1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a portable laundry bag, and more particularly to a portable laundry bag capable of being held without bulking large in a suitcase, a traveling bag and the like, having a cleanness, small weight and an easiness to handle, and possible to be thrown away after use substantially non-wastefully.
2. Description of the Background Art
The present invention provides a portable laundry bag provided at an edge thereof with an openable fastener exclusively used for the rinsing of laundry and having a waterproofing function; a newly devised structure provided in the vicinity of the fastener and including spot-fused portions and a netlike portion for preventing the laundry from flowing out to the outside during the rinsing and dehydration of the laundry; and capable of carrying out the washing, rinsing and dehydrating of the laundry in one simple bag easily without wetting a floor, etc. of a room.
When long-term domestic and overseas travels and a long-term business trip, etc. are made, a traveler takes large baggage, in which change of clothes including change of underwear is packed in large quantities in most cases. A traveler can have his shirts or her blouses among the clothes washed in a laundry and a coin-operated laundry outside, whereas he and she are reluctant to have their underwear washed in a laundry specializing in cleaning clothes.
Under the circumstances, a traveler practically washes by himself his underwear in a guest room, etc. in a building in his destination with a cake of soap, a detergent and the like by utilizing a sink and a bathtub, the cleanness of which is not ensured, in the room while spending his labor and time.
The inventor of the invention proposed in the patent specification submitted on Feb. 12, 2002 a portable washing machine having small weight and bulk and capable of being carried about by a traveler and handled simply by himself in his room in the destination. Namely, the inventor proposed a portable washing machine provided with a takeout port and a supply port at upper and lower portions thereof respectively, and a netted shelf in the interior of a foldable washing vessel body, and formed so as to place clothes to be washed on the netted shelf, and circulate washing water through the washing vessel via the takeout port and supply port by a liquid sending pump.
This portable washing machine is provided with a netted shelf in a washing vessel, and adapted to circulate washing water through the interior of the washing vessel by a liquid sending pump. Namely, pipes around the pump as well as the netted shelf and liquid sending pump necessarily come to be needed. Therefore, this washing machine could not satisfy a traveler with respect to the portability and weight thereof since the washing machine could not execute a laundry washing operation simply in an objective room in which he stays on his journey.
Furthermore, the inventor of the invention proposed on Oct. 10, 2001 a portable laundry bag provided with bag opening and closing members at two portions of a bag body, and at least one spot-fused portion in the vicinity of either one of the bag opening and closing members, so as to prevent the laundry from being sprung out to the outside during a water discharge operation carried out after a washing operation.
However, this portable laundry bag was unsatisfactory with respect to the sealability of the bag body. In short, the sealability of bag opening and closing slide fasteners as the bag opening and closing members is insufficient, and there was the possibility that the washing water leaked out from small spaces in the bag opening and closing members during the washing time, dehydration time and the lile.
The invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and one of the objects of the invention is to provide a clean and small-weight portable laundry bag as traveling goods capable of being carried with a bag body not bulking large, capable of being handled simply even in a guest room in the destination of a travel and an outing, and possible to be thrown away after use substantially non-wastefully.
This object of the invention is achieved effectively by providing bag opening and closing members on at least two portions of a bag body made of a flexible sheet material, forming the bag opening and closing members by slider-carrying bag opening and closing fasteners having male and female seal hooks, providing at least one of the bag opening and closing fasteners at the side of an opening thereof with male and female slider guide hooks so that the slider guide hooks extend in parallel with the seal hooks, disposing inner-side guides of the sliders so that the inner-side guides are positioned between the seal hooks and slider guide hooks, providing on at least one portion of the bag body with an outflow of laundry preventing member, by which the springing-out of the laundry to the outside is prevented during a water discharging operation carried out after the completion of a laundry washing operation.
This object of the invention is achieved effectively by forming the slider guide hooks by projections extending toward the inside of the female hooks.
The object of the invention is achieved effectively by forming the male and female seal hooks into a seal structure by providing a pressure claw on an inner side of the female hook of the male and female seal hooks, the pressure claw being pressed during a bag sealing operation against a bifurcated male hook projecting toward the side of the male hook.
