EMPTY COAT HANGER RACK

Abstract

A rack for storing empty coat hangers that has a rectangular shape with an upper horizontal beam, a coplanar lower horizontal, a left vertical bar, and a coplanar right vertical bar. The left and the right vertical bars are about identical in shape, and both the left and the right vertical bars have a set of upwardly slanted frontal teeth separated by upwardly slanted rounded horizontally grooved recesses. An empty coat hanger having a center hooked element, a left arm and a right arm, and a horizontal rod will hang almost upside down by the horizontal rod when the horizontal rod is seated in a pair of the horizontally grooved recesses. The rack has a mounting element centered on the upper horizontal beam therein enabling the rack to be mounted on a wall, substantially perpendicular to a level floor, with a sheet rock screw or a nail.

Claims

1. An apparatus for storing empty coat hangers, comprising: a rack having a rectangular shape, the rack having an upper horizontal beam with an upper left end and an upper right end, a lower horizontal beam with a lower left end and a lower right end, a left vertical bar, and a right vertical bar parallel to the left vertical bar, the lower horizontal beam being coplanar with the upper horizontal beam; wherein the left vertical bar extends from the upper left end to the lower left end of the apparatus, and the right vertical bar extends from the upper right end to the lower right end of the apparatus; wherein the left vertical bar and the right vertical bar are about identical in shape; and wherein the left vertical bar and the right vertical bar each have upwardly slanted frontal teeth separated by upwardly slanted rounded horizontally grooved recesses, the upwardly slanted frontal teeth and the upwardly slanted horizontally grooved recesses being sized and positioned such that an empty coat hanger placed in a respective parallel pair of the upwardly slanted horizontally grooved recesses extends past at least a next lower pair of the upwardly slanted frontal teeth.

2. The apparatus for storing empty coat hangers according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is sized and positioned such that the empty coat hanger having a center hooked element, a left arm, a right arm, and a horizontal rod will hang almost upside down by the horizontal rod when the horizontal rod of the empty coat hanger is seated in the respective parallel pair of upwardly slanted rounded horizontally grooved recesses on the left vertical bar and the right vertical bar.

3. The apparatus for storing empty coat hangers according to claim 1, further comprises: a mounting element centered on the upper horizontal beam therein enabling the rack to be mounted on a wall, the mounting element being substantially perpendicular to a level floor and having a fastening element selected from a group consisting of: a sheet rock screw, a nail, a picture hanger, a set of French cleats, and a combination thereof.

4. The apparatus for storing empty coat hangers according to claim 1, wherein the rack is configured to store up to about ten hangers per linear vertical foot.

5. The apparatus for storing empty coat hangers according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus is formed of material selected from a group consisting of a rigid plastic such as polycarbonate, ABS, filled polypropylene, polymethacrylate, rigid polyesters, PLA (polylactic acid), polyamide (nylon), glass filled polyamide, epoxies, fiberglass, wood, metal and composites thereof.

6. The apparatus for storing empty coat hangers according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises twenty of the upwardly slanted frontal teeth separated by twenty of the upwardly slanted rounded horizontally grooved recesses on each of the left vertical bar and the right vertical bar, such that the apparatus is configured store at least twenty empty coat hangers.

7. The apparatus for storing empty coat hangers according to claim 1, wherein the left vertical bar and the right vertical bar are separated by a distance of at least about 6 inchesabout 1 inch.

8. The apparatus for storing empty coat hangers according to claim 1, wherein: the apparatus is configured to hold sixteen (16) empty coat hangers and rectangular dimensions of the apparatus are about 22 inches long7.5 inches wide; the apparatus is configured to hold twenty (20) empty coat hangers and rectangular dimensions of the apparatus are about two feet long7.5 inches wide; the apparatus is configured to hold thirty (30) empty coat hangers and rectangular dimensions of the apparatus are about three feet long7.5 inches wide; the apparatus is configured to hold forty (40) empty coat hangers and rectangular dimensions of the apparatus are about four feet long7.5 inches wide; or the apparatus is configured to hold fifty (50) empty coat hangers and rectangular dimensions of the apparatus are about five feet long7.5 inches wide.

