Drying and gas or vapor contact with solids – Process – By centrifugal force
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-01
2001-04-10
Wilson, Pamela (Department: 3745)
Drying and gas or vapor contact with solids
Process
By centrifugal force
C034S318000, C034S321000, C034S322000, C034S058000, C034S090000, C034S109000, C034S600000, C034S602000, C034S604000, C034S187000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06212792
ABSTRACT:
FIELD
The present invention pertains to a basket and to a method of use thereof and more particularly to a basket that has special utility as a removable liner for a clothes dryer but also has more general utility in the normal manner of a basket.
BACKGROUND
Although the modern clothes drying machine has greatly facilitated the task of drying clothes, the use of the drying machine either at home or in a Laundromat can still be tiring, especially for anyone having a bad back. Compared to using a washing machine, the use of a dryer requires deep bending. That is, washing machines are usually top-loaded and unloaded, requiring minimal bending of the user. In contrast, a clothes dryer is generally side-loaded and unloaded from a down-low position, requiring deep bending by the user.
A typical clothes-washing and drying scenario may involve removing the wet clothes from the washing machine, usually in clumps, since the wet clothes stick together, and tossing these clumps into the dryer. As such, for a given drying load, although there might be dozens of individual pieces of clothing, there are usually only a few wet of clumps of laundry, requiring only a few tosses down into the dryer. Moreover, since the clumps are wet and somewhat heavy as compared with dried clothes, the clumps are relatively easy literally to throw into the dryer. The loading activity may be accomplished from nearly erect positions. Very little bending is required.
Although it might seem easier, the task of removing the dried clothes from the dryer may be more tedious and tiring, especially if one has back problems. After drying, the clothes typically do not stick together anymore, so they ordinarily must be removed from the dryer one-by-one. Further, it may be preferred to remove them one-by-one anyway in order to shake and smooth them out to minimize wrinkling. Because of the down-low position of a dryer opening, therefore, the user must bend over deeply each time he or she reaches into the dryer to retrieve a dried item, then stand up to hang or lay out the dried item, then bend over again, then stand up, and repeat this action for as many times as there are individual clothes items in the dryer, a task very hard on one's back, especially with a large load of clothes in the machine.
Furthermore, using a dryer involves several other tasks that require bending over or squatting down to reach into the dryer. Oftentimes, static electricity causes one or more small items, like a stocking or handkerchief, to stick to the drum wall, sometimes on the upper wall so that it is difficult to see without stooping down and peering up into the dryer. Also, the drying process creates lint that is captured in a lint basket that must periodically be emptied by bending down to remove and replace it.
Insofar as applicant is aware, no solution has been provided to ease the tasks described above. Baskets have been provided to contain shoes to-be-dried and prevent them from tumbling around in the dryer, such as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,109,397; 5,276,979; and 5,743,025. Although perhaps useful for shoes, these patented devices would not play a useful role in the typical washing-drying scenario of loading wet clothes to-be-dried into a dryer and retrieving them after drying.
SUMMARY
A basket or dryer liner is provided that has the usual basket shape, i.e., generally cylindrical, but is resiliently compressible or deformable along multiple axes for reshaping into irregular shapes. It has perforate bottom wall and side walls and an open top and is generally symmetrical about x, y, and z axes that are orthogonal to each other. The basket may be manually compressed along these axes and then allowed to return to its normal shape when released. Thus, it has a non-compressed, relaxed state wherein it has maximum exterior dimensions and can stand-alone and serve the normal functions of a basket. The basket also has a compressed condition wherein at least certain of the dimensions of the basket are less than said maximum dimensions so that it can be fitted into a dryer, allowed to expand, and serve as a dryer liner. Wet clothes and other items can then be placed in the basket through the dryer opening in the normal manner. After the dryer is operated and the items have been dried, the basket is again compressed and pulled out of the dryer with its load of the dried items. The basket with these items is then able to stand-alone to enable the dried items to be removed. The user thus need bend down only once to remove all of the clothes in the basket instead of many times for each item of clothing. The basket can be compressed and stored in the dryer or other small spaces.
An object of the present invention is to facilitate the use of a clothes dryer.
Another object is alleviate the bodily strains especially back pains, associated with removing items from a clothes dryer.
An additional object is to provide a basket or other receptacle that can be removably fitted in a drying machine as a liner therein to contain clothes and other items to be dried and that enables all of the items to be removed as a group from the machine after they have been dried.
Yet another object is to provide a basket that is primarily intended to be used in the interior of a clothes dryer to contain clothes while they are being dried and to facilitate removal of the dried clothes from the dryer and that is made to be deformed or reshaped to make such dryer use possible.
A further object is to provide a resiliently compressible basket that has a normally expanded conventional basket shape wherein it is able to stand-alone on a counter, table, or other flat support surface and receive items to be contained therein or from which items can be retrieved, and a variety of compressed shapes that are achieved by manually and selectively compressing the basket along one or more multiple axes, whereby the basket can be fitted through openings or spaces that are smaller than the dimensions of the basket when in its normally expanded shape.
Yet another object is to provide a basket that can be inserted into a dryer for holding items to-be-dried therein that is heat-resistant to the extent necessary for the temperatures inside a dryer, that is perforate for passage of air therethrough and yet not so coarse as to allow small items of clothing to pass therethrough, that captures lint that is generated during the drying process, and that is resistant to corrosion that could be caused by contact with wet items to-be-dried.
An additional object is to facilitate removing all items from a dryer after a drying cycle, especially small items of clothing, such as handkerchiefs and socks, and thereby to avoid missing some items and possibly losing them, especially in a commercial Laundromat setting.
Another object is to provide a laundry basket that can also be used for carrying dirty laundry prior to being washed, for receiving wet laundry directly from the washing machine, and for carrying other items unrelated to laundry.
Still an additional object is to utilize the flexible, compressible characteristics of a basket to facilitate its storage in small spaces.
A further object is to provide a basket that can be resiliently compressed and snugly fitted inside the drum of a clothes dryer both during a drying cycle to hold clothes being dried but also when the dryer is not in use thereby to be stored in the dryer.
A still further object is to provide a basket of the type described that is economical to manufacture, that is of simple and durable construction, that is easy to clean and otherwise maintain.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reference to the following description, accompanying drawings, and appended claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2150620 (1939-03-01), Frost
patent: 2784500 (1957-03-01), Beaumont
patent: 3017758 (1962-01-01), Havenstock et al.
patent: 3651580 (1972-03-01), Meyer
patent: 3696521 (1972-10-01), Hubbard
patent: 3769819 (1973-11-01), Contreras
patent: 4007546 (1977-02-01), Sauer
patent: 4109397
Costello Leo F.
Wilson Pamela
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