Abstract:
A shoulder guard attachment for use with a hanger having a hooked neck and upper support regions angling outwardly away therefrom. The shoulder guard attachment comprises a rigid base having an open J-shape when viewed from the side and being substantially arcuate in cross-section. The base has a narrower first end with a smaller radius of curvature and a wider second end having a larger radius of curvature. A locking clip extends inwardly from an inner surface of the base and is provided with a slot that interlocking receives the support region of the hanger therein. The base preferably is snap-fitted onto the hanger to provide a wider and more gently-curved profile to the support regions thereof so that different types of garments can be adequately supported thereon and puckers and dimples in the shoulder area of the garment will be substantially eliminated.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This is a standard utility patent application claiming priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/880,559, filed Jan. 16, 2007, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Technical Field 
         [0003]    This invention generally relates to clothes hangers. More particularly, the invention relates to clothes hangers used by the dry-cleaning industry. Specifically, the invention relates to a shoulder guard attachment that is detachably connectable to a standard plastic or wire hanger so that it may be used to hang a variety of different types of garments. 
         [0004]    2. Background Information 
         [0005]    One of the problems faced by the dry-cleaning industry is the need for a variety of differently sized and shaped clothes hangers for hanging different types of garments. A dress shirt, for example, needs a totally different type of hanger to a silk blouse, which in turn needs a totally different hanger from a suit jacket. Ideally, the dry cleaner selects the most appropriate hanger for the job. So for example, a thin wire hanger would be used for the dress shirt, a slightly wider and more rounded plastic hanger would be used for the silk shirt, and a much wider and stronger hanger would be needed for the suit jacket. The drawbacks of stocking these differently sized and shaped hangers are obvious. The first drawback is the increased cost involved in purchasing smaller quantities of a wider variety of hanger types. Secondly, the dry-cleaning establishment has to set aside a decently sized storage area for storing the various hanger styles. Thirdly, the employees spend a considerable number of man-hours to select and locate the appropriate hanger for the job. 
         [0006]    A number of devices have been proposed in the prior art to address this issue. These devices have all centered around attachments that are applied over a hanger, most particularly the industry standard wire hanger, to alter the overall profile and width of the hanger. Most particularly, the devices alter the shape and size of those regions of the hanger that support the collar and shoulder areas of a garment. These attachments have become known as shoulder guards. The most commonly used shoulder guards are manufactured from box-board and are provided to the dry cleaner as card blanks. A number of different card-blank-type shoulder guards have been disclosed in the prior art, such as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,988,022; 5,139,184; and 5,577,645 all issued to Seitz; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,927,572; 6,019,262; and 6,269,989 all issued to Kiselik; and 6,581,810 issued to Ho. 
         [0007]    Typically, the blank is folded into the appropriate shape and draped around the wire hanger. Cooperating components on the blank are interlocked, stapled or otherwise secured together to hold the folded blank on the hanger. While card-blank-type shoulder guards solve the problem of having to purchase a wide variety of different hanger styles and to store the same, they are still time consuming to fold into the appropriate shape and to apply to the wire hangers. Furthermore, some of these shoulder guard devices may impart undesirable creases and form shaped areas in the garments that are hung thereon. Furthermore, the blanks for articles such as heavy coats can be cumbersome and not easily supported on a thin wire hanger. 
         [0008]    To solve these and other problems, various plastic shoulder guards have also been developed and utilized in the industry. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,353,839 issued to McFall; 2,597,509; and 2,601,442 issued to Mallory; 6,655,521 issued to Tiss et al; and U.S. Publication No. 2005/0252938 to Schapiro. All of the devices other than those patented by Mallory are full-hanger devices where the profile of the hanger from the neck area to the end of the shoulder area is covered by the shoulder guard and the profile thereof is changed by the device. 