9. A method, comprising: providing an apparatus for storing empty coat hangers, the apparatus comprising: a rack having a rectangular shape, the rack having an upper horizontal beam with an upper left end and an upper right end, a lower horizontal beam with a lower left end and a lower right end, a left vertical bar, and a right vertical bar parallel to the left vertical bar, the lower horizontal beam being coplanar with the upper horizontal beam; wherein the left vertical bar extends from the upper left end to the lower left end of the apparatus, and the right vertical bar extends from the upper right end to the lower right end of the apparatus; wherein the left vertical bar and the right vertical bar are about identical in shape; and wherein the left vertical bar and the right vertical bar each have upwardly slanted frontal teeth separated by upwardly slanted rounded horizontally grooved recesses, the upwardly slanted frontal teeth and the upwardly slanted horizontally grooved recesses being sized and positioned such that an empty coat hanger placed in a respective parallel pair of the upwardly slanted horizontally grooved recesses extends past at least a next lower pair of the upwardly slanted frontal teeth.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the apparatus is sized and positioned such that the empty coat hanger having a center hooked element, a left arm, a right arm, and a horizontal rod will hang almost upside down by the horizontal rod when the horizontal rod of the empty coat hanger is seated in the respective parallel pair of upwardly slanted rounded horizontally grooved recesses on the left vertical bar and the right vertical bar.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the apparatus further comprises: a mounting element centered on the upper horizontal beam therein enabling the rack to be mounted on a wall, the mounting element being substantially perpendicular to a level floor and having a fastening element selected from a group consisting of: a sheet rock screw, a nail, a picture hanger, a set of French cleats, and a combination thereof.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the rack is configured to store up to about ten hangers per linear vertical foot.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein said apparatus is formed of material selected from a group consisting of: a rigid plastic such as polycarbonate, ABS, filled polypropylene, polymethacrylate, rigid polyesters, PLA (polylactic acid), polyamide (nylon), glass filled polyamide, epoxies, fiberglass, wood, metal and composites thereof.

14. The method according to claim 9, wherein the apparatus comprises twenty of the upwardly slanted frontal teeth separated by twenty of the upwardly slanted rounded horizontally grooved recesses on each of the left vertical bar and the right vertical bar, such that the apparatus is configured store at least twenty empty coat hangers.

15. The method according to claim 9, wherein the left vertical bar and the right vertical bar are separated by a distance of at least about 6 inchesabout 1 inch.

16. The method according to claim 9, wherein: the apparatus is configured to hold sixteen (16) empty coat hangers and rectangular dimensions of the apparatus are about 22 inches long7.5 inches wide; the apparatus is configured to hold twenty (20) empty coat hangers and rectangular dimensions of the apparatus are about two feet long7.5 inches wide; the apparatus is configured to hold thirty (30) empty coat hangers and rectangular dimensions of the apparatus are about three feet long7.5 inches wide; the apparatus is configured to hold forty (40) empty coat hangers and rectangular dimensions of the apparatus are about four feet long7.5 inches wide; or the apparatus is configured to hold fifty (50) empty coat hangers and rectangular dimensions of the apparatus are about five feet long7.5 inches wide.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The foregoing invention will become readily apparent by referring to the following descriptions and the appended drawings in which:

[0017] FIG. 1 is an elevated perspective view of an embodiment of the rack for storing empty coat hangers, wherein one coat hanger is shown;

[0018] FIG. 2 is a frontal view that illustrates the rack substantially filled wherein several types of empty coat hangers are illustrated;

[0019] FIG. 3a is side view of the rack for efficiently storing empty coat hangers, illustrating how the coat hangers hang on the rack, overlapping lower coat hangers; and

[0020] FIG. 3b is a side view of the rack for efficiently storing empty coat hangers, illustrating how a specific coat hanger can be removed from or added to the rack.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] Illustrative embodiments and exemplary applications will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings to disclose the advantageous teachings of the present invention.

[0022] Various embodiments of the invention are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all of the embodiments of the invention are shown in the figures. Indeed, these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the teachings provided herein will recognize addition.

[0023] The apparatus for storing empty coat hangers is a rack having a rectangular shape that includes an upper horizontal beam with an upper left end and an upper right end, a coplanar lower horizontal beam with a lower left end and a lower right end, a left vertical bar, and parallel, a right vertical bar.

[0024] The left vertical bar extends from the upper left end to the lower left end and the right vertical bar extends from the upper right end to the lower right end.

[0025] The left vertical bar and the right vertical bar are about identical in shape, in that both the left vertical bar and the right vertical bar each have a set of upwardly slanted frontal teeth separated by upwardly slanted rounded horizontally grooved recesses.

[0026] In one embodiment the empty coat hanger has a center hooked element, a left arm and a right arm, and a horizontal rod will hang almost upside down by the horizontal rod when the horizontal rod is seated in a parallel pair of upwardly slanted rounded horizontally grooved recesses on the left vertical bar and the right vertical bar. There is a mounting element centered on the upper horizontal beam therein enabling the rack to be mounted on a wall, substantially perpendicular to a level floor, with a fastening element selected from the group consisting of a sheet rock screw, a nail, a picture hanger, a set of French cleats or a combination thereof.

