Patent Publication Number: US-5025963-A

Title: Anti-theft hanger for garments, for use in stores or cloakrooms

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an anti-theft hanger for garments, for use in stores or cloakrooms. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Anti-theft hangers are already known which are provided with a flexible anti-theft member, such as chain or cable, connected to the support of the hanger whose shape matches that of the garment having to be hung up and which is extended upwardly, in its central part, by a hook adapted to pass around a suspension bar. This flexible anti-theft member is adapted to be threaded through a tubular part of the garment borne by the hanger, such as a jacket sleeve, the two ends of the flexible member being fast with hooking elements making it possible to close the flexible member around the garment, for example by means of a padlock or lock, in order to prevent theft of said garment. Such anti-theft hangers are described for example in Patents FR-A-1 167 190 and DE-A-3 542 108. Patent FR-A-1 167 190 describes a hanger of which the support is pierced, in its central part, with a hole traversed by a suspension bar and which is therefore permanently fixed on this bar. This hanger bears at the two ends of its two lateral arms, two chains hanging freely, which may be connected to each other at their lower ends by means of a ring and padlock. Such an anti-theft hanger presents the drawback of not being detachable from the suspension bar and of using, as flexible member, two separate chains passed respectively through the two sleeves of a hung up jacket. Consequently, it is not convenient to manipulate since the two chains must be withdrawn from the two sleeves in order to be able to separate the jacket from the hanger. In addition, it is cumbersome, heavy, unaesthetic and is not suitable for protecting a skirt or trousers from theft. Furthermore, the anti-theft hanger according to Patent DE-A-3 542 108 comprises a flexible anti-theft cable vertically traversing the central part of the support of the hanger and sliding inside the upper hook. The two ends of the cable may be hooked to each other by means of a lock with key. In that case, the flexible anti-theft cable, when it is hooked to itself to form a closed loop, prevents a garment hung from the hanger from being detached therefrom and also prevents the hanger itself from being unhooked from the suspension bar. However, such an anti-theft hanger presents the drawback that it requires one lock per hanger and it is therefore particularly expensive. Furthermore, that part of the flexible cable which emerges from the end of the upper hook hangs freely outside the hanger and may be placed anyhow, this considerably hindering manipulation of the hangers, particularly when the garment is hung on the hanger and it is desired to position the anti-theft device by hooking the two ends of the cable to each other. In addition, the anti-theft hanger suspended with its flexible cable closed around a jacket sleeve for example is not aesthetic since the flexible cable must pass partially outside the garment and is permanently visible. This is particularly inconvenient when a succession of garments are hung side by side from the same suspension bar as, in that case, all the flexible anti-theft cables appear side by side. Finally, such an anti-theft hanger protects only a jacket or coat from theft and cannot be used with skirts or trousers. 
     It is an object of the present invention to overcome these various drawbacks by providing an anti-theft hanger of particularly simple design, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use and not being detrimental to the aesthetic nature of the garments hung up. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To that end, this anti-theft hanger for garments, adapted to be used in stores or cloakrooms, comprising a support whose shape matches that of the garment to be hung up on the hanger, a hook located in the central part of the hanger passing around a suspension bar and at least one flexible anti-theft member such as chain or cable, connected to this support, and adapted to be passed through a tubular part of the garment, such as jacket sleeve, trouser leg or skirt, this flexible member terminating, at its free lower end, in a ring allowing passage of a padlock and extending across the opening of the hook of the hanger by passing through an upper hole made in the curved part of the hook, is characterized in that the flexible member also passes through a lower hole which is made in the central part of the support of the hanger and the flexible member is fast, at its end opposite the one fixed to the ring, with a stop member opposing passage through the upper hole when the flexible member is pulled downwardly. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be more readily understood on reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a view in elevation of an anti-theft hanger according to the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a view in elevation of the anti-theft hanger of FIG. 1, the flexible member being shown separate from the hanger proper. 
     FIG. 3 is a view in perspective of several anti-theft hangers attached together. 
     FIG. 4 is a view in elevation, with parts torn away, of a variant embodiment of the anti-theft hanger. 
     FIG. 5 is a view in elevation of a hanger according to FIG. 4 carrying a jacket. 
     FIG. 6 is a view in elevation, with parts torn away, of another variant embodiment of the anti-theft hanger according to the invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a view in elevation of a hanger according to FIG. 6 carrying a jacket and trousers. 
     FIG. 8 is a schematic view in elevation of another variant of a hanger. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Referring now to the drawings, the anti-theft hanger according to the invention, shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, is constituted by a horizontal bar 1 provided with grippers 2 and forming the support for a skirt 3 hanging vertically. The bar 1 is fast with a central part 4 forming a hook extending upwardly. This hook 4 is adapted to pass around a suspension bar 5 to which the hanger is hooked. 
