Patent Abstract:
A merchandising system can display merchandise on a display rack. The system has a pair of articles to be worn by a person (for example, gloves). The articles have a right main body and a left main body, each with a user (or hand) opening. The pair of articles have an attachment subsystem for providing an outlying attachment locus for the articles. The attachment subsystem includes a right extremity and a left extremity secured at the user opening of the right main body and the left main body, respectively. The right and the left extremity are each able to reach out of the user opening. The attachment subsystem also includes a display arrangement including a panel. The attachment subsystem is arranged to detachably secure the articles together with the panel, and the right extremity and the left extremity. The attachment subsystem is adapted to hang on the display rack and support the articles. Thus the articles can be attached to and detached from the attachment subsystem without marring either the right main body or the left main body of the articles.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to merchandising systems, and in particular, to systems for hanging a pair of articles on a display rack. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Merchandise, such as articles that are worn by people, are commonly offered for sale on a display rack. Such a rack may have a number of pegs on which merchandise is hung. A common display technique is to attach merchandise to a display card and then hang the card on a peg in the display rack. The display card may have a hole or a hook-shaped extension for this purpose. 
     Often the merchandise is attached to this display card by a staple. 
     Stapling the merchandise, however, punches holes in the goods and can otherwise mars the goods unacceptably. When the merchandise are high-quality gloves made of leather or other costly materials, consumers object to such holes or marring. An example of stapling a display panel to a pair of gloves is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,995,845. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,580 and 5,503,269 show jaw-like clips for holding gloves on a display rack. These clips, however, are relatively complex and expensive for a disposable item that is only used for display purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,676 and 5,553,706 show a pair of gloves lashed to a display card. These gloves are made with holes fitted with grommets that are positioned along the edge of the hand opening. However, these gloves are defaced by the holes and grommets. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,060 a fastening filament is looped through the holes in an informational tag, and a pair of the tabs that are secured inside a pair of shoes. This arrangement is designed to keep the shoes together prior to sale. Also, the tabs make punching holes in the shoe uppers unnecessary. These tabs are, however, hidden inside the shoe and do not reach outside thereof. Accordingly, these tabs have a different purpose and are not easily and practically used with a display rack. See also U.S. Pat. No. 1,300,998. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,710,409 shows one glove with a snap fastener, and a mating glove with a leash having a number of snap fasteners. The leash can connect between the gloves to allow the gloves to separate by no more than the length of the leash. Additionally, the gloves can be directly snapped together to form the leash into a loop. This reference has a different purpose and therefore has no disclosure of how a display panel can be attached to the gloves. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,067 each of the pair of gloves has a strap that can be closed into a separate loop using a Velcro™ fastener. Also, the ends of the straps have additional fasteners to allow the gloves to be attached side-by-side. The straps also have holes 42 which allow the gloves to be suspended on a support rod prior to sale. This reference has no disclosure of how a display panel can be attached to the gloves. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a merchandising system that can connect a pair of articles, such as gloves, to a display panel, without marring or defacing the articles. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the illustrative embodiments demonstrating features and advantages of the present invention, there is provided a merchandising system for displaying merchandise on a display rack. The system has a pair of articles to be worn by a person. According to one aspect of the present invention, these articles are gloves. The articles have a right main body and a left main body, each with a user opening (for a glove, a hand opening). The pair of articles have attachment means for providing an outlying attachment locus for the articles. The attachment means includes a right extremity and a left extremity secured at the user opening of the right main body and the left main body, respectively. The right and the left extremity are each able to reach out of the user opening. The attachment means also includes a display arrangement including a panel. The attachment means is arranged to detachably secure the articles together with the panel, and the right extremity and the left extremity. The attachment means is adapted to hang on the display rack and support the articles. Thus the articles can be attached to and detached from the attachment means without marring either the right main body or the left main body of the articles. 
     By employing a system of the foregoing type, articles such as gloves can be easily displayed on a rack without marring or defacing the merchandise. In a preferred embodiment, rectangular tabs are sewn into the hem or binding strip of the articles. For example, these tabs can be sewn at the border of the hand openings of a pair of gloves. These tabs can then be fastened to a display panel which has a hole or hook for hanging the display panel. The display panel can be a simple card, folded card or a multiple part card. 