The object of the invention is achieved effectively by forming the bag opening and closing fasteners so that one bag opening and closing fastener member is made of a regular bag opening and closing fastener with the other made of a seal type bag opening and closing fastener member. The object of the invention is achieved effectively by forming the outflow of laundry preventing member by a netted member.
The object of the invention is achieved effectively by forming the bag opening and closing members an openable and waterproofing function-carrying bag opening and closing fastener provided on one of edges of the bag body, and an openable and a waterproofing function-carrying bag opening and closing fastener having an outflow of laundry preventing portion in the vicinity thereof and used exclusively for a water discharging operation; and forming the bag opening and closing members in the bag opening and closing fasteners provided on an upper end portion and a lower end portion of the bag body.
The object of the invention is achieved effectively by providing two bag opening and closing units on edges of a bag body made of a flexible sheet material, arranging one or a plurality of small water discharge ports in parallel with each other in the vicinity of either one of the bag opening and closing units, sealing the small ports with an adhesive tape at the time of starting a laundry washing operation, and peeling off the adhesive tape at the time of starting discharging the water from the interior of the bag body.
The object of the invention is achieved effectively by arranging one or a plurality of small water discharge ports in the vicinity of a lower end portion of the bag body in parallel with each other, sealing the small ports with an adhesive tape at the time of starting a laundry washing operation, peeling off the adhesive tape at the time of starting discharging the water from the interior of the bag body, and setting the diameter of the small water discharge ports to around 1 cm.
The object of the invention is achieved more effectively by making the bag body of a transparent plastic film.
In order to achieve the objects, the invention provides on one of edges of a bag body, which is used to put laundry, a detergent and cleaning city water therein, with an openable waterproofing function-carrying bag opening and closing fastener, and on the other with an openable waterproofing function-carrying bag opening and closing fastener which has an outflow of laundry preventing portion formed in the vicinity thereof so that the outflow of laundry preventing portion does not obstruct a water discharging operation, and which is used exclusively for a water discharging operation. These two fasteners of different functions provided on one bag enable the laundry to be immersed in the washing water in which a detergent is sufficiently dissolved while simply shaking and rubbing the laundry with the bag kept waterproofed, the laundry to be then left as it is for a suitable period of time, the washing of the laundry to be done with a surface activating action of the detergent displayed to a maximum extent, and the rinsing of the laundry to be thereafter done within the same bag.
A front view of an embodiment of the portable laundry bag according to the invention.
A perspective view showing the condition of a bag opening and closing fastener provided on an upper portion of a bag body.
A sectional view of the bag opening and closing fastener taken along the line III—III in
A sectional view showing a modified example of the bag opening and closing fastener of
A sectional view showing a modified example of the bag opening and closing fastener of
A sectional view of a modified example of the bag opening and closing fastener of
A perspective view showing an external appearance of a slider of the bag opening and closing fastener.
A drawing corresponding to
A front view of a modified example of the portable laundry bag of
A drawing corresponding to
A drawing corresponding to
A drawing showing the condition of a switch valve provided at a lower end portion of a bag body and adapted to control the outflow of waste water.
A drawing showing the condition of a switch valve, which is identical with the switch valve of
A drawing corresponding to
A drawing corresponding to
A drawing corresponding to
A drawing corresponding to
A drawing corresponding to
A drawing corresponding to
A preferred mode of embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.
The bag opening and closing fastener 3 is provided with a seal unit 4 extending along an upper end of the bag body 1 as shown in, for example,
The slider 3a is provided on an inner side thereof with an inverted T-shaped locking projection 3b as shown in
The slider 3a is disposed so that the locking projection 3b is positioned between the upper and lower seal type fastener members 5, 6 provided at an upper end of the bag body 1. Therefore, when the slider 3a is moved in either one direction so as to open the bag body 1, the locking projection 3b exerts power on the upper seal type fastener member 5 in the direction in which the same fastener is expanded outward. Consequently, the outwardly expanding power is exerted on the lower seal type fastener 6 as well to cause the paired female and male hooks of the seal type fastener members 5, 6 to be disengaged from each other, and the bag body 1 to be thereby opened. On the other hand, in order to seal the bag body 1, the slider 3a is moved in the reverse direction, so that the parts are moved in the direction opposite to the direction in which the parts are moved when the bag body 1 is opened. Namely, the seal unit 4 is sealed with a double bag opening and closing structure by engaging the female hooks 5a, 6a and male hooks 5b, 6b with each other by the locking projection 3b. Therefore, the leakage of water from the interior of the bag body 1 is prevented.
