U.S. patent application number 14/559479 was filed with the patent office on 2015-03-26 for laundry hampers with accessible front loading regions.
The applicant listed for this patent is Neatfreak Group Inc.. Invention is credited to BERTRAND BARRE, FRANCIS LEPAGE.
Application Number | 20150083718 14/559479 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52015164 |
Filed Date | 2015-03-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150083718 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
BARRE; BERTRAND ; et
al. |
March 26, 2015 |
LAUNDRY HAMPERS WITH ACCESSIBLE FRONT LOADING REGIONS
Abstract
Laundry hampers are disclosed that are front loading, in that
they permit removal and replacement of individual laundry bags
without requiring the bags to be raised significantly in order to
remove the laundry bags from a supporting frame. Removable laundry
bags are supported, at least in part, by support members, such as
front vertical posts having cupped or saddle-shaped supports
disposed atop the vertical posts. As a result, the requirement for
a top front horizontal bar of the frame is eliminated, permitting
the laundry bags to be removed and replaced in position using a
substantially horizontal direction of movement. This, in turn,
provides ergonomic benefit, as significantly less physical effort
is required to both remove and replace the laundry bags.
Inventors: |
BARRE; BERTRAND;
(Lapeyrouse, FR) ; LEPAGE; FRANCIS; (Dommartin,
FR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Neatfreak Group Inc. |
Mississauga |
|
CA |
|
|
Family ID: |
52015164 |
Appl. No.: |
14/559479 |
Filed: |
December 3, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
14036988 |
Sep 25, 2013 |
8910813 |
|
|
14559479 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/23.83 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D06F 95/004 20130101;
D06F 95/002 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/23.83 |
International
Class: |
D06F 95/00 20060101
D06F095/00 |
Claims
1. A garment storage hamper, comprising: a frame having a top side
having a top opening, a bottom side, a rear side, a left side, a
right side, and a front side, a first outer support member disposed
at the left side of the frame, a second outer support member
disposed at the right side of the frame, and at least one front
opening disposed between the first outer support member and the
second outer support member and extending through the front side of
the frame; and at least one laundry bag removably supported by the
frame, each of the first and second outer support members
supporting a portion of at least one laundry bag; wherein the frame
does not include a top front horizontal support member extending
from the first outer support member to the second outer support
member across the front side of the frame and proximate the top
side of the frame, thereby permitting at least one laundry bag to
be pulled outward through the front side of the frame through a
front opening of the frame and without requiring the at least one
first laundry bag to be removed by raising the at least one laundry
bag through the top opening of the frame.
2. The invention according to claim 1, wherein: the frame includes
a first inner support member disposed between the first outer
support member and the second outer support member, and at least
two front openings disposed between the first outer support member
and the second outer support member and extending through the front
side of the frame, including first and second front openings
disposed on opposing sides of the first inner support member; and
at least two laundry bags are removably supported by the frame,
each of the first and second outer support members supporting a
portion of a laundry bag, the first inner support member supporting
a first laundry bag on a first side of the first inner support
member and a second laundry bag on a second, opposing side of the
first inner support member; wherein the frame does not include a
top front horizontal support member extending from the first outer
support member to the second outer support member across the front
side of the frame and proximate the top side of the frame, the
frame does not include a top front horizontal support member
extending from the first outer support member to the first inner
support member across the front side of the frame and proximate the
top side of the frame, and the frame does not include a top front
horizontal support member extending from the first inner support
member to the second outer support member across the front side of
the frame and proximate the top side of the frame, thereby
permitting both the first laundry bag and the second laundry bag to
be pulled outward through the front side of the frame through
respective front openings without requiring either the first
laundry bag or the second laundry bag to be removed by raising
either the first laundry bag or the second laundry bag through the
top opening of the frame.