     In one embodiment, a folded display panel can straddle and attach to both tabs, with one wing of the display panel tucked into one of the gloves. In still other embodiments, the tabs can be attached on one side of display card or can be sandwiched around the display card. In any event, the hand opening of one or both of the gloves can be left open so that a prospective purchaser can try at least one of the globes on for fit. 
     In another embodiment, the two tabs can be attached together to form a linking strip that is looped through an aperture in a display card that can then be hung on a display rack. In still another embodiment, a display panel can have a pair of integral tabs or extremities that can be sewn into the hem or binding along the hand opening of a pair of gloves. 
     Instead of tabs, some embodiments will employing a cord or line that is a freely extending portion of the stitching of the article. The end of this free portion can connect to a display panel. Alternatively, this free portion can be secured at both ends to the article to form an arch that can be attached to a display panel. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above brief description as well as other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of presently preferred but nonetheless illustrative embodiments in accordance with the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded, axonometric view of a merchandising system in accordance with the principles of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is in an edge view of a portion of the system of FIG. 1 with the system assembled; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the joint between the tab and glove of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is an exploded, axonometric view of a portion of a merchandising system that is an alternate to that of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the system of FIG. 4 with the system assembled; 
     FIG. 6 is an exploded, axonometric view of a portion of a merchandising system that is an alternate to that shown in the above Figures; 
     FIG. 7 is an exploded, axonometric view of a portion of a merchandising system that is an alternate to that shown in the above Figures; 
     FIG. 8 is an exploded, fragmentary view of a joint between a tab and glove, that is an alternate to that of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the joint of FIG. 3 with the joint assembled; 
     FIG. 10 is a detailed, exploded, fragmentary view of a joint between a tab and glove, that is an alternate to that shown in the above Figures; 
     FIG. 11 is in axonometric view the showing the fabrication step associated with the joint of FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 12 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, of a portion of a merchandising system that is an alternate to that shown in the above Figures; 
     FIG. 13 is a detailed, axonometric view of an extremity that is an alternate to those previously shown in the above Figures; 
     FIG. 14 is a detailed, axonometric view of an extremity that is an alternate to those previously shown in the above Figures; 
     FIG. 15 is a detailed, axonometric view of an extremity that is an alternate to those previously shown in the above Figures; 
     FIG. 16 is a detailed, axonometric view of an extremity that is an alternate to those previously shown in the above Figures; and 
     FIG. 17 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, of a portion of a merchandising system that is an alternate to that shown in the above Figures. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIGS. 1,  2 , and  3 , a merchandising system is shown for holding and displaying a pair of articles, namely, gloves  10 . The left main body  10  and the right main body  14  have a left tab  16  and right tab  18 , respectively, attached at the hand openings of the gloves  10 . The left and the right tabs  16  and  18  are also referred to as left and right extremities at the user openings. Tabs  16  and  18  can be made of sheet plastic, fabric, or other sheet material. In one embodiment, the portions of tabs  16  and  18  extending from the gloves have a rectangular outline 2.8 cm long and 2.3 cm wide, although other dimensions and outlines are anticipated. Preferably, tabs  16  and  18  expand out of the hand openings of main bodies  12  and  14 . 
     A display (or support) arrangement is shown as a folded panel  20  having a pair of wings  22  and  24 . Panel  20  may be formed of cardboard, sheet plastic or other materials that may be useful for displaying information about the goods. Panel  20  may be printed with typical merchandising information such as trademarks, appropriate images or graphics, a description of the features and qualities of the goods, the source of the goods, warranty information, and the like. Each of the wings  22  and  24  have a hang hole  26  designed to fit over peg  28  of a display rack. 
     Panel  20  is shown attached to tabs  16  and  18  by means of a staple  30 , which is driven through wing  22 , tabs  16  and  18 , and wing  24 . Other embodiments may avoid using a staple but will connect these elements together by rivets, stitches, clamps, glue, or other fastening means. The combination of panel  20  and tabs  16  and  18  is also referred to as an attachment means. Wing  24  is shown tucked into the main body  14  of the right glove. Thus positioned, a prospective purchaser can still insert a right hand into the glove and try it on for fit. 
