Patent Application
20220017132
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The disclosure relates to hamper assemblies and more particularly pertains to a new hamper assembly for transport of laundry and laundering supplies.
The prior art relates to hamper assemblies. Prior art hamper assemblies may comprise a container to which a pair of wheels and a handle are engaged.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a housing that defines an interior space. The housing has an upper face and a rear face, which are open. A plurality of walls is coupled to the housing and is positioned in the interior space to define a chamber and a plurality of compartments. The chamber and the compartments are configured to stow articles and are accessible from the upper face and the rear face, respectively. For example, laundry may be positioned in the chamber and other articles, such as detergent, bleach, and softener, may be stowed in the compartments. An upper lid is hingedly engaged to the housing and is positioned to selectively close the upper face of the housing.
A plurality of rolling wheels is engaged to a bottom of the housing. Each of a pair of first rods is engaged to a respective opposed side of the housing, proximate to the rear face. The first rod comprises a plurality of nested sections so that the first rod is selectively extensible. A second rod is coupled to and extends between the first rods distal from the housing. The second rod is configured to be grasped in a hand of a user to motivate the housing upon the rolling wheels. The second rod also is configured for hanging of items, such as shirts, pants, and the like, which may be positioned on a hanger prior to the hanger being hooked to the second rod.
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
A plurality of walls 22 is coupled to the housing 12 and is positioned in the interior space 14 to define a chamber 24 and a plurality of compartments 26. As shown in
The chamber 24 and the compartments 26 are configured to stow articles and are accessible from the upper face 16 and the rear face 18, respectively. For example, laundry may be positioned in the chamber 24 and other articles, such as detergent, bleach, and softener, may be stowed in the compartments 26. An upper lid 30 is hingedly engaged to the housing 12 and is positioned to selectively close the upper face 16 of the housing 12.
A plurality of rolling wheels 32 is engaged to the bottom 28 of the housing 12. At least one of the rolling wheels 32 is selectively lockable to prevent inadvertent movement of the housing 12 on a substantially horizontal surface. As shown in
Each of a pair of first rods 34 is engaged to respective opposed side 36 of the housing 12, proximate to the rear face 18. The first rod 34 comprises a plurality of nested sections 38 so that the first rod 34 is selectively extensible, as shown in
A second rod 40 is coupled to and extends between the first rods 34 distal from the housing 12. The second rod 40 is configured to be grasped in a hand of a user to motivate the housing 12 upon the rolling wheels 32. The second rod 40 also is configured for hanging of items, such as shirts, pants, and the like, which may be positioned on a hanger (not shown) prior to the hanger being hooked to the second rod 40.
A rear lid 42 is hingedly engaged to the housing 12 and is positioned to selectively close the rear face 18 of the housing 12. As shown in
A lid fastener 48 is engaged to the rear lid 42 and is selectively engageable to the housing 12 to fixedly position the rear lid 42 over the rear face 18 of the housing 12. The lid fastener 48 may comprise a magnet 50, or other fastening means, such as, but not limited to, latches, camlocks, and the like.
Each of a pair of climbing units 52 is engaged to a respective opposed side 36 of the housing 12, proximate to the rear face 18, as shown in
Each climbing unit 52 comprises a tube 54, a bar 56, a plate 58, and a set of climbing wheels 60. The tube 54 is coupled to the respective opposed side 36 of the housing 12. The bar 56 is positioned in and is selectively extensible from the tube 54. The plate 58 has a centerpoint 62, which is rotationally engaged to a terminus 64 of the bar 56, as shown in
With the bar 56 extended from the tube 54, the centerpoint 62 of the plate 58 is positioned below the bottom 28 of the housing 12, as shown in
The assembly 10 also comprises a panel 70, which has opposing side edges 72 and a lower edge 74 that are coupled to a front face 76 of the housing 12 to define a pocket 78. The pocket 78 can be used to stow items of use to the user, such as laundry related items. As shown in
A closure 80 is engaged to an upper edge 82 of the panel 70 and is selectively engageable to the front face 76 of the housing 12 to close an opening 84 of the pocket 78. The closure 80 may comprise a hook and loop fastener 86, or other closing means, such as, but not limited to, buttons, zippers, and the like.
In use, soiled laundry is positioned in the chamber 24. The housing 12 may be positioned in a closet, or the like, and the soiled laundry added to the chamber 24 as it is generated. The user then is positioned to transport the housing 12, utilizing the rolling wheels 32 and the climbing wheels 60, when required, to a laundering facility. The compartments 26 and pockets 78 are available to stow miscellaneous laundry accessories. The first rods 34 can be extended and pivoted to so that the second rod 40 is positioned above and parallel to the upper face 16 of the housing 12, allowing it to be used to hang items of clothing. Upon completion of laundering, the chamber 24 can be used to stow the clean laundry for a return trip.
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 elements is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
