Patent Publication Number: US-11028530-B2

Title: Folding guide hanger

Description:
The disclosure and prior art relates to clothes hangers and more particularly pertains to a new clothes hanger for folding clothing. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a rectangular prismatic first folding guide half having a first front face, a first rear face, a first top face, a first bottom face, a first left face, and a first right face. The first top face has a hook aperture extending through to the first bottom face. A hanger hook has a hooked portion, a shaft portion, and a flared end coupled to the shaft portion. The shaft portion is coupled within the hook aperture with the flared end adjacent the first bottom face. A hinge is coupled to the first right face of the first folding guide half. A rectangular prismatic second folding guide half has a second front face, a second rear face, a second top face, a second bottom face, a second left face, and a second right face. The second left face is coupled to the hinge. The second folding guide half has an extended position aligned with the first folding guide half and an alternate folded position with the second front face adjacent the first front face. The first folding guide half and the second folding guide half assist in folding an article of clothing when moving from the extended position to the alternate folded position. The first folding guide half and the second folding guide half function as a clothes hanger when in the folded position. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a folding guide hanger according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a front elevation view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a side elevation view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom plan view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is an in-use isometric view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS. 1 through 5  thereof, a new clothes hanger embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 5 , the folding guide hanger  10  generally comprises a first folding guide half  12 . The first folding guide half is a rectangular prism having a first front face  14 , a first rear face  16 , a first top face  18 , a first bottom face  20 , a first left face  22 , and a first right face  24 . The first top face  18  has a hook aperture  26  extending through to the first bottom face  20 . The hook aperture  26  may be medially disposed between the first left face  22  and the first right face  24 . A hanger hook  28  has a hooked portion  30 , a shaft portion  32 , and a flared end  34  coupled to the shaft portion  32 . The shaft portion  32  is coupled within the hook aperture  26  with the flared end  34  adjacent the first bottom face  20 . A hinge  36  is coupled to the first right face  24  of the first folding guide half. A second folding guide half  38  is coupled to the hinge  36 . The second folding guide half is a rectangular prism having a second front face  40 , a second rear face  42 , a second top face  44 , a second bottom face  46 , a second left face  48 , and a second right face  50 . The second left face  48  is coupled to the hinge  36 . The second folding guide half  38  has an extended position  52  aligned with the first folding guide half  12  and an alternate folded position  54  with the second front face  40  adjacent the first front face  14 . 
     A pair of attachment mechanisms  56  comprises a first attachment mechanism  58  coupled within the first front face  14  of the first folding guide half proximal the first left face  22  and a second attachment mechanism  60  coupled within the second front face  40  of the second folding guide half proximal the second right face  50 . The first attachment mechanism  58  is selectively engageable with the second attachment mechanism  60  to maintain the second folding guide half  38  in the folded position  54 . The pair of attachment mechanisms  56  may be a pair of magnets  62 . A pair of clips  64  may be coupled to the first rear face  16  and the second rear face  42 . The pair of clips  64  is configured to secure an article of clothing. 
     In use, the first folding guide half  12  and the second folding guide half  38  assist in folding the article of clothing when moving from the extended position  42  to the alternate folded position  54 . The pair of clips  64  may be attached to a t-shirt to assist in the folding process. The first folding guide half  12  and the second folding guide half  38  also function as a clothes hanger when in the alternate folded position  54 . The first folding guide half  12  and the second folding guide half  38  may secure a pair of pants therebetween secured by the pair of attachment mechanisms  56 . 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.