3. The invention according to claim 2, wherein: the frame further
includes a second inner support member disposed between the first
inner support member and the second outer support member, the at
least two laundry bags comprise at least three laundry bags; and
the second inner support member supporting the second laundry bag
on a first side of the second inner support member and a third
laundry bag on a second, opposing side of the second inner support
member, wherein the frame does not include a top front horizontal
support member extending from the first outer support member to the
second inner support member across the front side of the frame and
proximate the top side of the frame, the frame does not include a
top front horizontal support member extending from the first inner
support member to the second inner support member across the front
side of the frame and proximate the top side of the frame, and the
frame does not include a top front horizontal support member
extending from the second inner support member to the second outer
support member across the front side of the frame and proximate the
top side of the frame, thereby permitting the first, second and
third laundry bags to be pulled outward through the front side of
the frame through respective front openings without requiring the
first, second or third laundry bag to be removed by raising the
first, second or third laundry bag through the top opening of the
frame.
4. The invention according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the
support members comprises a vertically oriented post.
5. The invention according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the
first outer support member and the second outer support member
further includes at least one depression configured to support and
releasably retain at least a portion of an associated laundry
bag.
6. The invention according to claim 5, at least one laundry bag
includes a handle, and the at least one depression is configured to
support and releasably retain at least a portion of the handle of
the laundry bag.
7. The invention according to claim 5, wherein at least one laundry
bag includes a hook, and the at least one depression is configured
to support and releasably retain the hook of the laundry bag.
8. The invention according to claim 2, wherein the first inner
support member further includes at least two depressions, each
depression being configured to releasably retain at least a portion
of a separate associated laundry bag.
9. The invention according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the
first outer support member, second outer support member, and first
inner support member further includes a saddle-shaped member.
10. The invention according to claim 9, wherein the saddle-shaped
member includes at least one depression configured to releasably
retain at least a portion of an associated laundry bag.
11. The invention according to claim 9, wherein the saddle-shaped
member includes at least two depressions, each configured to
releasably retain at least a portion of an associated laundry
bag.
12. A garment storage hamper, comprising: a support structure
having a top side having a top opening, and a front side, a first
outer support member disposed at a one side of the support
structure, a second outer support member disposed at another side
of the support structure, and at least one front opening disposed
between the first outer support member and the second outer support
member and extending through the front side of the support
structure; and at least one laundry bag removably supported by the
support structure, each of the first and second outer support
members supporting a portion of at least one laundry bag; wherein
the support structure does not include a top front horizontal
support member extending from the first outer support member to the
second outer support member across the front side of the support
structure and proximate the top side of the support structure,
thereby permitting at least one laundry bag to be pulled outward
through the front side of the support structure through a front
opening of the support structure and without requiring the at least
one first laundry bag to be removed by raising the at least one
laundry bag through the top opening of the support structure.
13. The invention according to claim 12, wherein: the support
structure includes a first inner support member disposed between
the first outer support member and the second outer support member,
and at least two front openings disposed between the first outer
support member and the second outer support member and extending
through the front side of the support structure, including first
and second front openings disposed on opposing sides of the first
inner support member; and at least two laundry bags are removably
supported by the support structure, each of the first and second
outer support members supporting a portion of a laundry bag, the
first inner support member supporting a first laundry bag on a
first side of the first inner support member and a second laundry
bag on a second, opposing side of the first inner support member;
wherein the support structure does not include a top front
horizontal support member extending from the first outer support
member to the second outer support member across the front side of
the support structure and proximate the top side of the support
structure, the support structure does not include a top front
horizontal support member extending from the first outer support
member to the first inner support member across the front side of
the support structure and proximate the top side of the support
structure, and the support structure does not include a top front
horizontal support member extending from the first inner support
member to the second outer support member across the front side of
the support structure and proximate the top side of the support
structure, thereby permitting both the first laundry bag and the
second laundry bag to be pulled outward through the front side of
the support structure through respective front openings without
requiring either the first laundry bag or the second laundry bag to
be removed by raising either the first laundry bag or the second
laundry bag through the top opening of the support structure.
