Garrison, Judd F. (Grand Rapids, MI)
Batts, John H. (Grand Rapids, MI)

05/238182

01/29/1974

03/27/1972

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John Thomas Batts, Inc. (Zeeland, MI)

211/123

A47F7/19; E06B7/28; A47F5/00

211/123,96,107,110,105.1 248/221,125,223,246,307,304 24/23SC 287/119R

3550784

HANGER OF SLACKS OR THE LIKE

December 1970

Batts

Britts, Ramon S.

Price, Heneveld, Huizenga & Cooper

1. A display bar for clothing comprising: an elongated body having first and second ends; means at said first end of said body for mounting said bar to a support; a hook generally at said second end of said body for supporting a coat hanger; said body including an aperture therethrough of sufficient length and width to support a tie inserted therethrough; at least the bottom surface of said aperture comprising flange means of sufficient breadth from one side of said body to the other to support a tie without chafing or abrading the tie; said body being generally flat on top and having sufficient length to support a pair of trousers hung thereover; the vertical plane of said hook being generally perpendicular to the vertical plane of said body, whereby a coat on a coat hanger supported on said hook would hang in a vertical plane generally parallel to said vertical plane of said body.

2. The display bar of claim 1 in which said hook includes a shank, bite and barb; said shank including an aperture therein in direct alignment with said barb, the area defined by said aperture being greater than the area defined by the perimeter of said barb.

3. The display bar of claim 1 comprising: said bar being sufficiently wide at its widest point that a substantial portion of the shoulder area of a garment suspended on a hanger from said hook is visible when a plurality of said display bars are mounted in vertically adjacent relationship and a plurality of coats are supported on said hooks.

4. The trouser bar of claim 3 in which said body is wider at said first end than it is at said second end.

5. The display bar of claim 4 in which said body at its widest point is approximately as wide as a coat hanger hook is tall; said hook of said display bar being positioned approximately midway between the top and bottom of said bar, as measured at its widest point.

6. The display bar of claim 1 in which a lip protrudes upwardly from said body above the level of said generally flat top thereof, generally at said second end thereof.

7. The display bar of claim 1 comprising: a pair of vertically adjacent mounting heads projecting from one end of said body; a separate mounting bracket for mating engagement with each of said heads; cooperating means on said head and on said brackets for matingly engaging said heads and said brackets; means on said brackets for mounting them to a support.

8. A display bar for clothing comprising: an elongated body having first and second ends; means at said first end of said body for mounting said bar to a support; a hook generally at said second end of said body for supporting a coat hanger; said body including an aperture therethrough of sufficient length and width to support a tie inserted therethrough; a pair of vertically adjacent mounting heads projecting from one end of said body; a separate mounting bracket for mating engagement with each of said heads; cooperating means on said head and on said brackets for matingly engaging said heads and said brackets; means on said brackets for mounting them to a support; each of said brackets including a socket; said heads being inserted into said socket; the upper one of said heads including a key projecting upwardly therefrom; the socket of a first one of said brackets including an upper wall having a slot therein for receiving said key; the bottom one of said heads including a latch; the socket of the second of said brackets including a keeper for matingly engaging said latch.

9. The display bar of claim 8 comprising; each of said sockets including an opening in the front thereof through which said heads are inserted into said sockets; each of said openings being defined generally by a bottom wall, a top wall and a pair of sidewalls; each of said heads being narrower at the rear, away from said body, than at the front, and including a bottom surface which slopes generally downwardly from the rear toward the front whereby said key on said upper head can first be inserted into said slot and said bar can then be rotated downwardly to complete the insertion of said heads into said sockets.

10. The display bar of claim 9 in which the bottom surface of each of said heads near the front thereof rests on said bottom wall of said socket and the top surface of each of said heads lies closely adjacent said top wall of said socket when said heads are fully inserted into said sockets.