         [0009]    The two patents to Mallory disclose abbreviated clip-type shoulder guard attachments that are applied to only the shoulder areas of a wire hanger. The clip, covered by the U.S. Pat. No. 2,597,509 patent, is made from a flat, flexible piece of material that is cut into a substantially pear-shaped member. A slot is cut in the narrower end of the flexible member and a pair of shaped arms are cut into the wider end of the member. The wire of the hanger is positioned in the slot and the arms are bent downwardly to engage the lower cross piece on the hanger. This device, while appearing simple in design, has several flaws. Firstly, the clip extends outwardly beyond the end of the hanger and terminates in a sharp edge. This sharp edge will tend to create a shaped rim area in the garment and will create folded regions in the sleeves thereof. Secondly, the flexible nature of the clip itself will cause it to become crushed by heavier garments that may be hung on the hanger. If that problem is addressed by making the clip out of a less-flexible material, the increased severity of the shape of the clip will create an increased number of unwanted creases and lines in the garment. 
         [0010]    Mallory&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 2,601,442, shows an abbreviated clip-type shoulder guard attachment that is secured at the shoulder area of a wire hanger. The clip is again formed from a substantially flat piece of material, in this case metal, that is shaped to be slightly curved in cross section. The metal clip has a wire bracket attached to its lower surface to engage the wire on the hanger and to thereby secure the clip thereto. The clip is designed to be applied to the upper wire regions of the hanger so that the end of the clip terminates inwardly of the outer ends of the hanger. Consequently, this clip is designed to provide a slightly wider profile to the shoulder-end areas of the upper wire hanger, but because of its placement and design will likely still create shaped areas and creases in any garment draped thereover. 
         [0011]    There is therefore a need in the art for an improved shoulder guard that may be quickly and easily attached to a standard plastic or wire hanger and will change the profile of the shoulder area of the hanger so that it will not create unintended shaped areas and creases in garments hung on the hanger and will also tend to eliminate puckers and dimples in garments hung on the hanger. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    The device of the present invention is a shoulder guard attachment for use with a hanger having a hooked neck and upper support regions angling outwardly away therefrom. The shoulder guard attachment comprises a rigid base having an open J-shape when viewed from the side and being substantially arcuate in cross-section. The base has a narrower first end with a smaller radius of curvature and a wider second end having a larger radius of curvature. A locking clip extends inwardly from an inner surface of the base and is provided with a slot that interlocking receives the support region of the hanger therein. The base preferably is snap-fitted onto the hanger to provide a wider and more gently-curved profile to the support regions thereof so that different types of garments may be adequately supported thereon and puckers and dimples in the shoulder area of the garment will be substantially eliminated. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    The preferred embodiments of the invention, illustrative of the best mode in which applicant has contemplated applying the principles, are set forth in the following description and are shown in the drawings and are particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims. 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a hanger with the shoulder guard attachments of the present invention connected thereto; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is an exploded front view of the hanger and the shoulder guard attachments of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a perspective bottom view of one of the shoulder guard attachments; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is left side view of the shoulder guard attachment shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional end view of the shoulder guard attachment being brought into the proximity of a support region of the hanger; 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional end view of the locking clip of the shoulder guard attachment engaging the support region of the hanger; 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional end view of the locking clip fully engaged with the support region of the hanger; 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  is a right side view of the shoulder guard attachment engaged on the hanger; 
           [0022]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional front view of the shoulder guard attachment and hanger through line  9 - 9  of  FIG. 8 ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 10  is a front view of an alternative embodiment of a hanger with a shoulder guard attachment integrally molded therewith; and 
           [0024]      FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional view of the hanger through line  11 - 11  of  FIG. 10 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0025]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-2 , there is shown a hanger  10  supporting a garment  12  thereon. Hanger  10  is a standard hanger made from wire or plastic and shaped to include a hook-shaped neck region  14 , upper support regions  16 ,  18 ; outer ends  20 ,  22  and a crosspiece  24 . 
         [0026]    In accordance with a specific feature of the present invention, two clip-type shoulder guard attachments are secured to hanger  10  and are generally indicated at  26 . Shoulder guard attachments  26  are connected to hanger  10  so that they will support the shoulder areas  28  of garment  12  thereon. 
