US3519176A - Garment holder - Google Patents

Description

GARMENT HOLDER Filed Feb. 7, 1969 United States Patent O U.S. Cl. 223-96 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A garment holder, connectable to a clothes hanger, having resilient downwardly extending legs with intumed anges on the lower ends thereof adapted to disengageably grip a portion of a garment, such as trouser legs, therebetween.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Holders heretofore developed capable of gripping the lower ends of legs of a pair of trousers to prevent the trousers from slipping on the hanger and to prevent wrinkling or creasing of the trouser legs have been unduly complicated and expensive.

Trouser hangers heretofore developed have utilized springs or curved rods pivotally connected to the body of a hanger which may be urged together and locked in position using pins or clips to lock gripping elements in engagement with the garment.

Garments on display in clothing stores are normally removed from the hanger when a purchase is made. When expensive garments are purchased, the garment may be left on a hanger. However, the cost of a hanger is normally added in to the sales price of the clothing. No garment hanger has been developed heretofore which is capable of firmly gripping and securing the legs of trousers to a clothes hanger which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION We have developed a garment holder which may be connected to a conventional clothes hanger for gripping the legs of trousers and the like. The holder consists of one integral piece of resilient material formed to be supported by a conventional clothes hanger and having inwardly directed flanges on the lower end thereof adapted to secure the cuff of trousers therebetween.

It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide a garment holder attachment for a conventional wire clothes hanger for securing trousers and other garments to the hanger.

Another object of the invention is to provide a garment holder wherein the cuff of a pair of trousers may be secured therein by merely deflecting the lower ends of resilient legs outwardly causing the cuff of trousers to be secured therebetween.

Another object of the invention is to provide a garment holder having inwardly turned flanges on the lower ends of resilient legs in which the ends of the anges are tapered whereby downwardly extending resilient legs will be spread automatically to grip a garment by merely pulling the garment longitudinally toward the ends of the flanges.

A further object of the invention is to provide a holder for trousers wherein the holder has indentations in the upper edge thereof for receiving and centering a clothes hanger therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide a trouser holder which is inexpensive to construct making it economically feasible to give` away the holder.

Other and further objects of the invention will become 3,519,176 Patented July 7, 1970 ICC apparent from the detailed description hereinafter following and by referring to the drawings annexed hereto.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Drawings of a preferred embodiment of the invention are provided so that the invention may be better and more fully understood, in which:

FIG. I is a side elevational view with parts broken away to more clearly show details of construction of the garment holder employed in conjunction with a conventional clothes hanger for securing the leg of trousers thereto;

FIG. II is a plan view of the garment holder;

FIG. III is an end view of the garment holder with the legs of a pair of trousers secured therein;

FIG. IV is an end view of trouser holder without a garment secured therein; and

FIG. V is a fragmentary elevational view of the lower side of one end of the trouser holder.

Numeral references are employed to designate like parts throughout the various figures of the drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. I of the drawing the numeral 1 generally designates a garment holder illustrated in its cooperative relationship with a conventional clothes hanger 2 for supporting legs 4 of a pair of trousers.

Clothes hanger 2 consists of a horizontal portion 2a having upwardly inclined portions 2b and 2c at opposite ends thereof and having a hook portion 2d centrally located thereon. In the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing clothes hanger 2 is formed of relatively rigid wire which is bent and secured together in a well known manner. Other and different clothes hangers may be used in conjunction with the trouser holder 1.

It should also be noted that other garments besides trousers, such as skirts, handkerchiefs, towels and the like, may be gripped by the holder 1.

Holder 1 consists of a resilient body having a horizontal upper portion 6, downwardly extending legs 8 and 10 secured to opposite sides thereof, and inwardly directed anges 12 and 14 on the lower end of each leg.

Horizontal upper portion 6 of trouser holder 1 has indentations 16 and 18 in opposite ends thereof for receiving and engaging inclined portions 2b and 2c respectively of hanger 2, causing lower portion 2a of said hanger to be centered between the edges of the horizontal upper portion 6 of hanger 1, causing holder `1 to be aligned and held securely on the clothes hanger.

As best illustrated in FIGS. I and IV of the drawing, legs 8 and 10, secured to opposite edges of upper portions 6, converge downwardly causing ange 14 to lie in overlying relation with flange 12 when legs 8 and 10 are in a relaxed position which they occupy when a garment is not secured between the edges 12a and 14a of anges |12 and 14 respectively. Downwardly converging legs 8 and 10 form an elongated substantially wedge shaped space 19 which lies therebetween with flanges 12 and 14 extending across the lower end thereof.

Legs 8 and 10 have tapered surfaces 20 and 22 respectively on the lower edges thereof and flanges 12 and 14 have tapered surfaces 24 and 26 respectively on opposite ends thereof, tapered surfaces 20 and 24 and 22 and 26 defining the sides of a converging passage 30.

Holder 1 is constructed of resilient material such as plastic and may be formed by any of several well known processes.

Holder l'may be connected to the horizontal portion 2a of a conventional clothes hanger 2 by placing a portion a of clothes .hanger 2 in passageway 30 and applying a slight force causing pressure to be exerted upon the tapered surfaces dening the passage 30 to spread flanges 12 and 14, allowing horizontal portion 2a to be positioned under the horizontal upper portion 6 in indentions 16 and 18.

To secure a garment, such as the leg 4 of a pair of trousers, between anges 12 and 14, the leading edge 5 of the garment may be pulled through converging passage 30, causing flanges 12 and 14 to move outwardly allowing the garment to be moved to the position illustrated in FIG. I of the drawing. The resilience of legs 8 and 10 causes edges 12a and 14a on flanges 12 and 14 respectively to engage opposite sides of the garment 4 to firmly grip the garment therebetween.

From the foregoing it should be readily apparent that we have developed a garment holder attachment for a clothes hanger which is very inexpensive to construct, making it economically feasible for stores, dry cleaning establishments and the like to give the holder to a customer when a garment is delivered. The garment holder is very simple to use and a garment may be secured therein by merely positioning the garment adjacent the end of a lower portion of the trouser holder and moving the garment longitudinally relative thereto.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. A garment holder comprising a resilient body; downwardly converging legs on the body, said legs having tapered surfaces on lower portions thereof forming a V-shaped passage intermediate the upper and lower edges of the converging legs; a horizontally disposed upper portion extending between the upper edges of the said legs; means for securing the upper portion to a clothes hanger; inwardly turned flanges on the lower edges of the legs so constructed and arranged that the legs and anges may be separated to position a portion of a gar-- ment therebetween and released to grip the garment between the anges, said flanges having tapered surfaces on opposite ends thereof forming a second V-shaped passage at the lower end of the rst named V-shaped passage such that movement of a garment through the V-shaped passages longitudinal to the flanges exerts outwardly directed forces to separate the flanges.

2. The combination called for in claim 1 wherein the means for securing the upper portion of the body to a clothes hanger includes indentures in opposite ends of the upper portion, said indentures having inwardly con verging sides adapted to secure a portion of the clothes hanger to the lower side of the upper portion of the body.

3. The combination called for in claim 1 wherein the anges on the legs of the resilient body are arranged to lie in overlying relation when no external force is exerted thereon.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,805,013 9/1957 Comfort 223-96 2,908,429 10/1959 Edwards 223--91 FOREIGN PATENTS 18,821 1l/1890 Great Britain.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner G. H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner

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