14. The invention according to claim 13, wherein: the support
structure further includes a second inner support member disposed
between the first inner support member and the second outer support
member, the at least two laundry bags comprise at least three
laundry bags; and the second inner support member supporting the
second laundry bag on a first side of the second inner support
member and a third laundry bag on a second, opposing side of the
second inner support member, wherein the support structure does not
include a top front horizontal support member extending from the
first outer support member to the second inner support member
across the front side of the support structure and proximate the
top side of the support structure, the support structure does not
include a top front horizontal support member extending from the
first inner support member to the second inner support member
across the front side of the support structure and proximate the
top side of the support structure, and the support structure does
not include a top front horizontal support member extending from
the second inner support member to the second outer support member
across the front side of the support structure and proximate the
top side of the support structure, thereby permitting the first,
second and third laundry bags to be pulled outward through the
front side of the support structure through respective front
openings without requiring the first, second or third laundry bag
to be removed by raising the first, second or third laundry bag
through the top opening of the support structure.
15. The invention according to claim 12, wherein at least one of
the support members comprises a vertically oriented post.
16. The invention according to claim 12, wherein at least one of
the first outer support member and the second outer support member
further includes at least one depression configured to support and
releasably retain at least a portion of an associated laundry
bag.
17. The invention according to claim 12, wherein at least one
laundry bag includes a handle, and the at least one depression is
configured to support and releasably retain at least a portion of
the handle of the laundry bag.
18. The invention according to claim 16, wherein at least one
laundry bag includes a hook, and the at least one depression is
configured to support and releasably retain the hook of the laundry
bag.
19. The invention according to claim 12, wherein the first inner
support member further includes at least two depressions, each
depression being configured to releasably retain at least a portion
of a separate associated laundry bag.
20. The invention according to claim 12, wherein at least one of
the first outer support member, second outer support member, and
first inner support member further includes a saddle-shaped member.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. nonprovisional
application Ser. No. 14/036,988, filed Sep. 25, 2013, the entirety
of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates, in general, to garment
storage and, more particularly, to laundry hampers and sorters for
storing and pre-sorting of garments prior to laundering them.
[0004] 2. General Background of the Invention Laundry hampers, and
laundry sorters, comprising a garment storage hamper having two or
more adjacent storage compartments within a common housing, have
been known for some time. Today, such laundry sorters, in
particular, often feature multiple removable laundry bags
adjacently supported by a common frame. The use of removable
laundry bags facilitates pre-sorting of garments by type prior to
washing, such as separating white, light color, and dark color
fabrics, so that each pre-sorted group of garments may be loaded
directly into a washing machine. The use of removable laundry bags
permits individual loads of pre-sorted laundry to be separately
transported for placement within a washing machine.
[0005] Prior art laundry sorters having removable laundry bags,
such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2006/0157358 A1, are
commonly top loading in construction, meaning that removal and
replacement of each supported laundry bag requires that the bag
must be vertically lifted above the frame, in order to clear, among
other structures, a top front horizontal bar or similar structure
of the frame. Particularly during removal of the laundry bags, when
they may be relatively heavily loaded with garments, vertically
raising the bag above the frame may be cumbersome or difficult,
particularly if the user is not physically strong, is relatively
short in height, or is suffering from lower back pain or other
physical ailment.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention provides laundry hampers and sorters
that overcome many of the shortcomings of certain prior art laundry
sorters. In particular, laundry hampers and sorters are disclosed
that are front loading, meaning that they permit removal and
replacement of individual laundry bags without requiring the bags
to be raised significantly in order to remove the laundry bags from
engagement of and storage within a supporting frame.
