US2176792A - Garment carrier - Google Patents

Description

Oct 17, 1939. A. E. CURRIE GARMENT CARRIER Filed July 10, 1957 flrtizariarfik BY pMz/ ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 17, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIE 6 Claims.

This invention relates, in general, to garment carriers and more especially to a type of garment carrier which may be'used either within a conventional suit case or as an individual piece of luggage.

When traveling today it is often convenient to be able to increase the room in ones luggage by removing one piece of luggage from within another. This makes it possible to keep the number of pieces at a minimum at all times and yet have the possibility of expanding the total capacity.

There is now also a demand made upon even hand cases that they be adapted to carry outer garments, such as mens suits and ladies gowns, in such a manner that no wrinkles are introduced during transit leaving them ready to wear immediately when unpacked.

A primary object of this invention is the provision of a garment carrier sufficiently compact to be placed within a suit case and yet fulfill the requirements of an individual piece of luggage.

Another object of this invention is to provide a garment carrier by means of which either suits or gowns may be secured so as to prevent any rumpling or creasing by folding, thus preserving the original neatness of appearance of the garments when packed.

Another object is to provide a removable suit case fitting having the combination of clothes hangers and a substantially rigid support for garments placed upon the hangers.

A further object is to provide a removable suit case fitting for suits and gowns with a cover which may be used on the outside of the fitting when it is carried as an individual piece of luggage, and which may be compactly folded out of the way when the fitting is used within a suit case.

Still another object is to provide a suit case garment hanger which gives complete support to clothes placed thereon so that other articles in the same suit case will not rumple the clothes upon the hanger.

Still another object of this invention is the provision of a clothes hanger adapted to fit within a suit case, which may be removed and hung up with the clothes either in the position as normally hung upon a clothes hanger or in a more compact form and with or without a covering over the clothes when hung in either manner.

Still a further object of the invention is the provision of a removable suit case garment hanger which is light in weight, occupies .a minimum of space in a suit case and yet is a rugged piece of luggage when carried separately.

Other objects of the invention not specifically mentioned will be apparent from these specifications and the accompanying drawing forming 6 a part thereof. Modifications may be made by those skilled in the art and it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited nor restricted to the exact constructions and formations shown and described, but that the invention is to be limited and restricted only by the spirit and scope of the claims appended hereto.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a front elevational view of a garment carrier embodying the invention, shown in the extended position and having the cover closed over the garments;

Fig. 2 is similar to Fig. 1 except that the cover is shown open;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the garment carrier, with cover, in the closed position, i. e. as when the article is used as a separate piece of luggage;

Fig. 4 is similar to Fig. 3 except that the cover is removed or folded within the body of the garment carrier;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken at line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view through a suit case showing the garment carrier of this invention within a tray in the suit case; and

Fig. '7 is a sectional View at the top of the garment carrier showing how the clothes hangers, handle and cover at this location are arranged.

It will be seen from the drawing that this garment carrier when extended holds a mans suit just as held by a hanger and that in this position the cover may be opened or closed.

The body 10 of the carrier consists of two substantially equal sized rectangular boards II and I2 secured together by means of hinges [3 which permit them to form one large surface when in the open position shown in Fig. 2 which may be folded in the middle and back upon itself as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. These boards II and [2 may be made from any thin, fairly rigid light weight material such as wood, cardboard, fiber or any of the Well known composition boards, three-ply veneer having a thickness of one-eighth of an inch or less having been found suitable. These boards may be covered or lined with any suitable material such as linen, washable cloth or paper or plush by pasting or tacking it thereto.

To the top of board H a shallow strip M of the same material is secured thereto by means of hinges I5 so mounted that the strip I4 is adapted to pivot toward the front of the board II, while board I2 pivots in the opposite direction. A handle I6 is formed in or secured to the strip I4 for carrying the clothes hanger and a flat hook I! is pivoted to the upper portion of the board I I as at I8 for hanging the apparatus in an automobile, on the hat rack of a Pullman car or in a closet.

On either side of the front of the board or support II near its top corners hanger racks l9 and 20 are secured. These racks may be made from sheet metal or cast from any reasonably strong plastic or other material. They are shown as formed with side plates 2|, top plates 22, bottom plates 23, and front plates 24 extending from. the bottom plates 23 part way up to the top plates 22. A plate at the back may be used for securing the rack to the board or support I I. There is no obstruction on the adjacent sides of the rack I9 and 29 thus permitting clothes hangers 25 to be suspended between them. These hangers 25 are formed with a strip 26 across the top, the ends of which are adapted to pass the openings 21 between the top plates 22 and the front plates 23 of the racks I9 and 29. The hangers are thus very simple in form and are yet easily mountable on the garment carrier by merely slipping them in the openings 2'! and permitting them to rest upon and be suspended between the bottom plates 23. The hangers themselves may be of any desired shape and designed for suits, coats, gowns or blankets.

In Fig, 2 a suit 28 is shown mounted on the hanger, but this carrier is equally as efficient for gowns. When it is desired to hang a long gown the shoulders thereof are mounted upon the hanger in a similar manner to the mans coat illustrated. The lower portion of the gown is then folded forward upon itself and the bottom is desirable to straighten them so that the desirable creases will be preserved and no others introduced. When they are so arranged they may be so held by securing an elastic strap 29,

provi-dedfor the purpose, by its ends between studs or loops 30 mounted on either side of the supporting board portion II. In a like manner a double elastic supporting piece of fabric 3| provided on the lower board portion I2 is stretched across the garments to hold them fiat against the supporting surface I2. Another convenient way of mounting these elastic straps is to have hooks on the ends thereof which hook around the side edges of the boards I! and I2 in a well known manner.

