Footwear hanger

Abstract

A hanger for storing footwear and/or for displaying footwear for sale at a retail establishment is comprised of a frame having an upright stem with a hanging hook at its upper end and a crossbar at its lower end, and a pair of footwear supporting members extending upwardly from opposite ends of the crossbar, and a pair of footwear receiving footpads mounted respectively on the supporting members. Each hanger is adapted to receive and store or to receive and display a pair of footwear products. In a retail establishment, a plurality of the footwear bearing hangers may be hung on a display rack for displaying to customers a plurality of footwear products of different styles and/or different sizes. The mode of display promotes self service and impulse sales, especially of economical, mass produced footwear products.

1 . A footwear hanger comprising a frame having an upright stem, a crossbar at the lower end of the stem extending substantially equal distances to opposites sides of said stem and a pair of footwear supporting members extending upwardly from said crossbar on opposite sides of said stem.  
   
   
       2 . A footwear hanger as set forth in  claim 1 , including a footpad on each of said supporting members.  
   
   
       3 . A footwear hanger as set forth in  claim 2 , said footpads comprising simulations of a pair of human feet.  
   
   
       4 . A footwear hanger as set forth in  claim 2 , said footpads being comprised of a foam or foam-like material.  
   
   
       5 . A footwear hanger as set forth in  claim 2 , said footpads being pressed onto said supporting members and said supporting members having barbs thereon resisting removal of said footpads from said supporting members.  
   
   
       6 . A footwear hanger as set forth in  claim 1  wherein said supporting members are offset to the sides and forwardly from said stem.  
   
   
       7 . A footwear hanger as set forth in  claim 1  wherein said stem is of a generally L-shape having a vertical leg and a horizontal leg extending forwardly from the lower end of the vertical leg, said crossbar extending across the forward end of said horizontal leg and said supporting members being offset from said vertical leg.  
   
   
       8 . A footwear hanger as set forth in  claim 1  including a hanger hook at the upper end of the stem.  
   
   
       9 . A footwear hanger comprising a frame of generally inverted T-shape having an upright stem of generally L-shape including a vertical leg and a horizontal leg extending forwardly from the lower end of the vertical leg, a crossbar on the forward end of the horizontal leg extending substantially equal distances to opposite sides of the stem and a pair of footwear supporting members extending upwardly from the opposite ends of the crossbar, and a pair of footwear receiving footpads mounted respectively on said supporting members.  
   
   
       10 . A footwear hanger as set forth in  claim 9 , said footpads being comprised of a foam of foam-like material and simulating the feet of a human.  
   
   
       11 . A footwear hanger as set forth in  claim 9 , said footpads being pressed onto said supporting members, said supporting members having barbs thereon resisting removal of said footpads from said supporting members.  
   
   
       12 . A method of displaying footwear for sale in a retail establishment comprising the steps of 
 providing a display rack,    providing a plurality of footwear hangers,    each of said hangers comprising a frame having an upright stem, a crossbar at the lower end of the stem extending substantially equal distances to opposite sides of the stem and a pair of footwear supporting members extending upwardly from the crossbar on opposite sides of the stem, and a pair of footwear receiving footpads mounted respectively on the supporting members,    mounting a pair of footwear products on each of said hangers, and    hanging the plurality of hangers bearing a plurality of pairs of footwear products on the display rack.    
   
   
       13 . A method as set forth in  claim 12 , wherein said footpads are comprised of a foam of foam-like material and simulate the feet of a human.  
   
   
       14 . A method as set forth in  claim 12 , wherein said footpads are pressed onto said supporting members and said supporting members have barbs thereon resisting removal of the footpads from the supporting members.  
   
   
       15 . A method as set forth in  claim 12 , wherein the footpads are offset to the sides and forwardly from the stem for displaying the footwear to best advantage.  
   
   
       16 . A method as set forth in  claim 12 , including the step of hanging on the display rack a plurality of pairs of footwear products of different styles and/or different sizes.