Clothing hanger

Abstract

A clothing hanger for engaging the waist portion of a t-shirt or other shirt garment and suspending the shirt from a horizontal support in a closet to prevent wrinkling and other distortions in the shape of a shirt that are often caused by conventional hangers. The t-shirt hanger comprises a pair of rigid, horizontal clamp members having a manually actuated tab attached to a top portion of each member, a C-shaped hook attached to the tab of one of the clamp members, and a spring for engaging both clamp members and for providing the force to clamp and support the waist portion of a shirt across the entire width of the clamp members.

1 . A clothing hanger for use in a closet to prevent wrinkles and distortion of a t-shirt or other shirt garment, comprising: 
 a garment clamp that includes: 
 a flat, planar horizontal first clamp member having a manually actuated tab located centrally on a top surface of said first clamp member;  
 a flat, planar horizontal second clamp member having a manually actuated tab located centrally on a top surface of said second clamp member; and  
 a spring for pivotally engaging said first clamp member and said second clamp member for supporting a waist portion of a t-shirt entirely across the base of the hanger; and  
   a thin rigid, tubular hook centrally attached to the top of the tab of the second clamp member.    
   
   
       2 . The clothing hanger of  claim 1 , wherein said second clamp member and said hook comprise a single-piece unit, said hook being attached to and protruding above the manually actuated tab of said second clamp member.  
   
   
       3 . The clothing hanger of  claim 1 , wherein the hook is sized and shaped to hang on a horizontal support found in closets.  
   
   
       4 . The clothing hanger of  claim 1 , wherein the hook is preferably C-shaped.  
   
   
       5 . The clothing hanger of  claim 1 , wherein the manually actuated tabs of said first and said second clamp members are oriented at an angle away from normal so that said tabs can be manually squeezed or pressed together to open and close said garment clamp.  
   
   
       6 . The clothing hanger of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second clamp members are pivotally connected together and spring-loaded in a closed position so that said clamp members form two flat, elongated surfaces for engaging the waist portion of the t-shirt uniformly to prevent any distortions or wrinkles in the t-shirt.  
   
   
       7 . The clothing hanger of  claim 1 , wherein the manually actuated tabs of said first and second clamp members are connected to and protrude above the clamp members and can be squeezed together against spring tension to open the clamp members manually for insertion of the shirt.  
   
   
       8 . The clothing hanger of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second clamp members are sized in length to be approximately the width of a t-shirt garment, although said clamp members may be manufactured in various sizes.  
   
   
       9 . The clothing hanger of  claim 1 , wherein, in addition to hanging and storing said t-shirt to prevent wrinkles of said t-shirt, said clothing hanger can also be used to hang and store various other types of shirts and clothing garments, including, but not limited to, polo shirts, tank tops, sweaters, and sweatshirts, as well as ladies delicates and short pants.  
   
   
       10 . The clothing hanger of  claim 1 , wherein said first and second clamp members each include a textured gripping surface or gripping protrusion at the bottom of the rear surface of each clamping member to provide stronger engagement for a suspended shirt with the hanger.  
   
   
       11 . The clothing hanger of  claim 1 , wherein said first clamp member and said second clamp member each include protrusions or flanges attached to the rear surfaces of the manually actuated tabs, said protrusions or flanges providing a pivot point for allowing said tabs to be squeezed together by a user to open the spring-loaded garment clamp.  
   
   
       12 . The clothing hanger of  claim 11 , wherein each clamp member preferably includes two or more protrusions each of which contains an arcuate recess at one end for receiving the complementary rounded end of opposing protrusions located on the opposing clamp member, thereby providing a more effective pivot point for said clamp members.  
   
   
       13 . The clothing hanger of  claim 1 , wherein said second clamp member includes a centrally-located small hook for engaging another clothing hanger so as to provide the ability to vertically connect multiple clothing hangers, thereby conserving storage space within the closet.  
   
   
       14 . The clothing hanger of  claim 1 , wherein said spring comprises: 
 a rigid, folded metal wire having two opposing L-shaped sections connected by a horizontal section of said wire that is also oriented at angle in a horizontal plane, said L-shaped sections of the spring being oriented vertically at an angle away from one another beginning at the point of connection between each L-shaped section of wire and the horizontal section of wire; and    wherein the L-shaped sections of said spring terminate in opposing directions.    
   
   
       15 . The clothing hanger of  claim 14 , wherein said L-shaped sections of the spring engage the first and second clamp members of said spring at the point of connection between said clamp members and the respective manually actuated tab of each clamp member.  
   
   
       16 . The clothing hanger of  claim 15 , wherein said manually actuated tabs of the garment clamp can be squeezed or pressed together to force the L-shaped sections of said spring outward, thereby decreasing the tension exerted by the spring on the clamp members to allow said garment clamp to be opened for inserting or removing a shirt from the hanger.  
   
   
       17 . The clothing hanger of  claim 16 , wherein said spring is constructed from a metal or alloy that includes the property of shape memory or retention so that when the manually actuated tabs of said clamp members are released, the spring recoils to regain the original closed configuration of said spring, thereby re-exerting pressure on the clamp members and closing said garment clamp.  
   
   
       18 . The clothing hanger of  claim 1 , wherein said hanger can also be used to hang and support sweaters to prevent wrinkling, such that the first and second clamp members should be sufficiently sturdy and have a sufficient spring tension to hold and suspend a sweater attached along the waist portion of said sweater.  
   
   
       19 . A method for suspending a t-shirt or other shirt garment by a waist portion of said shirt to prevent wrinkles and distortion of the shirt, comprising the steps of: 
 holding a waist portion of the shirt, once it has been ironed, against first and second spring-loaded clamp members forming a garment clamp;    squeezing one or more manual actuators to open said garment clamp;    inserting the waist portion of the shirt between said first and second clamp members of the garment clamp until said waist portion is uniformly and evenly distributed along the garment clamp throughout the entire length of said garment clamp;    releasing the manual actuators to allow the garment clamp members to engage the shirt uniformly along its waist portion; and    suspending said shirt in a closet by engaging a hook connected to a rear surface of the manual actuator tab on said second clamp member with a horizontal support in said closet.    
   
   
       20 . A means for hanging a t-shirt or other shirt garment in a closet to prevent wrinkles and distortion of the shirt, comprising: 
 means for clamping a waist portion of a shirt across approximately the entire width of said waist of said shirt so that said shirt is suspended from said means for clamping, thereby holding the shirt waist in a slightly stretched position to prevent wrinkles and distortions;    means for opening and closing said means for clamping the shirt; and    means for suspending said means for clamping a shirt from a horizontal support in a closet.