     In considering this invention, it should be remembered that the present disclosure is illustrative only and the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims.