CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This patent application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/358,580, filed Feb. 5, 2003 of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002]     The present invention relates generally to garment hangers, and more particularly to a garment hanger that has a feature formed as part of a body portion thereof that permits reception of a fastener, such as a twist tie or other type of flexible tie member, for connecting two or more hangers together.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     There are a number of different types of garment hangers that are used to hold a number of different articles of clothing or other types of articles, such as linens or other household fabrics. Typically, garment hangers are either formed of a plastic material or a metal material or a combination thereof. Not only do garment hangers come in a variety of different sizes but they also come in a number of different styles which have different types of construction to accommodate different articles which are carried by the hangers.  
         [0004]     For example, one type of garment hanger construction is designed to secure knitwear, blouses, slips, strapped garments, including dresses and lingerie. Another type of garment hanger construction is designed to also secure blouses, dresses and other light garments, while another type of garment hanger is designed to secure heavier knitwear, blouses, pants and light weight pant suits. Yet another type of garment hanger is designed to secure coats, jackets and outerwear. The foregoing types of garment hangers can be generally classified as being top garment hangers, while another class of garment hangers is pant hangers, which are those hangers that are designed to secure pants, skirts, and other outfits together. Often times, pant hangers incorporate some type of clamp mechanism to securely grasp and hold the articles of clothing. One will appreciate that there are even more types of garment hangers (e.g., bra/panty hanger) that are intended for particular applications.  
         [0005]     Referring first to  FIGS. 1A-1B , a conventional garment hanger  10  is illustrated. The garment hanger  10  includes a body portion  12  (cross bar) having two opposing ends  14 ,  16  and a hook member  20  that is attached to the body portion  12 . The exemplary garment hanger  10  is of the type that includes a clamp or grip assembly  30  formed at each of the first and second ends  14 ,  16 . The grip assemblies  30  are integrally formed with body portion  12  at the first and second ends  14 ,  16 .  
         [0006]     The illustrated garment hanger  10  is of a swivel hook type construction in that the hook member  20  is swivably or pivotally attached to the body portion  12  at a location that is generally at a midpoint along the body portion  12 . The hook member  20  is pivotally received within a bore that is formed in a base structure  30  that is integrally attached at one end to an upper edge  13  of the body portion  12 . The bore therefore has a complementary shape as the hook member  20  and thus, for the illustrated embodiment, the bore is annular in shape to complement the circular shape of the hook member  20 . The overall shape of the base structure  30  is not critical and it can assume any number of different shapes. For example, while the illustrated base structure  30  has a rectangular or square cross-section, it will be appreciated that the base structure  30  can have a number of different shapes, such as circular, oblong, etc. The hook member  20  is thus frictionally fit within the bore; however, it is permitted to swivel freely therein when a user applied a force to the hook member  20  to produce such movement.  
         [0007]     According to the present invention, the base structure  30  includes first and second side elements  32 ,  34  that extend outwardly therefrom and are integral with the body portion  12 . More specifically, each of the first and second side elements  32 ,  34  has a first end  31  that is integrally connected to the base structure  30  and an opposing second end  33  that is integrally connected to the upper edge  13  of the body portion  12 . A space  40  is formed between each of the first and second side elements  32 ,  34  and the base structure  30  and upper edge  13 . The side elements  32 ,  34  served as structural support elements in that they further strengthened the base structure  30  and therefore, in the conventional design, the space  40  is very small and can not readily accommodate items.  
         [0008]     Many consumers utilize a dry cleaning facility for dry cleaning and pressing of their clothing. As consumers are aware, many types of articles of clothing can not be machine washed and pressed but rather must be taken to the dry cleaning facility. Thus, it is common for a consumer to bring in a number of different articles during each visit to the dry cleaning facility. More specifically, the consumer brings in a number of dress shirts, pants, as well as other clothing, such as knitwear, and also potentially brings house linens, etc., in the same visit. The dry cleaning facility tags each consumer&#39;s articles and after dry cleaning, the articles are typically individually placed on their own garment hangers and loosely arranged and then a garment cover and a garment bag is placed over a bundle of cloths or all of the articles, depending upon how many items are present.  
