Patent Publication Number: US-2018038036-A1

Title: Device and Method of Securing Property Inside a Laundry Machine

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     I hereby claim benefit under Title 35, United States Code, Section 119(e) of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/372,049 filed Aug. 8, 2016. The 62/372,049 application is currently pending. The 62/372,049 application is hereby incorporated by reference into this application. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a device and method to secure property inside a laundry machine with a removable lock. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Few laundry machines comprise of a mechanism to secure the property inside the machine against theft, tampering, vandalism, arson, etc. The laundry machine locks that do exist all require that the lock be permanently attached to the machine. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the invention, there is disclosed an apparatus including a hook that connects to the inside lip of a laundry machine, a mechanical connector to connect to the hook, a lock to engage and disengage the mechanical connection, and a stopper connected to the mechanical connection and situated on the outside of the laundry machine. The hook, mechanical connection, and stopper limit the motion of the laundry machine&#39;s door in order to secure property inside the laundry machine. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an embodiment of the invention secured to a laundry machine; 
         FIG. 2  is a detailed view of the embodiment of the invention as show in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 2  as viewed from the top of the laundry machine looking down with the horizontal plane of the cross-section in the middle of the embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates the same cross-sectional view of  FIG. 3  but with the laundry machine&#39;s door at its limit of motion due to the embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As used in this application, the following words or phrases have the meanings specified. 
     The term laundry machine&#39;s opening is defined to be the opening that is covered by the laundry machine&#39;s door when the door is closed. Clothes enter and exit the laundry machine through the laundry machine&#39;s opening. 
     The term inside lip as it relates to a laundry machine is defined to be the edge of the laundry machine&#39;s opening. 
     The term mechanical connector or mechanical connection is defined to be a strap, rope, wire, plate, bracket, clamp or similar device that when connected to two objects limits the maximum distance those objects can be from one another. 
     The term stopper refers to a three-dimensional object which stops the motion of a laundry machines door due to it having a wide cross-sectional area and it being rigid. 
     The invention allows a user to secure their property inside a laundry machine. This decreases the chance that a user&#39;s property would be tampered with especially when the user is out of sight of the laundry machine. The invention is also useful in that it allows a user to easily install and remove the device without having to modify the laundry machine. This allows a user to own and use an embodiment of the invention while not necessarily having to own the laundry machine. 
     The invention works by limiting the motion of the door  6  to a laundry machine  5 . This limitation makes removing property from the machine difficult without unlocking the invention.  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  show one embodiment of this invention.  FIG. 3 . shows a horizontal cross sectional of this embodiment as viewed from the top looking down. This embodiment works best when placed in the gap of the door  6  opposite the door&#39;s hinge  7 . This embodiment limits the motion of the laundry machine&#39;s door  6  by use of a hook  13 , a thin flexible strap  9 , a cam buckle  12 , and a stopper  8 . The cam buckle in this embodiment of the invention is that of U.S. D274,861. The stopper in this embodiment of the invention is a disk. The hook hooks onto the inside lip of the laundry machine. The flexible strap  9  mechanically connects the hook  13  and the cam buckle  12  by running in the thin gap under the laundry machine&#39;s door  6  and through a slot in the stopper  8 . The cam-buckle  12  sits inside of the stopper  8 .  FIG. 4  shows the laundry machine&#39;s door  6  at the limit of its motion. Notice the stopper  8  prevents the door  6  from opening any further. 
     In this embodiment, the locking mechanism is composed of a cam-buckle  12 , a cover  10 , and a padlock  11 . The cam-buckle  12  allows the strap  9  to be tightened but only released when a button on the buckle is depressed. The cover  10  controls when the button is exposed. To unlock this embodiment, the user removes the padlock  11  allowing the cover  10  to expose the button on the cam buckle  12 . The user can then push the button to release the strap  9  and pull the embodiment away from the laundry machine  5 . Once the embodiment is removed, the laundry machine&#39;s door  6  can be opened and the user can retrieve their property inside the laundry machine  5 .