Hygienic Laundry Basket

Abstract

A sanitary laundry basket that prevents cross-contamination between dirty laundry and clean laundry by having a flexible partition shaped like half of the interior of the laundry basket, attached to the midpoint of the interior of the laundry basket, where the flexible partition can be “flipped” inside out to cover the other half of the interior of the laundry basket, so that the clean laundry never touches the same surface as the dirty laundry.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application takes priority from Provisional App. No. 62/021,015, filed Jul. 4, 2014, which is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to laundry baskets, and particularly to laundry baskets that prevent cross-contamination from dirty laundry to clean laundry.

2. Background

Dirty laundry is not sanitary. Depending on how dirty it gets and how long it spends in a laundry basket, dirty laundry may be full of germs and odors. Those germs and odors are often transferred to the interior of the basket. Then, when the laundry is washed, the same basket is used to transport the clean laundry from the washing machine to its destination, and the same interior surface that was in contact with the dirty laundry is now in contact with the clean laundry. This means that the same germs and odors are transferred from the dirty laundry to the clean laundry. While it is theoretically possible to wash or disinfect the laundry basket or to use multiple laundry baskets, this is impractical in real life.

A need therefore exists for a laundry basket that does not transfer germs or odors from dirty laundry to clean laundry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a laundry basket that does not transfer germs, odors, or other contaminants from dirty laundry to clean laundry.

The present invention comprises a laundry basket that is symmetrical around the mid-plane with a flexible partition attached to the laundry basket in the mid-plane of the basket. The flexible partition is shaped like the interior of the laundry basket and covers half of the basket body. The flexible partition then can be flipped while still attached to the laundry basket to cover the other half of the basket body.

The flexible partition may be made of silicone, synthetic rubber, latex, or any other flexible material that is durable enough to be flipped in the fashion described above.

In the preferred embodiment, the flexible partition may be anchored to the basket body by at least one fastener to keep it in place.

The basket, the flexible partition, or both may comprise a germicidal and/or odor-resistant material to make it less likely that contamination will occur.

The basket may be rectangular, circular, oval, or any other shape that is symmetrical around a plane.

The flexible partition may be attached to the basket body by a rotating mount, by adhesives, or by any other attachment method that is secure.

One half of the basket may be colored differently from the other half, to make it easier for a user to distinguish between the dirty side and the clean side. The flexible partition may be colored differently on each side for the same purpose.

The flexible partition may comprise a handle or at least one hole to make it easier to grasp.

LIST OF FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows the laundry basket of the preferred embodiment of the present invention with the flexible partition in place.

FIG. 2 shows the laundry basket of the preferred embodiment of the present invention while the flexible partition is being flipped from one side to the other.

FIG. 3 shows the laundry basket of the preferred embodiment of the present invention with the flexible partition in place on the other side of the laundry basket.

FIG. 4 shows an alternate embodiment of the laundry basket of the present invention, wherein the laundry basket is collapsible.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Laundry basket 100 is preferably a rigid or semi-rigid laundry basket of any shape that is symmetrical around the midline. A flexible partition 110 is attached to the midline of the laundry basket at mount location 120. The flexible partition is preferably shaped like the inside of the laundry basket, as shown, so that it can act as a lining for half of the laundry basket.

FIG. 2 shows the process of flipping the flexible partition in mid-flip. To change the location of the flexible partition from one side to the other, the user simply pulls the edge of the flexible partition and flips it inside-out.

FIG. 3 shows the final result of flipping the flexible partition. Now, the flexible partition is lining the other half of the laundry basket. Note that the side of the flexible partition that is now exposed, as well as the side of the laundry basket that is now exposed, were not exposed before. So, if the user loads some dirty laundry into the basket while it is configured as in FIG. 1, the “dirty” side of the flexible partition and the “dirty” side of the basket will be completely hidden when the basket is configured as it is in FIG. 3. This prevents odors and germs from being transferred from the dirty laundry to the clean laundry, and each load (dirty or clean) will be able to use the entire space of the laundry basket.