11. The display bar of claim 10 comprising: said latch projecting forwardly from the rear of said lower head towards said body, and towards said opening of said socket when said lower head is in said socket; said keeper being positioned forwardly of said rear of said lower head when said lower head is positioned in said socket; said latch being inclined downwardly from the rear of said lower head and defining at least a portion of the bottom surface of said head.

12. The display bar of claim 11 in which each of said brackets is generally the same construction whereby said brackets can be used interchangeably with either said upper or lower heads.

13. A display bar for clothing comprising: an elongated body having first and second ends; means at said first end of said body for mounting said bar to a support; a hook, generally at the second end of said body for supporting a coat hanger, the vertical plane of said hook being generally perpendicular to the vertical plane of said body, whereby a coat on a coat hanger supported on said hook would hang in a vertical plane generally parallel to said vertical plane of said body; said bar being sufficiently wide at its widest point that a substantial portion of the shoulder area of a garment suspended on a hanger from said hook is visible when a plurality of said display bars are mounted in vertically adjacent relationship and a plurality of coats are supported on hangers on said hooks; said body being wider at said first end than it is at said second end; said body at its widest point being approximately as wide as a coat hanger hook is tall; said hook of said display bar being positioned approximately midway between the top and bottom of said bar, as measured at its widest point.

14. The display bar of claim 13 comprising: said body being generally flat on top and having sufficient length to support a pair of trousers hung thereover.

15. The display bar of claim 14 in which a lip protrudes upwardly from said body, generally at said second end thereof.

16. A display bar for clothing comprising: a body; a pair of vertically adjacent mounting heads projecting from one end of said body; a separate mounting bracket for mating engagement with each of said heads; cooperating means on said head and on said brackets for matingly engaging said heads and said brackets; means on said brackets for mounting them to a support; each of said brackets including a socket; said heads being inserted into said socket; the upper one of said heads including a key projecting upwardly therefrom; the socket of a first one of said brackets including an upper wall having a slot therein for receiving said key; the bottom one of said heads including a latch; the socket of the second of said brackets including a keeper for matingly engaging said latch.

17. The display bar of claim 16 comprising: each of said sockets including an opening in the front thereof through which said heads are inserted into said sockets; each of said openings being defined generally by a bottom wall, a top wall and a pair of sidewalls; each of said heads being narrower at the rear, away from said body, than at the front, and including a bottom surface which slopes generally downwardly from the rear toward the front whereby said key on said upper head can first be inserted into said slot and said bar can then be rotated downwardly to complete the insertion of said heads into said socket.

18. The display bar of claim 17 in which the bottom surface of each of said heads near the front thereof rests on said bottom wall of said socket and the top surface of each of said heads lies closely adjacent said top wall of said socket when said heads are fully inserted into said sockets.

19. The display bar of claim 18 comprising: said latch projecting forwardly from the rear of said lower head towards said body, and towards said opening of said socket when said lower head is in said socket; said keeper being positioned forwardly of said rear of said lower head when said lower head is positioned in said socket; said latch being inclined downwardly from the rear of said lower head and defining at least a portion of the bottom surface of said head.

20. The display bar of claim 19 in which each of said brackets is generally the same construction whereby said brackets can be used interchangeably with either said upper or lower heads.

21. The display bar of claim 16 in which each of said brackets is generally the same construction whereby said brackets can be used interchangeably with either said upper or lower heads.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to clothing display devices. It is particularly adaptable for use in displaying men's clothing.

It is customary to display men's sport coats or suits on a coat hanger having a trouser bar attachment. The coat hangers are then hung on poles along the wall. While this is a fairly acceptable way of displaying men's suits, it suffers a drawback with respect to the display of sport coat and slack combinations since the slacks hang beneath the sport coat and are therefore only partially visible at best.

