Patent Publication Number: US-2023151538-A1

Title: Laundry Basket Lining Device

Description:
(b) CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     (c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     (d) THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     (e) INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM. 
     Not Applicable 
     (f) STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR 
     Not Applicable 
     (g) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     The disclosure relates to lining devices and more particularly pertains to a new lining device for preventing contact of a user&#39;s laundry with a laundry basket. The present invention discloses a lining device comprising a flexible sleeve selectively insertable into and engageable to a laundry basket, particularly a laundry basket available for public use. The flexible sleeve prevents contact of a user&#39;s laundry with the laundry basket. 
     (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. 
     The prior art relates to lining devices. Prior art lining devices may comprise flexible clothes hampers, bags for use with laundry baskets, and baskets that are attachable to washers and dryers. What is lacking in the prior art is a lining device comprising a flexible sleeve selectively insertable into and engageable to a laundry basket, particularly a laundry basket available for public use. The flexible sleeve prevents contact of a user&#39;s laundry with the laundry basket. 
     (h) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a sleeve, which is configured for insertion into a laundry basket so that the sleeve covers an interior surface and a rim of the laundry basket. The sleeve is configured to selectively engage the laundry basket so that sleeve is removably engaged to the laundry basket. The sleeve thus is configured to prevent contact of a user&#39;s laundry with the laundry basket. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       (i) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG.  1    is an isometric perspective view of a laundry basket lining device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    is a bottom view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  3    is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  4    is an in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     (j) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS.  1  through  4    thereof, a new lining device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS.  1  through  4   , the laundry basket lining device  10  generally comprises a sleeve  12 , which is configured for insertion into a laundry basket  14  so that the sleeve  12  covers an interior surface  16  and a rim  18  of the laundry basket  14 . The sleeve  12  is configured to selectively engage the laundry basket  14  so that the sleeve  12  is removably engaged to the laundry basket  14 . The sleeve  12  thus is configured to prevent contact of a user&#39;s laundry with the laundry basket  14 . 
     The sleeve  12  comprises an inner layer  20  and an outer layer  22 . The outer layer  22  comprises cloth, fabric, elastomer, or the like. The inner layer  20  comprises plastic so that the sleeve  12  is resiliently flexible and so that the inner layer  20  is substantially impermeable to water. The inner layer  20  would be in contact with the user&#39;s laundry. 
     The sleeve  12  is substantially cuboid shaped when engaged to the laundry basket  14 . A plurality of couplers  24  is engaged to the sleeve  12  and is positioned on a perimeter  26  of a top  28  of the sleeve  12 . The couplers  24  are configured to selectively engage the laundry basket  14  so that sleeve  12  is removably engaged to the laundry basket  14 . 
     The couplers  24  may be positioned singly proximate to upper corners  30  of the sleeve  12 , although the present invention also anticipates the couplers being positioned between the upper corners  30 . Each coupler  24  may comprise a pair of strings  32 , or other coupling means, such as, but not limited to, hook and loop straps, magnets, and the like. The strings  32  are configured for insertion through adjacently positioned apertures  34  in the laundry basket  14 . The user then is positioned to reversibly knot the strings  32  to engage the sleeve  12  to the laundry basket  14 . 
     The laundry basket lining device  10  also may comprise a flap  36 , which is engaged to and which extends from the perimeter  26  of the top  28  of the sleeve  12 . A fastener  38  is engaged to the flap  36  distal from the sleeve  12 . The fastener  38  is configured to engage a surface of a washing machine or a dryer, as shown in  FIG.  4   , so that the flap  36  covers a lower portion of a circumference of an opening in the washing machine or the dryer. The flap  36  is configured to prevent contact of the user&#39;s laundry with the circumference of the opening while transferring the laundry between the sleeve  12  and the washing machine or the dryer. 
     The fastener  38  may comprise a pair of cups  42 , or other fastening means, such as, but not limited to, magnets, pressure sensitive adhesives, and the like. The cups  42  comprise rubber, silicone, or elastomer and thus are resiliently compressible. The cups  42  are configured to be selectively compressed against the surface of the washing machine or the dryer to removably engage the flap  36  to the surface. 
     As shown in  FIG.  2   , the flap  36  may be one of a pair of flaps  36 . Each flap  36  is engaged to the sleeve  12  proximate to a respective upper corner  30  so that the flaps  36  of the pair of flaps  36  are positioned diagonally across the perimeter  26  of the top  28  of the sleeve  12 . Having two flaps  36  engaged to the sleeve  12  prevents the user from potentially having to rotate the laundry basket  14  to align the flap  36  with the opening in the washing machine or the dryer. 
     The laundry basket lining device  10  also may comprise a panel  44 , which has a bottom edge  46  and opposed side edges  48  that are engaged to an inner face  50  of the sleeve  12  to define a pocket  52 . The pocket  52  is configured for positioning of an item, such as a laundry aid, cellphone, keys, or the like. 
     In use, the sleeve  12  is positioned in the laundry basket  14  to cover the interior surface  16  and the rim  18  of the laundry basket  14 . The strings  32  of each pair of strings  32  are inserted through respective apertures  34  in the laundry basket  14  and knotted. If desired, the flap  36  can by inserted through the opening in a washing machine and attached to the surface using the cups  42 . The user&#39;s laundry then can be unloaded from the washing machine into the sleeve  12  without the laundry contacting the laundry basket  14 . The user then can move the laundry basket  14  to a dryer and reverse the process to transfer the laundry from the sleeve  12  into the dryer. After drying the laundry, it can again be transferred to the sleeve  12  in the same way as it was transferred from the washing machine to the sleeve  12 . 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to 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 an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.