Abstract:
A garment hanger including a continuous loop frame having a hook depending from a neck portion, a horizontal portion extending from said neck portion, a pair of garment support arms depending from said horizontal portion, a connection section joining said pair of garment support arms to a base section at an outermost section of said support arms, wherein said garment support arms have a specific shallow angle portion and a steep angle portion which prevents wrinkles and creases from forming when shirts are hung therefrom.

Description:
CROSS RELATED APPLICATION AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit to United States Provisional Application filed on Jun. 27, 2011 and assigned Application No. 61/501,457, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a garment hanger, and more particularly, to garment hangers having a special frame for reducing garment deformation. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    It is known to utilize hangers to hold clothing in a free hanging manner in order to minimize wrinkles and damage to the fabric. One typical type of clothing hangers are constructed of bent wire, which is shaped in such a manner to provide a support for many types of garments in a manner that replicates the way the garment is worn. Wire clothing hangers have typically utilized a shape which simulates a persons upper torso, including a persons neck and shoulders. 
         [0006]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , the typical prior art wire hanger shape is triangular with a hook located at the top for attaching the hanger to a pole  102 , two downward sloping support arms  104  or  105 , that simulate the shape of a persons shoulders and a base section  106  between each of the support arms that provides structural rigidity to the two downward sloping members. The downward sloping support arms may have either a linear shape  104  or may have a bend in the wire  105  such that the downward sloping member  105  has a shallow angle portion close adjacent to the base section  106  and a steep angle portion near the top of the support arms  105  that is near the hook  102 . 
         [0007]    However, the shape of the typical prior art wire hanger does not make any provision for ensuring that the garments hang in such a way to minimize wrinkles or damage to the clothing. The typical prior art hanger shape is not shaped to provide a shape which accounts for the differences between the manner in which a garment covers a human body and the manner in which a garment is suspended from a hanger. When a garment is worn, it covers a three-dimensionally shaped human body. In contrast however a clothes hanger suspends a garment in two dimensions without adding any volume or fullness within the garment. Because of this difference, folds, wrinkles and overlaps can form in the fabric when a garment is suspended on a hanger. Moreover, because a traditional wire hanger allows the shoulders to sag downward, the garment material is not held taut across the hanger. This allows the fabric to be pulled inward which creates overlaps and folds. This is especially important when garments are placed in close proximity such as when they are closely packed in a closet, packed together such as when they picked up from a cleaners or tailors or when multiple garments are carried together such as while traveling. 
         [0008]    Additionally, it can be difficult to keep garments on the typical prior art wire hanger having two downward sloping support arms. This is because the downward sloping member that are made with either a linear shape  104  or with a bend in the wire  105  have an angle that is too steep, thus there is not sufficient support for the shoulder portion of the garment and the garment may slide off of the hanger easily. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    It is, therefore, an objective of the present invention to provide a hanger that reduces undesirable deformation of garments when the garment is supported by a hanger. 
         [0010]    It is another objective of the present invention to provide an improved hanger, which can be economically manufactured to provide an improved performance of hanger by contacting the collar area of a shirt, for example, against the frame to prevent deformation on the body of a hanged shirt caused in the prior art. 
         [0011]    It is a further objective of the present invention to prevent puckers or bumps in the shoulder of a garment disposed on the inventive hanger. 
         [0012]    It is a further objective of the present invention to provide an improved hanger, which can be economically manufactured by minimizing the amount of material used to form the hanger. Specifically, less wire can be used to form the structural shape. 
