AU2017100613A4 - An improved laundry basket - Google Patents

Abstract

-13 Abstract In an aspect there is disclosed, a basket (20) for laundry including a base (1) and one or more side walls (2, 3) extending from the base (1) to an upper rim (14), wherein at least one of the one or more side walls (2,3) includes a perforation (8), the perforation (8) including a first portion (14) and a relatively narrower second portion (16) including a slit (9) extending from the first portion (14), wherein the first portion (14) is shaped to receive an article of laundry so as to allow the received article of laundry to moveable toward the slit (9) such that the article of laundry is releasbly retainable by the perforation (8). Other examples of the basket, a kit including the basket and a method of use are also disclosed. Figure 6

Description

-1- 2017100613 25 May 2017

AN IMPROVED LAUNDRY BASKET

Related Applications [001] This application claims priority from Australian provisional patent applications nos. 2016902039 and 2016903525, filed on 30 May 2016 and 5 September 2016, respectively.

Technical Field [002] The invention relates to an improved laundry basket.

Background [003] Existing laundry baskets are typically of rectangular, circular or oval shape and are designed primarily for lightness of weight, ease of handling and low cost. Laundry baskets may be filled with the damp or wet laundry at the washer and then used to transport the contents to a clothesline where they are separately removed and pegged onto the line. This procedure is laborious and time consuming especially with small articles such as socks, handkerchiefs or underwear as it involves double handling of these items.

[004] The invention disclosed herein seeks to overcome one or more of the above identified problems or at least provide a useful alternative.

Summary [005] In accordance with a first board aspect there is provided, a basket for laundry including a base and one or more side walls extending from the base to an upper rim, wherein at least one of the one or more side walls includes a perforation, the perforation including a first portion and a relatively narrower second portion including a slit extending from the first portion, wherein the first portion is shaped to receive an -2- 2017100613 25 May 2017 article of laundry so as to allow the received article of laundry to moveable toward the slit such that the article of laundry is releasbly retainable by the perforation.

[006] In an aspect, the first portion includes a head that tapers inwardly to the slit, the head being oriented relatively toward the upper rim with the slit extending relatively downwardly therefrom to toward the base.

[007] In another aspect, the slit tapers inwardly in a direction away from the head.

[008] In yet another aspect, the first portion is a centre aperture and the slit of second portion is provided in the form of a plurality of radial slits that extend away from the centre aperture, the plurality of radial slits defining a series of inwardly directed tines arranged about the centre aperture to resiliently retain articles of laundry received by the central aperture.

[009] In yet another aspect, the basket as defined above includes a plurality of the perforations in each of the side walls thereof.

[0010] In yet another aspect, the perforation includes a first portion and a relatively narrower second portion, the first portion being shaped to receive an article of laundry so as to be moveable toward the relatively narrower second portion that is arranged to retain the article via a friction fit.

[0011] In yet another aspect, the second portion provides as slit extending from the first portion.

[0012] In yet another aspect, the first portion includes a rounded head that tapers inwardly to the second portion.

[0013] In yet another aspect, the slit tapers inwardly in a direction away from the head.

[0014] In yet another aspect, the slit terminates at a rounded end portion. 2017100613 25 May 2017 -3- [0015] In yet another aspect, wherein the perforation is arranged to extend in a generally vertical direction between the base and upper rim such that the slit is generally vertically aligned with the head located above the slit.

[0016] In yet another aspect, the first portion is located closer to the upper rim relative to the second portion.

[0017] In yet another aspect, the basket includes a plurality of perforations at spaced apart intervals.

[0018] In yet another aspect, the first portion is a centre aperture and the second portion is provided in the form of a plurality of slits that extend in a radial direction away from the centre aperture.

[0019] In yet another aspect, the perforation includes inwardly directed tines arranged around the centre aperture for retaining items of laundry received by the central aperture.

[0020] In yet another aspect, the basket includes handles and hooks located on each of handles.

[0021] In accordance with a second board aspect there is provided, a kit including a basket as defined above and herein and a pair of removable hangers, the set of removable hangers having a coupling end adapted to couple with the hooks of the basket and a hooked free end adapted to be coupled with an external structure so as to suspend the basket therefrom.