[0007] In the hampers and laundry sorters of the present invention,
removable laundry bags are supported, at least in part, by front
vertical posts having cupped or saddle-shaped supports disposed
atop the vertical posts. As a result, the requirement for a top
front horizontal bar is eliminated, permitting the laundry bags to
be removed and replaced in position using a substantially
horizontal direction of movement. This, in turn, provides a
significant ergonomic improvement over certain prior art top
loading laundry sorters, as significantly less effort is required
to both remove and replace the laundry bags.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 an elevated, front perspective view of an embodiment
of a laundry sorter of the present invention;
[0009] FIG. 2 is an elevated, front perspective view of the frame
portion of the laundry sorter of FIG. 1 and further including, for
illustrative purposes, only the hanger handle portions of the
supported laundry bags;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a right side view of the laundry sorter of FIG.
1;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a saddle-shaped support of
the laundry sorter of FIG. 1, showing, in particular, a front hook
of a single laundry bag supported by a first cupped region of the
saddle-shaped support;
[0012] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the saddle-shaped support of
FIG. 4, showing, in particular, a front hook of a single laundry
bag supported by a second cupped region of the saddle-shaped
support; and
[0013] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the saddle-shaped support of
FIG. 4, showing, in particular, two front hooks of two laundry bags
adjacently supported by both first and second cupped regions of the
saddle-shaped support.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0014] While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in
many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will
herein be described in detail, several specific embodiments, with
the understanding that the present disclosure is intended as an
exemplification of the principles of the present invention and is
not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments
illustrated.
[0015] A first embodiment of the present laundry sorter 10 is shown
in FIGS. 1-6 as comprising frame 20, supporting a plurality, in
this embodiment three, of substantially adjacent removable laundry
bags 200. Frame 20 may be constructed primarily of tubular steel or
aluminum components and comprises four vertical front posts 30, two
vertical rear posts 40, two bottom horizontal tubes 50, two bottom
side tubes 60, and two angled side support tubes 70. Each front
post 30 comprises an elongated, vertically oriented support
member.
[0016] Angled side support tubes 70 each connect a respective outer
front post 30 and rear post 40. Top rear horizontal tube 90
connects left and right rear posts 40. Two L-shaped support tubes
80 each connect a respective inner front post 30 to top rear
horizontal tube 90 via T-coupling 130. T-couplings 130 may be
constructed of a relatively rigid plastic material, and may include
a cuff-shaped upper portion enabling a snap-fit engagement about
top rear horizontal tube 90. T-couplings 130 may optionally include
two opposing depressions or recessed regions to secure supported
rear hooks 253 associated with laundry bags 200 against unwanted
lateral movement.
[0017] Another form of T-couplings 120 connect two inner front
posts 30 to front bottom horizontal tubes 50, and may likewise be
constructed of a relatively rigid plastic material. Two bottom side
tubes 60 each connect a respective outer front post 30 and rear
post 40. Wire mesh surface 100 is disposed across front and rear
bottom horizontal tubes 50.
[0018] Caster wheels 110 are coupled to the bottom ends of each of
outer front posts 30 and rear posts 40, permitting laundry sorter
20 to be rolled about.
[0019] As best seen in FIGS. 4-6, four saddle-shaped laundry bag
supports 150 are disposed atop respective front posts 30. Each
saddle-shaped support 150 comprises a top saddle-shaped surface
having two opposing outer risers 154, having a first cupped region
151 and a second cupped region 152, separated by a center riser
153. Saddle-shaped support 150 may be constructed of a relatively
rigid plastic material. Each cupped region comprises a depression,
sunken region, recess or hollow disposed proximate a top surface of
saddle-shaped support 150.
[0020] As best seen in FIG. 1, laundry sorter 10 further comprises
three removable laundry bags 200, each comprising fabric body 210.
Fabric body 210 may be generally parallelepiped on shape, and may
include internal stiffeners about its vertical, top and bottom
edges to inhibit folding or collapse of the fabric, such that
laundry bag 200 substantially retains its generally parallelepiped
configuration. Top opening 220 of laundry bag 200 is generally
rectangular in configuration, and is angled or canted forward, such
that front edge 221 is below rear edge 222, further facilitating
the placement of garments into laundry bag 200.
