A garment hanger

Abstract

The hanger 10 has a suspension portion 16 and a body 18 which are together formed from a sheet material such as cardboard. The sheet material is formed by a laminating process which creates a grain an

Description

The present invention relates to a garment hanger and relates particularly, but not exclusively, to a cardboard garment hanger. Cardboard hangers are becoming increasingly popular with retailers and with the public. This is in part because the recycling of these products is easier and more universally available than equivalent plastic products. Almost all curb side recycling accepts cardboard whereas, not all of the plastics used in the manufacture of garment hangers are recyclable in all locations. However, cardboard hangers are susceptible to the absorption of moisture, and even without additional moisture, can be weaker than equivalent plastic products. They tend to bend if pushed tightly into a box for transit and it is not uncommon for the hangers to bend and become weakened when used in store. Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to overcome or alleviate the above described disadvantages of the prior art. According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a garment hanger comprising: a suspension portion for suspending the hanger from a rail and a body for supporting the garment hung there on, wherein the suspension portion and the body are formed from a sheet material formed by a laminating process and having a grain with a grain direction; and an insert attached to the sheet material adjacent a junction between the suspension portion and the body and extending transverse to the grain direction. By producing a garment hanger from a laminated sheet material, such as cardboard, with an insert attached to the suspension portion, the hook, and in particular across the junction between the hook and body, the hanger will last longer and be capable of more reuse. Furthermore, the cardboard hanger can be more easily recycled than plastic hangers since cardboard is more universally recyclable and there is no distinction between different types of cardboard in a recycling process. The insert can be easily removed to facilitate recycling. A particular problem of laminated cardboard and other sheet materials is their tendency to be weakest and deform in a particular direction. This is often not a problem for packaging as the packaging can be designed to work effectively with structural properties such as the grain of the material. However, a garment hanger is attempting to reproduce a product that has a broadly predetermined shape which includes a hook to hang from a rail and a body to support the garment. The function of the hook is particularly not suited to sheet materials as it is required to be narrow in all dimensions resulting in at least a portion of the hook being vulnerable to delamination at that point. In order to make the body of the hanger as strong as possible to ensure that the weight of the garment is correctly carried it is preferable to have the grain of the laminated material run horizontally (as determined when the hanger is in use) . As a result, a vulnerable point of the hanger is the junction between the hook and the body. It is also not desirable to simply use thicker cardboard as the weight increases and strength is unnecessarily increased in certain areas such as the arms . In a preferred embodiment at least one of the suspension portion and the body comprises apertures formed therein for receiving protrusions extending from the insert. In a preferred embodiment at least one the protrusion comprises another plurality of legs extending into the aperture and a plurality of feet, wherein a main surface of the insert engages one side of the sheet material and the feet engage another side of the sheet material. By having an insert that has protrusions each of which has a pair of legs and feet to engage through an aperture in the cardboard the advantage is provided that the insert is easily added to and removed from the cardboard hanger making both manufacture and recycling of the hanger very easy. In a further preferred embodiment an inner edge of the insert engages an inner edge of the suspension portion. With the insert aligned with the inner edge of the hook the advantage is provided that the insert provides additional protection for the inner edge of the cardboard hook which is vulnerable to wear and edge delamination if, for example, the hangers are regularly slid along a rail. The insert is preferably profiled and ideally comprises a material more rigid than the sheet material. In an additional preferred embodiment the insert comprises a polyester material formed from offcuts of polyester fabric. For environmental and financial reasons it is commonplace for hangers to be manufactured in facilities located close to the garment producing factories, thereby reducing transport costs and carbon dioxide emissions associated with the manufacture and supply of the garments to retailers. The offcuts of polyester garments can be used to make the inserts further reducing the environment impact of the garment hangers being used with the garments. According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of forming a garment hanger comprising the steps : forming a sheet material by a laminating process, the sheet material thereby having a grain with a grain direction; cutting a suspension portion for suspending the hanger from a rail and a body for supporting the garment hung there on from the sheet material; and fixing an insert to the sheet material adjacent a junction between the suspension portion and the body and extending transverse to the grain direction. The method may further comprise cutting a plurality of apertures in at least one of the suspension portion and the body and inserting respective protrusions formed in the insert into the apertures. In a preferred embodiment the protrusion comprises a plurality of legs extending into the aperture and a plurality of feet, wherein a main surface of the insert engages one side of the sheet material and the feet engage another side of the sheet material. In a further preferred embodiment the insert is formed from offcuts of polyester fabric. According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a garment hanger comprising: a suspension portion for suspending the hanger from a rail and a body for supporting the garment hung there on, wherein the suspension portion and the body are formed from a sheet material; and a reinforcement portion extending around the suspension portion. In a preferred embodiment the reinforcement portion slides over the suspension portion. In a preferred embodiment the reinforcement portion comprises a sheath extending over the suspension portion, the sheath comprising a pair of sides for engaging each surface of the sheet material of the suspension portion, wherein the sides have non-overlapping openings on each side. According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a garment hanger comprising: a suspension portion for suspending the hanger from a rail and a body for supporting the garment hung there on, wherein the suspension portion and the body are formed from a sheet material, wherein the suspension portion comprises an insert formed from a more rigid material than the sheet material and fixed thereto. Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, and not in any limitative sense with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hanger of a first embodiment of the present invention; Figures 2 and 3 are perspective views, from the front and rear, of the hanger of figure 1 in a disassembled condition; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a series of the hangers of figure 1 as though in use together; Figure 5 is a schematic sectional view of a portion of an insert of the hanger of figure 1; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a hanger of a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 is a perspective view of the hanger of figure 5 in a partially disassembled condition; and Figure 8 is a perspective view of an insert used in the hanger of figure 5. Referring initially to figures 1 to 4, a garment hanger 10 is formed from two parts, these being a sheet material 12 and an insert 14. The sheet material 12 part of the hanger is a single item but can be considered to have two sections, a suspension portion, in the form of a hook 16, and a body 18, comprising a pair of connected arms 20. The sheet material 12 is cut from a large sheet of cardboard. In order to function as a hanger and support the weight of the garment hung thereon, sheet material must be thick. Typically, the sheet material is 1.5mm to 5mm thick. Cardboards of this thickness are formed by laminating thinner card sheets together in a process which is familiar to persons skilled in the art. The laminating process creates a cardboard with a grain which has a grain direction. That is, the cardboard is more inclined to fold in a direction which runs with the grain. If such a fold does occur, the laminations create creases in the outer surface of the card that is on the inside of the fold and these creases run parallel to the grain direction. At the same time the surface of the outside of the fold can become torn. The hook 16 allows the hanger to be hung on a rail and is curved having an inner edge 22 and an outer edge 24 which are joined by an end 26. The majority of the inner and outer edges 22 and 24 and the end 26 are part circular in shape. As a result, the width W1 of the hook 16 is consistent along the majority of the hook before widening at the junction 28 where the hook 16 extends into the body 18. Similarly, the arms have a consistent width W2 along their length although many other shapes of arms or hanger types could be used to form the body 18 . The insert 14 is flat having a first surface 30 for engaging the surface of the hook 16 and a second surface 32 which is exposed when the hanger 10 is in use. The insert 14 is shaped to substantially match the shape of the hook 16 in that is has a curved section 34 but also has a straight section 36. The curved section 34 matches the curved shape of the hook and the straight section 36 extends across the junction 30 between the hook 14 and body 16. The insert 14 provides additional rigidity to the sheet material that forms the hook and in particular the junction between the hook and the body. In doing so the insert extends across that junction in a direction that is transverse to the grain direction of the laminated sheet material. That transverse direction can be perpendicular to the grain direction but can equally any angle that crosses the grain direction and reduces the likelihood of hook bending relative to the body. The first surface 30 has a series of protrusions 38 extending therefrom. The hook 16 has a matching series of apertures extending through the sheet material 12. The protrusions 38 and apertures 40 align so that when the insert 14 is brought into engagement with the hook 16, the protrusions extend into the apertures and retain the insert in fixed engagement with the sheet material 12. In more detail, the protrusions are formed having a pair of legs 42 with a gap 44 therebetween. The legs 42 each end in a foot 46 which extends perpendicular from the leg 42. A chamfered edge 48 aids insertion of the foot and leg into the aperture 40. The distance D from the first surface 30 to the foot 46 matches the thickness of the sheet material 12 so that when the protrusion extends through the aperture 30 in the sheet material, the foot extends out of the aperture and catches on the surface of the sheet around the aperture to retain the insert in position. This type of protrusion and aperture retainer make the hanger 10 easy to assemble and makes the insert easy to remove the insert for separate recycling. It should be noted that the gap 44 between the flexible legs 42 can be filled. In such an example, the protrusion then relies on slight deformation of the sheet material by the chamfered edge 48 to enable the protrusion to extend through the aperture and be retained in engagement with the sheet material. The insert is provided with information 42 which is printed onto or moulded into the plastic material of the insert 14. In the example shown in figure 4, this information relates to the size of the garment that is to be hung on the hanger 10. The insert is formed from polyester using an injection moulding technique to form the profiled shape. The polyester is preferably derived from offcuts collected from a garment manufacturer located nearby. However, any suitable plastic could be used including bioplastics and compostable plastics. Other plastics, such as polypropylene, which can be difficult to recycle in hanger form, can also be used as these can easily be recycled once removed from the sheet material. Referring now to figures 5 to 7, an alternative embodiment of the present invention is described in which like reference numerals, increase by 100, have been used to indicate features in common with the embodiment of figures 1 to 4. The hanger 110 is identical to that previously described. However, the insert 114 is formed to slide over the hook 116. The insert 114 is formed as a sheath which extends over the hook 116. The sheath 114 is a close, and preferably interference, fit to the hook 116 having a pair of sides 150 and 152 which, in use, engage the main planar surfaces of the hook 116. The sides 150 and 152 are connected by edges 154 and 156 which, in use, extend around and engage the inner and outer edges 122 and 124 of the hook 116. The edges 154 and 156 are connected by an end edge 158 which is shaped to match the end 126 of the hook. The edges 154, 156 and end 158 extend around the whole of the insert 114 except for an open end into which the hook is inserted. In contrast the sides 150 and 152 are incomplete in that they are divided in portions with spaces in between. The portions of the sides and the spaces are arranged so that a space on one side is aligned with a portion of a side on the other and vice As a result, the insert 114 can be injection moulded using a simple two part tool and the sides 150 and 152 are sufficiently complete to ensure that the insert stays in place on the hook. Because the hook 116 and the space defined by the edges 154, 156 and 158 and the sides 150 and 152 are all defining a part circle, the sheath simply slides over the hook and extends across the junction 128. This protects the narrowest part of the hook where the grain of the sheet material is weakest. The open end of the insert opposing the enclosed end 158 can be 5 extended and flared open more than is shown in figures 5 to 7. It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiments have been described by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope 10 of the protection which is defined by the appended claims. For example, the above embodiments are both a type of hanger known as a tops hanger, that is one design to carry garments such as shirts, blouses, T-shirts and lightweight jackets. However, the present invention is equally suitable for use on other types of 15 hangers including, but not limited to, bottoms hangers, lingerie hangers, footwear hangers, knitwear hangers and the like.

