Background of the invention Laundry habits, in most Western countries have changed considerably in the 20th century. Considerable convenience has been gained by the introduction of electric washing machines, which make traditional washing techniques obsolete.

Hand washing, in households with a washing machine, is typically restricted to a small number of particularly delicate items. However, broadening one's perspective to comprise all laundry habits worldwide, one notes, that at the dawn of the 21St century, traditional hand washing still plays a considerable and often dominant role in many countries, including Latin American, African and Asian countries.

The traditional washing habits employed there, so far, have not fundamentally changed. Most typically the washing is done by rubbing the pieces of laundry over a wash-board. Wash-boards are typically made from wood, e. g. pine tree, and comprise a rubbing surface of parallel ridges and grooves. A number of more modern. wash-boards can be purchased which are made from plastic #F materials. AItifOthese wash-boards are typically rectangular with the ridges of the rubbing'-surface parallel to the shorter side and are designed for a rubbing / movement perpendicular to the ridges.

The rubbing on the wash-board may be done by holding a portion of a piece of laundry with one's hands or may alternatively be done with a piece of bar soap contacting the laundry to be rubbed.

The laundry may be done e. g. at the bank of a river as supply of sufficiently clean water to wet and rinse the laundry. Alternatively, a basin may be used, which also allows to prepare a detergent/water solution to soak the laundry.

While the development in this area seems less vivid than in many other areas of consumer technology, a number of patents and patent applications disclose attempts to improve the laundry with wash-boards.

For example, US 1,287,948 discloses a wash-board holder comprising suction cups. US 1,966,512 discloses a wash-board which is designed for the use in an inverted U-shape porcelain wash basin and also comprises suction cups. US 2,312,230 discloses a disk-shaped wash-board, which can be made from hard plastic or wood, which is said to be improved of the use in wash-bowls with rounded corners.

US 3,890,812 discloses a plastic wash-board. As suitable materials poly- propylene and nylon are disclosed, the material ensuring a high strength, stiffness, toughness and abrasion resistance of the wash-board. Brazilian patent application PI 9204901-0 A discloses a wooden wash-board with a rubbing surface comprising pyramid shaped raised portions. US 4,102,160 discloses a wash-board device which can be permanently attached to a washing basin by being provided with a high tack adhesive at its back which may comprise a conventional corrugated pattern of ridges and furrows or which alternatively may be provided with an irregular pattern of randomly spaced hills and valleys or randomly spaced raised dots. This wash-board can be provided from any semi- ridged material such as high density plastic, e. g. polyurethane, polyvinyl, semi- hard rubber. Preferably, this wash-board is provided with a low profile on the rubbing surface as to prevent any form of injury during use.

US 5,829,279 discloses a wash-board which is optimised for travelling. The device is made of a flexible material so that it is foldable. The device can be used on a flat surface, such as a floor. The flexible wash-board is provided with suction disks and additionally with a head portion on which a user can step while using it.

US 5,058,403 discloses a wash-board with an integral basin which is optimised for use with a top-loading automatic washing machine.

The patent literature also discloses a number of devices where a wash-board or a rubbing surface is integral with a basin or tub. For example, GB-1 405 422 discloses a washing tub which may a variety of shapes and which comprises corrugation in at least one wall allowing to rub laundry. Brazilian patent application Pi 9102638 A discloses a basin and a stand therefore which is adapted to support a wash-board. Japanese patent application 9-173228 discloses a sink where a washing basin and a rubbing surface are provided in combination.

Irrespective of the labour associated with the use of such wash-boards as compared to the use of electric washing machines a number of drawbacks are associated with their use: -rubbing of laundry, especially when done with the bare hands of the user, which often may be female and even may be a relatively young or relatively old woman, may cause hand injuries, typically by abrasion.

-when a piece of bar soap is used to rub the laundry unnecessary amounts of bar soap may be released in a rubbing action. This is not only wasteful but may also cause environmental problems, especially if the laundry is done on the bank of a river.

-conventional wash-boards are not suitable to be used with a freely chosen rubbing direction. Rubbing in only one direction, which is normally the direction perpendicular to the ridges of the rubbing surface is physically particularly tiring.

-rubbing surfaces and in particular those comprising parallel ridges and grooves cause a relatively high abrasion of fabrics and therefore are not suitable for delicate fabrics and also induce a need to replace fabrics more often.

-the cleaning results achieved with conventional wash-boards, even after an extensive rubbing action, have often been found to be unsatisfactory.

