US2478337A - Garment hanger for automobiles - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 9, 1949. L. w. STRASSER ETAL GARMENT HANGER FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed Aug. 5, 1948 /IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIII I fil AT ORNEY-5 Patented Aug. 9, i949 GARMENT HANGER FOR AUTOMOBILES Lena W. Strasser, Sidney, and Lena A. Thielke, Guilford, N. Y.

Application August 5, 1948, Serial No. 42,684

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to improved garment hangers for automobiles, and particularly to hangers of large capacity which may readily be attached and detached, and which do not in use interfere with the normal operation of doors or windows.

While it is often desirable to carry a large number of dresses, coats and suits on a motor trip in such a manner that they will not become mussed, and are readily accessible, the hook attachments presently available will accommodate only a garment or two and do not permit the garment to hang freely.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a garment hanger on which a large number of pieces can be freely supported between the opposite rear doors or windows of an automobile by means of common coat hangers.

A further object is to provide an extensible, bar type of hanger with pivotal supporting means cooperatively mounted on oppositely opening hinged doors so that opening of either door is possible without removal of the hanger or disarrangement of the individual coat hanger carried thereon. a

An additional object is to provide a telescoping garment hanger with easily attachable and adjustable supporting means engageable with the door or window frame of the ordinary automobile.

These and other objects contributing to efllciency in use and ease of manufacture will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the complete garment hanger;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view to a reduced scale showing the novel mounting of one end of the hanger on the door of an automobile; and

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view, looking rearwardly, of an automobile having the garment hanger mounted for use between the rear doors.

With reference to Fig. 1, there is shown an extensible hanger bar In having at each end a pivotal, adjustable supporting hook l2 engaging a clip or mounting member I, whereby the hanger may be mounted in the rear seat compartment of an automobile A (Fig. 3) by attachment to oppositely opening hinged doors D, D. It is to be particularly observed that use of this novel hanger does not prevent opening of either door, and that the horizontally extending bar I is so positioned that when the hooks of individual 2 coat or' dress hangers (not shown) are slidingly suspended thereon, the coats or dresses themselves will be so far below the rear and side windows that vision will not be obstructed in a hazardous manner.

The hanger bar Hi preferably comprises an outer telescoping member l6 approximately the same in length, but slightly less than, the width of the car between the doors D, D, when the latter arev closed. An inner telescoping member l8 makes a smooth sliding fit with member [6, and reaches far enough within said member I! to prevent separation when a door is opened and to provide adequate bearing length. While other forms of telescoping construction are possible, the use of well polished, tubular metal lengths of circular cross-section has been found economical, durable and most satisfactory. Such metal tubes continue to operate smoothly after much use and permit ready movement of the wire hooks of the coat hangers without appreciable wear. By placing all the hangers on the car-wide outer telescoping member l6, there will be no disturbance or bunchlng together when a door is opened and closed.

The available ends of telescoping members It and [8 are formed to provide spaced, aligned pairs of preferably circular bearing openings 20, 20 and 22, 22, respectively for pivotal cooperation with the identical hooks l2. It will be rec0 nized that the metal hooks l2 are a standard item of hardware comprising a half-turn, semicircular hook portlon 24, a plain round shank portion 26 extending through one of the tubular members, and a projecting threaded end 28 provided with a wing nut 30 for convenience in attachment and adjustment.

The clip members ll, which may be made from a fairly stlfl metal plate, are U-shaped with two legs for cooperative engagement with the hooks I2 and semi-permanent attachment to automobile doors or windows. The clip members H are identical and comprise a generally triangular body portion 32 having its base bent over to clip formation providing a deep flange or leg 34 extending in parallel spaced relation to the body portion. There is a large circular opening 36 in the center of the depending apex portion for ready insertion and support of the much smaller hook portion 24. The apex portion of the elongated clip member I! is truncated to form a straight end 38 parallel to the bent portion between body portion 32 and flange 34 for ready turning relative to the respective top portions of hanger bar Ill.