         [0009]     Therefore, it is no surprise that because most consumers bring a number of articles of clothing to the dry cleaning facility that when they pick up the cleaned articles, they are provided with a number of loosely held garment hangers. Because different types and sizes of garment hangers can be arranged loosely together, the hangers do not necessarily lie flush against one another and therefore, it may be cumbersome for the user to carry the articles of clothing by the garment hangers. Thus, the user may grasp one group of similar garment hangers and fail to completely grasp one or more other garment hangers, which is then subject to falling within the bag resulting in wrinkling of the garment or in a worst case, the garment may fall onto the ground and be spoiled.  
         [0010]     It is therefore desirable for one or more types of garment hangers to have a feature formed as a part thereof that permits coupling or securing of the individual garment hangers together.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0011]     A garment hanger is provided and includes a body having first and second ends and an upper edge and a hook member extending upwardly from the hanger body for suspending the hanger from a support location. The hook member is coupled to a base member that is attached to the upper edge of the body.  
         [0012]     The hanger also includes a structure that extends between the upper edge of the hanger body and the base member so as to define a space therebetween. The space is of sufficient size to receive a fastener therethrough for securely linking at least one additional garment hanger to the hanger body. In one preferred embodiment, the fastener is a twist tie and the space has an area of at least about 0.25 cm 2 .  
         [0013]     By being securely connecting or linking individual garment hangers to one another, the problems that were often associated with carrying multiple loose hangers are overcome since all of the hangers are joined to one another. Therefore, if the consumer loses grasp of one of the garment hangers when carrying the entire load, the garment hanger may slip slightly but it is prevented from completely falling to the bottom of the surrounding bag (if present) or to the ground surface when no protective bag surrounds the garments due to the presence of the fastener.  
         [0014]     In another embodiment, the hanger includes at least one fastener receiving feature that is associated with the hook member and is defined by a tapered recessed body that has a through hole formed therethrough and is of sufficient size to receive a fastener therethrough for securely linking at least one additional garment hanger to the hanger body.  
         [0015]     Further aspects and features of the exemplary apparatus disclosed herein can be appreciated from the appended Figures and accompanying written description. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]     The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following drawings which are for illustrative purposes only:  
         [0017]      FIG. 1A  is a side elevation view of a conventional garment hanger;  
         [0018]      FIG. 1B  is an enlarged, partial side elevation view of the garment hanger of  FIG. 1A  taken around the circle  1  of  FIG. 1A ;  
         [0019]      FIG. 2A  is a side elevation view of a garment hanger according to one exemplary embodiment;  
         [0020]      FIG. 2B  is an enlarged, partial side elevation view of the garment hanger of  FIG. 2A  taken around the circle  2  of  FIG. 2A ;  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged, partial side elevation view of two or more garment hangers connected together by a fasteners received through a feature formed as part of the hanger body;  
         [0022]      FIG. 4A  is an enlarged, partial side elevation view of a garment hanger according to another exemplary embodiment in which a fastener receiving feature is illustrated;  
         [0023]      FIG. 4B  is an enlarged, partial side elevation view of a garment hanger according to another exemplary embodiment in which a fastener receiving feature is illustrated;  
         [0024]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged, partial side and front perspective view of a garment hanger according to another exemplary embodiment in which a fastener receiving feature is illustrated; and  
         [0025]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0026]     Referring first to  FIGS. 2A-2B , a garment hanger  100  according to one exemplary embodiment is illustrated. The garment hanger  100  includes a body portion  110  (cross bar) having two opposing ends  112 ,  114  and a hook member  120  that is attached to the body portion  110 . The exemplary garment hanger  100  is of the type that includes a clamp or grip assembly  130  formed at each of the first and second ends  112 ,  114 . The grip assemblies  130  are integrally formed with body portion  110  at the first and second ends  112 ,  114 . Each grip assembly  130  includes a front grip member  140  and a rear grip member  150  with the front grip member  140  having a first gripping feature (not shown) and the rear grip member  150  having a second gripping feature (not shown). The article of clothing is placed between the front and rear grip members  140 ,  150  when they are opened and then the user closes the front grip member  140  with respect to the rear grip member  150 . Preferably, the front grip member  140  is pivotally attached to the body portion  110  in an integral manner. The first and second gripping features serve to grip the article of clothing and can be in form of shaped protrusions that mate with one another. In one exemplary embodiment, the first and second gripping features are a series of protrusions (nubs, etc.) arranged on the surface.  
