Background of the invention

The present invention refers to a method for manufacturing a cloth hanger and a cloth hanger manufactured in accordance with the method.

Cloth hangers intended for suspending garments for storing or window-display purposes in shops formerly have been made almost exclusively of wood, with an arched massive wooden part, provided with a hook, often made of metal, projecting from its convex side. With the development of manufacturing machines and methods, the wooden part later on has been profiled in accordance with the garments that are to be hung thereon and has been provided with a stiffening crosspiece functioning as a trouser hanger, and/or with notches or separate hooks fastened thereto to hang the waist-band of skirts and the like. The massive wood construction was heavy and ever more costly with increasing wood prices, for what reasons it was replaced by laminated wooden hangers. However, even these became relatively expensive.

For simpler objects and lighter garments, steel wire hangers were developed, that were bent to the shape of a hanger with an integrated hook therein. These hangers are relatively weak and they have not such an aesthetic value, that they for instance are used within the sales stage.

With the development of the plastics industry, hangers made from plastic material also appeared, whereby a series of different types was developed. Thus, there are flat plastic hangers made in one piece with an integrated hook, hangers with a moulded or screwed in metal hook or the like, hangers profiled in different ways, hangers for different purposes, such as suit hangers, dress hangers, and so on. There is in

other words a series of hangers for different purposes and with some mutually divergent forms.

Many of these plastic hangers function well and give a good support to the garment, without wrinkling or causing stretches by hanging askew, and, since they, from economical reasons, are superior to the wooden hangers, they have acquired an ever increasing market position.

A drawback with plastic hangers, which has earlier not been taken into consideration to an appreciable extent is that the plastic hangers are resource-demanding as they in most cases require raw materials from the petroleum branch, and above all they, after their time of use cause environmental problems in taking care of and destroying the used hangers.

Purpose and most essential features the invention

The purpose of the invention is to provide a method for manufacturing cloth hangers, which do not have the drawbacks stated above, but which are easy to manufacture, comparable with the plastic hangers in consideration of costs and above all non-polluting at manufacture as well as at destruction after final use, and this has been reached by using fibreboard as starting material for the cloth hanger.

Description of drawings

Hereinafter the invention will be described more in detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a cloth hanger according to the invention in a perspective view, obliquely from above. Fig. 2 shows in a perspective view obliquely from below the hanger according to Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows in perspective corresponding to Fig. 1 the

inner base part of the cloth hanger according to the invention.

Fig.s 4 and 5 shows in perspective views corresponding to Fig. 1 and 2 the outer part of the cloth hanger according to the invention, and

Fig. 6 shows the stowage of a number of outer parts of the cloth hanger according to the invention.

The cloth hanger 1 according to the invention comprises, as shown in Fig.s 1 and 2 an inner base part 2, and an outer part 3. The inner base part 2, as it appears more clearly from Fig. 3, then is made as a plane profile pressed from a plane fibreboard and punched out in one piece with a suspension device designed as a hook part 4 from which two symmetrically arranged arms 5 extend. The ends of the arms 5, facing away from the hook part 4, in the embodiment shown are interconnected by a cross bar 6, which, together with the arms 5, form a substantially triangular, flat frame with a shape that basically corresponds to the shape of a conventional cloth hanger. On the upper side near the arm ends interconnetced with the cross bar 6, the arms 5 are provided with formations such as notches 7, for hanging e.g. skirts. Prefereably there are furthermore, near the portions of the arms merging into the hook part 4, provided shoulders 8 projecting downwards, the function of which will be further described hereinafter.

In Fig.s 1 and 2 is shown how the outer part 3 is positioned thus that it extends along and above the edge of the base part 2 turned upward towards the hook part 4, thus that it forms a broad, profiled top surface, which in a roof-like manner extends over the thin upper edge of the plane base part, which would otherwise give marked creases to garments hung thereon, which are not excepitonally light.

In order to produce such a covering outer part 3, as shown in Fig.s 4 and 5, this is made as a thin lamina, bent

angularly and symmetrically, and having two arm parts 9, of substantially corresponding angles, as the arms 5 of the base part 2. The arm parts 9 are each convexly curved at the top side. On the underside, the arm parts 9 hereby obtain a concave form, which means that they can centre themselves on the upper edge of the base part. In the part 10 inter¬ connecting the arm parts 9, the outer part is provided with a slotted through-opening, through which the hook part 4 of the base part can be inserted, thus that the two arm parts 9 of the outer part 3 will be positioned symmetrically about the hook part in the base part, and with their convex upper portions turned away from the edge of the base part. The length of the slotted through.opemning 11 is such that it corresponds to the distance between the symmetrically provided shoulders 8 of the base part 2, whereby the outer part 3 will be further guided to a correct position on the base part 2. Due to the positioning of the outer part 3 in this way over the base part 2, the resulting hanger, provided with broad hanging surfaces, will be remarkably stable and shape rigid.

When manufacturing a hanger thus entirely shaped from a fibreboard lamina, a board made from a long-fibred pulp is used as starting material. Particularly the outer part 3, but also the base part 2, require higher stability and strength than the untreated board, and for this purpose the board is immersed into water with an additive of thermo resin, until a moisture content of 40 to 60% is reached.

Thererupon the board is form pressed at a temperature between 250 and 350°C and under a low pressure of 4 - 10 kg/cm ² . During this pressing operation at high temperature, the thermo resin will harden and thereby the stability in the hardened detail will increase.

The resin furthermore contributes in giving the material a harder and more dense surface, and the prerequisites for

further material treatment, e.g. for example lacquering, are thereby improved.

By immersing the material in water before the form pressing, it becomes softer and thereby easier to shape.

The pressing time for forming the board into the shape of the outer part 3 of the hanger, is between 2 and 4 minutes.

As the base part 2 has a plane shape, also in its pressed and punched final state, this part takes very little space during transport and storage, and, as shown in Fig. 6, the outer parts 3, which are bent in two different planes, can be stacked in one another, in such a way that even they, during transport and storage, occupy very little space, at the same time as it, due to the design described above, is very easy to position the outer part in a correctly assembled position on the base part when the hanger is to be used.

Due to the possibilities of exchanging the outer part associated with the base part, it is e.g. possible, with differently coloured outer parts, to vary the colour of the hangers according to individual wishes. Thereby it is possible, e.g. to lacquer base parts and outer parts in different colours, and/or to add different colour pigments to the pulp, already when producing the board, before dewatering.

As the cloth hanger according to the invention consists exclusively of wood fiber, with a very small fraction of thermo resin, it is very resource-saving and non-polluting both in manufacture and regarding taking care of it after final use, regardless of whether used solely as the base part, as shown in Fig. 3, or if, more usually, used with the outer part in position, such as shown in Fig. 1.