Abstract:
An extendable basket and kit for making an extendable basket are disclosed. The extendable basket includes an ordinary basket, such as a laundry basket, and a fabric extension that can be secured generally about the perimeter of the basket. The fabric extension extends outwardly from the basket and increases the effective carrying capacity of the basket. The fabric extension may be releasably secured to the basket via clips, or other means. The fabric extension may include a drawstring with a locking mechanism. The kit may include the fabric extension and a selected number of fasteners.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/294,118, filed May 29, 2001 and entitled Extendable Basket and Kit, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In the past, the carrying of items in baskets has often been limited by the height of the side walls of the basket such that items cannot safely be stacked higher than the height of these side walls. This is especially true with respect to laundry baskets in which stacking the laundry higher than the sides of the laundry basket tended to invite the uppermost laundry from spilling out of the basket, especially when the basket was jostled during transportation. Moreover, due to the open nature of the top of the basket, even laundry that didn&#39;t exceed the heights of the side walls still suffered from potentially being spilled when the basket was tipped. In order to minimize the risk of this spilling, it has been necessary in the past to divide the contents being carried into multiple baskets such that each basket carries only a portion of the total items to be stored or transported. A need can therefore be seen for an improved basket that overcomes these and other disadvantages. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, an extendable basket and kit according to the present invention provides an improved basket that allows more items to be placed in, and transported by, the basket. The kit is easily assembled onto existing baskets, such as laundry baskets, and can be easily removed when its use is not desired. The extendable basket includes a flexible extension material, such as cloth, nylon, or other materials, which is affixed generally around the perimeter of a basket. The extension material extends vertically higher than the height of the basket&#39;s side walls, thereby allowing the items to be stacked higher in the basket while being retained in the basket by the extension material. The extension material may include a drawstring or other tightening means for securing the top end of the extension material to prevent items from escaping out of the basket. The extension material may also be secured to the basket by release structures that allow the extension material to be easily removed and reattached as desired by the user. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOS 
     FIG. 1 is an elevational view of an extendible basket according to one aspect of the present invention shown with the extension material vertically extended; 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of the basket and extension material taken from above and illustrating the material attached to the basket, as well as a drawstring; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the releasable attachment mechanism for attaching and reattaching the extension material according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the underside of the basket illustrating a bolt and nut used to attach the extension material to the basket in one embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a plan view of the basket with the extension material removed from the basket; and 
     FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the extension material laid flat and separated from the basket. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals correspond to like elements in the several drawings. An extendible basket  20  according to one aspect of the present invention is illustrated in the several figures. Extendible basket  20  includes an extension material  22  and a basket  24 . Extension material  22  is generally secured to basket  24  around the perimeter of basket  24 . Extension material  22  is preferably a fabric-type of material, such as mesh nylon, although other types of materials can be used as would be understood by one skilled in the art. Basket  24  can be any type and shape of basket, although the present invention finds particular applicability to laundry baskets. If basket  24  constitutes a laundry basket, any conventional type of laundry basket may be used, including baskets of different sizes and shapes from those depicted in the attached photos. 
     Extension material or fabric  22  includes an opening  26  at its top which has a drawstring  28  embedded about its perimeter (FIG.  8 ). Laundry or other items can be set in basket  24  by placing them through opening  26  and setting them in the body of basket  24 . Because fabric  22  extends higher than the side walls of basket  24 , laundry can be stacked in basket  24  to a higher extent without fear of the clothes falling out. After the basket has been sufficiently filled, drawstring  28  can be pulled as desired to constrict the size of opening  26  to secure the items in basket  24 . A lock  30  on drawstring  28  allows the drawstring to easily be retained at the desired level of tightness. Lock  30  can be any conventional type of lock, such as those cord locks commonly found on drawstrings used in conjunction with sweatshirts and the like. Lock  30 , as illustrated, is a barrel-shaped lock with an aperture that allows drawstring  28  to be pulled through it when the lock is squeezed together. When not squeezed, a spring in lock  30  causes a movable portion within the barrel to press against the drawstring and prevent movement of the lock  30  with respect to the drawstring. By sliding lock  30  adjacent the eyelet (not shown) out of which drawstring  28  exits, the length of the drawstring can be set in the same manner that the tightness of conventional sweatshirt hoods can be set. 
     A plurality of attachment mechanisms  32  are fastened generally around the upper perimeter of basket  24 . Attachment mechanisms  32  may be any conventional type of quick-release and reattachment mechanism. In the illustrated embodiment, attachment mechanisms  32  are clips manufactured by National Molding of Farmingdale, New York bearing the trade name “Stealth.” Clips  32  include a male part  34  and a female part  36  which interlock together to selectively secure fabric  22  to basket  20 . While male parts  34  are illustrated in the attached figures as being attached to basket  24  and female parts  36  are attached to fabric  22 , the attachment of male and female parts to these structures can be reversed. Each male part  34  includes a pair of flexible prongs  38  which are flexible toward each other (FIG.  3 ). When squeezed together, flexible prongs  38  allow male part  34  to be retracted from a corresponding female part  36 . When not squeezed together, male part  34  remains securely fastened to an attached female part  36 . Fabric  22  can therefore be easily removed and reattached from basket  24 . While the illustrated embodiment includes six attachment clips  32 , it will be understood that this number can vary as necessary, particularly where basket  24  assumes a different size or shape. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, female parts  36  of clips  32  are attached to basket  24  by a fabric material which is secured via a bolt  25  and nut  27  to a rim  29  of the basket  24  (FIG.  4 ). The bolt is inserted through a hole drilled or otherwise cut in the rim  29  of the basket. Male parts  34  of clips  32  are attached to fabric  22  by way of a fabric material that is sewed, or otherwise secured, to material  22 . Other ways of attaching clips  32  to basket  24  and material  22  are also possible. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 6, extension material  22  may be cut to have a narrower top opening  26  than its bottom opening  31 . Alternatively, the top and bottom openings may be of the same size (when drawstring  28  is not tightened). Attachment mechanisms  32  are preferably attached to extension material  22  at a height such that the bottom of extension material  22  will lie in a lower plane than rim  29  when attached to basket  24 . This helps prevent a gap forming between rim  29  and extension  22  out of which the laundry or other material carried in basket  24  might fall through. When viewed from above, extension material  22  has a generally circular shape, which matches the circular shape of basket  24 . If a rectangle or other shaped basket is used, extension material  22  is preferably modified to correspond to the shape of the basket to which it is to be attached. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, a kit may be provided for modifying a conventional basket to an extendible basket such as that illustrated in the attached figures. Such a kit could comprise fabric  22 —including the attached clips  32  and drawstring—and means for attaching the fabric  22  to the basket (such as the appropriate number of nuts and bolts). The conventional basket could then be converted into an extendible basket according to the present invention by drilling holes into the rim of the basket and then securing the attachment clips  32  to the rim via the nuts and bolts. Fabric  22  can thereafter be easily attached and removed from basket  24  via clips  32 . As an alternative to nuts and bolts, any other type of convenient fastener could be included in the kit. Such alternatives might include a looped piece of fabric that loops around the rim of the laundry basket and is secured in a loop by tying, Velcro, or other means. Another alternative might be to replace the clips  32  as illustrated with clips that directly clip onto the laundry basket such that a two-piece clip need not be used. Other variations are possible. 
     While the present invention has been described in terms of the attached drawings and the preferred embodiments depicted herein, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications to the described embodiments can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.