         [0027]     As is known, each grip assembly  130  also includes a movable clip member  160  that is movable between an open position and a closed position. The exemplary clip member  160  is formed of metal and is generally U-shaped with a first section that travels within a guide track formed on an exterior surface of the rear grip member  150  and a second section that travels within a guide track formed in the exterior surface of the front grip member  140 . In the open position, the second section of the clip member  160  engages a beveled feature of the guide track formed in the exterior surface of the front grip member  140  so that the front and rear grip members  140 ,  150  are locked in the closed position with the article of clothing being securely held therebetween.  
         [0028]     It will be appreciated that this type of grip assembly  130  is merely one exemplary type and that a number of other types of grip assemblies  130  can be used.  
         [0029]     The body portion  110 , including the grip assemblies  130  with the exception of the clip member  160 , is preferably made as a single piece, molded in plastic using a plastic injection molding machine, as understood by those skilled in the art. Any appropriate plastic can be used, such as styrene, which provides a clear, virtually transparent hanger and alternatively, the hanger  100  can be molded using polypropylene, such as H.I. styrene polypropylene, polypropylene, polyvinylchloride, ABS or other suitable thermoplastics and/or mixtures thereof. As understood by those skilled in the art, the plastic mixture used to mold the hangers can include additional resins for added strength and reinforcement.  
         [0030]     The illustrated garment hanger  100  is of a swivel hook type construction in that the hook member  120  is swivably or pivotally attached to the body portion  110  at a location that is generally at a midpoint along the body portion  110 . The hook member  120  is pivotally received within a bore that is formed in a base structure  170  that is integrally attached at one end to an upper edge  111  of the body portion  110 . The bore therefore has a complementary shape as the hook member  120  and thus, for the illustrated embodiment, the bore is annular in shape to complement the circular shape of the hook member  120 . The overall shape of the base structure  170  is not critical and it can assume any number of different shapes. For example, while the illustrated base structure  170  has a rectangular or square cross-section, it will be appreciated that the base structure  170  can have a number of different shapes, such as circular, oblong, etc. The hook member  120  is thus frictionally fit within the bore; however, it is permitted to swivel freely therein when a user applied a force to the hook member  120  to produce such movement.  
         [0031]     According to the present invention, the base structure  170  includes first and second side elements  172 ,  174  that extend outwardly therefrom and are integral with the body portion  110 . More specifically, each of the first and second side elements  172 ,  174  has a first end  176  that is integrally connected to the base structure  170  and an opposing second end  178  that is integrally connected to the upper edge  111  of the body portion  110 . While, the precise connection points between the first ends  176  and the base structure  170  and the second ends  178  and the body portion  110  can vary, it is important that a space  180  of sufficient size is formed between each of the first and second side elements  172 ,  174  and the base structure  170  and upper edge  111 .  
         [0032]     In the illustrated embodiment, the first and second side elements  172 ,  174  are elongated, planar walls that extend from the upper edge  111  to an upper end of the base structure  170 . The width of the first and second side elements  172 ,  174  and the base structure  170  is preferably the same or about the same. An angle is thus formed between each of the first and second side elements  172 ,  174  and the upper edge  111 . In this embodiment, the space  180  is generally triangular shaped. The first and second elements  172 ,  172  do not have to have a linear, planar construction, as it will be appreciated that the first and second side elements  172 ,  174  can have an arcuate shape. In other words, the first and second side elements  172 ,  174  can have a curved surface (resulting in space  180  having an irregular space) so long as the space  180  is of sufficient size (e.g.,  FIG. 4A ).  