When seal type fastener members are used as the seal unit 4 in this embodiment, the bag body can be opened from the outside at the female hooks 5a but cannot from the inside. Moreover, since the female hooks 5a are provided on an outer side, the tightening force of the female hooks 5a increases (self-seal mechanism) owing to an external force, so that the sealability of the bag body can be maintained stably even with respect to an internal pressure and a negative pressure. Therefore, the sealability and impact resistance of the seal unit 4 are improved, and, even when the bag body 1 is dropped with a heavy object and a liquid held therein, the bag opening and closing fastener 3 is not opened easily.
In this embodiment, the upper and lower seal type fastener members 5, 6 are provided so that the fastener members 5, 6 face in the opposite directions. The seal type fastener members 5, 6 may also be provided so that the fastener members face in the same direction, and the central pressure claws 5c, 6c extending from the female hooks 5a, 6a may be set so as to face in the same direction, and pressed against the male hooks 5b, 6b. This arrangement displays the same effects as are described above.
Although the seal unit 4 is provided at the upper and lower portions thereof with seal type fastener members 5, 6 as shown in
As shown in, for example,
As shown in
As shown in
As a material for the bag body 1, a sheet material having a flexibility, a transparency and a tear strength, for example, a plastic film of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and the like. The bag opening and closing fastener is made of a plastic and the like.
In the vicinity of a lower end portion of the bag body 1, a discharge port 13 for washing water is provided as shown in
A plurality of spot-fused portions 15 are provided in a lateral row at the portion of the bag body 1 which is in the vicinity of a lower end thereof (in the lateral direction of
As shown in
The spot-fused portions 15 and netted member 16 for preventing laundry from flowing out from a water discharge port may be provided vertically as shown in
In this structure, the laundry does not flow out from the water discharge port 13 owing to the spot-fused portions 15 and netted member 16 during the rinsing and dehydrating of the laundry, and only the waste water flow out to the outside.
As shown in
The operation in use of the portable laundry bag thus formed will now be described.
First, in order to make preparations for washing laundry, the laundry bag stored is taken out, and as shown in
Cold water or hot water is then sent out from a faucet (not shown), and the bag body 1 is filled with the water. The quantity of the water is set to around a level at which the laundry B is completely immersed therein. It is desirable that the laundry be thereafter left immersed in the water for a while. When the laundry B is thus left as it is, the fibers in the laundry B are subjected to collective actions, such as permeation, emulsification, dispersion and the like by the surface active components contained in a detergent, and a greater part of a small quantity of soil and odor deposited on the laundry B is removed. All preparatory operations are completed by such simple actions.
In order to start the washing of the laundry, it is effective to give a pressure thereto by rubbing the bag body 1 from both side portions thereof and shaking the bag body laterally and vertically so as to promote the surface activating actions of the detergent. Especially, when the dirtiness of the laundry B is hard, very much effect is displayed. Since the interior of the bag body 1 is seen through, the degree of removal of the soil from the laundry B can be ascertained from the outside.
After the removal of the soil from the laundry B is ascertained, or, after a predetermined period of time elapses, the bag opening and closing fastener 14 at the lower end of the bag body for the water discharge port 13 is opened by moving the slider 14a, and the water with which the laundry B has been cleaned is discharged. During this time, the laundry B does not flow out to the outside owing to the laundry outflow-preventing spot-fused portions 15. After the water discharging operation is completed, the bag opening and closing fastener 14 is closed.
After the closure of the bag opening and closing fastener 14 at the lower end of the bag body is ascertained, the opening 2 at the upper end thereof is opened again, and fresh rinsing water is sent from the faucet into the bag body 1. These operations are repeated until the bubbles in the bag body 1 disappear. As a result, the rinsing of the laundry is completed.