[0022] In accordance with a third board aspect there is provided, a basket for laundry including a base and side walls extending from the base to an upper rim, wherein at least one of the side walls includes a perforation, the perforation including a receiving portion shaped to receive an article of laundry and at least one resilient tine adapted to engage with the article so as to releasably retain the article in the perforation. -4- 2017100613 25 May 2017 [0023] In accordance with a fourth board aspect there is provided, a laundry basket is disclosed having a bottom, sidewalls extending up to a rim or lip, mounting means for facilitating suspension of said basket from a clothesline or the like and said sidewalls being formed with perforations adapted to removably retain individual items of laundry for drying in situ.

[0024] In an aspect, the basket is of one piece integral injection moulded plastic construction.

[0025] In another aspect, said mounting means may comprise a hook formed on the rim or lip of the basket.

[0026] In another aspect, said mounting means may comprise a key hole shaped aperture in rim or lip of the basket.

[0027] In yet another aspect, said perforations comprise inwardly directed tines arranged around common centre apertures for retaining items of laundry pushed into said apertures.

[0028] In yet another aspect, said perforations have a star cross shape.

[0029] In yet another aspect, the basket includes drain holes at the base.

[0030] In yet another aspect, the basket includes drain holes provided within projections on the base, and projections being shaped to located with recesses at the rim to allow vertical stacking of baskets.

[0031] In accordance with a fifth board aspect there is provided, basket for laundry including a base and walls extending from the base to an upper rim, wherein at least one of the walls includes a perforation, the perforation being shaped to receive an article of laundry so as to releasably engage with and retain the article of laundry.

In accordance with a sixth board aspect there is provided, a method for hanging laundry articles using a basket, the method including: inserting one or more laundry -5- 2017100613 25 May 2017 articles into a first portion of a perforation at a side wall of the basket, urging the one or more laundry articles toward second relatively narrower portion of the perforation, the second portion having a slit that extends away from the first portion such that the one or more laundry articles are releasably retrained by the slit.

Brief Description of the Figures [0032] The invention is described, by way of non-limiting example only, by reference to the accompanying figures, in which; [0033] Figure 1 is a side elevation of a first example of a laundry basket; [0034] Figure 2 is an end elevation of the laundry basket of Figure 1; [0035] Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a one of said perforations shown in the basket of Figure 1; [0036] Figure 4 is a perspective view of the laundry basket of Figure 1; [0037] Figure 5 is a detailed view of part of the laundry basket of Figure 3; [0038] Figure 6 is a perspective side view of a second example of the laundry basket; [0039] Figures 7a to 7f are front views illustrating a variety of perforation shapes that may be applied to the basket; [0040] Figures 8a and 8b are respective front and side views illustrating a hanger that may be provided as part of a kit to hang the basket from an external structure; [0041] Figure 9 is a perspective instructional view illustrating an alternative coupling between the hanger and the basket; [0042] Figure 10a is perspective instructional view illustrating an example of the basket with locating base projections having drain holes and locating recesses at the -6- 2017100613 25 May 2017 rim of the basket; and [0043] Figure 10b is top view illustrating stacking of the baskets having the locating base projections and rim recesses as shown in Figure 10a.

Detailed Description [0044] Referring to Figures 1 to 5, there is shown a first example of a basket 20 that may be of a generally rectangular shape with a flat bottom, base or underside 1, outwardly sloping end and side walls 2, 3 and an upper rim 4. Carry handles 5 are formed on the rim 4 at each end of the basket 20. Hooks 6 are incorporated into these handles 5 to enable suspension of the basket 20 from a clothesline as described hereunder. However, it is noted that the hooks 6 may be located anywhere on the basket 20, for example, being located on the rim 4.

[0045] The underside 1 of the basket 20 may also be formed with projecting feet 7 for stability and to improve ventilation under the basket 20. Holes may also be provided in the underside 1 of the basket 20 to drain away water from wet clothes or rain, as shown in Figure 10a.

[0046] While it is not essential to the invention, the basket shown is of a one piece injection moulded plastic such as polystyrene or the like. The invention could equally apply to any other form or shape of laundry basket. The basket may be preferably rectangular in general plan form shape, but could also be of other suitable shape such as a round, oval or an irregular shape.

[0047] The side and end walls 2, 3 are formed with apertures or perforations 8 adapted for fast and easy retention of small laundry items such as socks, handkerchiefs and underwear etc. In this example, as best shown in Figure 3, each perforation 8 preferably includes a central first portion 14 and narrower second portions 16. The second portions 16 include intersecting slits 9 in the wall 3 which form a star cross shape with flexible pointed tines 10 directed inwardly toward the first portion 14 that is provided in this example in the form of a centre aperture 11. The outer ends of the slits 9 preferably terminate in small holes 12 to reduce tearing -7- 2017100613 25 May 2017 stresses when in use the tines 10 are deflected. The articles of laundry are hung or suspended from the perforations 8.

[0048] Because of the relatively thin and flexible plastic wall material forming the pointed tines 10 (said walls being typically be about 2-3mm thick) small items of wet laundry, upon removal from the washer, can be quickly and easily poked into these apertures 11 where they are retained by said tines 10. The remaining larger items of wet laundry such as shirts and pants etc can be placed into the basket 20 in the usual fashion. Upon removal of the basket 20 to the clothesline and after the larger items are hung out the items retained in the wall perforations 8 can simply be left to dry in situ without further handling.

[0049] Referring to now to Figure 6, a second example of the basket 20 is shown and like parts are denoted with like numerals and all parts are not again descried herein. In this example, the perforations 8, shown best in Figure 7a, have a generally inverted tear drop shape with the first portion 14 being an upper large aperture or head 10 and the second portion 16 being a generally vertically aligned slit 9 that terminates a lower smaller hole or end portion 12.

[0050] In more detail, the upper large aperture 10 of the first portion 14 may be circular or round in shape having a rounded skirting edge 22 that converges or tapers toward the slit 9 to provide a tapered portion or funnelled entry 24 to the vertically aligned slit 9. This allows various sized articles to be pocked, received or inserted through the upper large aperture or head 10, and dropped or moved downwardly toward the slit 9, and be secured by a suitable friction fitted position within the perforations 8. The basket 20 being preferably formed of plastic that allows the perforations 8, more specifically the slits 9 and funnelled or tapered entry 24 thereof, to be resilient which assists with the fitting and removing of articles from the perforations 8. Figures 7b to 7f show various alternative arrangements and shapes of the perforations 8 and these may be applied to either of the above-described examples of the basket 20. An example of a received article 60 us shown in Figure 9.

[0051] Advantageously, the perforations 8 avoid laborious tasks of separately pegging a myriad of small laundry items on to the clothesline and subsequently removing -8- 2017100613 25 May 2017 them. The basket itself can be either hung on the line using the hooks 6 provided on the carry handles or simply left in any convenient ventilated area. After the drying is completed the larger items can be again returned to the basket and the small items still left in place without further handling until they are ironed or put away.

[0052] Referring to Figure 8, the basket 20 may be provided with a set of elongate hanging hooks or hangers 30 for hanging the basket 20 via the handles 5. More specifically, the elongate hanging hooks 30 include a shank 32 with a hooked end 34 and an opposing basket engaging or coupling end 36. The basket engaging end 36 is adapted to snap fit with the hooks 6 of the basket 20 and includes a fork 38 with a cross bar 40 that is received in use by the hooks 6 of the basket 20. The hooked end 34 is larger and may be hooked onto any suitable structure to support the basket 20 such as the metal frame of a cloths line.

[0053] Referring to Figure 9, a further example of the basket 20 is shown. In this example, the basket 20 may include an aperture 50 that is keyed to slidably receive and lock with a coupling end 36 that is provided in the form a bulbous end 52 of the shank 32 of the elongate hanging hooks 30.

[0054] Referring to Figure 10a and 10b, there is shown a further example of the basket 20 in which the projecting feet 7 of the base 1 each include a recessed drain hole 54 to allow water to drain from the basket 20. This feature is useful because wet hanging articles 60 can drip water that can accumulate in the basket 20 and make it less useful to then place dried clothing within. In this example, the rim 4 also includes locators 56 in the form of recesses 58 that are arranged to receive and support the projecting feet 7 of the base 1. The arrangement may be as shown in Figure 10b to allow the baskets 20 to be stacked in a transverse arrangement to such that overhanging articles 60 drip less on those hanging from the basket 20 below.

