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(11) | EP 1 055 769 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Laundry basket with retractable supports |
| (57) A laundry basket with retractable supports comprising a basket containment body (2)
which is substantially shaped like a parallelepiped, four legs (4, 5) which are joined
in pairs by way of two transverse elements pivoted to the bottom (10a) of the body
(2), and two handles (3a, 3b) for actuating the pairs of legs (4, 5). The actuation
handles (3a, 3b) can slide vertically along two mutually opposite side walls (14,
15) of the body (2), respective pinion sectors (29a, 29b) being rigidly coupled to
the transverse elements, coaxially supported at pivots (28a, 28b) and meshing with
racks (33, 34) formed on flexible tabs (30, 31) which are rigidly coupled to the handles
(3a, 3b). The tabs (30, 31) can slide parallel to the bottom (10a) of the body, so
that the upward or downward actuation of the handles (3a, 3b) causes the lifting or
lowering of the legs (4, 5), respectively. |
[0002] Baskets made of wicker or, more frequently, made of plastics are widely used to carry soiled or washed laundry. In order to avoid having to bend too close to the ground to pick up or place the laundry in the basket, which can be a rather awkward operation, some baskets have retractable supporting legs. However, conventional mechanisms for providing retractable legs suffer drawbacks linked to the complexity of assembly and to the difficulty in actuating the mechanism for opening and closing the legs, in addition to the excessive weight that the basket acquires. Baskets of this type are known for example from US Patents no. 1,583,999, 1,917,903, 2,478,678, from the German document no. 2,261,316, from European Patent no. 7,335 and from British Patent no. 1,520,407.
[0003] The aim of the present invention is to solve the cited drawbacks of conventional devices, by providing a laundry basket with retractable legs having a mechanism which is simple to provide and practical to use.
[0004] Within the scope of this aim, an object of the present invention is to achieve the above aim with a structure which is relatively easy to provide in practice, safe in use, effective in operation and relatively low in cost.
[0005] These and other objects are achieved by the present laundry basket with retractable supports, comprising a basket containment body which is substantially shaped like a parallelepiped, four legs which are joined in pairs by way of two transverse elements pivoted to the bottom of said body, and two handles for actuating said pairs of legs, characterized in that said actuation handles can slide vertically along two mutually opposite side walls of said body, respective pinion sectors being rigidly coupled to said transverse elements, coaxially supported at said pivots, and meshing with racks formed on flexible tabs which are rigidly coupled to said handles, the tabs being slideable parallel to the bottom of said body, so that the upward or downward actuation of said handles causes the lifting or lowering of said legs, respectively.
[0006] Further characteristics and advantages will become better apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a laundry basket with retractable supports according to the invention, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a bottom view of the basket according to the invention, with the legs in the retracted position;
Figure 2 is a sectional view, taken along a longitudinal plane, of part of the basket with the legs in the lowered position;
Figure 3 is a sectional view, taken along a longitudinal plane, of the opposite part of the basket with the legs in the retracted position;
Figure 4 is a partially sectional front view.
[0007] With reference to the above figures, 1 generally designates a laundry basket with retractable supports according to the invention.
[0008] The basket 1 is composed of a main containment body 2, on the shorter sides of which two actuation handles 3a, 3b for actuating the pairs of legs 4 and 5 can slide vertically.
[0009] The main body 2, formed by molding plastics, is substantially shaped like a parallelepiped with rounded edges and is slightly flared toward the inlet; its rim 6 is folded back and outward so as to facilitate grip. On the side walls there is a series of rectangular cutouts 7 so as to reduce the total weight of the object.
[0010] Along the perimeter of the bottom wall of the body 2 that is directed outward there is a laminar supporting ridge 8 which is high enough to contain, within its profile, the pairs of legs 4 and 5 when they are in the retracted position. Two thin parallel ribs 9 and 10 define, along the longer axis of the bottom 10a, a sort of channel 11 which is partially interrupted proximate to the ends by two perpendicular partitions 12 and 13.
[0011] At the center of the shorter side walls 14 and 15 of the body 2 there are two regions 16 and 17 which have no rectangular cutouts 7; each region delimits a slot 18 and 19 which is open outward. At the regions 16 and 17, in the rim 6, there are two rectangular openings 20 and 21 whose rims have two raised portions 22 and 23 which protrude outward.
[0012] Each one of the pairs of legs 4 and 5 is formed by two stems which are parallel to the longer sides of the basket and are connected by a transverse beam which is pivoted to the ends of the longer sides of the ridge 8 by way of respective pivots 24 and 25 engaging appropriately brackets 26 and 27 which are rigidly coupled inside the ridge 8.
[0013] At the center of the transverse beam of each pair of legs 4 and 5 a seat 4a, 4b is provided having two mutually opposite walls between which a secondary supporting beam 4c, 4d is provided on which expansion pins 28a, 28b fix pinion toothed sectors 29a, 29b which cover an angle of approximately 180° and whose teeth are directed toward the bottom 10a of the main body 2.
