Patent Publication Number: US-8540087-B1

Title: Foldable hanger device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a hanger device and more particularly to a foldable hanger device. 
     2. Brief Description of the Related Art 
     Many new homes are built with dedicated space, such as laundry rooms, where the homeowners can wash, dry, iron, and/or steam their clothes. Even so, a frequent issue faced is where to hang the clothes. Traditional rolling clothes racks and drying racks take up a large amount of space. 
     It would therefore be desirable to develop an easily storable, foldable, hanger device that can used to hang clothes and other items. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a hanger device which includes: (a) a bracket; (b) a first hanger arm having a top surface, wherein the top surface of the first hanger arm includes at least one notch, and wherein the first hanger arm is connected to the bracket via a first hinge; and (c) a second hanger arm having a top surface, wherein the top surface of the second hanger arm comprises at least one notch, and wherein the second hanger arm is connected to the first hanger arm via a second hinge. The hanger arms may also include at least one eyelet. 
     These and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood from a consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and appended claims in conjunction with the drawings as described following: 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the foldable hanger device in the first configuration. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the foldable hanger device in the second configuration. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the foldable hanger device in the third configuration. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the foldable hanger device in the third configuration. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1-4 , the preferred embodiments of the present invention may be described. The foldable hanger device  10  includes a bracket  12 , a first hanger arm  14 , and a second hanger arm  16 . The bracket is preferably of a type well-known to those skilled in the art and is connected to the first hanger arm  14  via a hinge  18 . The first hanger arm  14  is connected on its other end to the second hanger arm  16  via a hinge  20 . The hinges  18 ,  20  are preferably pin-type hinges and of a type well-known to those skilled in the art. The hinges  18 ,  20  allow a 180 degree range of motion of the arms  14 ,  16 . 
     The first hanger arm  14  and second hanger arm  16  are preferably substantially rectangular-shaped, but may instead be of other suitable shapes. The top and bottom surfaces of the first hanger arm  14  and second hanger arm  16  include notches  22 . The first hanger arm  14  and second hanger arm  16  also include eyelets  24  that extend through the arms  14 ,  16 . The eyelets  24  are preferably staggered between the notches  22  along the centerline of the arms  14 ,  16 . The notches  22  and eyelets  24  are shaped and sized to receive an object for hanging, such as the hooked end of a clothes hanger. 
     To install the foldable hanger device  10 , the bracket  12  is attached to any vertical surface of an object  26 , such as the side of a cabinet or shelf. Because the device  10  includes notches on its top and bottom surfaces, the device  10  is versatile by being operable attached to either the right-hand side or left-hand side of the object  26 . If the device  10  being attached directly to the object  26  would interfere with the functioning of the object  26 , such as the opening and closing of cabinet doors, the bracket  12  may alternatively be attached to a mounting block  28  and the mounting block  28  attached to the object  26  via fasteners as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     The hanger device  10  is operable in three configurations. The first configuration is utilized when the device is being stored and not in use. In this configuration, the device  10  is fully collapsed and positioned flushly along the side of the object  26 . Specifically, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the second hanger arm  16  is positioned between and substantially parallel to the face of the bracket  12  and the first hanger arm  14 . 
     The device is capable of being used to hang objects in both the second and third configurations. In the second configuration, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the first hanger arm  14  and the second hanger arm  16  are unfolded with respect to the face of the bracket  12 , but the arms  14 ,  16  still remain positioned substantially parallel to one another. As a result of the unfolding, the arms  14 ,  16  are oriented 180 degrees from their position in the first configuration. The notches  22  and the eyelets  24  of the first hanger arm  14  and the second hanger arm  16  are aligned when the arms  14 ,  16  are folded substantially parallel to one another. As such, the device is functioning as a single hanger arm. The hooked end of a clothes hanger can be threaded through the aligned eyelets  24  of the first hanger arm  14  and second hanger arm  16 . The hooked end of a clothes hanger may also be placed in the aligned notches  22  of the first hanger arm  14  and second hanger arm  20 . 
     When more notches  22  or eyelets  24  are needed for hanging objects, the third configuration may be preferable. In this configuration, the second hanger arm  16  is unfolded with respect to the first hanger arm  14 . Thus, the second hanger arm  16  is positioned 180 degrees from its position in the second configuration. The face of the bracket  12 , the first hanger arm  14 , and the second hanger arm  16  are now aligned along their centerlines (i.e. end-to-end) as shown in  FIG. 3 . In other words, the bracket  12  and the first hanger arm  14  are positioned at a 0 degree angle with respect to one another. Likewise, the first hanger arm  14  and the second hanger arm  16  are positioned at a 0 degree angle with respect to one another. The foldable hanger arm  10  can be readily collapsed from the third configuration to the second configuration and from the second configuration to the first configuration. 
     The device  10  is preferably made of steel. The device  10  may alternatively be made of other materials (e.g. plastic, wood, fiberglass, or other metals) capable of supporting the hanging load on the device  10 . The device  10  must also be sufficiently strong to avoid warping or fracturing as a result of extended use or temperature. The materials must also be capable of accepting paint. 
     As described above, the device  10  may be used to hang wet, freshly ironed, or dried clothing on conventional clothes hangers. It may also be utilized to hang freshly painted or other items in a workshop and other locations in a home or business. 
     The present invention has been described with reference to certain preferred and alternative embodiments that are intended to be exemplary only and not limiting to the full scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.