[0055] As will be appreciated the laundry basket described herein enables a substantial reduction in the handling of the small items of laundry which are normally the most numerous and time consuming to deal with. It also increases the usable capacity of the basket as such small items do not take-up space inside. Clearly however the example, disclosed is only the currently preferred form of the invention 2017100613 25 May 2017 -9- and a wide variety of modifications may be made which would be apparent to a person skilled in the art. For example the shape, configuration and placement of the wall perforations and the material and mode of construction of the basket may all be changed according to design preference or following further development work by the inventor.

[0056] Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

[0057] The reference in this specification to any known matter or any prior publication is not, and should not be taken to be, an acknowledgment or admission or suggestion that the known matter or prior art publication forms part of the common general knowledge in the field to which this specification relates.

[0058] While specific examples of the invention have been described, it will be understood that the invention extends to alternative combinations of the features disclosed or evident from the disclosure provided herein.

[0059] Many and various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention disclosed or evident from the disclosure provided herein.

Claims (20)

1. The claims defining the Invention are as follows:

   1. A basket for laundry including a base and one or more side walls extending from the base to an upper rim, wherein at least one of the one or more side walls includes a perforation, the perforation including a first portion and a relatively narrower second portion including a slit extending from the first portion, wherein the first portion is shaped to receive an article of laundry so as to allow the received article of laundry to moveable toward the slit such that the article of laundry is releasbly retainable by the perforation.
2. 2. The basket according to claim 2, wherein the first portion includes a head that tapers inwardly to the slit, the head being oriented relatively toward the upper rim with the slit extending relatively downwardly therefrom to toward the base.
3. 3. The basket according to claim 3, wherein the slit tapers inwardly in a direction away from the head.
4. 4. The basket according to claim 1, wherein the first portion is a centre aperture and the slit of second portion is provided in the form of a plurality of radial slits that extend away from the centre aperture, the plurality of radial slits defining a series of inwardly directed tines arranged about the centre aperture to resiliently retain articles of laundry received by the central aperture.
5. 5. The basket according to any of the previous claims, wherein each of the one or more side walls including a plurality of the perforations in each of the side walls thereof.
6. 6. The basket according to claim 1, wherein the first portion includes a rounded head that tapers inwardly to the second portion.
7. 7. The basket according to claim 1, wherein the slit tapers inwardly in a direction away from the head.
8. 8. The basket according to claim 1, wherein the slit terminates at a rounded end portion.
9. 9. The basket according to claim 6, the perforation is arranged to extend in a generally vertical direction between the base and upper rim such that the slit is generally vertically aligned with the head located above the slit
10. 10. The basket according to claim 1, wherein the first portion is located closer to the upper rim relative to the second portion.
11. 11. The basket according to claim 1, the basket includes a plurality of perforations at spaced apart intervals.
12. 12. The basket according to claim 1, wherein the first portion is a centre aperture and the second portion is provided in the form of a plurality of slits that extend in a radial direction away from the centre aperture.
13. 13. The basket according to claim 11, the perforation includes inwardly directed tines arranged around the centre aperture for retaining items of laundry received by the central aperture.
14. 14. The basket according to claim 1, wherein the basket includes handles and couplings located on each of handles for connecting with a removable handling hook.
15. 15. The basket according to claim 1, wherein the basket includes drain holes at the base.
16. 16. The basket according to claim 1, wherein the basket includes drain holes provided within projections on the base, the projections being shaped to located with recesses at the rim to allow vertical stacking of baskets.
17. 17. The basket according to claim 1, wherein the one or more side walls are outwardly sloping from the base to the rim.
18. 18. A kit including a basket as defined in nay one of he previous claims and a pair of removable hangers, the set of removable hangers having a coupling end adapted to couple with the hooks of the basket and a hooked free end adapted to be coupled with an external structure so as to suspend the basket therefrom.
19. 19. A basket for laundry including a base and side walls extending from the base to an upper rim, wherein at least one of the side walls includes a perforation, the perforation including a receiving portion shaped to receive an article of laundry and at least one resilient tine adapted to engage with the article so as to releasably retain the article in the perforation.
20. 20. A method for hanging laundry articles using a basket, the method including: inserting one or more laundry articles into a first portion of a perforation at a side wall of the basket, urging the one or more laundry articles toward second relatively narrower portion of the perforation, the second portion having a slit that extends away from the first portion such that the one or more laundry articles are releasably retrained by the slit.