[0027] The invention, as illustrated in FIG. 1 is a rack for storing empty coat hangers 10, wherein the rack has a rectangular shape that includes an upper horizontal beam 12 with an upper left end 12ul and an upper right end 12ur, a coplanar lower horizontal beam 14 with a lower left end 14ll and a lower right end 14ur, a left vertical bar 20l, and parallel to it is a right vertical bar 20r. The left and the right vertical bars 20l,20r are substantially identical in shape. The vertical bars have a set of upwardly slanted frontal teeth 22l,22r separated by upwardly slanted rounded horizontally grooved recesses 24l,24r. As shown, an empty wire coat hanger 1w, having a center hooked element 7w, a left and a right arms 5wl,5wr; and a wire horizontal rod 3w is hanging nearly upside down by its wire horizontal rod 3w, which is seated in a pair of horizontally grooved recesses 24l,24r. In FIG. 1, the rack for storing empty coat hangers 10 has 20 pairs of horizontally grooved recesses 24l,24r and 19 pairs of upwardly slanted frontal teeth 22l,22r, and so can store up to twenty coat hangers. The illustrated rack 10 has a mounting element 16 centered on the upper horizontal beam 12, and it can be easily mounted on a wall, substantially perpendicular to a level floor, with fastening elements selected from the group consisting of sheet rock screw, nail, picture hanger, a set of French cleats or a combination thereof.

[0028] As shown an embodiment depicted in FIG. 2 the bars 20l,20r are separated by a distance 20d of at least about 6 inchesabout 1 inch, which is greater than about one third of a length of the spanning horizontal rod of a common coat hanger (about 15 inchesabout 4 inches). Typically a wire spanning horizontal rod 3w has a length 3wd of about 18 inches, while the length of a wood spanning horizontal rod is around 15 inches, and the length of a paper core spanning horizontal rod and a plastic spanning horizontal rod is about 16 inches. The distance 20d is about 6 inchesabout 1 inch, therein assuring that the arms 5wl,5wr of the wire coat hanger 1w extend past at least the next lower pair of the upwardly slanted frontal teeth 22l,22r.

[0029] In the rack 10, illustrated in FIG. 2, there are four plastic coat hangers 1p shown, as well as four wire coat hangers 1w. Note, in rack 10 there are 17 pairs of horizontally grooved recesses 24l,24r and 16 pairs of upwardly slanted frontal teeth 22l,22r, and so the rack 10 can store up to seventeen coat hangers.

[0030] FIG. 3a illustrates how, in the rack 10, the arms 5wl,5wr (where 5wr are obscured) and the hooking element 7w of a racked coat hanger 1w, overlap several coat hangers racked beneath it. In the FIG. 3a the top coat hanger in the rack is overlapping three coat hangers under it. Optimally, the top coat hanger would be the last one added and the first one removed. However, if one wants to remove a lower coat hanger, for example the fourth coat hanger, this can be easily done. As shown in FIG. 3b, the top three coat hangers are rotated outward, as indicated by the vertical two headed arced arrow, by lifting the third center hooked element 7w, therein enabling the fourth coat hanger to be removed.

[0031] An empty pair of horizontally grooved recesses 24l,24r that is overlapped can be filled by lifting the center hooked element in the rack above the empty pair of horizontally grooved recesses, and while lifted, filling the rack, as indicated by the horizontal two headed arced arrow.

[0032] In the illustrated rack 10 in FIG. 3a and FIG. 3b, the rack can store up to eighteen coat hangers. On average, about up to about ten hangers can be stored per vertical foot.

[0033] The choice of materials used to form the rack has an impact on the maximum number of coat hangers it can hold. In FIG. 2, the rack 10 can hold 16 coat hangers is constructed of a rigid plastic. The rectangular dimensions are about 22 inches7.5 inches, rounding to about 2 ft. long for 20 coat hangers. A 30 hanger rack would be about 3 ft. long, a 40 hanger rack would be about 4 ft. long, a 50 hanger rack would be about 5 ft. long, and a 60 hanger rack would be about 6 ft. long. Additional mounting elements would be preferably be employed for longer rack.

[0034] No-limiting examples of material useful for forming the rack are selected from the group consisting of a rigid plastic including polycarbonate, ABS, filled polypropylene, polymethacrylate, rigid polyesters, PLA (polylactic acid), polyamide (nylon), glass filled polyamide, epoxies, fiberglass, as well as wood, metal and composites thereof.

[0035] While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention.

[0036] Finally, any numerical parameters set forth in the specification and attached claims are approximations (for example, by using the term about) that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the present invention. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding.