Multifunctional clothing hanger

Abstract

A multifunctional clothing hanger includes an integrally molded frame formed by a cross bar, connecting end pieces having a pair of ends of which a respective first end is attached at each end of the cross bar, a pair of outwardly extending arms having a pair of ends where respective first ends are connected to a respective connecting end piece and the respective second ends are attached to each other and to a hook that is used for hanging the hanger from a pole within a closet. In one embodiment, the cross bar of the hanger frame is formed with a series of U-shaped loops, while the respective outwardly extending arms are formed with a plurality of downward facing T-shaped hooks. In another embodiment of the invention, the hanger is provided with a second cross bar that is disposed a spaced distance below the first cross bar and is provided with several, spaced divider posts that are attached between and to the first and second cross bars so as to form several compartments. The various loops, hooks and compartments that are formed on the hanger allow it to have a multiplicity of uses besides just hanging a single article of clothing, such as hanging jewelry, scarves, belts, earrings, and several similarly constructed articles of clothing in a simultaneous fashion. The multifunctional hanger allows a greater utilization of often lacking storage space within a closet of a residential home.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]This invention generally relates to the field of clothing hangers that are used in association with clothing articles stored within a residential closet. More specifically, the present invention relates to a clothing hanger that is hung from a clothing rod found in a typical residential closet and which is adapted to organize a multiplicity of garments and accessories on a single hanger.[0003]2. Description of the Related Art[0004]Efforts are constantly being made to improve and maximize the use of storage spaces within a home and particularly the storage space within residential clothing closets. Cabinetry, shoe racks, clothing hangers, and other types of storage devices have been constructed to be mounted to and / or used within the interior of residential closets in order to maximize the space within a closet that is typically devoted for storing various types of accessories and articles of clothing that are not being ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a clothing hanger that can be used in a closet for multiple functions, including hanging multiple clothing items and accessories simultaneously. The hanger is made up of a cross bar, connecting end members, side arms, and an upper portion for suspending from a closet bar. The hanger is designed with a common plane and uniform cross section, which reduces snagging and increases stability. The hanger also includes a series of identical U-shaped loops or solid posts for hanging items, and a vertical stabilization bar for added strength. The second embodiment of the invention includes an additional cross bar with at least two divider columns for hanging scarves. The technical effects of this invention include increased versatility and stability of the clothing hanger.

Problems solved by technology

One of the principal problems with known prior art clothing hanger devices is that the construction of the standard hanger does not render itself to an efficient use thereof since they are not capable of functioning in other capacities other than hanging a single, dedicated article of clothing upon it.

This lack of multi-functionality in turn leads to inefficient use of the usually limited storage space that is available within a closet.

Such arrangement within the closet is an inefficient use of the space and does not facilitate easy viewing of an article of clothing because of the difficulty in removing the article, let alone the return of it to the closet.

Because a standard hanger isn't designed to allow several articles of the same type of clothing article to be hung on a common hanger, the practice of buying multiple articles of differing colors leads to a redundancy of hangers being used to store the same type of clothing article.

Another similar type of problem with standard hangers is encountered by women who own a number of clothing articles that have very similar design features but which cannot share a hanger.

In that situation, standard hangers are not designed for the efficient use of a single hanger to simultaneously accommodate several similar clothing items even when they have the same type and width of shoulder straps or to allow similar types of clothing items which may have differing types and widths of straps.

Furthermore, hangers have no provision for preventing certain types of clothing articles, especially those with shoulder straps, from sliding off the hanger while in storage.

However, such hangers are typically not provided to the purchaser upon checkout and these types of hangers are not available for public purchase at home goods stores.

Thus, a purchaser of an article of clothing having shoulder straps is left with no good option other than storing such articles in a dresser or other storage container.

This type of storage is undesirable for many reasons such as a lack of available dresser space, wrinkling of stacked items and difficulty in viewing the stacked items.

Another shortfall of the standard hanger is that it is designed to fulfill one basic function, to hang clothes.

On occasion, a user might consider using a standard hanger for hanging a belt on the hanger hook that engages about the closet pole but this type of use is not typical and is sometimes impossible because the size and type of the belt buckle can interfere with the hook of the hanger seating properly on the closet pole.

Still another shortfall of the standard hanger is that they cannot accommodate the storage of accessories which complement an article of clothing.

However, there is no known presently available hanger that is constructed specifically for accommodating the attachment of clothing accessories in addition to the article or articles of clothing that match the accessories.

Inventors have proposed various methods to modify a standard hanger in an attempt to overcome such difficulties but none of these previous attempts have adequately solved the problem of allowing multiple strapped garments to be hung and sufficiently retained on a single hanger or to accommodate various types of accessories that are worn with the article(s) of clothing to be attached to the same hanger.

However, there are two major shortfalls of this design.

One is that the projecting prongs require additional closet space to avoid the neighboring hangers and their articles of clothing from being entwined with or damaged by the prongs, while the other is that the hanger is not capable of retaining accessories such as earrings and decorative pins.

However, these prongs are limited in number and vertical extent and the spacing between prongs restricts the size of the article that can be attached to the hanger as well as the number of articles that can be hung from a single hanger.

However, the problem with this type of hanger is that only a limited number of articles can be simultaneously hung from it at a time.

Furthermore, article attachment clips are prone to fatigue breakage after repeated opening and closing of the clip.

Moreover, this hanger also has no provision for retaining the various accessories previously mentioned herein.

Because of the construction of the hanger, it does not lend itself to be a suitable device for hanging articles of clothing and is capable of only holding a very limited number of clothing accessories.

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