Drying and gas or vapor contact with solids – Apparatus – With means to treat gas or vapor
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-23
2003-03-25
Wilson, Pamela A (Department: 3749)
Drying and gas or vapor contact with solids
Apparatus
With means to treat gas or vapor
C383S041000, C206S278000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06536132
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to methods and devices used for removing accumulated lint from clothes dryer lint filters, specifically to reusable devices and methods for their manufacture, wherein such devices comprise a mitt made of soft lint-attracting fabric and optionally having a ridge-like bound seam to aid in lint collection, in combination with a storage pouch that has easily opening upper and lower ends, each of which can be independently opened and closed for the prompt addition or removal of clothes dryer lint from the pouch. Also, the mitt is preferably attached to the pouch through a side opening in the pouch material near to its upper end, so that when the upper end is opened, a hand can be inserted into the mitt to temporarily extend the mitt beyond the upper end of the pouch for use of an optional protruding, bound, ridge-like seam on the mitt extending at a minimum over the fingers containing, as well as the soft lint-attracting mitt fabric itself, to neatly and efficiently retrieve accumulated lint from a clothes dryer lint filter with minimal lint fragment dispersal, and also to securely hold onto the removed lint during its transport to the pouch and subsequent transfer of the collected lint into the pouch with minimal mess. Without the mitt, fingernails and fingertips of the person removing the lint are typically used to separate accumulated lint from a clothes dryer lint filter, which often causes direct fingernail contact with the lint filter and fingernail damage, as well as for small fragments of the accumulated lint to be left behind on the filter, to collect under the fingernails used for lint filter cleaning, or to break away from the main body of retrieved lint and become dispersed into the room within which the dryer is located. Since accumulated lint is easily gathered into a compact mass by the protruding bound seam of the mitt, when it is used, and lint fragments are attracted to its soft fabric, the present invention helps to quickly separate the accumulated lint from a clothes dryer filter, remove more lint in less time than an uncovered hand attempting to perform the same task, and remove the lint with less damage to fingernails and chipping of fingernail polish that would otherwise occur when fingertips alone are used as the main tool for separating the accumulated lint from a clothes dryer filter. At any time after lint collection, the pouch of the present invention can be easily emptied of lint by placing the pouch over a convenient waste container, opening the pouch's lower end, and letting gravity assist in the downward movement of lint into the waste container. Between uses, magnets are employed to attach the pouch to the outside surface of the clothes dryer housing, so that it remains conveniently accessible to those having the responsibility to remove and dispose of accumulated lint resulting from the clothes dryer operation. Also, the mitt preferably has two opposed thumbs so that it is available for immediate right-handed and left-handed use without accommodation. Applications may include, but are not limited to, use by residents, as well as professional cleaning service personnel, to facilitate the repetitive task of removing accumulated lint from clothes dryer lint filters that is necessary to promote safe use of clothes dryers in homes, school dormitories, assisted living facilities, apartment complexes, and other residence facilities. The device could also have commercial applications, such as but not limited to, use in public laundromats, other commercial cleaning establishments, and the laundries of hotels, motels, nursing homes, and hospitals, as well as the laundry facilities of companies providing uniform rentals.
2. Description of Prior Art
Routine use and laundering of woven and knit fabrics, particularly cotton fabrics in clothing and linens, creates lint. As a result of the rubbing of one part of a fabric against another during use, as well as other forms of fabric contact with various objects encountered during use, threads employed to knit and weave fabrics can become broken. Subsequently when the fabrics are machine laundered and dried, broken fiber fragments are separated from the fabric and thereafter become accumulated in the form of lint on the respective lint filters of washers and dryers. Additional surface debris clinging to the fabrics prior to laundering, such as carpet fibers and pet hair, will also become separated from the fabrics during the cleaning process and deposited on the washer or dryer lint filters as part of the accumulated lint. To allow for efficient, sanitary, and safe operation of the washers and dryers used, accumulated lint needs to be periodically removed from the respective filters. Much of the coarse lint generated during a mechanized cleaning process is removed during the washing phase, as long as the washing machine tub is not overloaded and the items in the tub can be adequately rinsed. This coarse lint is usually damp and generally poses little fire hazard threat. However, as clothes dryer lint is dry and generally comprised of smaller dimensioned particulate matter, if it is not frequently removed from clothes dryer lint filters, it will create a fire hazard risk. Further, since laundering merely sanitizes fabrics and does not remove all microbes from them, accumulated lint also will contain microbes, with more microbes being present when washers are so overloaded that clothes are not properly allowed to circulate during wash and rinse cycles. Therefore, complete and thorough removal of lint from washer and dryer lint filters, also helps to promote a more sanitary laundering result.
When fingertips alone are used, lint removal from clothes dryer lint filters is an untidy process. Fragments of lint tend to cling to the filter even after multiple attempts are made to remove it, with other fragments sticking to the hand attempting to remove it or becoming readily dispersed as a fine dust into the area immediately surrounding the dryer. Several passes of the fingertips across a clothes dryer lint filter are also usually required to remove the bulk of the accumulated lint attached to it, unless a thick mat of accumulated lint has been allowed to amass in the filter. Although a thicker mat is often more readily removed without fragmentation and lint dispersal, it is undesirable to allow lint to accumulate into a thick mat as doing so tends to pose a greater fire hazard risk. Other disadvantages of fingertip lint removal are that fragments of lint can cling to the hand employed to retrieve it and also collect under fingernails, requiring additional time to clean them. Lint removal with unprotected fingers also leads to fingernail breakage and fingernail polish chipped through direct contact of the fingernails with the lint filter. The present invention overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages by offering an alternative lint removal process that is faster, more efficient, neater, safer, and promotes a more sanitary operation, with less lint remaining attached to the filter and less fragmented lint particles being dispersed into the air in the immediate vicinity of the dryer, as well as a less damaging result for the fingernails and/or fingernail polish of the person removing the lint. No device is known that has all of the advantages of the present invention.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION—OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES
The primary object of this invention is to provide alternative methods for the manufacture of reusable devices that will efficiently remove and temporarily store accumulated dryer lint from clothes dryer lint filters. It is a further object of this invention to provide methods for manufacturing reusable lint-removing devices that allow for rapid and thorough cleaning of clothes dryer lint collection filters. It is also an object of this invention to provide methods for manufacturing reusable clothes dryer lint-removal devices that are durable and easy to use. It is a further object of this invention to provide methods for manufacturing reusable lint-remova
Morse Dorothy S.
Wilson Pamela A
LandOfFree
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