         [0033]     Space  180  is of a sufficient size when a fastener  200 , shown in  FIG. 3 , can be received therethrough. For example, one exemplary fastener  200  is a conventional twist tie that is disposed through one of the spaces  180  and is then passed through other garment hangers and the free ends of the fastener  200  are brought together and tied so as to connect two or more garment hangers together. As is known, a conventional twist tie  200  is formed of an elongated wire that is encased between a paper strip so that the user does not contact the metal wire itself and any sharp ends of the metal wire are eliminated. Space  180  therefore is in contrast to space  50  which is of insufficient size to pass a fastener therethrough. Thus, the conventional hanger  10  of  FIG. 1  had the associated disadvantage that the user or dry cleaner can not pass a fastener  200  therethrough for linking a number of hangers together.  
         [0034]     In one exemplary embodiment, the space  180  has an area of greater than 0.25 cm 2 . In other embodiments, the space  180  has an area of at least 0.3 cm 2 ; 0.4 cm 2 ; and 0.5 cm 2 , respectively. However, these values are merely illustrative of the various embodiments.  
         [0035]     It will be appreciated that fastener  200  is not limited to being a twist tie but also can be any other structure that is intended to be used to attach or connect articles to one another by manipulation of the fastener  200 . Preferably, the size of the space  180  is such that the fastener  200  can easily be received therethrough and the fastener  200  is permitted a degree of movement within the space  180 . For example, the space  180  can be sized so that it can accommodate a plurality of fasteners  200  therethrough even if in a preferred application, only a single fastener  200  is disposed through the space  180 .  
         [0036]      FIG. 3  illustrates garment hanger  100  being used with another garment hanger  300  such that the two hangers  100 ,  300  are securely connected to one another using the fastener  200  in the following manner. First, it will be understood that the garment hanger  300  does not have to be of the same type as the garment hanger  100  and in fact most times, the garment hanger  300  is of a different type than the garment hanger  100 . For example, the illustrated garment hanger  300  is a traditional wire hanger. To securely connect the hangers, the fastener  200  is passed through one of the spaces  180  of the garment hanger  100  and then it is fed through a contained, bounded space that is formed in the garment hanger  300  and then the two free ends of the fastener  200  are brought to together and tied (e.g., twisted) so that the two hangers  100 ,  300  are securely connected to one another. The space in the other hanger through which the fastener  200  is disposed through can be identical to space  180  if the other hanger is identical to hanger  100  or it can be a different space so long as the space is bounded completely around such that the movement of the fastener  200  is restricted (i.e., fastener  200  can not slip out of space  180 ).  
         [0037]     By being securely connected to one another, the problems that were often associated with carrying multiple loose hangers are overcome since all of the hangers are joined or connected to one another. Therefore, if the consumer loses grasp of one of the garment hangers when carrying the entire load, the garment hanger may slip slightly but it is prevented from completely falling to the bottom of the surrounding bag (if present) or to the ground surface when no protective bag surrounds the garments due to the presence of the fastener  200 . The length of the fastener  200  can be varied since these types of fasteners  200  can easily be shortened by using scissors.  
         [0038]     For purposes of simplicity, the garment hanger  100  is illustrated in  FIG. 3  as being used in combination with only one additional garment hanger  300 ; however, it will be appreciated that in normal use, the garment hanger  100  will be connected or attached to two or more other garment hangers  300  or the like by way of the fastener  200 . Once again, the additional one or more garment hangers  300  to which the garment hanger  100  is connected can be of a different type (e.g., a standard metal hanger, a plastic top hanger, etc.) than the garment hanger  100 , which in the illustrated embodiment, is a pant hanger.  
         [0039]     It will therefore be appreciated that the feature that is formed as part of the body portion of the garment hanger for receiving the fastener  200  is not limited to being formed as part of a garment hanger that has grasp (clamp) members or with a hanger that has a swivable hook member since this feature can be incorporated into a top hanger design or any other garment hanger design.  
