Patent Publication Number: US-2006011628-A1

Title: Adjustable hamper

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      This invention relates in general to article containers and more particularly, to hamper capable of being adjustable in length, height, and width.  
      2. Summary of the Prior Art  
      Hampers are well known containers for receiving and storing clothing, sporting articles, and other items. Such hampers in the past have assumed numerous shapes and sizes of fixed dimensions. An example of a prior design for a hamper is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,113 issued Nov. 7, 1995 to Ho et al. The hamper of the foregoing Ho et al. patent has fixed dimensions and shape, although it may be collapsed for storage when empty. The problem associated with such hampers having a fixed configuration is the shape and size of the container cannot be adjusted to permit the hamper to be positioned in any available space within a building, house, vehicle, and the like. Accordingly, it is desirable in the industry to provide an adjustable hamper capable of being modified to fit in a wide range of shapes and sizes of storage areas.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      It is an objective of this invention to provide a hamper for articles capable of being independently adjusted along its length, width, and height to assume desired external sizes and shapes to fit into any particular shaped storage spaces to receive and store articles. The hamper of the invention has an adjustable frame assembly formed by twelve tubular legs defining the length, width, and height of the hamper. Each of the twelve legs is independently adjustable to vary the length, height and width of the frame as needed to be accommodated by a particular storage area. An elastic net is stretched over the frame assembly to form the walls of the hamper and to provide an open article receiving opening. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a side perspective view of the frame assembly of the adjustable hamper of the invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the frame of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  is a bottom plan view of the frame of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 4  is a is a side elevational view of the adjustable frame assembly of the hamper of  FIG. 1  in an adjusted configuration;  
       FIG. 5  is a front perspective elevational view of the hamper of  FIG. 1  in another adjusted configuration;  
       FIG. 6  is a front perspective elevational view of the frame configuration of  FIG. 1  in still another adjusted configuration;  
       FIG. 7  is a sectional view, taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 1 , showing the telescoping sections of the legs of the frame assembly of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 8  is front perspective elevational of a complete hamper of the invention using the frame of  FIG. 1 ; and  
       FIG. 9  is a front perspective view of the net of the hamper being partially positioned on the frame of  FIG. 1  during the assembly process. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      Referring now to  FIG. 1-9 , there is illustrated the adjustable hamper of the invention, generally designated by reference numeral  2  in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . In  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the adjustable frame  4  is shown by which the size and shape of hamper  2  may be selectively modified. The frame assembly  4  made of plastic or metal includes upper and lower front leg assemblies  6   a ,  6   b , opposed pairs of upper and lower side leg assemblies  8   a ,  8   b , and upper and lower rear leg assemblies  10   a ,  10   b . In addition the frame  4  is provided with four corner vertical leg assemblies  12 .  
      As seen in  FIG. 1 , the upper and lower front leg assemblies  6   a  and  6   b  include a pair of telescopic hollow tubes  14   a ,  14   b  by which the length of the leg assemblies  6   a,b  may be manually adjusted by the relative positioning of the inner tube  14   b  within the end portion of outer tube  14   a . Each of the opposed pairs of upper and lower side leg assemblies  8   a,b ; upper and lower rear leg assemblies  10   a ,  10   b ; and vertical leg assemblies  12  respectively include telescoping tubes  16   a,b ;  18   a,b ; and  20   a,b . The length of each of the leg assemblies  8   a,b ;  10   a,b  and  12  is adjustable in the same manner as describe with reference to front leg assemblies  6   a,b . From the foregoing, it should be apparent that each of the twelve leg assemblies of frame assembly  4  is independently adjustable in length to vary the dimensions and shape of the frame assembly  4 .  
      As seen in  FIG. 1 , outer tubes  14   a ,  16   a ,  18   a , and  20   a  of frame assembly  4  each include a plurality of aligned holes  22  aligned along a longitudinal axis. The selected number of holes determines the degree of adjustment of the length of each of the leg assemblies. As seen in  FIG. 7 , a push button  30  is resiliently mounted by a mounting spring  32  or other resilient member suitable mounted by a conventional technique on each of the twelve inner tubes  14   b ,  16   b ,  18   b , and  20   b  of the leg assemblies. The button  30  may be manually depressed when positioned in a selected hole  22  to allow relative movement between the outer tubes  14   a ,  16   a ,  18   a , and  20   a  and inner tubes  14   b ,  16   b ,  18   b , and  20   b  by which the length of the leg assemblies may manually be independently adjusted by the relatively positioning of a respective the inner tube within the outer tube. Each of the opposed pairs of upper and lower side leg assemblies  8   a ,  8   b , upper and lower rear leg assemblies,  10   a ,  10   b , and vertical corner vertical leg assemblies  12  respectively include telescoping tubes  16   a ,  16   b ;  18   a ,  18   a , and  20   a ,  20   b . The length of each of the leg assemblies  8   a ,  8   b ,  10   a ,  10   b  and  12  is independently adjustable in the same manner as described with reference to front leg assemblies  8   a ,  8   b.    
      The leg assemblies of the frame assembly  4  are interconnected in a rigid configuration by eight identical corner members  40 . Corner members  40  each include three open ended integral tubular sections  42   a, b  and  c  that are disposed at 90° to each other and removably receive the adjacent end of an adjustable leg assembly  6   a, b ;  8   a, b ,  10   a, b  and  12 .  
      Referring to  FIGS. 8 and 9  there is illustrated the hamper  2  showing the removable net  50  for attachment to the adjustable frame  4 . In unattached configuration (not shown), the net  50  is formed from a conventional elastic material  52  having an opening  54 . The net  50  is designed to stretch tightly over the frame  4  and creates an internal article storage compartment  56 . The ridge  58  surrounding opening  54  is provided with stronger elastic material to grab the upper leg assemblies as shown in  FIG. 8 . In  FIG. 9 , the net  50  is shown being attached to frame  4  during assembly after adjustment. It is desirable that the elasticity of the net  50  be sufficiently strong as not to sag when attached to frame assembly  4 . From the foregoing, it should be apparent that the hamper  2  of the invention can easily be adjusted for a particular configuration and then assembled. The hamper  2  can also be quickly be disassembled for storage or adjustment when desired by removing the net  50  and separating the arm assemblies from the corner members  40   
      Referring now to  FIGS. 4-6 , there are illustrated examples of adjusted sizes and shapes of the adjustable frame assembly  4 . of    FIG. 1 . Although it should be apparent that the length of each arm assembly  6 ,  8 ,  10 , and  12  is independently adjustable to various lengths dependent on the number of holes  22 , in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the shape of frame assembly is shown in one modified form from the configuration of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The shape of frame  4  is further shown in a different modified assembly configuration in  FIG. 6 .  
      In use of the adjustable hamper  2 , the arm assemblies are respectively inserted into the corner members after an adjusted length of each of the arm assemblies  6   a, b ,  8   a, b ,  10   a, b , and  12  is selected. As seen in  FIG. 9 , the net  50  is pulled up over the adjusted frame assembly  4  into the position shown in  FIG. 8  to create article storage compartment  56 .