US2638399A - Clothes hamper - Google Patents

Description

E. w. SEYMOUR CLOTHES HAMPER Filed July 19, .1951

May 12, 1953 INVENTOR. Eligabel'h WISeymour BY am,

Patented May 12, 1953 .CIZOYIHES HAMPER Q Elisabeth wuseymour, cantomxfihio cAml licafionfin'lyrlfi; 1951, .SerjalPNo. 237 584 examines -(o 8-12-'-29*i-) The invention relates toyeiothes' hampers; andmore particiiiarly to la hamper "having h'apremovr' able preferably fabric has, insert .to facilitate theestora'ge and ',handiir giof jsoild '.c1o,thes.

"Usual types of clothes hampers having a .box-

like Structure with a topopeningslid must either be p'ioked and turned Iu'p side .down to enmity the hamper, or .th'ehousewifermust reach intov and intimately. to the bottom of the hamper and remove thenclothes piece'fby piece. flhi inyolxzes bending or stooping and reaching to the .bottc'i'm of the hamper to removethe clothes, whioh 41s diffioult Land ti-ring .for .a Woman. Sometimes ,in

depositing or removingnsoiled ;e1othes in northernthe usual -clothes, .hamper, the: clothes :and pa-r tieularly fragile 'artic1esimay .he snagged or tom on an internally projecting part of the hamper. In order .to overcome these .d-ifiiculties and i-to provide otheriadvantagesfluhave :oombined with a Imoc'iifiegi ieonventional hamper ielement atop opening Cloth bag eontainer suspended at lathe top of two of its side walls on a collapsibl eiframe whichemayibe .v-inserted i-nto rand :removed item the hamper element.

the (hampervelementr The hamper and frame are ,formed with ,intenengaging imeansehy -whioh the may be supported-at anupper ,l-evel at: the 1 upper endirof and ,above :the happier element to provide convenient access :to the bag for ithe' removal 'of. soiled relothes therefrom-:withogut' hendingiorgstoopingzor reaohingeto the bnttomvpft }Ae'oord n ly, itlis a general ohjectofithe pres- V en't in'vention to provide. an improved xi'lothes.

hamper poeonstiiuotion whic'hwmay' Joe emptied,

without stoppin bending lor reaching to the loottom of the hammer i element when Arestinguon the Fiifthermore; it is an object of "the 1 present i invention to provide a;1n'ew"c 1othes hamper eonstflmtion meiu-ding a -removab1e cloth bag Suspenddon *a 'co'ilapsibl-e frame'wh'ie'h" maybe suphi-ted *at "the top of "the hamper element when theqatte'r resting-pmth "fi'oo'r to facilitate the easy and 'tireiess removai "and sorting of :Jsoil'edl clothes-from thebag;

Also, it is an object of the presentinventionm providea new elothes hamper "oonstrudtionflinclueing azremovabieeloth'bag eiem'entsu'shendefl ona eoflapsioie name which may he removed iromwhe hamper element; andgmoved item-plane to place inmollecting i'so'iledxolothes, and "which b e-element ,Tikewis'e "may he lremovedijirom tithe anwearrie'cl to the laundry "in the basement" or 2' other iooations "in the home "in connection with laimder' ing'trfesoiiedelotiies.

furthermore, it"iis an objeot'of' the present invefit'ion to provide a new clothes hamper TCOII stiuetionzinciudine a removable cloth 'b'ag' eremen}; which may be removed fr m th h mper" element when filled with soiled clothes andyuti: lizedas a laundry bag. for shipment to ,a.com'- me'rcialiauntlrjy.

Finally, it is an object of "the-present 'i'l'WIl t'io'n to provide ,anew clothes hamper construe tion inoludingha removable cloth bag element which permits adequate .yentilation of the hamper :parts, which islightin weight, which has substantially the sametoapao'itypas the pa.-

pacity of ",the hamper element, which may "be" manufactured inexpensively, ..and which; when associated with .a hamper element, overcomes difficulties, solves existing problems in the and has the described oharacteristics iand1a'd vantages.

