Easy pack track and clip garment bag

Abstract

Disclosed is a novel garment bag having a cantilevered support arm under which is an open ended slot that can be placed onto a closet bar to the lateral centerline of the garment bag to contain garments supported on conventional hangers. The hangers can be slid on the closet bar without being removed therefrom into the garment bag adjacent to the cantilevered support arm. Each hanger supporting a garment is also slid over a retaining strap attached to the garment bag so that when packing is complete, the retainer strap can be placed around the hanger hooks and attached through a hook and loop fastener to the garment bag. There is included at least one spine as a part of the garment bag. The spine is comprised of a series of ribs, each rib of which contains tracks and clips. Tracks allow for horizontal movement of the clips along the rib so the clips can be positioned for attachment to lateral edges of garments. This is to minimize wrinkling when the garment bag is closed and moved about in travel.

1 . In an improved garment bag having back, front, top, bottom and sides, a handle, and a suspension member to support hooks of clothes hangers near a top of a clothes storage cavity in the garment bag, the improvement comprising: 
 a top plate of garment bag substantially vertically disposed above the clothes storage cavity;    a cantilevered support arm formed from an upper portion of the top plate;    a substantially horizontal open ended slot in the top plate having a width slightly greater than a diameter of a closet bar and a length beginning at a side of the top plate and extending substantially to a vertical centerline of the garment bag; and    a retainer to hold together the clothes hanger hooks at the suspension member.    
   
   
       2 . The improved garment bag of  claim 1  in which the retainer is a retaining strap that holds the hooks of the clothes hangers together in substantially an identical position as when the clothes hangers are slid on the closet bar into the garment bag in packing it.  
   
   
       3 . The improved garment bag of  claim 2  in which the retaining strap is fixedly attached at a first end to the top plate and a second end is laid on top of the closet bar over which hooks of clothes hangers are slid when packing the garment bag and then the second end is attached to the first end using a hook and loop fastener.  
   
   
       4 . The improved garment bag of  claim 1  in which the back of the garment bag is a spine depending downwardly from the top plate and comprised of a series of substantially horizontal ribs having a pivoting connection between the ribs.  
   
   
       5 . The improved garment bag of  claim 4  which further comprises at least one substantially horizontal track in selected ribs, and at least one clip resiliently biased in a normally closed configuration and slidable in a track.  
   
   
       6 . The improved garment bag of  claim 5  in which multiple tracks and multiple clips serve to hold clothes supported on clothes hangers laterally stable to minimize wrinkling of clothes when the garment bag is closed, folded and transported.  
   
   
       7 . The improved garment bag of  claim 6  in which clothes are packed in order of increasing size starting with a smallest item such that each successive garment overlies its predecessor so clips will reach the edges of each garment to hold each laterally stable.  
   
   
       8 . The improved garment bag of  claim 5  in which clips are comprised of a base that is slidably engaged in a track, a top jaw plate pivotally connected to the base, an upper jaw connected to the upper jaw plate, a lower jaw connected to the base, resilient biasing means to maintain normally closed pressure between the jaws, fabric protecting material on fabric contacting surfaces of the jaws, and which clips are rotatable in a plane parallel to a plane of the rib.  
   
   
       9 . The improved garment bag of  claim 5  which further comprises at least one additional spine to provide more tracks and clips to accommodate additional clothes inside the garment bag.  
   
   
       10 . In an improved garment bag having back, front, top, bottom and sides, a handle, and a suspension member to support hooks of clothes hangers near a top of a clothes storage cavity in the garment bag, the improvement comprising: 
 a spine forming the back of the garment bag and having a plurality of ribs with a pivoting connection between the ribs;    at least one substantially horizontal track in selected ribs; and    at least one clip resiliently biased in a normally closed configuration and slidable within the track.    
   
   
       11 . The improved garment bag of  claim 10  in which multiple tracks and multiple clips serve to hold laterally stable to minimize wrinkling of clothes disposed on clothes hangers when the garment bag is closed, folded and transported.  
   
   
       12 . The improved garment bag of  claim 11  in which clothes are packed in order of increasing size starting with a smallest item such that each successive garment overlies its predecessor so clips will reach the edges of each garment to hold each laterally stable.  
   
   
       13 . The improved garment bag of  claim 10  in which clips are comprised of a base that is slidably engaged in a track, a top jaw plate pivotally connected to the base, an upper jaw connected to the upper jaw plate, a lower jaw connected to the base, resilient biasing means to maintain normally closed pressure between the jaws, fabric protecting material on fabric contacting surfaces of the jaws, and which clips are rotatable in a plane parallel to a plane of the rib.  
   
   
       14 . The improved garment bag of  claim 10  which further comprises at least one additional spine to provide more tracks and clips to accommodate additional clothes inside the garment bag.  
   
   
       15 . The improved garment bag of  claim 10  which further comprises, 
 a top plate of the garment bag substantially vertically disposed above the clothes storage cavity;    a cantilevered support arm formed from an upper portion of the top plate;    a substantially horizontal open ended slot in the top plate having a width substantially equal to a diameter of a closet bar, and a length beginning at a side of the top plate and extending substantially to a vertical centerline of the garment bag; and    a retainer to hold together the clothes hanger hooks at the suspension member.    
   
   
       16 . The improved garment bag of  claim 15  in which the retainer is a retaining strap that holds the hooks of the clothes hangers together in substantially an identical position as when the clothes hangers are slid on the closet bar into the garment bag in packing it.  
   
   
       17 . The improved garment bag of  claim 16  in which the retaining strap is fixedly attached at a first end to the top plate and a second end is laid on top of the closet bar over which hooks of clothes hangers are slid when packing the garment bag and then the second end is attached to the first end using a hook and loop fastener.