Patent Publication Number: US-9850622-B1

Title: Front-loading laundry basket

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
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     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
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     REFERENCE TO APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the field of laundering systems and other arrangements of apparatus for textiles, more specifically, a basket or bag adapted for holding or transporting laundry. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     The front-loading laundry basket is adapted for use with a front-loading washing machine. The front-loading laundry basket is adapted for use with a dryer. The front-loading laundry basket is adapted for use with a laundry basket. The front-loading washing machine is further defined with a first circular door. The front-loading dryer is further defined with a second circular door. The front-loading laundry basket is an accessory that attaches the laundry basket to a circular door selected from the group consisting of the first circular door or the second circular door. 
     These together with additional objects, features and advantages of the front-loading laundry basket will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     In this respect, before explaining the current embodiments of the front-loading laundry basket in detail, it is to be understood that the front-loading laundry basket is not limited in its applications to the details of construction and arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustration. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concept of this disclosure may be readily utilized as a basis for the design of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the front-loading laundry basket. 
     It is therefore important that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the front-loading laundry basket. It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for purposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. They are meant to be exemplary illustrations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure across  3 - 3  as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 5 . 
         FIG. 4  is an in use view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is an in use view of an alternate embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT 
     The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments of the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description. 
     Detailed reference will now be made to one or more potential embodiments of the disclosure, which are illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 5 . 
     The front-loading laundry basket  100  (hereinafter invention) comprises a laundry basket  101  and a bracket  102 . The bracket  102  attaches the laundry basket  101  to the circular door  132  selected from the group consisting of the first circular door  163  or the second circular door  164 . The invention  100  is adapted for use with a front-loading washing machine  161 . The invention  100  is adapted for use with a front-loading dryer  162 . The front-loading washing machine  161  is further defined with a first circular door  163 . The front-loading dryer  162  is further defined with a second circular door  164 . The bracket  102  attaches the laundry basket  101  to a circular door  132  selected from the group consisting of the first circular door  163  or the second circular door  164 . 
     The specification and claims of this disclosure will hereinafter implicitly assume the first circular door  163  of the front-loading washing machine  161  and the second circular door  164  of the front-loading dryer  162  are identical. This is done for the purposes of simplicity and for clarity of exposition of the disclosure is not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the innovations described in this disclosure can be readily modified to accommodate differences in size or shape between the first circular door  163  and the second circular door  164  with a minimum of modification and experimentation. Throughout the disclosure, the use of the term “circular door”  132  will be used to refer to either the first circular door  163  or the second circular door  164 . For similar reasons, the use of the term machine  131  will be used to refer to either the front-loading washing machine  161  or the front-loading dryer  162 . 
     The bracket  102  comprises a brace  110 , a first clip  111 , a second clip  112 , and a plurality of net hooks  113 . The first clip  111 , the second clip  112 , and the plurality of net hooks  113  are attached to the brace  110 . The brace  110  is further defined with a first end  141 , a second end  142 , a first surface  143 , and a second surface  144 . The brace  110  is a curved panel that is formed in a Euclidian plane. The curvature of the brace  110  is a circular arc  133 . The radius of circle that forms the circular arc  133  is selected such that: 1) the outer radius  135  of the circular arc  133  is greater than the radius of the circle that forms the circular door  132 ; and, 2) the inner radius  134  of the circular arc  133  is equal to or greater than the radius of the circle that forms the circular door  132 . 
     The first clip  111  is an L shaped structure that attaches to the brace  110 . The first clip  111  is further defined with a first edge  151  and a second edge  152 . The first edge  151  of the first clip  111  attaches to the inner radius  134  at the first end  141 . The first clip  111  projects away from the first surface  143  in a direction away from the second surface  144 . The curvature of the first clip  111  is such that the first clip  111  will match the curvature of the brace  110  to form a smooth surface. As shown most clearly in  FIG. 3 , the first clip  111  forms a hook  136  that is placed over the circumference  165  of the circular door  132  such that the bracket  102  will hang from the circular door  132 . 
     The second clip  112  is an L shaped structure that attaches to the brace  110 . The second clip  112  is further defined with a third edge  153  and a fourth edge  154 . The third edge  153  of the second clip  112  attaches to the inner radius  134  at the second end  142 . The second clip  112  projects away from the first surface  143  in a direction away from the second surface  144 . The curvature of the second clip  112  is such that the second clip  112  will match the curvature of the brace  110  to form a smooth surface. As shown most clearly in  FIG. 3 , the second clip  112  forms a hook  136  that is placed over the circumference  165  of the circular door  132  such that the bracket  102  will hang from the circular door  132 . 
     The plurality of net hooks  113  is a collection of hooks that are used to attach the laundry basket  101  to the bracket  102 . Each of the plurality of net hooks  113  is adapted to capture a loop selected from the plurality of mesh surfaces  122 . Specifically, a loop from the plurality of mesh surfaces  122  is looped around the plurality of net hooks  113  such that the laundry basket  101  is attached and supported by the bracket  102  when the bracket  102  is suspended from the circular door  132 . 