     In this embodiment, tab  16  is located on the palm side of left glove  12 . The tab  18  is located on the backhand side of right glove  14 . Accordingly, tabs  16  and  18  are adjacent when gloves  10  are stacked with their palms facing in the same direction. In other embodiments, the gloves can be stacked with the palms facing each other, or facing away from each other. In these latter cases, the tabs can be placed with both on the palm side, or with both on the backhand side. In any event, it is preferred to stack the gloves so that the tabs are next to each other and do not have to reach across the hand opening. 
     FIG. 3 shows previously mentioned tab  16  stitched into the hem  32  formed at the hand opening of left main glove body  12 . Hem  32  is shown as an inward fold that is stitched along the line  34 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, previously mentioned main bodies  12  and  14  are shown with their tabs  16  and  18  routed from opposite sides of display panel  36  to meet at aperture  38  of the panel  36 . Panel  36  a shown with a rectangular outline and, near its top edge, a hang hole  30 . The distal ends of tabs  16  and  18  are shown connected together to form a linking strip. Tabs  16  and  18  can be secured together by stapling, gluing, heat sealing, etc. In some embodiments, tabs  16  and  18  can simply be right and left extremities of a single, unitary strip whose ends are stitched into the hems  32  of the gloves. 
     Referring to FIG. 6, gloves  12  and  14  are stacked with their palms facing display card  40 , which has a hang hole  42 . With this configuration, tab  18  will reach over the hand opening of left glove  12 , restricting access to that glove. Still, the hand opening of right glove  14  will remain accessible so that a user can try this glove on for fit. Tabs  16  and  18  can be attached to display card  40  by various means, such as stapling. In some embodiments, gloves  12  and  14  will be attached to opposite sides of display card  40 . 
     Referring to FIG. 7, the attachment means has a folded display panel  44 , similar to panel  20  of FIG.  1 . The attachment means of FIG. 7 also has a hanging card  46  (also referred to as a support arrangement) shown with a hooked extension  48  (although a hang hole may be used in other embodiments instead). The tabs  16  and  18  of glove bodies  12  and  14  are located on opposite sides of card  46 . A staple  50  is shown about to be driven through both wings of display panel  44 , and through tabs  16 , card  46 , and tab  18 . 
     Accordingly, this attachment means separates the display function from the devices used to hang the arrangement on a display rack. In some cases, the card  46  may be made of a different material than panel  44 . This may be advantageous where the hooked extension needs to be made of a stiffer or more durable material than is required for the display panel  44 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, a fragment of the main body  52  of a glove is shown at the hand opening. A binding strip  54  is shown stitched (or about to be stitched) in place to straddle the edge of the main glove body  52  at its hand opening. Binding strip  54  can be made of cloth, plastic film or other materials useful for reinforcing the edge of main body  52 . Also, binding strip  54  can be secured in place by glue, heat sealing, or other fastening techniques. 
     Tab  56  is shown positioned along the edge of the hand opening of glove body  52 , in order to be trapped between glove body  52  and binding strip  54 . In other embodiments, tab  56  may be fastened to the inside face of glove body  52  by separate stitches or by other fastening means, independent of binding strip  54 . 
     Referring to FIG. 10, a glove body is shown composed of an inner ply  58  and an outer ply  60 . Outer ply  60  may be a durable material such as leather, while inner ply  58  may be a flexible material having a more comfortable feel. In this embodiment, the outer edge of ply  58  has along the hand opening a tabbed margin  60  with a tabbed portion  62 . The tabbed portion  62  can be formed as shown in FIG. 11, wherein ply  58  is illustrated as a tubular body that is trimmed to form the tabbed portions  62 , thereby resulting in waste material  59 . In other embodiments, ply  58  can be fabricated using knitting techniques that create the tabbed portion  62 , without creating any waste. In any event, plies  58  and  60  are secured together along their outer edge by binding strip  64 , which is secured to these edges by stitching, gluing, or other fastening techniques. Tabbed portion  62  is folded inwardly as illustrated to accommodate the binding strip  64 . 
