Patent Application
20230151538
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The disclosure relates to lining devices and more particularly pertains to a new lining device for preventing contact of a user's laundry with a laundry basket. The present invention discloses a lining device comprising a flexible sleeve selectively insertable into and engageable to a laundry basket, particularly a laundry basket available for public use. The flexible sleeve prevents contact of a user's laundry with the laundry basket.
The prior art relates to lining devices. Prior art lining devices may comprise flexible clothes hampers, bags for use with laundry baskets, and baskets that are attachable to washers and dryers. What is lacking in the prior art is a lining device comprising a flexible sleeve selectively insertable into and engageable to a laundry basket, particularly a laundry basket available for public use. The flexible sleeve prevents contact of a user's laundry with the laundry basket.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a sleeve, which is configured for insertion into a laundry basket so that the sleeve covers an interior surface and a rim of the laundry basket. The sleeve is configured to selectively engage the laundry basket so that sleeve is removably engaged to the laundry basket. The sleeve thus is configured to prevent contact of a user's laundry with the laundry basket.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The sleeve 12 comprises an inner layer 20 and an outer layer 22. The outer layer 22 comprises cloth, fabric, elastomer, or the like. The inner layer 20 comprises plastic so that the sleeve 12 is resiliently flexible and so that the inner layer 20 is substantially impermeable to water. The inner layer 20 would be in contact with the user's laundry.
The sleeve 12 is substantially cuboid shaped when engaged to the laundry basket 14. A plurality of couplers 24 is engaged to the sleeve 12 and is positioned on a perimeter 26 of a top 28 of the sleeve 12. The couplers 24 are configured to selectively engage the laundry basket 14 so that sleeve 12 is removably engaged to the laundry basket 14.
The couplers 24 may be positioned singly proximate to upper corners 30 of the sleeve 12, although the present invention also anticipates the couplers being positioned between the upper corners 30. Each coupler 24 may comprise a pair of strings 32, or other coupling means, such as, but not limited to, hook and loop straps, magnets, and the like. The strings 32 are configured for insertion through adjacently positioned apertures 34 in the laundry basket 14. The user then is positioned to reversibly knot the strings 32 to engage the sleeve 12 to the laundry basket 14.
The laundry basket lining device 10 also may comprise a flap 36, which is engaged to and which extends from the perimeter 26 of the top 28 of the sleeve 12. A fastener 38 is engaged to the flap 36 distal from the sleeve 12. The fastener 38 is configured to engage a surface of a washing machine or a dryer, as shown in
The fastener 38 may comprise a pair of cups 42, or other fastening means, such as, but not limited to, magnets, pressure sensitive adhesives, and the like. The cups 42 comprise rubber, silicone, or elastomer and thus are resiliently compressible. The cups 42 are configured to be selectively compressed against the surface of the washing machine or the dryer to removably engage the flap 36 to the surface.
As shown in
The laundry basket lining device 10 also may comprise a panel 44, which has a bottom edge 46 and opposed side edges 48 that are engaged to an inner face 50 of the sleeve 12 to define a pocket 52. The pocket 52 is configured for positioning of an item, such as a laundry aid, cellphone, keys, or the like.
In use, the sleeve 12 is positioned in the laundry basket 14 to cover the interior surface 16 and the rim 18 of the laundry basket 14. The strings 32 of each pair of strings 32 are inserted through respective apertures 34 in the laundry basket 14 and knotted. If desired, the flap 36 can by inserted through the opening in a washing machine and attached to the surface using the cups 42. The user's laundry then can be unloaded from the washing machine into the sleeve 12 without the laundry contacting the laundry basket 14. The user then can move the laundry basket 14 to a dryer and reverse the process to transfer the laundry from the sleeve 12 into the dryer. After drying the laundry, it can again be transferred to the sleeve 12 in the same way as it was transferred from the washing machine to the sleeve 12.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