         [0027]    Shoulder guard attachment  26  is shown in greater detail in  FIGS. 3-9 . Attachment  26  is molded or otherwise formed from a substantially rigid material such as plastic. When viewed in profile, such as in  FIG. 9 , shoulder guard attachment  26  is substantially an open J-shaped member comprising a first region  26   a  which is substantially straight and a second region  26   b  which extends outwardly from first region  26   a  and is curved. When this J-shaped member is viewed in cross-section, such as in  FIG. 6 , shoulder guard attachment  26  is substantially arcuate or C-shaped in cross section. This arcuate cross-sectional shape is maintained along the entire length “L” ( FIG. 4 ) of attachment  26 , but the degree of curvature changes from the first end  30  of attachment  26  to the second end  32  thereof. First end  30  has a width “X” ( FIG. 4 ) which is narrower than the width “Y” of second end  32 . Furthermore, the radius of curvature of first end  30  is smaller than the radius of curvature of second end  32 . Thus, attachment  26  tapers in width and becomes more curved as one moves from second end  32  toward first end  30 . Furthermore, as shown in  FIG. 8 , first end  30  of shoulder guard attachment  26  is narrower and attachment  26  flares outwardly away from first end  30  toward second end  32  thereby effectively broadening the width and contour of hanger  10 . Thus, upper support regions  16 ,  18  of hanger  10  have a wider and more rounded-profile proximate outer ends  20 ,  22  for the shoulder region  28  of garment  12  to rest upon. 
         [0028]    Shoulder guard attachment  26  has an outer surface  34 , an inner surface  36  and side edges  38 ,  40 . All of the first and second ends  30 ,  32 , outer surface  34  and side edges  38 ,  40  are rounded so that no sharp lines are presented on attachment  26  to create shaped regions within garment  12 . Outer surface  34  preferably is also textured in some manner to provide a rougher garment-engaging surface so that garment  12  does not accidentally slide off hanger  10 . 
         [0029]    In accordance with another specific feature of the present invention, a plurality of locking clips  42 ,  44  and  46  extend outwardly away from inner surface  36  of attachment  26 . Locking clips  42 ,  44  extend outwardly away from the inner surface of the first region  26   a  of attachment  26  and are positioned to engage one of upper support regions  16 ,  18  of hanger  10 . Locking clip  46  extends outwardly away from the inner surface of the second region  26   b  and is oriented and positioned to engage one of outer ends  20 ,  22  of hanger  10 . Locking clips  42 ,  44  are substantially identical to each other. Locking clip  46  differs from locking clips  42 ,  44  in that it is longer and therefore extends further outwardly away from inner surface  36  of attachment  26 . Furthermore, locking clips  42 ,  44  are substantially parallel with each other and locking clip  46  is not parallel with clips  42 ,  44  and is, instead, oriented at an angle relative thereto. All of locking clips  42 ,  44  and  46  extend beyond side edges  38 ,  40  of attachment  26 . 
         [0030]    Each of locking clips  42 ,  44 ,  46  is provided with an inverted V-shaped terminal end  48  and a keyhole slot  50  provided at the apex of the V-shape. The V-shape of the terminal end  48  acts as a guide for the support regions  16 ,  18  of hanger  10 . Slot  50  provides a mechanism for securing the support region  16 ,  18  of hanger  10  to locking clip  42 ,  44 ,  46 . Each keyhole slot  50  has a first wider region  50   a  ( FIGS. 5&amp;6 ) and a second narrower region  50   b . First wider region  50   a  is sized to interlock to a first hanger that has a support region  18   a  which has a first diameter. Second narrower region  50   b  is sized to interlock to a second hanger different hanger that has a support region  18   b  ( FIG. 7 ) that is of a smaller diameter. Thus, a single shoulder guard attachment  26  can be connected to at least two different hangers that have different diameter support regions  18   a ,  18   b . It will be understood that slot  50  could be alternatively shaped to include at least one more region (not shown) of a third diameter so that guard attachment  26  could be attached to yet another hanger having support regions of a different diameter. 
         [0031]    It will be understood that locking clips  42 ,  44 ,  46  may alternatively be provided with a slot  50  that comprises only a single region for receiving the support region of a hanger therein. So, for instance, a single rounded hole such as hole  50   a  may be provided in the clip to receive support region  18   b  therein. In this instance, the clip would be manufactured so that hole  50   a  could expand to accommodate differently sized support regions. 