Slack bars mounted on a pole and projecting therefrom have been used to display men's slacks (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,550,784 to John H. Batts, issued Dec. 29, 1970). However heretofore, the only way in which a sport coat and a pair of slacks could be adequately displayed has been either to dress a mannequin, or to drape a coat over a support and drape a pair of slacks either over the coat or alongside the coat in some manner. A similar problem has been encountered with ties. While tie racks have been used in the past to display ties, the only way ties could be displayed in combination with sport coats, or in combination with sport coats and slacks has been either to dress a mannequin or to drape a coat on a counter or stand in some way and then drape a tie over the coat in some manner.

While such a procedure is acceptable for displaying a few select items, it is impossible to display an entire line of sport coats and slacks or sport coats and ties in this manner. The number of displays required would take up far too much space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the present invention, a clothing display bar is provided which is capable of simultaneously displaying coats and ties, coats and slacks, or in some cases, a combination of all three. Most importantly, the display bar of the present invention makes it possible to achieve these ends in a minimum amount of space, thereby enabling the display of an entire line of such combinations.

The display bar of the present invention includes an elongated body with means at one end thereof for mounting the bar to a support and with a hook at the other end thereof to support a coat hanger. The body includes an aperture there-through of sufficient length and width to support a tie. One can hang a sport coat on the hook, slip a tie through the aperture and thereby display the tie and sport coat on a single display bar. Preferably, the elongated body of the display bar is sufficiently long that a pair of slacks can be supported thereon. In this manner, one can simultaneously display a pair of slacks and a sport coat in side-by-side relation on a single display bar. If the tie supporting aperture is positioned near either end of the body, and if the body is sufficiently long for the particular slacks being hung thereon, one can simultaneously display coat, slacks and tie.

In another aspect of the invention, the display bar is at least approximately as wide from top to bottom at one point as a coat hanger hook is tall. Thus, when one bar is positioned generally above another, on the same supporting pole, coats hung on coat hangers supported on the supporting hooks will be visible at least at the top portions thereof. If the bar were not at least as wide as the coat hanger hook, one would be more likely to see a vertical line of hooks when looking at the display, rather than a plurality of generally vertically adjacent sport coats. Preferably, the body at its widest point is approximately as wide as a coat hanger hook in order that space might be conserved, and the hook of the bar body is positioned approximately midway between the top and bottom of the body. This causes the hook of each hanger hung on each display bar to be positioned generally behind and in line with the end of the next lower display bar, and prevents the header portion of the coat hanger and upper portion of the sport coat hung thereon from being blocked from view by the next lower display bar.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a display bar which, even though it is wider than a simple slack bar would have to be, can be supported by the same brackets as a narrower slack bar would be. Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a display bar which is interchangeable with the slack bar described in co-pending application Ser. No. 198 238 entitled SLACKS HANGER which is owned by the assignee of the present application and which was invented by one of the joint inventors of the present invention. Thus, the display bar of the present invention includes a pair of vertically adjacent mounting heads projecting from one end of the body and a separate mounting bracket for mating engagement with each of the heads. The heads and brackets include means cooperating to facilitate the mating engagement thereof and the brackets include means thereon to facilitate mounting them to a support. In this manner, the wider bar of the present invention can be supported from two brackets, either one of which would be capable of supporting a narrower slack bar.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be further appreciated and understood by reference to the written specification and appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the display bar embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the display bar positioned in a pair of vertically adjacent mounting brackets which in turn are mounted on a supporting pole;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the display bar mounted in a pair of vertically adjacent brackets;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along plane IV--IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along plane V--V of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the display bar;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along plane VII--VII of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along plane VIII--VIII of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the preferred embodiment, display bar 1 includes an elongated body 10 having a hook 20 at one end, a tie supporting aperture 30 therethrough and upper and lower mounting heads 40 and 50, respectively, at the opposite end (FIG. 1). The entire display bar 1 is preferably molded from plastic in one piece. The upper and lower mounting heads 40 and 50 are received in separate brackets 60 which in turn are mounted on a supporting pole 70 or the like (FIG. 2). Brackets 60 are preferably molded from plastic in one piece.