These and ot'her objects .and sad-Iantages, nap.- panent Ito .those...skil'led linithe vart from the fol lowingijdescripti'on andaolaims, (may be obtained,

theStatedHresults achieved and .the .descnitied difli'ou'lt'ies overcome by 1-the \construetion, roombinations, sub-combinations, arrangements, devices, ,elements pand pants .-,whieh comprise :the

present ihvention theinature of which ts set' forth the Afollowing. generatstatement, ppmferredembodiment sof whidh--i11 ustrati;v e 10f the best mode in .rapplicant (has -.o0ntemp1ated applying the -prinoiplesis set Eiorth in the-jolngfles iption and {Shown v"in the --;dizawines and which are distinctly ;-and partioulanly pointed ontv andviset fforth :in the amended zolaims forminga. part hereof.

Thenature pithe-qdiscoteries anti vimpm le ments of 117118 present invention mayzbe stated in general-terms including gin iclothes ehamn r cnnstruotior ea i-box-Jike hampergelem m Meierablyrhavinga tqpiopeningiid jfabniczbag shaped;

wlb-e ireceived W hin and "to zeonform xcieseimo hg h it QP-" ithe zhamper lement.

v (315' may of exam-pie, aipreferrediembodimentof the improved clothes hamper construction is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof wherein:

Figure l is a front vertical sectional view of a clothes hamper construction incorporating the improvements of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side vertical sectional View of the hamper shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating the cloth bag element supported by the collapsible frame at. the top of the hamper element; and M Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the cloth bag element and collapsible frame therefor removed from the hamper element.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the various figures of the drawing.

In accordance with the present invention a usual type of clothes hamper is utilized which may be made of wood, metal, wood and'wicker, or metal and wicker. In the drawing a conventional wood and wicker hamper element is generally indicated at I having feet 2 which rest on the floor and the top of the hamper may be provided with a hinged lid 3. This conventional hamper is modified in accordance with the present invention by mounting cleats, rests or projections 4 on the hamper element side Walls adjacent the top ends thereof for a purpose to be later described.

A cloth bag element generally indicated at 5 is located within the hamper element I conforming generally to the internal configuration of the hamper I. The bag 5 is supported on a collapsible X-frame generally indicated at 6, the frame preferably comprising rectangular frame members I centrally pivoted at 8 thus forming a pivoted X-frame having lower cross members 8 and upper cross members Ill. The cross members l may be formed inward to facilitate grasping the frame when removing the same from the hamper.

The X-frame 6, as shown, may be formed of fiat strip metal and welded to provide continuous frame sections, or may be similarly formed of other light weight metal section such as wire rod, metal tubes or channel bars; or it may be made in any other suitable Way of any desired material such as wood strips.

The bag is secured to the X-frame 6 by engaging fiaps I I over the upper frame cross members I0. The flaps II are preferably formed of fabric in continuation of the side walls of the bag 5 and when engaged over the cross members I0 the flaps may be secured to the side walls by snap fasteners generally indicated at I2, or by buttoning, or in any other suitable manner.

If desired, a pocket may be formed on one or more of the side walls of the fabric bag 5 by stitching a separate piece of fabric at three edges to the bag side wall, as indicated at [3 in Fig. 4.

The clothes hamper normally is located in its usual place in the home with the elements I, 5 and 6 thereof assembled and associated in the manner shown in Fig. l. Soiled clothes may be deposited from time to time in the bag element 5 in the usual manner merely by opening the lid 3. If desired, the X-frame 6 and the bag element 5 supported thereby may be removed from the hamper element 1 at any time by lifting upward Thus the bag 5 supported by frame 6,

each of which is light in weight, may be carried -vides many advantageous features in use.

4 grasped by the hands and the X-f'rame 6 and bag 5 then may be lifted to the position shown in Fig. 3, at which location, upon releasing the frame, the lower frame cross members 9 spread apart and engage the hamper cleats 4 and thus support the X-frame 6 at the top of the hamper element l projecting upward therefrom with the bag element 5 supported thereby. In this position of the bag element 5 the soiled clothes therein may be removed readily without bending or stooping, by any person merely by reaching into the bag from a standing position.