         [0013]    Another aspect of the invention provides area to hold the strap of a garment upright more so that the deformation in the body of hanged clothes can be prevented. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    The above and other exemplary aspects, features and advantages of certain exemplary embodiments of the CLOTHES HANGER according to the present invention will become more apparent to a person or ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0015]      FIG. 1  is a front plan view of a prior art hanger design. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a front plan view of the inventive hanger showing measurements according an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a front plan view of the inventive hanger showing measurements according to an alternate embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is a front plan view of the inventive hanger according to an alternate embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is a front plan view of the inventive hanger according to another alternate embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  is a front plan view of the inventive hanger according another alternate embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  is a comparison view of the prior art hanger and the inventive hanger. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0022]    Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail when they would obscure appreciation of the present invention by a person of ordinary skill in the art with unnecessary detail of the well-known functions and structures. Also, the terms used herein are defined according to the functions of the present invention as would be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the terms may vary depending on user&#39;s or operator&#39;s intension and usage. That is, the terms used herein must be understood based on the descriptions made herein in view of the ordinary level of skill in the art. In all figures, the substantially same elements are given the same reference number, and overlapping descriptions are omitted. 
         [0023]    The present invention described hereinafter provides a wire clothes or garment hanger of improved design that provides wire frame for reducing garment deformation and thus minimizing wrinkles and garment damage. The hanger according to the present invention orients the garment support arms into a substantially horizontal position. By raising the shoulders to a horizontal position, the garment shoulders are held taut across the hanger from and thus the front and back surface of the garment is maintained in a flat shape. Additionally by holding the shoulders taut across the support arms, the outermost ends of the hanger according to the present invention are shaped to restrain the garment sleeves from moving but without leaving dimples or protrusions in the fabric. 
         [0024]      FIG. 2  is a front plan view of a first embodiment of a clothes hanger  200  according to the present invention. The clothing hanger depicted in  FIG. 2  is manufactured of a single piece of wire that is bent in a continuous loop into the shape the forms the clothing hanger. The hanger  200  generally includes a hook  202  at one end of the single piece of wire which is a semicircular portion for suspending the hanger on a horizontal rod. The hook  202  has a neck  204  which attaches to the body of the hanger. The neck  204  includes a twist of wire  206  at the second end of the single piece of wire to secure the single piece of wire into a continuous loop by firmly connecting the second end of the single piece of wire to the neck  204 . Below the twist of wire, the neck is separated into a vertical diverging support section  220 . The vertical diverging support section  220  is formed from bends in a region of the wire adjacent to the one end and adjacent to the second end. In other words, the support section  220  makes up the starting and ending point of the continuous wire loop. The clothing hanger  200  is generally triangular in shape with a base  208  and two garment support arms  210 . The garment support arms typically may be used for hanging and supporting a garment such as a shirt or blouse, however the hanger according to the present invention is not so limited and may be used for any similar outerwear such as, but not limited to a jacket, sweater or coat. The neck  204  is connected to the support arms  210  by a horizontal portion  218  which is connected to the support section  220  at a angle that is preferably approximately 90 degrees. In this embodiment, each of the support arms includes a shallow sloping portion  212  and a steep sloping portion  214  which connect at bend  216  where the slope transitions. The garment support arms provide the section of the hanger when a garment is placed and supported. In order to minimize the wrinkling of a garment hanging from the hanger according to the present invention, the angles of the garment supporting sections where the garment is draped are selected such that the front and back garment surfaces will be substantially flat when the garment is placed on the hanger, without any folds or overlapping of the fabric. The slope angles of the support arms hang the garment so that the front and back surface are substantially flat by raising the shoulders of the garment into a horizontal position. Furthermore, the horizontal portion  218  provides support tot he collar of the garment to ensure that the collar does not sag and to maintain the garment in a substantially upright position. Additionally, the shape of the outermost ends of the downward sloping garment support arms  210  are selected to minimize or eliminate deformation of the garment at the outermost ends. Additionally, the outermost ends are shaped to keep the garment form sliding on the hanger and thus keep the sleeves from moving. Thus, the downward sloping angles of the garment support arms  210  are selected to provide uniform and consistent support to the garment consistent with the garment shape. In a preferred configuration of this embodiment, depicted in  FIG. 2  the angle  222  of the steep sloping portion  212  with respect to the horizontal potion  218  is within the range of 16-23 degrees. Angle  222  is complementary to angle  228  and therefore in this preferred embodiment forms an angle of 67 degrees with respect to a vertical orientation. 