A special advantage of the garment carrier of this invention is its ability to be halved in area by breaking or bending in the middle backward, thus affording at the same time a compact piece of luggage which not only holds the garments in pristine condition, but while folding the garments does so over a rigid support which is then disposed between the two: portions of the folded garment thus obviating any sharp crease in the garments as when they are, packed in the common way in an ordinary suit case, folded upon themselves. The upper board II is provided with button holes 32 through which turn buttons 33 mounted on the back of the lower board I2 project when the carrier is in the folded position. These provide means for keeping the carrier in this position.

Since the handle strip portion I4 may be pivoted to a position normal to the board II this reduces the overall dimensions of the folded garment carrier, permitting it to be used within a piece of luggage, as shown in Fig. 6, of a minimum size. It is convenient to carry this apparatus as a fitting and place it on top of the other clothes within a case, so that when a stop is made it may be conveniently removed, extended, and hung up by means of the previously described hook N. If it is desired to construct the fronts 24 of the hanger brackets I9 and 20 solid for the full height of the sides 2| thereof, so that the hangers 25 may not be removed from the front, the tops 22 of these brackets I9 and 29 may then be omitted, the hangers 25 inserted and removed from the top. When the entire article is hung up the hangers will obviously remain in place and when laid horizontally 'or stood upside down as would be the case when the suit case of Fig. 6 is carried, the handle strip I4 is pivoted to close the tops of the hanger brackets I9 and 29 and cause the hangers to be retainedtherein.

Another special feature of this invention is the cover 34, composed of two portions 35 and 36 which may be either detachably mounted to the boards H and I2 or secured near the side edges thereof as shown in the drawing. The edges of the cover portions 35 and 36 parallel to the edges secured to the board portions II and I2 each have one portion 31 of a zipper fastener 38 attached thereto, whereby they may be joined into a continuous cover over the front of the garment carrier. These cover portions 35 and 36 are each longer than the extended garment carrier, having an overhang 39 at the bottom and being formed into portions 49 and 4| respectively of a flap at the top. To the'fiap portion M a strap 43 is secured in such a position as to be adapted to be engaged by a buckle 44 secured to the lower portion of the cover member 4|. When the cover 34 is closed by means of the zipper fastener 38 the garment carrier may be folded neatly b-y tucking the lower cover portion 39 between the boards II and I2 and then securing the upper and lower portions of the cover 34 by means 'of the strap 43 and the buckle 44. slots 45, which may be bound with any suitable material, and which are adapted'to permit access to the handle I6 when the cover is closed over the garment carrier in either the extended or folded positions. A fiap 46 is provided to go through the slots 45 in the cover and the handle I6 so that dust may be kept from entering these openings to the interior of the garment carrier. The overhang portion 39 of the cover may be provided, if desired, with means for fastening it to the back of the lower board I2 to complete the closing of the cover when the garment carrier is to be used in the extended position, as for storing clothes in a closet, or when hung in an automobile.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new andJ-desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A garment carrier comprising two thin substantially rectangular boards pivo-tably secured together at an edge of each, garment hanger receiving supports secured to one board near the corners away from the pivoted edge, means for holding the two boards in foldedposition and The flap portion 4| is provided with two' carrying means secured to the bracket supporting board, said carrying means being pivotably secured to said hanger support board, whereby said garment carrier may be pivoted at two sections to reduce its overall area for use within a suit case.

2. A garment carrier comprising two thin substantially rectangular and rigid boards, said boards being pivotably secured to each other at an edge of each, a garment. hanger receiving support secured to one board, and flexible cover means secured to said boards and adapted to enclose the sides of said boards upon which said support is mounted.

3. A garment carrier comprising two thin substantially rectangular boards, said boards being pivotably secured to each other at an edge of each for back-to-back folding, a garment hanger receiving support secured to one board, and flex ible cover means secured to said boards and adapted to enclose the sides of said boards upon which said support is mounted, said cover means including two portions each having an edge secured to the rear of said boards and means for detachably securing together edges of said cover substantially parallel to the edges secured to the boards whereby said cover means may be either used to cover the hanger side of said boards or be placed on the reverse side thereof, regardless of whether the garment carrier is in an extended or a folded position.

, 4. A garment carrier comprising two thin substantially rectangular boards, said boards being pivotably secured to each other at an edge of each, a garment hanger receiving support secured to one board, and cover means secured to said boards and adapted to enclose the sides of said boards upon which said support is mounted, said cover means including a flap portion carrying fastening means and means secured to said cover below its middle portion to engage said fastening means, said fastening means being adapted to hold the garment carrier and cover in the folded position.

5. In combination with a garment carrier of the character described, a cover of flexible material for and removably secured to said carrier at opposite edges thereof, said cover having a longitudinal slit and a fastener for closing said slit, a flap at the upper end of said cover adapted to fold over and enclose the top edge of said carrier, said flap having an aperture therein forming a carrying grip.

6. In a garment carrier for compactly supporting one or more garments, the combination comprising a pair of substantially rectangular thin flat elements pivotally secured to each other at an edge of each, a hanger support secured to 7 one of said elements at the edge opposite said pivotal connection, a garment hanger supported by said hanger support such that a garment on said hanger may be folded laterally over the outer surface of said elements when the elements are folded one against the other, means carried by the other of said elements for holding the lower portion of said garment against said latter element, a cover of flexible material secured at its opposite edges to opposite edges of both of said elements and provided with a longitudinal slit and slidable closure therefor to permit a garment to be placed upon said hanger within said cover, and means carried by said cover to fasten its ends when the garment carrier is in the folded position.

ARTHUR E. CURRIE.

Images