It is an objective of the present invention to address all of the above listed drawbacks of wash-boards known so far as well as a number of other aspects which will become apparent from the description provided herein.

A novel hand-held container, which can be filled with a detergent composition and comprises a friction means, is disclosed in WO 99/37849. This device is also considered to be very helpful when used in combination with a wash-board.

It is relatively easy to use avoids injury and gives a largely improved cleaning performance. The container is suitable to be used with any liquid or easily dissolvable laundry detergent. Despite the great benefits provided by such device it is believed that an even more comfortable use and better cleaning results can be achieved when the device is used in combination with an improved wash-board, the wash-boards disclosed in the present patent application being a particularly suitable one.

Summary of the invention The present invention relates to the field of laundry and more particularly to a novel wash-board. Claimed and described is a wash-board comprising a rubbing surface, which has a shore A hardness of less than 95.

Brief description of the drawings Figures 1 a to 1 c are schematic side views of some preferred wash-boards.

Figure 2 is an on top view onto the rubbing surface of another preferred wash- board according to the present invention.

Figure 3 is an on top view onto the rubbing surface of another preferred wash- board according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a wash-board according to the present invention with an integral wash-board stand. Also shown are a preferred hand- held container with friction means and a basin onto which the wash-board stand can be conveniently mounted.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a preferred wash-board which is integral with a basin.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of another wash-board according to the present invention with an integral wash-board stand.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of yet another wash-board according to the present invention with an integral wash-board stand.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of yet a further wash-board according to the present invention with an integral wash-board stand.

Detailed description of the invention The present invention relates to a wash-board (10) with an improved rubbing surface (12). In a further aspect the invention relates to a stand (50) for such wash-board (10) and a basin (60) to be used in combination with such wash- board (10).

To allow a more detailed and clear description of the present invention, in the following paragraphs firstly a number of terms, as used herein, will be defined.

The term"wash-board"as used herein, comprises any device which comprises a rubbing surface (12). The term rubbing surface (12), as used herein, comprises any uneven surface comprising at least three raised portions (14) and at least two flat portions (16) and a surface area of at least 10 cm2.

The term"reference plane", as used herein, and referred to by the letter"R", is the cross-sectional plane being essentially co-planar to the rubbing surface (12) and being immediately adjacent the rubbing surface (12) while not intersecting the raised portions (14)-cf. Fig. 1a-1c.

The term"flat portion (16)", as used herein, comprises all portions of the rubbing surface (12), which are comprised by the reference plane.

The term"raised portion (14)", as used herein, comprises all portions of the rubbing surface (12) raising above the reference surface.

The term"height", as used herein with regard to the raised portions (14), refers to the distance of the outermost point of the raised portions (14) measured from the reference plane in a direction vertical to the reference plane.

The term"pattern", as used herein with regard to the raised portions (14), refers to the geometrical pattern defined by the centres of mass of the raised portions (14).

The term"set of parallel lines", as used herein, with regard to a pattern of raised portions (14), refers to any number of equidistant parallel lines. The term"set of curved lines", as used herein, with regard to a pattern of raised portions (14), refers to a set curved lines which are portions of circles whose centres are equidistantly aligned on one straight line.

In one key aspect a wash-board (10) according to the present invention is less hard than conventional wash-boards.

Hardness, as used herein, refers to hardness measured in accordance with the hardness test described hereinafter.

According to the present invention a wash-board (10) should be provided with a rubbing surface (12) of a shore A hardness of less than 95. More preferably, the rubbing surface (12) has a hardness from 5 to 90, yet more preferably 10 to 85, yet more preferably 15 to 80, yet even more preferably 25 to 60, most preferably 30 to 50.

Providing a less hard rubbing surface (12) in one aspect gives more comfort to the user. The risk of hand injuries is decreased and further the stress on muscles, joints and ankles is lessened.

In a further aspect a softer rubbing surface (12) allows a more gentle fabric treatment, lessening fabric abrasion and making the wash-board (10) suitable for delicate fabrics.

In an even further aspect softer wash-boards (10) have been found to promote better cleaning. Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed, that the softer rubbing surface (12) when a piece of laundry contacts the rubbing surface (12) under the pressure typically exerted in rubbing the piece of laundry makes contact with the rubbing surface (12) over a larger area than with rubbing surfaces of (12) conventional wash-boards.

In a yet further aspect softer wash-boards (10), in particular when provided from a material as listed hereinafter and with a preferred pattern for the rubbing surface (12) as described hereinafter, ensure that the laundry does not slip away over the rubbing surface (12) and hence does not need to be held with one hand while being scrubbed using the other hand.