The flexible partition is preferably attached to both the vertical sides of the laundry basket and the bottom of the laundry basket, as shown. The flexible partition may be glued or fused to the inside of the laundry basket, or it may be attached via a rotating mount to make it more durable.

The laundry basket may be any shape as long as it is symmetrical around the midline, so that the flexible partition fits both halves of the basket. In the preferred embodiment, as shown, the laundry basket is rectangular; however, it may also be circular, square, oval, or any other shape that is symmetrical around the midline.

The laundry basket may be collapsible in order to save space when the basket is empty. The collapsing mechanism may be any standard collapsing mechanism used in laundry baskets. FIG. 4 shows one embodiment of a collapsible laundry basket, shown in an uncollapsed state on the left and in a collapsed state on the right.

In the preferred embodiment, the flexible partition is made of silicone, but it may also be made of natural rubber latex, synthetic rubber, or any other material that is flexible and durable enough to be repeatedly “flipped” inside out as required by the present invention. The thickness of the flexible partition can be any thickness as long as it is not so thin that it is likely to tear under normal use, or so thick that it is difficult to flip. The laundry basket may be made of any material as long as it is somewhat rigid; it is preferably made of plastic or wire-reinforced fabric.

In an embodiment, half of the laundry basket may be colored differently from the other half, to help the user distinguish between “dirty” and “clean” sides. The flexible partition may also be colored differently on each side. The color associated with the “dirty” side may be a color traditionally associated with dirt, such as black or brown, while the color associated with the “clean” side may be a color traditionally associated with cleanliness, such as white. In another embodiment, the two colors are arbitrary.

The flexible partition may comprise at least one hole or handle to make it easier for a user to grasp it in order to flip it.

Claims

1. A laundry basket, comprising:

a basket body, comprising an interior, the interior being symmetrical around a plane of symmetry passing through the middle of the basket body, the interior comprising a first half, located to the left of the plane of symmetry, and a second half, located to the right of the plane of symmetry;

a flexible partition attached to the interior of the basket body approximately at the plane of symmetry by at least one mount, the flexible partition being shaped in such a way as to cover the first half of the interior of the basket body without appreciably reducing the volume of the interior of the basket body;

wherein the flexible partition can be flipped while still attached to the at least one mount in such a way as to cover the second half of the interior of the basket body without appreciably reducing the volume of the interior of the basket body.

2. The laundry basket of claim 1, wherein the flexible partition is made of one of the following: silicone, natural rubber latex, synthetic rubber.

3. The laundry basket of claim 1, wherein the flexible partition is anchored to the interior of the basket body by at least one fastener at a location distinct from the at least one mount.

4. The laundry basket of claim 1, wherein at least one of the basket body and the flexible partition comprise a germicidal material.

5. The laundry basket of claim 1, wherein at least one of the basket body and the flexible partition comprise an odor-resistant material.

6. The laundry basket of claim 1, wherein the laundry basket body comprises a rectangular bottom side and four lateral sides, comprising a mount attached to the bottom side and one mount attached to each of two lateral sides.

7. The laundry basket of claim 1, wherein the laundry basket body comprises a round bottom side and a circular lateral side, comprising a mount attached to the bottom side and two mounts attached to the circular lateral side.

8. The laundry basket of claim 1, wherein the laundry basket body comprises an oval bottom side and an oval lateral side, comprising a mount attached to the bottom side and two mounts attached to the oval lateral side.

9. The laundry basket of claim 1, wherein the mount is such as to allow the flexible partition to rotate with respect to the interior of the basket body.

10. The laundry basket of claim 1, wherein the mount is adhesive.

11. The laundry basket of claim 1, wherein the first half of the interior is a different color from the second half of the interior.

12. The laundry basket of claim 1, wherein the flexible partition comprises a first side and a second side, wherein the first side is a different color from the second side.

13. The laundry basket of claim 1, wherein the flexible partition comprises at least one handle.

14. The laundry basket of claim 1, wherein the flexible partition comprises at least one hole.

15. The laundry basket of claim 1, wherein the basket body is collapsible.