         [0025]    The outermost ends of the support arms are connected to the base  208  at corners  224 . The support arms  210  have a rounded profile transition section  230  at the outermost ends adjacent to corners  224 . In this embodiment the top rounded profile transition section may most preferably have a radius of approximately 1 inch so that there is not an abrupt transition at the end of the support arms  210  for supporting the garment. Corners  224  may be approximately right angles between the rounded profile transition section  230  and the base  208 . In this way, the garment can hang naturally and have a smooth transition from being suspended by the support arm to hanging freely. The radiused profile section  230  of ensures that there is not an abrupt or extreme transition that would create a point of stress against the garment and potentially result in a dimple or crease in the garment at the outermost point of the support arms  210 . 
         [0026]    In a particular embodiment of the present invention the garment hanger is constructed in accordance with, and may preferably be implemented, in a wire hanger having the shape and dimensions depicted in  FIG. 2 . More specifically, the hook  202  may have a radius of 1.5 inches and a linear dimension from the top of the hook to the tip  226  of 1.75 inches. Additionally, the top of dimension from the top of the hook to the horizontal portion  218  may be 4.00 inches, with the distance from the top of the hook  202  to the top of the vertical diverging support section  220  being 3.25 inches. The horizontal portion  220  may be approximately 2.00 inches in total including the horizontal dimension between the individual legs of the vertical diverging support section  220 . The overall width of the hanger may be approximately 19 inches, with the dimension between the radius transition sections of corners  224  being approximately 17 inches. The length between the slope transition bend  216  from the steep slope section  214  and shallow slope section  212  of support arms may be approximately 11.75 inches, with the height from the base  208  to the slope transition bend  216  being approximately 1.5 inches. Thus in this embodiment the length of the steep slope section is greater than the length of the shallow slope section. The total height from the base  208  to the horizontal portion  218  may be approximately 4.25 inches. The hanger  200  can be formed from any of a variety of materials, such as but not limited to metal or plastics. In one configuration, the hanger  200  is formed of a metal wire having a diameter of about 0.125 (⅛) inches. However, the diameter size should not limit the scope of invention as other varying diameter size known in the art may be applicable. 
         [0027]    Turning now to  FIG. 3 , there is shown another alternate embodiment of the garment hanger according to the present invention.  FIG. 3  is a front plan view of an alternate embodiment of a clothes hanger  300  according to the present invention. The clothing hanger depicted in  FIG. 3  includes a horizontal portion  318  which is connected to the support section  220  at a angle that is preferably approximately 90 degrees. In this embodiment, each of the support arms  310  includes a shallow sloping portion  312  and a steep sloping portion  314  which connect at a bend  316  where the slope transitions from shallow to steep. In a preferred configuration of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 3  the angle  322  of the shallow sloping portion  312  from a horizontal plane parallel to horizontal portion  218  is within the range of 13-19 degrees. 
         [0028]    In a particular embodiment of the present invention the garment hanger is constructed in accordance with, and may preferably be implemented, in a wire hanger having the shape and dimensions depicted in  FIG. 3 . More specifically, the hook  302  may have a radius of 1.85 inches and a linear dimension from the top of the hook to the tip  326  of 1.50 inches. Additionally, the top of dimension from the top of the hook to the horizontal portion  318  may be 4.00 inches, with the distance from the top of the hook  302  to the top of the vertical diverging support section  220  being 3.25 inches. The horizontal portion  318  may be approximately 3.00 inches in total including the horizontal dimension between the individual legs of the vertical diverging support section  220 . The overall width of the hanger may be approximately 19 inches, with the dimension between the radius center of transition sections of corners  224  being approximately 18 inches. The length between the slope transition bends  316  may be approximately 5.00 inches, with the height from the base  208  to the slope transition points  316  being approximately 2.5 inches. Thus in this embodiment the length of the steep slope section is less than the length of the shallow slope section. The total height from the base  208  to the horizontal portion  318  may be approximately 4.00 inches. 