According to the present invention the rubbing surface (12) can be provided from a large variety of materials which provide the desired hardness. Preferably the material further fulfils hygienic requirements and therefore has an easy to clean surface, which preferably is impermeable to water. Suitable materials include rubber, polyethylene, including high density polyethylene, polypropylene, including copolymer polypropylene. The rubbing surface (12) comprises raised portions (14) and flat portions (16). These portions may be arranged in any geometry. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention the raised portions (14) are provided in the form of ridges and the flat portions (16) in the form of grooves in-between the ridges. Preferably the ridges are arranged as known from conventional wash-boards, i. e. they are parallel to each other and are equidistant with a distance from 1 mm to 50 mm, preferably 5 to 20 mm.

In an even more preferred embodiment of the present invention the raised portions (14) are provided in form of hills. Most preferably these hills have the form of half spheres or portions of spheres.

A preferred rubbing surface (12) is shown in Figure 1a. This rubbing surface (12) comprises raised portions (14) in the form of hills, which are in the form of portions of spheres. Hence, the raised portions (14) have the cross section of the raised portions (14), herein referred to as their"base", in the reference plane is circular. According to the present invention raised portions (14) with circular base are preferred. Preferably, the diameter of this circular base is from 1 mm to 50 mm, more preferably from 2 mm to 15 mm, yet more preferably 3 mm to 10 mm and most preferably from 4 mm to 6 mm. The height of these raised portions (14) is preferably from 1 mm to 20 mm, more preferably from 3 mm to 10 mm, and most preferably from 4 mm to 8 mm.

The hills will presenting the raised portions (14) may be arranged in any pattern over the rubbing surface (12), thereby defining a pattern of flat portions (16), the latter pattern not being described by itself herein.

In preferred embodiments of the present invention, as shown in Figure 2, the raised portions (14) are aligned on two sets of parallel equidistant lines. Most preferably the two sets of parallel lines form an angle of 90° to each other.

Another highly preferred pattern of the raised portions (14) is shown in Figure 3.

Here the raised portions (14) are aligned along sets of curved lines on the rubbing surface (12). While a pattern of any curved line is within the scope of the present invention preferred are circular curved lines, with a radius from 5 cm to 100 cm. Preferably the centres of the circles defining the curved lines are equidistantly arranged on a straight line, the distance of the centres preferably being from 2 cm to 10 cm.

Another preferred rubbing surface (12) according to the present invention is provided with a textile-like pattern of raised portions (14), which resembles the surface structure of a woven material, e. g. a woven cotton or linen material. The pattern may be regular, e. g. have a symmetry, or irregular. The raised portions (14) comprised by such a pattern may be alike in shape of different. Preferably the height of the raised portions is from 1 mm to 5 mm. Such a pattern is considered aesthetically pleasing and provides a very gentle cleaning of the laundry.

Some of the materials preferred for the rubbing surface (12) of the present invention, while providing the desired softness, may not provide the ideal rigidness for a wash-board (10). Therefore, preferred wash-boards (10) according to the present invention comprise at least two materials ; one material to provide the rubbing surface (12) and one material to provide a supporting structure (20).

The two materials may be joined by any method known in the art, for example, by adhesive, mechanical joining or bi-injection moulding. In a preferred embodiment, the two materials are releasably joined by a joining mechanism, for example, one or more, preferably a plurality of, suction cups, VELCRO strips or VELCRO-like strips, adhesives, physical locking mechanisms, or the like.

In such an embodiment, the two materials should be joined in such a way that the rubbing surface (12) is securely attached to the supporting structure (20) during use, and such that the rubbing surface (12) and the supporting structure (20) may be released from each other when not in use, for replacement of a worn-out rubbing surface (12), for replacement by a rubbing surface (12) having a different shore A hardness which is customised for a particular type of fabric/material, etc. Thus, it is essential that the joining mechanism be effective, even when wet, and even when subjected to shear forces expected during normal use of the wash-board. The joining mechanism may be integrally-formed with the rubbing surface (12) and/or with the supporting structure (20), or may be added later, as desired. In a highly preferred, easy-to-manufacture embodiment, the attachment area of the supporting structure (20) is substantially flat, and a plurality of suction cups are integrally-formed as part of the underside of the rubbing surface (12). See, for example, Fig. 4 of U. S.

Patent No. 5,829,279 to Wu, issued on November 3,1998, which is incorporated herein, by reference.