     Furthermore, the anti-theft hanger comprises a robust flexible member 6 constituted, for example, by a cable, a chain or a semi-rigid rod, which is engaged to slide vertically in the hook 4. More particularly, the flexible member 6 extends vertically across the opening of the hook 4 of the hanger and it passes successively through an upper vertical hole 7 made in the end part of the upper curve of the hook 4 passing around the bar 5, and through a lower vertical hole 8 made right through the base 4b of the hook 4 located in the central part of the hanger and by which it is connected to the bar 1. The lower hole 8 in the base 4b is preferably aligned vertically with the upper hole 7, but it might also be offset horizontally. The flexible member 6 is fast, at its upper end, with a stop member 9 opposing passage through the upper hole 7 when the flexible member 6 is pulled downwardly and which is housed in a notch 10, of corresponding shape, which is made in the outer edge of the curved part 4a of the hook 4, at the spot where the upper hole 7 opens. At its lower end, the flexible member 6 is fast with a ring 11 whose dimensions are chosen to be sufficiently small to enable it to pass through the lower hole 8. This hole 8 may have a width limited in the horizontal direction or it may be constituted by an elongated slot in base 4b to allow a certain degree of freedom for the flexible member in the elongated slot. It is thus possible to hook the hanger to the suspension bar 5 and to pass the ring 11 and the cable 6 through the lower hole 8, in order to pass around the bar 5 completely, thus preventing the hanger from being removed from the bar 5. 
     In order to protect skirt 3 from theft, it suffices to connect the lower end ring 11 of the hanging flexible member 6, extending vertically inside the skirt 3 and therebeneath, to one or more similar rings 11 of flexible members 6 associated with adjacent skirts 3. As may be seen more clearly in FIG. 3, such connection may be effected very simply and economically by means of a padlock 12 passing through the various rings 11. 
     In the variant embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the anti-theft hanger comprises a support 13 made of solid, rigid material, for example wood, metal or plastics material. This support 13, of conventional shape, i.e. in the form of a downwardly open obtuse angle, is pierced, in its upper central part 14 forming a suspension hook, with vertical holes 15 and 16 which allow passage of the flexible member 6 therethrough and across the opening of the suspension hook, as in the case of the hanger shown in FIG. 1. More particularly, the vertical hole 16 which opens out in the lower face 13a of the hanger 13, is extended, at its upper end, by a curved hole 17 which opens out in the lower end face of the upper curved part 14a of the hook 14, above and in the axis of the vertical hole 15 which opens out in its lower part in the lower face 13a of the support 13. The flexible member 6 thus follows a path in the form of an upturned U through the central part of the hanger, the part bearing the stop member 9 at its end extending through holes 16 and 17, whilst the part passing through the lower hole 15 bears the ring 11 at its lower end. There again, the ring 11 is provided to be sufficiently small to be able to pass freely through the lower hole 15. This arrangement makes it possible to hang a jacket 18 (FIG. 5) on the hanger 13 and to protect this jacket from theft. To that end, the vertical part of the flexible member 6 terminating in the ring 11 is pulled to a maximum until the stop member 9 is applied against the lower face 13a of the hanger 13. At that moment, the part of the flexible member 6 to which the ring 11 is attached, has its maximum length and it may be passed through a sleeve 18a of the jacket, as shown in FIG. 5. It then suffices to attach the ring 11 to adjacent rings, by means of padlocks 12, as in the case illustrated in FIG. 3, to prevent any theft of jacket 18 from the hanger 13 and of the hanger itself from the bar 5. 
     In the variant embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the anti-theft hanger comprises, in addition to support 13, a horizontal bar 19 extending between the lower ends of its two inclined arms 13b, 13c and which bears grippers 21 for suspending a skirt or trousers from this bar 19. In that case, the hanger 13 is provided, in addition to the flexible member 6 extending vertically, in the form of an upturned U, through the upper central hook 14 of the hanger, with another flexible member 22 which extends through a hole 23 made through an inclined arm 13b of the hanger 13. This hole 23 opens out in the lower face of the end of the arm 13b and in the lower face 13a of the support 13, near the central part thereof. That part of the flexible member 22 which hangs freely near the central part of the support 13 terminates in a stop member 9, whilst the other part which hangs from the end of the inclined arm 13b terminates in a ring 11 which is sufficiently small to be able to pass through hole 23. 
     As is more clearly seen in FIG. 7, the jacket and the trousers of a suit hung on the hanger 13 suspended from bar 5, may then be protected from theft by means of the two flexible members 6 and 22 of which rings 11 are connected to each other by means of a padlock 12. The flexible member 6 extends vertically through the trousers 25 suspended from grippers 21, whilst the other flexible member 22 extends through a sleeve of the jacket 24. The lengths of the two flexible members 6 and 22 are sufficient for the rings 11 provided at their ends to emerge from the trousers 25 and from the sleeve of jacket 24 and to be connected to each other by padlock 12. 
     In the variant embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 8, the anti-theft hanger is constituted by a curved wire 26 of conventional shape, of which the upper hook 26a terminates in a ring 26b traversed by the flexible member 6 and serving as stop for the stop member 9 fixed to the end of the flexible member 6 when the latter is pulled downwardly. This flexible member 6 also extends through a second ring 26c formed in the upper part of the left-hand inclined wire arm 26d of the hanger 26 substantially in vertical alignment beneath ring 26b. The hanger 26 makes it possible to lock the garment in two different manners, as shown in FIG. 8. In fact, the flexible member may be hooked to itself inside a jacket, forming a loop passing through the sleeve and the interior of the jacket, the padlock 12 in that case being hooked inside the jacket, at the top of the sleeve, passing through the end ring 11 and around the flexible member. Another manner of locking consists in hooking the end ring 11, by means of padlock 12, to the horizontal wire bar of the hanger 26.