GB2088324A

GB2088324A - Laundry bag

Info

Publication number: GB2088324A
Application number: GB8037826A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: DOLIN LIONEL
Current assignee: DOLIN LIONEL
Priority date: 1980-11-26
Filing date: 1980-11-26
Publication date: 1982-06-09

Abstract

A bag for holding small articles in a washing machine, is water- permeable, with an opening which can be releasably closed by mutual engagement of two opposing edge portions for which the preferred closure means is a pile fastening device consisting of loop elements and loop-engaging elements, or is a separable adhesive.

Description

SPECIFICATION Bag for machine-washing of small articles This invention is a bag for holding small articles in a washing machine.

The centre of a conventional domestic washing machine is a drum in which clothes to be washed are agitated in water and a widely recognised property of washing machines is a propensity to cause small items of clothing to vanish from the drum. Most homes have odd socks or stockings, the partners to which have apparently been digested by a washing machine, while many launderettes have a basket for the deposit of small items of clothing left behind in a washing machine by one user and found by the next.

It is a common practice to enclose small items, such as socks and underwear, in a permeable bag before putting them in a washing machine, in order to prevent this mysterious disappearance or to facilitate their subsequent separation from the rest of the wash. The usual method of closing such a bag is to tie the neck with a drawstring, but drawstrings also vanish and washing machines seem able to untie them.

The present invention is a bag for holding small items in a washing machine, arranged to be easily closeabie, to resist opening while in the machine and to be easily openable by the user.

According to the present invention there is provided a bag for holding small items in a washing machine, which (a) sufficiently permeable to water to permit articles in the bag to be washed when in the machine; (b) has an opening through which articles can be inserted in and removed from the bag, the opening having two opposable edge portions which can be brought together to close the opening; and (c) has closure means for the opening which comprise two closure members on respective edge portions of the opening, the closure members being mutually engageable by contact or pressure and mutually separable by tension.

The bag is most conveniently made sufficiently permeable in that it is formed from a mesh fabric or netting. Alternatively the bag can be formed from a very porous cloth.

To provide an opening with the desired edge portions, the bag may be shaped as a sleeve which is flattened to bring opposite edges together, opposite edges being joined at one end of the sleeve but not at the other end.

The closure means may be a coating of separable adhesive on the edge portions of the opening. Preferably however the closure means is a pile fastening device. Such a device can consist of two separate tapes having interengageable piles which contain loop elements and loopfastening elements. There may be loop elements on one tape and loop-fastening elements on the other tape, or there may be both types of element on both tapes.

The tapes having interengageable piles may be secured to the bag by, inter alia, stitching, adhesive or welding.

In use, small articles to be washed are placed in the bag, the bag is sealed by pressing one part of the opening into engagement with another, and the sealed bag is placed in the washing machine, together if desired with larger articles. Articles in the bag are washed as thoroughly as if they were loose in the washing machine. After washing, the bag is opened by pulling apart mutually engaged portions of the opening and the small articles can be removed, having been kept together with no losses to the drain of the machine or to the interior of a large garment.

Thus the invention includes the use in a washing machine of a bag as defined above having a pressure-sealable, tension-releasable closure.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which figure 1 is a side view of the bag and figure 2 is an end view of the bag showing the partly opened neck.

The drawings show a bag formed from two similar rectangles of mesh cloth, 10 and 1 1 respectively, joined to each other along three edges while the fourth edge of each rectangle is not joined. Suitably, edges 12 and 13 are joined by being stitched together, while edge 14 is a fold in a single large rectangle of the mesh cloth. Ends 15 and 16 of rectangles 10 and 1 1 respectively define the opening of the bag. Two tapes 17 and 18 of a pile fastening device are secured by stitching to respective rectangles 10 and 1 1 adjacent their ends 15 and 16; tape 17 is provided with loop elements 19 while tape 18 is provided with complementary loop-fastening elements 20.

Such a pile fastening device is available for purchase under the Registered Trade Mark "Velcro".

To facilitate separation of the mutually engaged piles after use, there is attached to each of ends 15 and 16 a tag 20; the tags can be fastened to the bag by stitching concurrent with stitching of the pile tapes.

An example of the mesh is shown in outline on a portion of Figure 1. The mesh cloth is made from a string of synthetic plastics material, most suitably a polyester, woven or spun in a pattern of repeating holes.

