It is often necessary to transport garments between locations. Garments are frequently transported on hangers from the manufacturer to a warehouse. Later, the garments may again be transported to a distribution center, and then eventually transported to a retail store. Transporting garments on hangers has advantages in that the garments will not get creased, which happens when they are transported folded. Transporting garments on hangers or hanging devices enables arrangement of the garments in logical order, such as by type and size, during shipping. This reduces the amount of work needed to sort the garments when they are unloaded at the destination.
Hanging garments are usually transported on an apparatus that may be rolled along a rod or other track means inside the enclosure. Examples of such hanging apparatus are shown in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,833 which is a multiple hanger support sling. Another type of movable apparatus for supporting garments is a trolley bar such as that shown in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,840. Of course, other types of garment hanger apparatus may be used to transport garments including hangers with conventional hooks that may be slid axially along a track means or support bar.
When clothing is transported it is desirable to pack the clothing as densely as possible in the truck, trailer or shipping container. Dense packing creates a heavy load which must be supported. As a result, it has been necessary to build support systems for the bars or other track means inside the enclosure so that they can withstand the load. This often involves making a special supporting framework that is fixed in place. Making and installing such systems is expensive.
A further drawback associated with prior art garment supporting systems is that once the system is installed it is difficult to change. A support system that is installed in a semi-trailer, for example, to carry one type of garment hanger or garment length, is generally not well-suited to carry a different type of hanger or garment. As a result, space may be wasted when another type of garment is carried, or substantial cost must be incurred to modify the support system.
Periodically, semi-trailers or other shipping containers become damaged, or are replaced. Permanently installed prior art support systems cannot be readily removed and must usually be scrapped with the container.
A further drawback of prior art support systems is that they are usually designed for only one type of garment hanger apparatus. Such systems may not be effectively used with other types of garment hanger apparatus, which further limits their flexibility.
Thus, there exists a need for a garment hanger support system that is inexpensive to manufacture and install in trucks, trailers and other shipping containers, and which may be readily changed to suit different types of hanging garments, or removed. Further, there exists a need for a garment hanger support system that may be used with the various types of movable garment hanger apparatus.