WO2023144497A1

WO2023144497A1 - Improved bag for carrying textiles and loading and unloading a washing and drying machine

Info

Publication number: WO2023144497A1
Application number: PCT/FR2023/050118
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stéphane BOTTA; Jérôme PICQUARD
Original assignee: Et Pourquoi Pas Nous
Priority date: 2022-01-31
Filing date: 2023-01-30
Publication date: 2023-08-03
Also published as: FR3132309A1; FR3132309B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a top-opening bag (1) for carrying textiles, the bag having a semi-rigid flap (2) which is cut off to be positioned along a lower portion of a front opening (102) of a machine (100) for washing or drying laundry, the flap being provided with means (4) for holding the flap against the wall of the machine around the door opening so as to allow textiles to be transferred between the bag and the drum of the machine, the flap (2) additionally being attached to a rear vertical wall (8) of the bag, said wall being made of a sheet of a semi-rigid material. The flap (2) and the rear vertical wall (8) are connected to one another by a rectangular strip (7) of a material that is more flexible than the semi-rigid material.

Description

Title of the invention: Improved bag for transporting textiles and loading and unloading washing and drying machines

[001] The invention falls within the field of equipment for families or professionals in personal services or textile processing. It relates to a receptacle of the bag type, for extracting laundry or other textiles from a washing machine or dryer with front opening. Conversely, the bag can be used to bring laundry or other textiles close to the machine and load its contents into the machine before starting it up. The receptacle according to the invention can be used with dry or wet textiles.

[002] In a manner known per se, receptacles of the bag or tray type may comprise a system for attaching the receptacle to the machine, to allow the receptacle to be removably attached to the machine and thus free the hands of the user in order to facilitate the transfer of the laundry out of the machine or into the machine.

[003] However, the operation of fixing or releasing the receptacle of the machine is not simple, since a fixing system must be fitted. It has thus been proposed by document US9850622B1 a basket operating with a rigid fixing element at the front opening which often has the shape of a porthole, but this system is difficult to set up and store once the use finished. Furthermore, there are openings between the receptacle and the front wall of the machine, so that when transferring the laundry from the machine to the receptacle, laundry may fall out of the receptacle.

[004] It has been proposed by the inventors, in document FR3065233A1, to set up a flap of a flexible bag to be pressed against the front face of the machine, this flap having been cut to follow the front opening. Very importantly, the soft bag can, when not in use, be folded and stored without any difficulty and constraint, and for its use, it is very easily put in place.

[005] It has been proposed that the flap be articulated with the rear vertical wall of the bag using an accordion folding which adapts the bag to the height of the opening relative to the ground on which the bag is placed. bag. The concertina folding is made of the material forming the various walls of the bag, in particular the vertical wall vis-à-vis which the flap is hinged. [006] Nevertheless, the articulation by the accordion folding, proposed in this solution proves to be perfectible, because the frequent use of such a folding is difficult and leads to a badly folded or even crumpled product and positioning itself in a potentially disappointing when it is placed on the machine, or when it is then put away.

[007] The present invention aims to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art indicated above.

[008] To solve this problem, it is proposed to replace the continuity of a single accordion-folded material with a succession of two materials, one of which is more flexible than the other which constitutes the bulk of the material of the sac and interrupts it at the joint.

[009] Thus, there is provided a bag for transporting textiles with an upward opening, having a semi-rigid flap cut out to be placed along a lower part of a circular window of a washing machine or drying laundry with front opening, and equipped with means for retaining the flap on the wall of the machine surrounding the porthole so as to allow the transfer of textiles between the bag and the drum of the machine, the flap being additionally fixed to a rear vertical wall of the bag consisting of a sheet of semi-rigid material.

[0010] Remarkably, the flap and said rear vertical wall are connected to each other by a rectangular strip of a material that is more flexible than said semi-rigid material.

[0011] Optionally, the flexible material is a nylon fabric, while the semi-rigid material is a sheet of polypropylene.

[0012] Optionally, said strip is a grooved twill weave fabric parallel to the direction of articulation of the flap with respect to the rear vertical wall.

[0013] Optionally, the seam of the band with the flap is made from the inside face.

[0014] A main material of the bag is thus retained, which consists of a sheet of semi-rigid material, for the vertical walls, and a second, more flexible material is associated with it which can be folded as desired without leaving marks. pleats to adjust the height. The material used for the walls is polypropylene in the form of sheets with a thickness of 160 g/m2. For example, a recycled polypropylene (PP5) is chosen.

The second material is a twill weave nylon fabric. The twill weave is positioned for lengthwise grooving of the nylon web, laid horizontally below the machine opening, parallel to the knuckle, and allows for easy, mark-free folding at any height without folds impose a limited choice of folding heights. The thickness of the nylon fabric is 1.5mm, and each groove and stitch thickness is 3mm. This nylon band can be 7 cm by 54 cm. Different values can easily be used, although these choices are particularly satisfactory in terms of practical result.

The invention will be better understood, and other aims, characteristics, details and advantages thereof will appear more clearly in the explanatory description which follows, made with reference to the appended drawings given solely by way of example illustrating a embodiment of the invention and in which:

- Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a receptacle for transferring laundry according to the invention;

- Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the receptacle of Figure 1 attached to the front loading or unloading opening wall of a washing machine.

[0018] [Fig. 1] With reference to the figures, a bag 1 according to the invention for transferring laundry from or to a washing and/or drying machine 100 with front loading or unloading opening will now be described. The window 101 is visible in Figure 2.