1. A bag for holding small items in a washing machine which (a) is sufficiently permeable to water to permit articles in the bag to be washed when in the operating machine, (b) has an opening through which articles can be inserted in and removed from the bag, the opening having two opposable edge portions which can be brought together to close the opening, and (c) has closure means for the opening which comprise two closure members on respective

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Bag for machine-washing of small articles This invention is a bag for holding small articles in a washing machine. The centre of a conventional domestic washing machine is a drum in which clothes to be washed are agitated in water and a widely recognised property of washing machines is a propensity to cause small items of clothing to vanish from the drum. Most homes have odd socks or stockings, the partners to which have apparently been digested by a washing machine, while many launderettes have a basket for the deposit of small items of clothing left behind in a washing machine by one user and found by the next. It is a common practice to enclose small items, such as socks and underwear, in a permeable bag before putting them in a washing machine, in order to prevent this mysterious disappearance or to facilitate their subsequent separation from the rest of the wash. The usual method of closing such a bag is to tie the neck with a drawstring, but drawstrings also vanish and washing machines seem able to untie them. The present invention is a bag for holding small items in a washing machine, arranged to be easily closeabie, to resist opening while in the machine and to be easily openable by the user. According to the present invention there is provided a bag for holding small items in a washing machine, which (a) sufficiently permeable to water to permit articles in the bag to be washed when in the machine; (b) has an opening through which articles can be inserted in and removed from the bag, the opening having two opposable edge portions which can be brought together to close the opening; and (c) has closure means for the opening which comprise two closure members on respective edge portions of the opening, the closure members being mutually engageable by contact or pressure and mutually separable by tension. The bag is most conveniently made sufficiently permeable in that it is formed from a mesh fabric or netting. Alternatively the bag can be formed from a very porous cloth. To provide an opening with the desired edge portions, the bag may be shaped as a sleeve which is flattened to bring opposite edges together, opposite edges being joined at one end of the sleeve but not at the other end. The closure means may be a coating of separable adhesive on the edge portions of the opening. Preferably however the closure means is a pile fastening device. Such a device can consist of two separate tapes having interengageable piles which contain loop elements and loopfastening elements. There may be loop elements on one tape and loop-fastening elements on the other tape, or there may be both types of element on both tapes. The tapes having interengageable piles may be secured to the bag by, inter alia, stitching, adhesive or welding. In use, small articles to be washed are placed in the bag, the bag is sealed by pressing one part of the opening into engagement with another, and the sealed bag is placed in the washing machine, together if desired with larger articles. Articles in the bag are washed as thoroughly as if they were loose in the washing machine. After washing, the bag is opened by pulling apart mutually engaged portions of the opening and the small articles can be removed, having been kept together with no losses to the drain of the machine or to the interior of a large garment. Thus the invention includes the use in a washing machine of a bag as defined above having a pressure-sealable, tension-releasable closure. An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which figure 1 is a side view of the bag and figure 2 is an end view of the bag showing the partly opened neck. The drawings show a bag formed from two similar rectangles of mesh cloth, 10 and 1 1 respectively, joined to each other along three edges while the fourth edge of each rectangle is not joined. Suitably, edges 12 and 13 are joined by being stitched together, while edge 14 is a fold in a single large rectangle of the mesh cloth. Ends 15 and 16 of rectangles 10 and 1 1 respectively define the opening of the bag. Two tapes 17 and 18 of a pile fastening device are secured by stitching to respective rectangles 10 and 1 1 adjacent their ends 15 and 16; tape 17 is provided with loop elements 19 while tape 18 is provided with complementary loop-fastening elements 20. Such a pile fastening device is available for purchase under the Registered Trade Mark "Velcro". To facilitate separation of the mutually engaged piles after use, there is attached to each of ends 15 and 16 a tag 20; the tags can be fastened to the bag by stitching concurrent with stitching of the pile tapes. An example of the mesh is shown in outline on a portion of Figure 1. The mesh cloth is made from a string of synthetic plastics material, most suitably a polyester, woven or spun in a pattern of repeating holes. CLAIMS

1. A bag for holding small items in a washing machine which (a) is sufficiently permeable to water to permit articles in the bag to be washed when in the operating machine, (b) has an opening through which articles can be inserted in and removed from the bag, the opening having two opposable edge portions which can be brought together to close the opening, and (c) has closure means for the opening which comprise two closure members on respective edge portions of the opening, the closure members being mutually engageable by contact or pressure and mutually separable by tension.

2. A bag according to claim 1 , wherein the closure means comprise a pile fastening device.

3. A bag according to claim 3, wherein the pile fastening device comprises loop elements and loop-engaging elements disposed for engagement with the loop elements.

4. A bag according to claim 4, wherein the loop elements are on one edge portion and the loopengaging elements are on the other.

5. A bag according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the loop elements and the loop-engaging elements are on tapes secured to the edge portions.

6. A bag according to claim 1 , wherein the closure means comprise a coating of separable adhesive along the edge portions of the opening.

7. A bag constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as shown in the accompanying drawings.

8. The use of a bag according to any preceding claim for holding small articles in a washing machine.