US3464605A - Hanger for trousers - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 2, i969 o. H. G. APEL HANGER FOR TROUSERS Filed March l5, 1968 Unted States Patent O M U.S. Cl. 223-96 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A simple device for hanging trousers from the cuff portions thereof. Includes means for the suspension of the device and the trousers hung thereon from the rod of a clothes closet, wardrobe and the like. The weight of the device tends to facilitate insertion and removal of a pair of trousers without the necessity of removing the device from such rods. A pair of resilient hanger members slidably mounted on a track comprised of a pair of vertically spaced guide rails serves to obviate crimped cuffs and to preserve creases therein and in the trouser legs. The device may also be incorporated in an ordinary coat hanger.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved device relatively to the garment hanger art, and is directed particularly to a novel hanger for trousers that is adapted to obviate the need of manipulating clamps or other contrivances in the attainment of such objective.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention includes four major components, these being a horizontal track, a pair of identical clip elements that are slidably mounted on the track, and appropriate meansfor suspending the track and the therewith associated clip elements from above. The track component consists of a pair of vertically spaced and aligned guide rods or rails that are preferably circular in cross-section. The clip elements are formed from a single strip of resilient material that is preferably metallic, but may be plastic if desirable. Each clip element has formed therein a pair of loop formations that slidably encompass portions of the vertically spaced track rails, so that the clip may be manually moved rightwardly or leftwardly along the horizontal track component.

Means are provided for maintaining the sections of the clips between the loop formations, and the sections extending below the lower loop formations in rigid condition. Below said means, each clip has a pair of dependent resilient dual leg formations adapted to achieve the primary object of the invention as will be explained hereinafter.

The guide rail or track component of the invention and the clips mounted thereon may be independently suspended or incorporated in for example a conventional coat hanger.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated on a sheet of drawings that accompanies this specication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRA-WINGS FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a device incorporating the concepts of the present invention, the cuifed end portions of a pair of trousers being shown in broken lines;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view similar to FIGURE l with certain included elements being shown in adjusted 3,464,605 Patented Sept. 2, 1969 ICC position, and the cuted end portions of said pair of trousers being shown in unbroken lines;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view similar to FIGURE 4 with certain included elements being shown in a diierent status; and

FIGURE 6 is an elevational view on a reduced scale, illustrating the invention exemplarily incorporated in a conventional coat hanger.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The device comprising the present invention is generally designated by the numeral 10. It includes as its major components a guide or track member 12, a pair of identical hanger clips 14 that are slidably mounted on the track member, and a hook assembly 16 for suspending the entire device 10l from an appropriate horizontally disposed rod.

The track member 12, shown, includes a horizontal upper guide rail 18 and a similar lower guide rail 20 connected by opposed end segments 22. The rails 18 and 20 are circular in cross-section, and as shown particularly in FIGURES 2 and 4, are disposed in spaced vertical alignment. The drawing indicates that the track member 12 is fashioned from one continuous metallic bar of round stock, but it will be understood that this is not critical and may be varied.

Each of the clips 14 however, is fashioned from a single strip of resilient material 23 that is preferably metallic but may be plastic. The not-in-use configuration of one of the clips 14 is best shown in FIGURE 2. It includes an upper loop 24 that is slidable on the upper rail 18, and a lower loop 26 that is slidable on the lower rail 20, said loops being connected by a iirst vertical section designated 28. A second vertical section 30 extends below the loop 26, the segments of strip material adjacent said loop being secured together by means of a rivet 32 as shown, or otherwise. It should thus be apparent that the rivet 32 maintains the thereabove portions of the clip 14 in rigid status, whereas the therebelow portions of the clip are free and inherently resilient.

Thus, each clip 14 further includes a pair of perpendicular primary leg members 34 that arcuately merge at the top into upwardly inwardly convergent segments 36 that in turn merge into the section 30` below the rivet 32. At the bottom, each leg member 34 terminates in a V- shaped extremity that includes a preferably rounded apex segment 37, and a therefrom angularly upwardly and inwardly projecting segment 38. The upper end of each segment 38 merges arcuately into a secondary perpendicular leg member 40 that merges at the top into an inwardly inclined terminal segment 42.