Fig. 2 shows best the manner in which the clip members I 4 can be simply and securely fastened along the inner portion of a door D through the medium of a conventional inner trim strip T framing the top of a door Window opening 0. The normal mounting of such strips provides a closed slot with the door into which the extended flange 34 can be forced and frictionally retained. Of course, the shape of the attaching portion of the clip member can be varied in order to fit a different form of inner trim, but the one illustrated and preferred can be used with a very large proportion of the automobiles being used today.

After the opposite clip members l4 have been secured to the inner portions of doors D, D as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 and described in detail, the hooks l2 will be inserted in clip openings 36 with the respective hook portions 24 outturned. The shank portions 25 will then be passed through the openings provided in the tubular members It and [8, respectively, and the wing nuts tightened until the clip ends 38 are in contact with the tops of said tubular members, or substantially so. The desired pivotal movement about the vertical axes of the hooks I2 is thus obtained and the hooks are prevented from bouncing or working out of engagement with the clip members I4. The attachment of the bar III to the clip members can also be accomplished by having the nuts 30 loosened to near the ends of the threaded portions and slipping the hook portions 24 through the enlarged clip openings or apertures 36. It will be observed that the aperture 36 lies in a plane parallel to the direction of elongation of clip member I4, and parallel to the window frame when mounted. Turning the hook portions 24 outwardly gives a little additional efiective length to the hanger bar I0 and prevents entanglement with the wire hook of a coat hanger.

The hanger bar II! can be quickly detached from the clip members l4, telescoped to minimum size and stowed in the automobile trunk, back of the rear seat, or on the floor of the rear compartment.

It is to be understood that the invention which has been described comprehends the entire hanger bar as an article of manufacture and sale as well as the combination of such a hanger bar with opposite hinged doors of an automobile or the like.

From the foregoing description of construction and operation it will now be apparent that there has been provided by this invention an automobile' garment hanger that is: capacious, convenient to install and use, not a hazard to driving, simple and inexpensive.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail, it is to be understood that certain variations can be made in details of construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the principles thereof and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as novel and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In combination with an automobile having opposed hinged doors, each of said doors including a window frame having a trim strip secured along the inner top side of the frame, a telescoping clothes hanging rod, a vertical hook member having a shank extending loosely through each end of the rod for pivotal movement therein and including adjustable means formed to prevent withdrawal of the shank, a U-shaped, elongated clip member secured to an inner portion of each door by hooking engagement over the respective trim strip, the depending leg portion of each clip member on the outside of the trim strip being formed with a central aperture parallel to the window frame loosely receivin the hook portion of the corresponding hook member and terminating in a straight end parallel to the hanging rod, said hanging rod comprising two round tubular members, the outer of which is of a, length approximating but slightly less than the distance be tween said clip members when both doors are in closed position.

2. A clothes hanger for use with automobiles having opposed hinged doors provided with movable windows and an interior trim strip above the frame of each window, said hanger comprising in combination, a first tubular rod of circular cross-section adapted to extend across the space between thedoors, a second tubular rod of smaller circular cross-section and less length than and telescoping within the first tubular rod, the outer end of each tubular rod being formed with a pair of aligned circular openings, a hook member having an elongated shank extending loosely through the pair of openings of each rod and including a threadedly engaged wing nut to adjust the length of the shank and prevent withdrawal thereof, and an elongated, plate-like U-shaped clip member for each hook member, one leg of said clip member being adapted to hook over the upper edge of one of the interior trim strips, and the other leg being longer for extending over the outside of and depending in free relation from said trim strip,- said longer leg being formed with a straight end edge and a central aperture for loosely receiving the hook portion of one of the hook members, said aperture lying in a plane parallel to the direction of elongation of the clip member.

LENA W. STRASSER. LENA A. THIELKE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

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