Claims

1. A garment hanger comprising:a suspension portion for suspending the hanger from a rail and a body for supporting the garment hung there on, wherein the suspension portion and the body are formed from a sheet material formed by a laminating process and having a grain with a grain direction; andan insert attached to the sheet material adjacent a junction between the suspension portion and the body and extending transverse to the grain direction.

2. A garment hanger according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the suspension portion and the body comprises apertures formed therein for receiving protrusions extending from the insert.

3. A garment hanger according to claim 2 wherein at least one the protrusion comprises a plurality of legs extending into the aperture and a plurality of feet, wherein a main surface of the insert engages one side of the sheet material and the feet engage another side of the sheet material.

4. A garment hanger according to any preceding claim whereinan inner edge of theinsertengagesan inner edge of thesuspension portion.

5. A garment hanger according to any preceding claim whereinthe insert is profiled.

6. A garment hanger according to any preceding claim whereinthe insert comprises a material more rigid than the sheetmaterial.

7. A garment hanger according to any preceding claim whereinthe insert comprises a polyester material formed from offcutsof polyester fabric.

8. A method of forming a garment hanger comprising the steps:forming a sheet material by a laminating process, the sheet material thereby having a grain with a grain direction;cutting a suspension portion for suspending the hanger from a rail and a body for supporting the garment hung there on from the sheet material; andfixing an insert to the sheet material adjacent a junction between the suspension portion and the body and extending transverse to the grain direction.

9. A garment hanger according to claim 8 further comprising cutting a plurality of apertures in at least one of the suspension portion and the body and inserting respective protrusions formed in the insert into the apertures.

10. A garment hanger according to claim 8 or 9 wherein the protrusion comprise a plurality of legs extending into the aperture and a plurality of feet, wherein a main surface of the insert engages one side of the sheet material and the feet engage another side of the sheet material.

11. A garment hanger according to any of claims 8 to 10 further comprising forming the insert from offcuts of polyester fabric.

12. A garment hanger comprising:a suspension portion for suspending the hanger from a rail and a body for supporting the garment hung there on, wherein the suspension portion and the body are formed from a sheet material; anda reinforcement portion extending around the suspension portion.

13. A garment hanger according to claim 12 wherein the reinforcement portion slides over the suspension portion.

14. A garment hanger according to claim 12 or 13 wherein the reinforcement portion comprises a sheath extending over the suspension portion, the sheath comprising a pair of sides for engaging each surface of the sheet material of the suspensionportion, wherein the sides have non-overlapping openings on each side .

15. A garment hanger comprising:a suspension portion for suspending the hanger from a rail and 5 a body for supporting the garment hung there on, wherein thesuspension portion and the body are formed from a sheet material, wherein the suspension portion comprises an insert formed from a more rigid material than the sheet material and fixed thereto.10

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