         [0029]    Turning now to  FIG. 4 , there is depicted a further alternate embodiment of the garment hanger according to the present invention.  FIG. 4  is a front plan view of an alternate embodiment of a clothes hanger  400  according to the present invention. In a preferred configuration, depicted in  FIG. 4  the angle  422  of the shallow sloping portion  412  with respect to the horizontal portion  418  is within the range of 7-22 degrees and most preferable between 10-15 degrees. 
         [0030]    The outermost ends of the support arms are connected to the base  408  at corners  424  where the support arms  410  have a circular profile at the outmost ends nearest the corners  424 . In this embodiment the circular profile may most preferably have a radius of approximately 1 inch so that there is not an abrupt transition at the end of the support arms  410  for the garment. In this way, the garment can hang naturally and have a smooth transition from being suspended by the support arm to hanging freely. The radiused profile of the corners  424  ensures that there is not an abrupt or extreme transition that would create a point of stress against the garment and potentially result in a dimple or crease in the garment at the outermost point of the support arms  410 . 
         [0031]    Turning now to  FIG. 5  there is depicted a further alternate embodiment of the garment hanger according to the present invention.  FIG. 5  is a front plan view of an alternate embodiment of a clothes hanger  500  according to the present invention. In a preferred configuration, depicted in  FIG. 5  the angle  422  of the shallow sloping portion  412  with respect to the horizontal portion  418  is within the range of 7-22 degrees and most preferable between 10-15 degrees. Alternatively, the angle  423  respect to the  420  dotted horizontal line is within the range of 7-22 degrees and most preferable between 10-15 degrees. Additionally,  FIG. 5  depicts an alternate embodiment of the hanger of  FIG. 4  where the outermost ends of support arms  410  have a squared profile. The outermost ends includes a rounded top corner  502 , an angled side section  504  and a corner  506  connecting the base  508  to the angled section  504 . In this alternate embodiment the rounded top corner may have a semi-circular shape with a radius of approximately 1 inch. However, it should be noted that the radius size should not limit the scope of invention. Corner  506  is substantially orthogonal with respect to base  508  such that the angle between side section  504  and base  506  is approximately 90 degrees. 
         [0032]    Additionally,  FIG. 6  depicts a further alternate embodiment of the hanger of  FIG. 4  where the outermost end of support arms  410  have a rounded profile. The outermost ends include a rounded semi-circular end  602 . Note that the angle  422  or  423  respect to the  418  and  420 , respectively, is within the same range of 7-22 degrees as in embodiments shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5  with most preferable between 10-15 degrees. In this alternate embodiment, the rounded semi-circular end may have a radius within a range of approximately 1.5 to 2 inches. However, it should be noted that the radius size should not limit the scope of invention. The radiused profile of end  602  ensures that there is not an abrupt or extreme transition that would create a point of stress against the garment and potentially result in a dimple or crease in the garment at the outermost point of the support arms  410 . 
         [0033]      FIG. 7  illustrates a comparison view of the prior art hanger and the inventive hanger. The inventive hanger as shown in  FIG. 7(   a ) raises the shoulders horizontally which keeps the shirt flat and straight due to angle differences in the hanger as described above, thus preventing wrinkles and creases from forming. Further, the inventive hanger s able to restrains sleeves from moving which can cause additional wrinkles. In contrast, as shown in  FIG. 7(   b ), the fabric is pulled inward creating overlaps and folds over time, especially when the shirts are placed on the rack after packing, the shirts are pushed against each other and the folds turn into wrinkles and creases. 
         [0034]    While the invention has been described in connection with a presently preferred embodiment thereof, those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications and changes can be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention, which accordingly is intended to be defined solely by the appended claims.