Body 10 includes a top trouser supporting flange 11 which extends from one end thereof to the other. It is generally smooth and flat, being slightly rounded in cross section in order to eliminate any sharp corners upon which the trousers might chafe (FIGS. 7 and 8). Body 10, in turn, is sufficiently long that a pair of slacks or trousers can be supported on top flange 11. Flange 11 is coated with a non-slip material, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,866,583 issued on Dec. 30, 1958 to John H. Batts, entitled GARMENT HOLDER WITH HIGH FRICTION SURFACE, to prevent the trousers from slipping off bar 1.

Body 10 is reinforced with a peripheral rib including rib 12 which extends vertically along the rear edge of body 10, rib 12a which slopes upwardly from the rear of body 10 along the bottom thereof, and rib 12b which extends vertically upwardly again at the front thereof. At the front edge, peripherial rib 12b projects vertically upwardly beyond the top surface of top flange 11 to define a lip 13. Lip 13 serves to prevent a pair of trousers from sliding off the end of display bar 1.

The particular configuration and proportions of the various dimensions of the body 10 are important to the sport coat displaying function of the present invention. Thus, body 10 is wider at its rear end, adjacent mounting heads 40 and 50, than it is at its front end adjacent hook 20. This insures that there will be an open space below each display bar 1 when it is mounted vertically adjacent another display bar 1 on pole 70. Thus, this insures that portions of a sport coat hung on a hanger which is, in turn, supported by hook 20 will be visible through this open space.

More specifically, it is important that body 10 at its widest point is sufficiently wide that a significant portion of the shoulder area of a sport coat is exposed to the eye when a plurality of sport coats are hung on a plurality of vertically adjacent display bars. If each bar were only a half-inch wide, then only about a half-inch of the shoulder area of each sport coat would be visible. Thus, it is preferable that body 10 at its widest point, its rear end, be approximately two inches wide.

This preferable dimension of approximately two inches is also important because it is approximately the same as the height of the hook portion of a coat hanger. By positioning hook 20 approximately midway of the width of body 10, as measured at its widest point, the hook of each coat hanger will be at least partially blocked from view by the front end of the next lower display bar 1. While the upper portion of the coat hanger hook will be visible, the lower approximately one-half of the coat hanger hook will be hidden from view. The more attractive header portion of the hanger will then be visible below the front end of the next lower display bar. In this manner, one achieves a display of maximum attractiveness.

Hook 20 is molded integrally with body 10 at the front end thereof (FIGS. 1 and 6). Hook 20 includes a shank 21, a bite 22 and a barb 23. Hook 20, particularly bite 22 and barb 23, projects generally out of the vertical plane of body 10 such that a coat on a coat hanger hung from hook 20 will tend to hang slightly in front of a pair of slacks draped over top flange 11 (FIG. 6). Further, the vertical plane of hook 20, i.e., the plane of the drawings when viewing either FIG. 6 or FIG. 7, is generally perpendicular to the vertical plane of body 10, i.e., the plane of the drawings when viewing either FIG. 1 or FIG. 2. This causes a coat on a garment hanger hung from hook 20 to hang in a plane generally parallel to the plane in which a pair of slacks hangs when draped over top flange 11.

Shank 21 of hook 20 includes an aperture 24 therein which is in direct alignment with the upwardly projecting barb 23 (FIGS. 1 and 7). Aperture 24 defines an area greater than that defined by the perimeter of barb 23 to thereby facilitate molding of display bar 1 in a simple two-piece mold, i.e., a mold having only a pair of cavity defining members with no cammed portions. If shank 21 were solid, display bar 1 would have to be molded in a mold having a cammed portion for camming into the area between shank 21 and barb 23. Aperture 24 allows display bar 1 to be molded in a two-piece mold opening in a horizontal direction as viewed in FIG. 7.

Tie supporting aperture 30 is an elongated opening or slot through body 10 (FIGS. 1 and 8). It is sufficiently wide and sufficiently long that a tie can be passed therethrough for display in conjunction with a coat, or possibly in conjunction with a coat and a pair of slacks. Aperture 30 includes a peripheral flange 31 which provides a wider supporting surface for a tie draped therethrough and which eliminates any sharp edges which might tend to chafe or abrade the tie.

