Hanger with integral image

Abstract

A garment hanger having a central region defining a boundary of an opening through the thickness of the hanger. A web of material extends across the opening, between contact points with the boundary to depict an image formed of the web of material across the opening. Flocking can be applied to the hanger.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A garment hanger, comprising:
 a central region having a first thickness in a thickness direction and a hook extending therefrom, substantially perpendicular to the thickness direction, and two arms extending sideways from the central region, substantially perpendicular to the thickness direction, the arms configured and adapted to support clothing, the central region defining a boundary of an opening through its thickness, and a web of material extending from at least two contact points at the boundary, across the opening, to depict an image formed of the web of material across the opening and optional openings defined by the web.   
     
     
         2 . The garment hanger of  claim 1 , wherein the web has at least 5 points of contact with the boundary. 
     
     
         3 . The garment hanger of  claim 1 , wherein the web has at least 10 points of contact with the boundary, the central portion and web comprising a continuous piece of material. 
     
     
         4 . The garment hanger of  claim 1 , wherein the web of material across the opening occupies at least about 40% of the area within the boundary. 
     
     
         5 . The garment hanger of  claim 2 , wherein the web of material across the opening occupies at least about 30% of the area of the opening. 
     
     
         6 . The garment hanger of  claim 1 , wherein the web of material across the opening occupies at least about 50% of the area within the boundary and at least about 40% of the boundary comprises points of contact with the web, the remainder being open space. 
     
     
         7 . The garment hanger of  claim 1 , wherein the boundary is at most from about 1 to about 3 inches across and the portion of the central region surrounding the boundary is greater than about 0.18 inches wide. 
     
     
         8 . The v hanger of  claim 7 , wherein, the central region has a flat profile, with a thickness of greater than 0.15 inches. 
     
     
         9 . The garment hanger of  claim 1 , comprising flocking over the arms, central region and web. 
     
     
         10 . The garment hanger of  claim 1 , comprising a crossbar connecting the arms. 
     
     
         11 . A method of making a garment hanger, comprising:
 forming a hanger having a flat central region with arms and a hook extending therefrom;   defining a boundary within the central region; and   removing material from within the boundary to define an image formed from a web of material extending across the boundary and extending to multiple contact points with the boundary.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein material is removed to form a web having at least 5 contact points with the boundary and occupying at least 40% of the area within the boundary. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , comprising applying flocking to the central region, arms and web. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the flocking is formed of nylon with an ABS backing. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the openings have a circular or diamond shape. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the boundary is generally circular.