The hook assembly 16 shown is comprised of an inverted T-shaped component 42 whereinto lthe end portions of the upper guide rail 18 and the lower end portion of a hook member 44 are press-fitted as suggested by broken lines in FIGURE 1. It should of course be understood that the illustrated hook assembly arrangement 16 may be modified, or it may be dispensed with for example, when the invention is incorporated in a conventional coat hanger such as that depicted in FIGURE 6.

Use

Shown in broken lines in FIGURES 1 and 2, and in unbroken lines in FIGURES 3, 4 and 5, are the cuifed end portions A of a pair of trouser legs B. The cutfed end portions A shown are conventional, and it is not deemed necessary to elaborate on the construction thereof whereby the peripheral two-ply outer cutis C are formed. Normally (the trousers being in pressed condi- 3 tion), the outer cuff C lies against the adjacent portion of the leg B as shown in FIGURE 4.

With particular reference to FIGURES 1 and 2, it will be assumed that via the hook 44, the device is suspended from a clothes closet rod so diametered that said hook tirmly though releasably embraces said rod. In such status, the inherent weight of the device augmented by the resistance to upward movement afforded by the rod, serves to obviate removal of said device in order to properly insert the trouser legs into the hanger clips 14. It will of course be understood that the about to be described insertion of the trousers may also 4be accomplished on a bed or the like, whereupon the device may be hung on the rod.

Assuming then that the cuffs C had been manually aligned as is understood, insertion thereof as suggested by the broken line arrows a would comprise the initial step of procedure` As the juxtaposed cutis C are being elevated manually by grasping the opposed creased ends thereof as should be understood, the clips 14 will assume the status thereof illustrated in FIGURE 4. There it is seen that the resilient primary leg members 34 together with the secondary leg members 40 are concurrently distended outwardly from their not-in-use FIGURE 2 status. Upward movement would be continued as suggested by the broken line arrow b until the rounded edges E of the cutis reached a point slightly above the top marginal extremities of the segments 42. Toward the end of this action, it should be apparent although not illustrated, that the secondary leg segments 42 will have automatically sprung inwardly against the trouser portions B, so that release of the trousers would result in the cuff disposition thereof shown in FIGURE 5. Following the gravitational descent of the trousers to produce the FIGURE 5 cuit status, the clips 14 would be moved outwardly in opposite directions until arrested by the creased extremities of the cuffs C. Consequently as demonstrated in FIGURE 3, the intermediate portions of said cuffs would be maintained in a stretched status until the trousers are manually removed as should be understood.

In view of the foregoing description and the comprehensively illustrated drawings, it is believed that an adequate disclosure of the invention has been presented. The invention may obviously be modified without departing from the scope and spirit thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device for hanging a pair of trousers via the cuted end portions thereof, the combination of:

a track member including a horizontal upper guide rail and a similar lower guide rail, said rails being circular in cross-section and being disposed in spaced vertical alignment relatively to each other;

a pair of identical hanger clips slidably mounted on the track member and individually movable therealong, each clip being fashioned from a single strip of resilient material to include an upper loop and a lower loop, said loops being formed in vertically spaced alignment with the distance between them corresponding to that obtaining between the two guide rails of the track member, each loop being so diametered as to embrace one of said guide rails, the segments of the strip extending between the loops being contiguously disposed, and the segments of the strip extending below the lower loop being secured together by a fastener element whereby to maintain the thereabove portions of the clip in rigid status; and

means incorporated in each clip ybelow said fastening element for releasably retaining the cuffed end portions of the legs of said trousers in a stretched condition; said means including a pair of opposed perpendicular primary leg members and a pair of opposed perpendicular secondary leg members; each primary leg member merging arcuately at the top into one of a pair of upwardly inwardly convergent segments that in turn merge into the segments of the clip extending below the fastener element aforesaid, and terminating at the bottom in a V-shaped extremity that includes a rounded apex segment and a therefrom angularly upwardly and inwardly projectng segment; each secondary leg member merging at the bottom into the upper end portion of one of said angularly upwardly and inwardly projecting segments, and merging at the top into an upwardly inwardly inclined terminal segment.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,205,889 11/ 1916 Halvorson 24-259 2,220,601 ll/ 1940 Gillett 24-259 2,401,413 6/1946 Colwell ---q n 223--96 2,898,024 8/1959 Jenson 223-91 3,077,291 2/ 1963 Kennedy 223--88 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner GEORGE H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner

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