Laundry Basket Inner Wall for Stacking and Accessory Separation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Laundry baskets or tubs are cumbersome to transport when filled with laundry due to their weight, making it difficult to carry washing or drying accessories simultaneously, and they cannot be stacked for storage when empty, increasing their size and preventing them from being stored alongside other similar containers.

Innovation Solution

A container with removable interior elements that can be attached in two positions, allowing for interlocking with other containers for stacking and providing separate compartments for accessories, enabling easier transport and storage of laundry and accessories.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If washing or drying accessories are placed in the laundry basket together with laundry, then accessories can be transported with the laundry, but accessories may bury under the laundry and become inaccessible

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveAccessibility to accessoriesVSAvoidRisk of accessories burying
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The interior wall element divides the basket interior into separate zones: one for laundry and another for accessories. This segmentation prevents accessories from being buried under laundry while maintaining easy access during transport.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Ease of operation

If an additional basket is hung on the laundry basket to contain accessories, then accessories can be transported separately, but the size of the laundry basket increases and stacking becomes prevented

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveSeparate accessory transportVSAvoidBasket size
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSVolume of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The interior wall element is nested within the basket body, utilizing the existing vertical space along the side wall. This nested configuration provides separate accessory storage without increasing the external dimensions of the basket, preserving stacking capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

3Ease of manufacture

If the container is designed for easy stacking when empty, then storage efficiency improves, but the ability to transport accessories separately from laundry is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveStorage efficiencyVSAvoidAccessory transport capability
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The interior wall element is designed to be removable and reconfigurable. When not needed for accessory transport, the element can be removed or repositioned, allowing the basket to return to its original stacking-optimized configuration. This dynamic adaptability resolves the contradiction between storage efficiency and versatile transport capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP1923501B1Container, in particular a laundry basket
Publication Date: 2012.01.11 ETABLISSEMENTS GEORGES DAVID SA
  • EP1923501B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP1923501B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP1923501B1 patent drawingFigure 5

AI summary

The container (1) has a body (3) provided with a base wall (31) and a lateral wall (33), and an element (5) forming an inner wall provided with two opposite faces (5A, 5B). The element is connected on a curved part (37) of the body in a detachable manner inside the body in a position or in another position, where the face (5A) is supported against an internal face of the part in the former position. The face (5A) is oriented opposite to the internal face of the part in the latter position, and the element defines a receptacle in the body with the part in the latter position.