         [0040]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  illustrate a garment hanger  400  according to another embodiment. The garment hanger  400  is very similar to the garment hanger  100  for merely purposes of illustration since it will be understood that the garment hanger  400 , as with the garment hanger  100 , can take any number of different forms so long as the fastener receiving feature is formed as part thereof. In this embodiment, each of the first and second side structures  172 ,  174  does not extend to the upper edge  111  of the body  110  but rather the ends of each of the first and second side structures  172 ,  174  are integrally attached to the base section  170 . In  FIG. 4A , the first and second side structures  172 ,  174  each has an arcuate shape with the space  180  being formed between the respective side structure  172 ,  174  and the base structure  170 . In  FIGS. 4B and 4B , the first and second side structures  172 ,  174  each has a “C” or “U” shape. In both embodiments and unlike the embodiment of  FIGS. 2A-2B , both ends of the first and second side structures  172 ,  174  are attached to the base structure  170 .  
         [0041]      FIGS. 5 and 6  illustrate a garment hanger  500  according to another embodiment. The garment hanger  500  is very similar to the other garment hangers previously described, including garment hanger  100 . It will be understood that the garment hanger  500 , as with the garment hanger  100 , can take any number of different forms so long as the fastener receiving feature is formed as part thereof. In this embodiment, the base section  170  includes at least one and preferably two fastening receiving features  600  formed as a part thereof. Each of the fastening receiving features  600  is in the form of a tapered body section  602  that a bore  604  formed therethrough to permit the fastener  200  to be received and “threaded” through the structure. More specifically, the body section  602  can be in the form of a conically shaped portion of the base section  170  with the bore  604  extending therethrough. Thus, the entrance of the body section  602  formed on one face of the base section  170  has a greater diameter than a diameter of a bore exit that is formed on the opposite face of the base section  170 . The smooth surface and varying diameter of the tapered body section  602  assists in the user “threading” the fastener  200  into and through the bore  604  since the entrance has the greatest diameter and thus, it is easier for the user to initially locate the bore  604  as by initially directing the fastener  200  towards the tapered body section  602  until the fastener  200  is received in the narrow and substantially uniform diameter section of the bore  604 . In other words, the tapered (conical) shape of the fastening receiving feature  600  assists the user in easily locating and receiving the fastener  200  since so long as the user places the end of the fastener  200  within the fastening receiving feature  600 , the smooth surface of the body section  602  directs the fastener  200  to the bore  604  and thus it properly threads the fastener  200  through the feature  600 .  
         [0042]     The hanger  500  can include one or more features  600  and in the case of two features  600 , one feature  600  is disposed on one side of the base section  170 , while the other feature  600  is placed on the other side of the base section  170 . If two or more hangers  500  are to be attached to one another with the fastener  200 , the hangers  500  are aligned with respect to one another so that the features  600  are generally axially aligned with one another so that the fastener  200  is easily fed straight through one bore  604  and into another bore  604  associated with another hanger  500 . It will be understood that the fastener  200  can be used to tie or link the hanger  500  with another hanger besides the hanger  500  (e.g., a standard wire hanger).  
         [0043]     In sum, the present garment hanger has a feature formed as part of a body portion thereof that permits reception of a fastener, such as a twist tie or other type of flexible tie member, for connecting two or more garment hangers together in an easy and efficient manner. Because in the preferred embodiment, the structures that define the space extend between the base member and the upper edge of the hanger body, the structures act as reinforcing or strengthening elements for the hanger body and more specifically for the hook member portion thereof.  
         [0044]     While this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims.
A garment hanger is provided and includes a body having first and second ends and an upper edge and a hook member extending upwardly from the hanger body for suspending the hanger from a support location. The hook member is coupled to a base member that is attached to the upper edge of the body. The hanger also includes at least one fastener receiving feature that is associated with the hook member and is defined by a tapered recessed body that has a through hole formed therethrough and is of sufficient size to receive a fastener therethrough for securely linking at least one additional garment hanger to the hanger body.