The supporting structure (20) may be provided in the form of a stand (50) or a basin (60), both will be described herein. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention the supporting structure (20) resembles in shape essentially a conventional wash-board and hence typically is of a flat and essentially rectangular shape. Preferably the shorter side of such rectangular supportive structure (20) has a length from 10 cm to 80 cm and more preferably from 20 cm to 50 cm, and the longer side has a length from 15 cm to 100 cm and more preferably from 30 cm to 60 cm. The wash-board (10) may be provided for example with stands, holding devices, e. g. for a piece of bar-soap or a hand- held container (40) as described above, mounting devices, e. g. suction cups, and a handle, all of which may be integral with the supporting structure (20).

While the wash-board (10) according to the present invention can be provided with a large variety of support structures (20) one particularly preferred support structure is a stand (50) as shown e. g. in Figure 4. Preferably, such a stand (50) has a number of legs, preferably two to four legs. The stand (50) shown in Figure 4 employs four legs which allow the stand (50) to be positioned on any substantially horizontal surface but which also allow the stand (50) to be positioned on the rim of a basin, so that all four legs make contact with the rim of the basin, as shown in Figure 4. A stand (50) according to the present invention ensures that the rubbing surface (12) is tilted with regard to the surface which supports the stand (50), typically the horizontal plane. Preferably the tilt angle is between 5° and 90°, preferably 10° and 60°, more preferably between 30° and 45°.

Figure 5 shows a preferred basin (60) to be used in combination with the present invention. The basin (60) comprises one tilted surface, with has a tilt angle to the plane on which the basin stands of about 45°. The basin in one aspect can be filled with water or a water detergent mixture in which the laundry can be soaked. In another aspect the tilted surface of the basin provides a support structure (20) for the rubbing surface (12). Hence the rubbing surface (12) can be made from a soft and non-rigid material and the required rigidness is provided by the basin.

Yet further preferred support structures (20) in the form of stands (50) are shown in Figures 6 to 8. Stands (50) according to the present invention may be made of one or of several parts, preferably two, three, four or five parts. They may be provided from a rigid structure or alternatively from a number of foldable or adjustable parts.

In highly preferred embodiments of the present invention the stand (50) is integral with the rubbing surface (12). The term"integral", as used herein, denotes components which are attached to another, most preferably permanently attached to another, so that the comprised parts, in particular the stand (50) and the rubbing surface (12) can be handled as one part and not as a multitude of separate parts. Preferred methods of attachment of the rubbing surface (12) to the stand (50) comprise adhesive attachment, mechanical joining or bi-injection moulding.

Figure 6 depicts a stand (50) which comprises two preferably integral rubbing surfaces (12) and hence can be used in two orientations. The stand (50) when seen in the cross section of the plane perpendicular to the rubbing surfaces (12) has essentially an L-shape. The stand (50) is shown in Figure 6 in the orientation suitable to put it on a horizontal surface, e. g. a floor, table or top of a washing machine. When the stand (50) is used upside-down as compared to the orientation shown in Figure 6 the stand (50) fits very well in a large variety of washing tubs and basins and the opposite rubbing surface (12) can be used to do laundry. Wash-boards (10) which comprise more than one, preferably two rubbing surfaces (12) and/or are suitable to be used in more than one, preferably two orientations are generally within the scope of the present invention.

Figure 7 depicts a wash-board (10) comprising three parts which are pivotally joined and thereby are freely adjustable with regard to each other. So the stand (50) can be adapted for the use in a variety of wash tubs and basins, a variety of different surfaces and by a variety of users, namely users of short and tall growth. Any stand (50) with an adjustable tilt angle is generally within the scope of the present invention.

Figure 8 depicts a stand (50) with a preferably integral rubbing surface (12) which comprises two parts which are pivotally and movably joined to each other.

The stand (50) also comprises two oval holes with can be used to handle the stand (50) conveniently.

While the supporting structures (20) disclosed herein are most preferably used in combination with a wash-board (10) according to Claim 1, since they synergistically promote safe, comfortable and thorough cleaning of laundry, they are also very useful when used in combination with conventional wash-boards (10) and rubbing surfaces (12).

Hardness Test Hardness is measured in accordance ASTM standard test method 2240-97 for durometer A as published by the American Society For Testing and Materials.

The test is carried out using a hand held durometer, Fowler 54-762-001 Digital Durometer blunt A, made in England. For the test 6 points of the wash-board are chosen, 3 on the raised portions (14) and 3 on the flat portions (16) and the results are averaged to give a hardness value. The hardness is measured when the rubbing surface is dry. The durometer contacts each point of measurement for about 1 second.