     Referring again to FIG. 11, in some embodiments the body  58  will be dipped in a synthetic material that can cure to form a flexible, waterproof layer (not shown) on the outside of body  58 . In such an embodiment, the additional ply and binding strip illustrated in FIG. 10 will be eliminated. 
     Referring to FIG. 12, main glove bodies  12  and  14  are shown with previously mentioned tabs  16  and  18 , respectively. Tabs  16  and  18  are linked together by a plastic filament terminating in cross bars  68 . Plastic filamentary fasteners of this type are known in the garment industry. These fasteners can be attached by punching cross bars  68  through the tabs  16  and  18 . Thereafter cross bars  68  act like barbs and prevent filament  66  from disconnecting from tabs  16  and  18 . A display panel (not shown) can be attached to filament  66 . In some embodiments filament  66  may be sufficiently long and strong to allow gloves  12  and  14  to be hung on the filament  66 . 
     Referring to FIG. 13, previously mentioned glove body  12  is shown with its tab  16  fastened to a plastic filament  70 , which is similar to the filament of FIG.  12 . Again, filament  70  is punched through tab  16  to provide an extension of the tab. In some embodiments, filament  70  may be directly connected to a display card (not shown). 
     Referring to FIG. 14, the illustrated glove body  72  is similar to those previously described. The edge of glove body  72  at the hand opening has a binding strip  74  similar to that shown in FIG.  8 . In this embodiment, strip binding  74  is stitched in place and the threads for the stitched portion extend into a free portion, forming a tail line  76  that acts as a right or left extremity. Tail line  76  can be attached to one of the previously described display panels. Specifically, tail line  76  can be attached to a display panel so that gloves can be suspended on a display rack. 
     Referring to FIG. 15, the illustrated glove body  78  is similar to those previously described. The edge of glove body  78  at the hand opening has a binding strip  80  similar to that shown in FIG.  8 . In this embodiment, strip binding  80  is stitched in place and the threads for the stitched portion extend into a free portion, which forms a tail line  82  that acts as an extremity. Tail line  82  is secured at diametrically opposed positions along the binding strip  80  to form and arch. Tail line  82  is shown extending across the hand opening in a right to left direction. 
     Recurrent to FIG. 16, the illustrated glove body  84  is similar to those previously described. The edge of glove body  84  at the hand opening has a binding strip  86  similar to that shown in FIG.  8 . In this embodiment, strip binding  86  is stitched in place and the threads for the stitched portion extend into a free portion, which forms a tail line  82  that acts as an extremity. Tail line  88  is secured at diametrically opposed positions along the binding strip  86  to form an arch. Tail line  88  is shown extending across the hand opening in a front to back direction. 
     Referring FIG. 17, the attachment means has a folded display panel  90  with integral right and left extremities  92  and  94 . Extremities  92  and  94  are fastened to the edge of the hand openings of main glove bodies  96  and  98 , which are similar to the previously described glove bodies. Panel  90  has a pair of the hang holes  99  for hanging the gloves on a display rack. 
     In each of the foregoing embodiments, the display panel or other material used to hang the gloves from a display rack can be attached to the gloves without marring for defacing the main body of the gloves. In some cases, the main body of the gloves may be formed from a premium material such as leather. Accordingly, staples or other fastening devices can impinge on the tabs (embodiments of FIGS. 1-12) or other extremities (embodiments of FIGS. 13-17) without touching the main body of the gloves. For example, tabs  16  and  18  (FIG. 1) may be defaced, but these tabs can either be clipped off, or tucked inside the glove without degrading its appearance. Moreover, the gloves can be suspended on a display card and the tabs or other extremities can be arranged to allow free access to one or more of the gloves. Thus, a prospective purchaser can insert a hand into one of the gloves to try it for fit. 
     It is appreciated that various modifications may be implemented with respect to the above described, preferred embodiment. While the foregoing shows attaching gloves together in a merchandising system, in other embodiments other merchandise can be employed. For example, the merchandising system can be used for displaying socks or other goods, which have an opening to allow a user to wear the goods. Moreover the size, shape, outline, and other characteristics of the display panels can be altered depending upon the intended type of display rack, the desired message, strength of attachment, etc. 
     Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8