[0014] Two flexible rectangular tabs 30 and 31 slide along the initial portions of the channel 11, and their opposite ends have respective coupling holes for a spring 32 which draws the two tabs towards each other along the channel 11. The central part of the tabs 30,31 has a toothed rack-like portion 33, 34 which is suitable to mesh with the pinion toothed sectors 29a, 29b, while the other end bends so as to follow the profile of the side walls of the main body 2 and couples with an interlock coupling, by means of a triangular lug 35, 36, in respective openings 37 and 38 of the actuation handles 3a, 3b.
[0015] The handles 3a, 3b are formed by rectangular laminas 3c, 3d made of plastics which are guided in the slots 18 and 19. In the upper part of each one of the laminas 3c, 3d there is a protrusion 39a, 39b which acts as a grip for the user's fingers during leg retraction. The tops of the laminas 3c, 3d form an inner edge 40a, 40b adapted to engage the raised portions 22 and 23 and an outer lip 41a, 41b which engages the opening 20 when the lever is raised.
[0016] In the position in which the legs are raised, the two pairs of legs 4 and 5 are adjacent to the bottom 10a of the main body 2. As shown in Figure 3, the toothed sectors 29a, 29b mesh with the end of the portion of the racks 33, 34 that lies proximate to the spring 32. The spring 32 is tensioned, but it cannot move the tabs 30 and 31 closer one another because said tabs are rigidly coupled, by means of the engagement of the lugs 35, 36 in the openings 37, 38, to the actuation handles 3a, 3b, which are in turn locked in the raised position due to the abutment of the edges 40a, 40b on the wedge-shaped raised portions 22, 23.
[0017] In order to lower the legs, while holding the basket with one's hands on the rim 6, it is sufficient to release the handles 3a, 3b, pressing outward the lips 41a, 41b through the openings 20 and 21. The return force of the spring 32 and the force of gravity cause the descent of the pairs of legs 4 and 5, which lock at the end of their stroke against four pairs of laminar raised portions 42, 43, 44 and 45 which are internal to the ridge 8 and are shaped so as to assist the correct inclination of the legs in a slightly diverging arrangement capable of offering greater stability to the basket.
[0018] In order to retract the legs it is necessary to pull up the actuation handles 3a, 3b by utilizing the protrusions 39a, 39b as grip areas for the user's fingers: as they rise, the handles 3a, 3b pull the tabs 30, 31, causing the rotation of the toothed sectors 29a, 29b which mesh with the racks 33, 34, and accordingly causing the lifting of the pairs of legs 4 and 5. As soon as the raised portions 22 and 23 of the handles 3a, 3b have passed beyond the edges 40a, 40b, they engage on the raised portions 22, 23, causing stopping in the raised position and locking the legs in the retracted position.
[0019] It has thus been found that the invention achieves the intended aim and object, by providing a laundry basket with a mechanism for actuating its retractable legs which is extremely simple to use and manufacture and has a limited weight.
[0020] The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims. All the details may furthermore be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.
[0021] The disclosures in Italian Utility Model Application No. BO99U000069 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.
[0022] Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the scope of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.
1. A laundry basket with retractable supports, which comprises a containment body (2)
for the basket (1) which is substantially shaped like a parallelepiped, four legs
(4, 5) which are joined in pairs by way of two transverse elements pivoted to the
bottom (10a) of said body (21), and two handles (3a, 3b) for actuating said pairs
of legs, characterized in that said actuation handles (3a, 3b) can slide vertically
along two mutually opposite side walls (14, 15) of said body, respective pinion sectors
(29a, 29b) being rigidly coupled to said transverse elements, coaxially supported
at pivots (28a, 28b) and meshing with racks (33, 34) formed on flexible tabs (30,
31) which are rigidly coupled to said handles (3a, 3b), said tabs being slideable
parallel to the bottom (10a) of said body (2), so that the upward or downward actuation
of said handles produces the lifting or lowering of said legs (4, 5), respectively.
2. The basket according to claim 1, characterized in that the facing ends of said flexible
tabs (30, 31) are connected though elastic means (32) which apply a mutual traction
force in a direction which is parallel to the bottom of said body.
3. The basket according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that
said flexible tabs (30, 31) are connected to said actuation handles by way of lugs
(35, 36) which engage in openings (37, 38) of said handles.
4. The basket according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that
each one of said handles (3a, 3b) can be locked in the fully lifted position of said
legs (4, 5) by way of corners (40a, 40b) which are adapted to engage on raised portions
(22, 23) of the outer surface of said body.
5. The basket according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that
the upper rim (6) of said containment body (2) has two openings (20, 21) which can
be engaged by the top of said handles (3a, 3b) when said handles are in the fully
raised position.
6. The basket according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that
the bottom wall (10a) of said containment body (2) is provided with a laminar ridge
(8) whose profile is adapted to contain said pairs of legs (4, 5) when the legs are
in the retracted position.
7. The basket according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said handles
(3a, 3b) are formed in the upper end portion of laminas (3c, 3d) which are guided
in slots (18, 19) formed in the opposite walls (16, 17) of said containment body (2).