Aperture 30 is located generally towards one end of body 10, preferably the rear end, such that at least with narrower width slacks, a pair of slacks and a tie can be displayed simultaneously. Body 10 can then be made sufficiently long that a pair of slacks can be draped over top flange 11 without entirely covering aperture 30.

Upper and lower mounting heads 40 and 50 are each designed for insertion into a separate mounting bracket 60 (FIG. 2). The mounting brackets 60 are identical and are similar in construction to the brackets described in application Ser. No. 198 238 referred to above in the "Summary of the Invention". As described in that application, each mounting bracket 60 includes a head-receiving socket 61 for receiving either head 40 or head 50 of display bar 1. Socket 61 is integral with a cylindrical collar 69 which slips over a pole 70 (FIGS. 2 and 4). Each socket 61 is defined by a pair of sidewalls 64, a top wall 62 and a bottom wall 63 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 4). These various walls define a front socket opening through which either head 40 or head 50 is inserted into the socket.

The key distinction between the brackets 60 employed in the present invention and the bracket described in Ser. No. 198 238 is that the top wall 62 of the socket 61 of the present bracket 60 includes a slot 65 therein which facilitates a positive mating lock between a bracket 60 and the upper head 40 of display bar 1 (FIG. 4). Upper head 40 includes a key 45 projecting upwardly from the upper surface thereof which has approximately the same dimensions as slot 65. Thus, upper head 40 is inserted into bracket 60 such that key 45 projects upwardly into slot 65 (FIGS. 3 and 4). This prevents display bar 1 from rotating in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 2, and thereby tipping forwardly out of engagement with brackets 60. While such rotation is to some extent prevented by the fact that the top of upper head 40 engages top wall 62 of bracket 60, the leverage created by placing a sport coat supporting hanger on the hook 20 is sufficiently greater than the added insurance of key 45 and mating slot 65 is desirable.

Slot 65 in upper wall 62 is not necessary to facilitate the engagement of lower head 50 with bracket 60, nor is it necessary to facilitate the mating engagement of the slack bar referred to in patent application Ser. No. 198 238 with the bracket. However, neither does it interfere with such mating engagement. Each of the brackets 60 can be used interchangeably with upper head 40, lower head 50 or with the head on the slack bar described in patent application Ser. No. 198 238.

The top of upper head 40 is defined by a reinforcing rib 41 which extends rearwardly from vertical rib 12 of body 10 and which is generally integral and continuous with top flange 11 of body 10 (FIG. 1). The rear of head 40 is defined by a vertical rib 42 which extends downwardly from its juncture with top rib 41. The bottom of upper head 40 is defined in part by a bottom rib 43 which projects rearwardly a short distance from vertical rib 12. It is further defined in part by the bottom edge of a web portion 44 which joins ribs 41, 42, 43 and 12 together. It is important that the rear of upper head 40 be narrower than the front and that the bottom edge of head 40, as defined by the bottom of web 44, slope forwardly and downwardly from the rear of upper head 40. This facilitates the insertion of key 45 into slot 65. Thus, the entire display bar 1 can be tilted upwardly at an angle to mounting bracket 60 to allow key 45 to slide past top wall 62. Once key 45 is in place below slot 65, display bar 1 can be rotated in a clockwise direction until key 45 slips upwardly into slot 65, top rib 41 abuts top wall 62 of socket 60, and bottom rib 43 abuts and rests against bottom wall 63 of socket 60 (FIG. 4). The fact that the bottom edge of head 40 slopes downwardly and forwardly from the rear thereof facilitates the initial insertion of upper head 40 into bracket 60 at an angle.

