Patent ID: 6883259

Claim:
A marker adapted to fit onto a hook of a clothes hanger to convey information concerning a garment hung from the clothes hanger, said marker comprising: an outer wall extending longitudinally in the direction of the hook and defining a central traversing opening that is adapted to receive the clothes hanger hook, said outer wall including an inner peripheral surface and an outer peripheral surface, the outer peripheral surface bearing the information; a slot opening within said wall extending over the entire longitudinal length thereof, said slot permitting passage laterally of the hook through said slot for mounting of said marker to the clothes hanger hook; and a gate bard and a blocking barb extending generally radially inwardly from the inner peripheral surface of said outer wall and being positioned on either side of said slot opening within said outer wall, said gate barb and said blocking barb being non-symmetrical to each other with respect to a plane that extends radially outwardly from the center of the marker through the slot opening and axially along a direction of the hanger hook within the marker, said gate barb flexing more than said blocking barb when the hanger hook is pushed radially inwardly through the slot opening into the marker, and said blocking barb providing a substantial reactive blocking force along a longitudinal length of said blocking barb when the hanger hook is pushed radially outwardly from within the marker in an effort to remove the marker from the hanger.