In other case, the water is made to flow from the opening 2 at the upper end of the bag body 1 thereinto continuously with the bag opening and closing fastener 14 at the lower end portion of the bag body opened, until the bubbles on the laundry B disappear, to finish the rinsing of the laundry. The place used to conduct this laundry washing operation is limited to an inner portion of a sink or bathtub. At a point in time at which the bubbles in the bag body disappear, the supplying of the water is stopped. The laundry B is thereafter dehydrated by winding up the bag body 1 from one side thereof with the laundry B left held therein, so as to squeeze out the water contained in the laundry B from the other side of the bag body 1.
A portable laundry bag provided with small water discharge ports at the portion of a bag body 1 which is in the vicinity of a lower end thereof, instead of the spot-fused portions 15, and an adhesive tape with which the small water discharge ports are sealed will now be described. The preparatory and laundry washing operations conducted in this portable laundry bag are completely identical with those conducted in the above-described embodiment. In order to carry out a laundry rinsing operation, the adhesive tape pasted in advance on the bag body so as to seal the small ports may only be peeled off. As a result, the water finished being used to wash the laundry flows out from the small water discharge ports. The rinsing of the laundry is done by opening the bag opening and closing fastener 3 from an opening 2 at an upper end of the bag body, and having the water flow thereinto continuously. When the bubbles on the laundry B disappear, the supplying of the water is stopped.
When these operations finish, the laundry B is taken out from the bag body 1 and the laundry is transferred to a suitable place and dried. At the same time, the bag body 1 is also dried, and, after the bag body 1 is dried, the bag body 1 is folded or wound up and put away. Even when the bag body 1 is folded, a total thickness thereof reaches only around several millimeters since the bag body 1 is made of an extremely thin plastic film. Therefore, this bag body can be stored in a corner portion of a traveling bag and a suitcase without bulking large. A worn-out or soiled laundry bag is discarded as non-combustible waste. Since this laundry bag can be mass-produced at a low cost, and provided at a low price for users, the bag can be thrown away after use substantially non-wastefully.
In the above embodiment, the bag body 1 has a tear strength. Therefore, even when the bag body 1 receives a high hydraulic pressure or is pressed forcibly from the outside, the bag body is not blown out. Since an inner portion of the bag body can be seen through, the condition of the laundry B being washed can be ascertained from the outside. Furthermore, while the laundry bag is not in use, the laundry bag is folded or wound up. The resultant laundry bag can be compactly held in something and transported.
The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified variously with respect to the construction thereof. It is a matter of course that a position in which the parts are provided, and a shape, or number and quantity, etc. of the parts can be varied arbitrarily as necessary.
According to the portable laundry bag of the invention described above, the bag body as a whole can be folded or wound up, so that it is possible to store the laundry bag compactly in a corner portion of a traveling bag, a suitcase and the like, and transport the same. This enables the volume of hand baggage to be reduced, and the number thereof to be minimized. Therefore, this portable laundry bag has the advantage of being transferred conveniently.
In order to seal the bag body 1, a double seal structure having a combination of seal type and regular type bag opening fastener members has been employed. This has enabled the sealability and impact resistance of the bag body 1 to be improved.
While a laundry-held bag body with a suitable quantity of washing water and detergent put therein is left as it is for a while, the greater part of the soil and odor deposited on the laundry can be removed owing to an immersion cleaning effect of the water and a surface activating effect of detergent components. Especially, when an external pressure is exerted on the bag body so as to give vibration to the laundry, the water in the bag body is agitated to cause local turbulence to occur. Therefore, the above-mentioned effects are promoted, and a cleaning effect can further be improved.
When the bag body is made of a transparent sheet material, the degree of removal of the soil from the laundry can be ascertained from the outside very conveniently.
The bag body can be mass-produced at a low manufacturing cost by molding a flexible sheet material, such as a plastic film. Therefore, a user can purchase this laundry bag at a very low price, and throw away the same after use substantially non-wastefully.
Furthermore, when laundry is washed by using the laundry bag according to the invention, it is unnecessary to directly utilize a sink, a bathtub and the like which are used by many and unspecified persons. Therefore, it can be said from a sanitary point of view that this laundry bag is a very preferable washing apparatus.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5240112 | Newburger | Aug 1993 | A |
5709479 | Bell | Jan 1998 | A |
5785428 | Mazzocchi | Jul 1998 | A |
6200027 | Jones | Mar 2001 | B1 |
6789947 | Kasai | Sep 2004 | B1 |