The bag 1 is of generally rectangular parallelepiped shape. It is mainly made of polypropylene sheets with a thickness of 160 g/m2 which constitute semi-rigid walls. These sheets are double thickness, with hems on their edges.

The receptacle comprises a flap 2 intended to be pressed against the front wall 102 comprising the front opening 101 of the machine, just below this opening, and fixed to the wall temporarily by means of magnets 4, three in number, integrated into the flap 2 at different points of the latter distant from each other and placed towards the upper part of the flap once the latter is placed against the machine, so to immobilize the entire surface of the flap in a vertical position. These magnets 4 have a thickness of 1.5 mm and are integrated into a lining of the material of the flap 1.

The flap 2 is attached to an upper edge 3 of the container of the bag 1, rectangular, three sides of which are free, and the last (one of the two long sides) constitutes a hinge for the flap 2. The flap 2 comprises in addition to a free edge 5 in an arc of a circle and whose shape matches that of the lower edge of the front opening 102 of the machine when the flap is fixed, by the magnets 4, at this lower edge. Given the existing shapes of front openings of washing and/or drying machines, the free edge 5 can be semi-circular with a radius defined in a standard way, but the exact shape can vary to adapt to different openings. .

[0022] In this way, the transfer of the laundry from the machine to the receptacle is facilitated, and the risk of the laundry falling out of the receptacle during this transfer is reduced.

[0023] In addition, once the receptacle has been detached from the machine, the flap 2 can be used to close the upper opening of the bag to protect the laundry. The handles are then raised above the flap closing the bag.

[0024] The fixing means can comprise magnets 4 as mentioned, but also suction cups, Velcro strips or a combination of these means. Their number is chosen according to the shape of the flap 2, and in the general case, there are at least 2 of them.

The flap 2 includes a strip 7 of twill nylon fabric. The twill weave is positioned for grooving in the direction of the length of the nylon strip, parallel to the upper edge 3, the length of which constitutes the articulation between the flap 2 and the wall, and allows easy folding without marks. , at any height without creases requiring a limited choice of crease heights. The thickness of the nylon fabric is 1.5mm, and each groove and stitch thickness is 3mm.

[0026] [Fig. 2] The length of the flap 2 can be modified so that the bag 1 can adapt to the height separating the front opening 101 of the machine from the ground on which the case is placed. Thus, such a receptacle whose flap 2 is provided with a band 7 can be adapted to any type of machine with front opening 3, that is to say that the bottom of the receptacle is able to rest on the ground. while having its cutout (the free edge 5) made in the flap 2 which matches at least the lower edge of the front opening 102 when the flap 2 is fixed to the front wall 102 of the machine. This nylon band can be 7 or 8 cm by 54 cm. The flap can be, beyond the nylon strip, 6 cm longer at the narrowest (i.e. at least 6 cm of polypropylene), and 15 cm at the highest, these values remaining examples. Thus, the strip separates the rear vertical wall 8 of the flap 2 by a maximum distance of 7 or 8 cm which is of the order of magnitude of the minimum dimension of the flap, taken perpendicular to the rear vertical wall, which is 6 cm .

The container of the bag can meanwhile be 57 cm by 35 cm high and 25 cm wide. The rear vertical wall is referenced 8.

The bag 1 may include two plastic snaps positioned on rigid or semi-rigid plastic side reinforcements, integrated into the lining, at the top of each of the two side walls.

To facilitate transport, the bag 1 may include two carrying handles 6, for example secured respectively to two walls facing the receptacle, the rear wall and the front wall, which are the two largest bag walls 1 . In addition, the bag may include at least one pocket (not shown - internal or external) intended to house household products, such as washing powder or stain remover, and/or drugstore products, such as clothes pegs.

The carrying handles 6 are made of polypropylene like the walls of the bag, but other solutions can be used for the handles. They are fixed on the two large faces of the rectangular parallelepipedal container.

[0032] The nylon strip can be replaced by a strip of cotton, low density polyethylene, hemp, hessian or linen.

[0033] The seam of the strip with the flap is made on the face of the flap which is on the inside of the bag, which facilitates its folding to adapt the height in the position pressed against the machine.

Claims

1 . Bag (1) for transporting textiles with opening upwards, having a semi-rigid flap (2) cut out to be placed along a lower part of a front opening (102) of a machine (100 ) to wash or dry the laundry, and equipped with means (4) for retaining the flap on the wall of the machine surrounding the porthole so as to allow the transfer of textiles between the bag and the drum of the machine, the flap (2 ) being additionally fixed to a rear vertical wall (8) of the bag constituted by a sheet of semi-rigid material, characterized in that the flap (2) and the said rear vertical wall (8) are connected to one the other by a rectangular strip (7) of a more flexible material than said semi-rigid material.

2. Bag (1) for transporting textiles according to claim 1, characterized in that the flexible material is a nylon fabric, while the semi-rigid material is a sheet of polypropylene.

3. Bag (1) for transporting textiles according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that said strip is a grooved twill weave fabric parallel to the direction of articulation of the flap (2) vis-à-vis the rear vertical wall (8).

4. Bag (1) for transporting textiles according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the seam of the strip (7) with the flap (2) is made from the inside face.

5. Bag (1) for transporting textiles according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the strip separates the rear vertical wall (8) from the flap (2) by a maximum distance of the order of magnitude of the minimum dimension of the flap, taken perpendicular to the rear vertical wall.