Thus, the bag may be readily emptied without stooping and the soiled clothes may be sorted as removed if desired. During such sorting step, fragile articles such as stockings, lingerie and the like may be deposited in the pocket l3; or such articles may be pro-sorted by placing them in the pocket I3 when initially depositing them in the hamper.

. If more convenient for the housewife, the bag 5 may be removed from the hamper and X-frame and carried as such, filled with soiled clothes, to the home laundry for laundering the clothes.

As a further alternative, if the soiled clothes are to be laundered at a commercial laundry, the snaps I2 may be released and the bag 5 removed from the X-frame 6 whereupon the snaps on one flap ll may be engaged with the fasteners at the other side of the bag to provide the laundry bag for transporting the soiled clothes to the commercial laundry.

Since the bag and X-frame elements 5 and 6 are both very light in weight, they add little weight to the weight of the clothes in lifting the X-frame 6 to the position shown in Fig. 3, or in transporting soiled clothes therein from place to place.

The X-frame 6 can be formed to fit within any size of conventional clothes hamper and can be readily associated with an existing clothes hamper merely by equipping the hamper element I with the cleats 4.

The improved clothes hamper construction pro- The hamper may beemptied without stooping or bending over or reaching to the bottom of the hamper element. This makes sorting much easier when done at the-hamper. The bottom of the bag element'when in raised position is within easy arm reach and is more readily visible than the bottom of the hamper element. The capacity of the conventional hamper is not reduced to any substantial degree. The cloth bag permits adequate ventilation of g the soiled clothes in the hamper. The cloth bag protects clothes deposited therein from being snagged or torn on internal surfaces of the hamper element. The cloth bag can be removed from the X-frame and washed for keeping the same in a clean and sanitary condition. The frame and bag can be removed readily and placed in other rooms as a collecting receptacle. The cloth bag can be removed and used as a laundry bag to transport the clothes either to the home laundry or to a commercial laundry.

Accordingly. the present invention provides many new improvements in clothes hamper construction having the advantages and characteristics described, provides for the convenient emptying of a clothes hamper without bending or stooping or reaching to the bottom of the.

hamper element, avoids the possibility of injury ing and generally facilitates the handling of soiled clothes.

The embodiment of the present invention illustrated and described herein is by way of example, and the scope of the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction of the various parts illustrated.

Finally, in the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding; and no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because such words are used for descriptive purposes herein and not for the purpose of limitation, and are intended to be broadly construed.

Having now described the features of the invention, the construction and use of a preferred embodiment thereof, and the advantageous, new and useful results obtained thereby; the new and useful devices, arrangements, constructions, combinations, sub-combinations, elements and parts, and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious to those skilled in the art, are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a box-like clothes hamper having an access opening in the top thereof, an X-frame including two frame members each having an upper'and a lower cross member connected by parallel side members, said side members of said frame members being pivotally connected intermediate the ends thereof, a fabric bag suspended within the X-frame by side flaps thereof engaged over the upper frame cross members, said X-frame and bag removably supported within the hamper, and cleats located within the upper ends of the hamper and engageable with the lower cross members of the X-frame to selectively support the X-frame in an elevated position in said hamper.

2. In combination, a box-like clothes hamper provided with an access opening in the top thereof, a frame member having pairs of upper and lower cross members thereon, said frame member removably supported entirely within said hamper, an open-ended fabric bag having side walls and a bottom therein, flap portions extending beyond two opposed sides of the bag at the open end thereof to engage over the upper cross members of said frame suspending said bag within said frame, cooperative detachable fasteners on said flap portions and the bag side walls engageable to secure said bag in its suspended position, a double side wall structure on one portion of said bag forming an auxiliary pocket therein, and

cleats on the inner walls of said hamper adjacent the top thereof engageable with the lower cross members of the frame to selectively support said frame in an elevated position in said hamper to extend through the access opening therein.

ELIZABETH W. SEYMOUR.

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