[0021] Fabric body 210 of laundry bag 200 further comprises four
side loops 230, each extending vertically from a side surface of
fabric body 210 and each disposed proximate a respective corner of
top opening 220. Two hanger handles 250 are coupled to each fabric
body 210 using side loops 230. Each hanger handle 250 may be
constructed of a relatively rigid material such as steel or
aluminum, and comprises arcuate central carrying region 251, front
hook 252 and rear hook 253. Two linear regions 254 of hanger handle
250 are disposed on either side of central carrying region 251 and
adjacent front hook 252 and rear hook 253. Hanger handles 250 are
attached to fabric body 210 by passing front hook 252 and rear hook
253 through respective side loops 230, until each side loop 230 is
disposed about an associated linear region 254.
[0022] Each laundry bag 250 is releasably attachable at a
predetermined position of frame 20, with frame 20 supporting front
hook 252 and rear hook 253. Specifically, rear hook 253 is disposed
about a top region of rear horizontal tube 90. And may be retained
in position in cooperation with T-coupling 130, as described above.
Simultaneously, front hook 252 is disposed atop an associated
saddle-shaped laundry bag support 150, nestled within opposing
raised side surfaces of either first cupped region 151 and second
cupped region 152. As shown in FIG. 4, the saddle-shaped support
150 associated with leftmost front post 30 supports front hook 252
of a leftmost-positioned laundry bag 200 only upon second cupped
region 152, with first cupped region 151 being left unused. As
shown in FIG. 5, the saddle-shaped support 150 associated with
rightmost front post 30 supports front hook 252 of a
rightmost-positioned laundry bag 200 only upon first cupped region
151, with second cupped region 252 being unused. As shown in FIG.
6, the saddle-shaped supports 150 associated with each inner front
post 30 each supports a first front hook 252 of a first laundry bag
200 upon first cupped region 151, and a second front hook 252 of a
second laundry bag 200 upon second cupped region 252.
[0023] As can be seen, through the use of laundry bag handle
supports disposed atop vertical posts, coupled with the absence of
a top horizontal tube or similar frame structure that presents an
obstruction proximate the front of the frame, each laundry bag may
be removed through an associated forward opening region of the
frame, by raising the hanger handles only slightly, such that the
front and back hooks of the hanger handles clear the saddle shaped
support supporting them, thereby permitting the laundry bag to then
be carried forward, towards the user and out of the interior of the
laundry sorter's frame. Accordingly, each laundry bag need not be
raised above the height of the frame in order to remove it from the
frame, as would be required by some prior art, top loading laundry
sorters.
[0024] Although the previously described embodiment discloses a
laundry sorter consisting of three laundry bags 200, with a frame
that includes two inner front posts 30, differently sized laundry
sorters having different numbers of supported laundry bags are also
contemplated by the present invention, including, but not limited
to: i) a frame 20 supporting a single laundry bag 200, with no
inner front posts 30, and two outer front posts, 30, each having a
saddle-shaped laundry bag support 150 disposed atop the front post
30; ii) a frame 20 supporting two laundry bags 200, with a single
inner front post 30 and two outer front posts 30, each having a
saddle-shaped laundry bag support 150 disposed atop the front post
30; and iii) a frame 20 supporting four laundry bags 200, with
three single inner front posts 30 and two outer front posts 30,
each having a saddle-shaped laundry bag support 150 disposed atop
the front post 30.
[0025] Many modifications and variations of the present invention
are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be
understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the
invention may be practiced other than as specifically described.
Various modifications, changes and variations may be made in the
arrangement, operation and details of performing the various steps
of the invention disclosed herein without departing from the spirit
and scope of the invention. The present disclosure is intended to
exemplify and not limit the invention.
* * * * *