         [0032]    Referring to  FIGS. 5-9 , each shoulder guard attachment  26  is connected to hanger  10  in a similar manner. The following description relates to connecting a shoulder guard attachment  26  to upper support region  18  and outer end  22 . It will be understood, however, that a second shoulder guard attachment  26  is connectable to upper support region  16  and outer end  20  in a similar fashion. Attachment  26  is brought into the proximity of hanger  10  in such a manner that locking clips  42 ,  44  are proximate upper support region  18  and locking clip  46  is proximate outer end  22  of hanger  10 . All of the locking clips  42 ,  44 ,  46  engage the support region  16 ,  18  of hanger  10  in the same manner. The following description refers to locking clip  42  only, but it will be understood that locking clips  44 ,  46  function in the same manner. Attachment  26  is pushed in the direction of arrow “A” and this causes upper support region  18  to contact terminal end  48  of locking clip  42 . The V-shape of terminal end  48  guides upper support region  18  into slot  50 . The upper support region  18  enters first wider region  50   a  of slot  50 . If the hanger has a first diameter support region  18   a , then the support region becomes captures in region  50   a  and is tightly retained therein. If the hanger has a smaller second diameter support region  50   b , then as attachment  26  continues to be pushed in the direction of arrow “A”, upper support region  18   b  slides out of region  50   a  and enters second narrower region  50   b  of slot  50 .  FIG. 7  shows that when upper support region  18   b  is in second narrower region  50   b , the support region thereof is tightly retained within locking clip  42 . When shoulder guard attachment  26  is engaged on hanger  10 , the first region  26   a  of attachment  26  extends along a portion of upper support region  18 . The second region  26   b  of attachment  26  extends outwardly beyond outer end  22  of hanger  10  and terminates a distance below crosspiece  24 . 
         [0033]    Once attachment  26  is fully secured to hanger  10 , the garment  12  is placed thereon.  FIG. 1  illustrates that shoulder guard attachment  26  is positioned to support shoulder region  28  of garment  12  and to extend for a short distance into the upper sleeve region  29  of garment  12 . Shoulder guard attachment  26  therefore provides a wider, gentler sloping transition for a shoulder  28  and sleeve  29  of the garment  12  and tends to eliminate puckers and dimples from the shoulder regions of garments that are hung on the hanger. Furthermore, because the shoulder guard attachment  26  has a gentle, open J-shape, the attachment  26  presents no sharp terminal edges that could create unwanted shaped and creased areas in garment  12 . 
         [0034]    It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that a variety of differently sized shoulder guard attachments  26  may be connected to hanger  10  to allow hangers to be used to support different types and weights of garments. Thus, the dry cleaner may purchase a first size of shoulder guard attachments  26  that have first end widths of “X” and second end widths “Y” for supporting a lighter weight garment and purchase a second type of shoulder guard attachment (not shown) that has a first and second end widths that are proportionately greater than “X” and “Y” so that the attachment can support heavier garments. The dry cleaner therefore simply selects the appropriate size and width shoulder guard attachment  26  and snaps it quickly into place on hanger  10 . If it appears that the shoulder guard attachment  26  is too broad or too narrow for the selected garment, the dry cleaner can simply grasp the attachment  26  and pull it in the opposite direction from arrow “A” and disconnect it from hanger  10 . A different attachment can then be snapped into place. 
         [0035]    Furthermore, because the shoulder guard attachment  26  is manufactured from a durable, rigid plastic, it may be returned to the dry cleaner, sanitized and reused. This would both reduce costs for the dry cleaner and be more environmentally friendly that currently known card-blank type shoulder guards. 
         [0036]      FIGS. 10 &amp; 11  illustrate a plastic molded hanger  110  into which the shoulder guard attachment  126  has been incorporated. Thus, the upper support regions  116 ,  118  each include an additional open J-shaped attachment  126  that extends slightly above and outwardly beyond the outer ends  120 ,  122  of hanger  110 . The terminal ends  132  of attachments  126  terminate beneath crosspiece  124  of hanger  110 . Although not shown in these figures, it will be understood that the tapered shape and external contours of shoulder guard attachments  126  are substantially similar to shoulder guard attachment  26 . However the locking clips have been omitted and the attachment  126  is not detachable from hanger  110 . 
         [0037]    It will also be understood that while the shoulder guard attachment of the present invention has clips that are engageable with one of the upper support regions  16 ,  18  or outer ends  20 ,  22 ; said clips could also be formed so as to, instead, interlockingly engage the crosspiece  24  of the hanger. 
         [0038]    In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed. 
         [0039]    Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention are an example and the invention is not limited to the exact details shown or described.