Patent Document

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 120 and 365(c) of co-pending prior International Patent Application No. PCT/US14/64847 filed on Nov. 10, 2014, which claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/076,348 filed on Nov. 11, 2013, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,186,008 on Nov. 17, 2015. The patent applications identified above are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to clothes hangers, and more particularly, to a clothes hanger used for hanging one or more articles of clothing with straps, such as tank tops, camisoles, bras, dresses and so forth, and/or for displaying accessories, such as necklaces, earrings and so forth. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A clothes hanger is a device in the shape of human shoulders designed to facilitate the hanging of articles of clothing such as shirts, tops, jackets and so forth. Conventional hangers consist of wire hangers bent in a flattened triangle-like shape that continues into a hook at the top, wooden hangers cut into a boomerang-like shape or triangle-like shape having a hook protruding from the top, and plastic hangers molded into boomerang-like shape or triangle-like shapes with a hook located on top. 
     Many hangers have notches or loops located thereon to hang an article of clothing having shoulder straps. Each strap is secured to a single notch or single loop located on opposite sides of the hanger. The article of clothing then spans the length of the hanger and the notches or loops keep the article of clothing from sliding off ends of the hanger. However, a problem with such conventional hangers is that only one article of clothing may be hung on a single hanger. This means multiple articles of clothing are hung sided by side (each on separate hangers) on a closet hanging rod, thereby taking up extra space in a closet. 
     Therefore, a need exists for a clothes hanger that will allow a user to hang multiple articles of clothing thereon to conserve storage space while still making it easy to organize the articles of clothing for easy access to the clothing. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The primary object of the present invention is to provide a clothes hanger that will allow a user to hang multiple articles of clothing thereon to conserve storage space while still making it easy to organize the articles of clothing for easy access to the clothing. 
     The present invention fulfills the above and other objects by providing a hanger having a plurality of hooks located thereon for hanging multiple tank tops or other strapped articles of clothing. A plurality of hanging hooks extends from opposite sides of the hanger along the length of each side of the hanger. When multiple articles of clothing are placed on each side of the hanger, a counter balance is created so when multiple tank tops or other strapped articles of clothing are stored on the hanger, the hanger remains level. By hanging multiple articles of clothing on the single hanger, horizontal storage pace in a closet is saved. The hooks may be retractable into the body of the hanger and/or hingedly attached to the body of the hanger. In addition, the clothes hanger of the present invention may be used to store and organize jewelry. 
     An additional feature of the present invention is a base that allows the hanger to be displayed on a counter, dresser or other flat surface. 
     The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention should become even more readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described illustrative embodiments of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the following detailed description, reference will be made to the attached drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective side view of a clothes hanger of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of a clothes hanger of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a rear view of a clothes hanger of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of a clothes hanger of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective side view of a clothes hanger of the present invention having a base; and 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective side view of a clothes hanger of the present invention having a base. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     For purposes of describing the preferred embodiment, the terminology used in reference to the numbered components in the drawings is as follows:
           1 . clothes hanger, generally     2 . first side of clothes hanger     3 . second side of clothes hanger     4 . center of clothes hanger     5 . horizontal angle     6 . apex     7 . rod hanging hook     8 . strap hanging hook     9 . rear surface of clothes hanger     10 . front surface of clothes hanger     11 . bottom surface of clothes hanger     12 . top surface of clothes hanger     13 . vertical angle     14 . base     15 . elongated arm     16 . top end of elongated arm     17 . bottom end of elongated arm     18 . top surface of base     19 . bottom surface of base     20 . perimeter edge of base     21 . panel     22 . aperture     23 . joint       

     With reference to  FIGS. 1-4 , a perspective side view, a front view, a rear view and a top view, respectively, of a clothes hanger  1  of the present invention are illustrated. The clothes hanger  1  comprises a first side  2  and a second side  3  meeting at a center  4  of the clothes hanger  1  and extending away from each other a predetermined distance. The first side  2  and second side  3  may be parallel to each other or the first side  2  and second side  3  of the clothes hanger  1  may angle downward from the center  4  to create a horizontal angle  5  and a substantially boomerang-like shape having an apex  6 . A rod hanging hook  7  extends upward from the center  4  of the clothes hanger  1 . The rod hanging hook  7  is used to hang the clothes hanger  1  in a closet from a hanging rod. At least two strap hanging hooks  8  are located on the first side  2  and at least two strap hanging hooks  8  are located on the second side  3 . Each strap hanging hook  8  located on the first side  2  is preferably located to mirror the location of each strap hanging hook  8  located on the second side  3 . For example, each strap hanging hook  8  is an equal distance from the center  4  of the clothes hanger  1  as compared to the countering strap hanging hook  8  located on the opposite side of the clothes hanger  1 . The placement or location of the strap hanging hooks  8  allows for the clothes hanger  1  to be counterbalanced so the clothes hanger  1  remains in a level position while hanging in a closet. The strap hanging hooks  8  located on the first side  2  may also be located on a surface that is opposite to a surface the strap hanging hooks  8  located on the second side  3  are located on. As illustrated here, the strap hanging hooks  8  located on the first side  2  are located on a rear surface  9  of the clothes hanger  1  and the strap hanging hooks  8  located on the second side  3  are located on a front surface  10  of the clothes hanger  1 . This further allows for the clothes hanger  1  to be counterbalanced so the clothes hanger  1  remains in a level position while hanging in a closet. However, although the strap hanging hooks  8  are illustrated as being located on the front surface  10  and the rear surface  9  of the clothes hanger  1 , the strap hanging hooks  8  may also be located on a bottom surface  11  of the clothes hanger  1 , a top surface  12  of the clothes hanger  1  and/or be notches located on a top surface  12  of the clothes hanger  1 . 
     In addition, the first side  2  and second side  3  may angle outward from each other in the same or opposite directions to create a vertical angle  13  at the center  4  of the clothes hanger  1 . This vertical angle  13  provides for a further counter balance to the clothes hanger  1 . 
     The hanger  1  of the present invention may also comprise at least one joint  23  located thereon, such as a hinge, locking hinge, male/female interlocking locking joint, pivot point or other type of engagement means that allows the hanger  1  to be collapsible for travel as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , a perspective side view and a front view, respectively, of a clothes hanger  1  of the present invention having a base  14  are illustrated. An elongated arm  15  having a top end  16  and a bottom end  17  extends downward from the center  4  of the clothes hanger  1  a predetermined distance where the bottom end  16  connects to a base  14  having a top surface  18 , a bottom surface  19 , and at least one perimeter edge  20 . At least one panel  21  may extend upward from the perimeter edge  20  and have at least one aperture  22  located thereon. A user may store earrings on the at least one panel  21  by connecting the earrings to the apertures  22 . 
     It is to be understood that while a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and drawings.

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