     The laundry basket  101  further comprises a plurality of mesh surfaces  122  and a frame  123 . The plurality of mesh surfaces  122  is formed from one or more mesh textiles. The plurality of mesh surfaces  122  are attached to a frame  123 . The frame  123  supports the plurality of mesh surfaces  122  such that a container suitable for holding apparel and textiles is formed. Laundry baskets  101  such as those described in the previous three sentences are readily and commercially available. It is preferred that the container formed by the laundry basket  101  be cylindrical in shape. 
     In a second potential embodiment of the disclosure, the frame  123  further comprises spring-like properties that allows the laundry basket  101  to be collapsed into a flat structure for storage. Laundry baskets  101  such as those described in the previous sentence are readily and commercially available and commonly marketed as pop-up laundry baskets or pop-up laundry hampers. 
     In a third potential embodiment of the disclosure, each of the one or more mesh textiles are formed from yarns  171  formed from one or more synthetic polymer fibers. Suitable fibers include, but are not limited to, polyester, polypropylene, or nylon. The use of a monofilament yarn  171  would be preferred for water resistance purposes. 
     In a fourth potential embodiment of the disclosure, each of the one or more mesh textiles is treated with an antimicrobial agent. The antimicrobial agent is selected from the group consisting of: 1) a impregnation of the polymer that forms the yarns  171  that form the one or more mesh textiles with silver nanoparticles; 2) the application of 5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)-phenol to the one or more textile meshes as a textile finish; or 3) the application of a quaternary ammonium based chemical to the one or more textile meshes as a textile finish. 
     In a fifth potential embodiment of the disclosure, each of the one or more mesh textiles is treated with perfluorobutanesulfonic acid to enhance water resistance of the yarns  171  comprising the one or more mesh textiles. 
     In a sixth potential embodiment of the disclosure, the laundry basket  101  is attached to a readily and commercially available dolly  121  that allows the laundry basket  101  to be readily transported between the washing machine  161  and the dryer  162 . 
     To use the invention  100 , the plurality of mesh surfaces  122  are looped around the plurality of net hooks  113  to attach the laundry basket  101  to the bracket  102 . The bracket  102  is then hung from the circumference  165  of the circular door  132  of the machine  131  by hooking the first clip  111  and the second clip  112  around the circumference  165  of the circular door  132 . The laundry basket  101  is then used normally. 
     In the first potential embodiment of the disclosure, the bracket  102  is formed as a single unit from molded plastic. Suitable plastics include, but are not limited to, polyethylene, polypropylene, or polyvinylchloride. 
     The following definitions were used in this disclosure: 
     5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)-phenol: As used in this disclosure, 5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)-phenol (CAS 3380-34-5) is an antifungal and antibiotic agent that is commonly used in consumer products. 5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)-phenol is commonly referred to as triclosan. 
     Colloidal Silver: As used in this disclosure, colloidal silver is a colloidal suspension of silver particles that are dissolved or dispersed in water. This definition does not preclude other materials that may dissolved or otherwise dispersed in the water with the colloidal silver. 
     Dolly: As used in this disclosure, a dolly refers to a mobile platform, generally mounted on casters, that is used to move a load or an object. 
     Fiber: As used in this disclosure, a fiber is a slender elongated structure. 
     Hook: As used in this disclosure, a hook is an object that is curved or bent at an angle such that items can be hung on or caught by the object. 
     Loop: As used in this disclosure, a loop is the length of a first linear structure including, but not limited to, lines, cords, or ribbons, that is: 1) folded over and joined at the ends forming an enclosed space; or, 2) curved to form a closed or nearly closed space within the first linear structure. In both cases, the space formed within the first linear structure is such that a second linear structure such as a line, cord or a hook can be inserted through the space formed within the first linear structure. Within this disclosure, the first linear structure is said to be looped around the second linear structure. 
     Mesh: As used in this disclosure, the term mesh refers to an openwork fabric made from threads, yarns, cords, wires, or lines that are woven, knotted, or otherwise twisted or intertwined at regular intervals. Synonyms for mesh include net. 
     Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid: As used in this disclosure, perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (CAS 375-73-5) is a surfactant, technically a fluorosurfactant, which is commonly applied to a textile as a water repellant. 
     Perimeter: As used in this disclosure, a perimeter is one or more curved or straight lines that bounds an enclosed area on a plane or surface. The perimeter of a circle is commonly referred to as a circumference. 
     Quaternary Ammonium: As used in this disclosure, quaternary ammonium is a positively charged molecule (cation) with a chemical structure NR 4   + . Unless otherwise stated, the R is assumed to be alkyl or aryl group molecule. 
     Spring: As used in this disclosure, a spring is a device that is used to store mechanical energy. This mechanical energy will often be stored by: 1) deforming an elastomeric material that is used to make the device; 2) the application of a torque to a rigid structure; or 3) a combination of the previous two items. 
     Textile: As used in this disclosure, a textile is a material that is woven, knitted, braided or felted. Synonyms in common usage for this definition include fabric and cloth. 
     Yarn: As used in this disclosure, a yarn is continuous strand of textile fibers and filaments. Yarns are generally used in the production of fabrics. For the purposes of this disclosure, this definition explicitly includes yarns formed from a single filament such as a monofilament yarn. 
     With respect to the above description, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationship for the various components of the invention described above and in  FIGS. 1 through 5  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 the invention. 
     It shall be noted that those skilled in the art will readily recognize numerous adaptations and modifications which can be made to the various embodiments of the present invention which will result in an improved invention, yet all of which will fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims. Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.