Lower head 50 must be similar in configuration to upper head 40 for precisely the same reason. Thus, top rib 51 projects rearwardly from its juncture with vertical rib 12 and a rear rib 52 projects downwardly from top rib 51 (FIG. 1). A bottom support rib 53 projects a short distance rearwardly from vertical rib 12 and serves the same supporting function as bottom rib 43 of upper head 40 (FIG. 4). Like upper head 40, the remainder of the bottom of lower head 50, defined by latch 55, slopes forwardly and downwardly from the rear thereof in order to facilitate the insertion of lower head 50 into bracket 60 at an angle.

Latch 55 prevents the unintentional removal of display bar 1 from the pair of brackets 60. It includes a front stepped or grooved portion 57 which matingly engages the rear edge of bottom wall 63 of bracket 60 (FIGS. 1 and 4). Latch 55 is resiliently flexible such that it will slide past bottom wall 63 when it is being inserted into socket 61, but will snap into place behind bottom wall 63 once head 50 is in place. To facilitate intentional removal, the bottom of each bracket 60 is left open at 66 such that one can insert a finger through opening 66 and depress latch 55 upwardly until groove 57 is free of the rear edge of bottom wall 63.

Finally, bottom head 50 includes a restraining flange 56 extending from vertical rib 12 to approximately the midpoint of latch 55. Restraining flange 56 helps prevent latch 55 from being inadvertently broken off in case someone tries to remove display bar 1 from bracket 60 without first depressing latch 55.

OPERATION

In operation, a plurality of mounting brackets 60 are mounted on a vertical pole 70. Pole 70 might be a wall mounted pole or might be supported from a stand. A display bar 1 is then mounted in each adjacent pair of brackets 60. This is accomplished by tilting display bar 1 upwardly slightly and inserting upper head 40 and lower head 50 into brackets 60 at an angle. Once key 45 is in position beneath slot 65, display bar 1 is rotated downwardly, in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2, until key 45 projects into slot 65 and latch 55 snaps into place behind bottom wall 63 (FIG.4). At this point, upper and lower heads 40 and 50 will be positioned snugly within their respective brackets 60.

Once a plurality of such display bars 1 are so mounted, they can be rotated slightly with respect to one another such that a pair of slacks can be hung over one bar 1 without simultaneously hanging over the next lower bar 1. A pair of slacks is draped over the top flange 11 of body 10.

Simultaneously, a sport coat can be displayed on display bar 1. It is supported on a coat hanger which, in turn, is hung by its hook on hook 20. Because each display bar 1 is rotated slightly with respect to each vertically adjacent display bar 1, a portion of the sleeve of the sport coat will be visible when the display is viewed generally from the front. The upper shoulder portions of the sport coat will also be visible for the reasons set forth hereinabove.

Provided the particular slacks used are not too wide, it may also be possible to simultaneously display a tie with a pair of slacks and a sport coat, or simply with a pair of slacks. This would be accomplished by slipping the tie through aperture 30 such that it hangs downwardly from display bar 1. More often, however, one will merely want to display a tie in conjunction with a sport coat by hanging a sport coat from hook 20 and draping a tie through aperture 30.

If desired, the particular pole 70 and set of brackets 60 upon which the display bars 1 are mounted can be used interchangeably with narrower slack bars of the type disclosed in patent application Ser. No. 198 238. Such slack bars have only a single head which corresponds generally to lower head 50 of display bar 1.

As a result of this invention, a tremendous versatility of display is achieved with a minimum of floor space area. An entire line of sport coats and slacks can be displayed simultaneously. An entire line of ties and sport coats can be displayed simultaneously. In some situations, even an entire line of ties, trousers and sport coats can be displayed simultaneously.

Further, versatility is achieved in that the display bars 1 of the present invention are readily interchangeable with narrower slack supporting bars. This is because display bar 1 is provided with a double-headed supporting means, with each head being capable of engaging a separate supporting bracket, which in turn is capable of supporting the single supporting head of a narrower slack bar.

Of course, it is understood that the above is merely a preferred embodiment of the invention and that various changes and alterations can be made to the preferred embodiment without departing from the spirit and broader aspects of the invention.