DISHWASHER ACCESSORY BASKET

PANIER ACCESSOIRE DE LAVE-VAISSELLE

English Abstract

A dishwasher accessory basket is provided for
positioning in the unused space between a row of
glasses and a row of rack tines. The accessory basket
includes an elongated narrow basket with attachment
members laterally spaced apart to attach the basket to
a pair of tines. The attachment members may comprise
caps, collars, or clips for removably mounting the
basket to the rack.

French Abstract

Cette invention concerne un panier accessoire de lave-vaisselle à placer dans l'espace vide entre une rangée de verres et la rangée correspondante de pointes. Ce panier accessoire est oblong et étroit et se fixe à une paire des pointes susmentionnées au moyen de fixations espacées. Ces fixations amovibles peuvent être des capuchons, des colliers ou des clips.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an
exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined
as follows:
1. An accessory basket for a dishwasher having a rack
for holding objects to be washed, the rack including a
shelf for holding glasses in an inclined orientation
and a plurality of tines extending upwardly adjacent
the shelf so as to define a space between the glasses
and the tines, the accessory basket comprising:
an elongated narrow basket sized to fit in the space
between the glasses and the tines; and
attachment members spaced apart on the basket to attach
the basket to at least two of the tines.
2. The accessory basket of claim 1 wherein the
attachment members include a cap having an open lower
end to receive the tines and a closed upper end.
3. The accessory basket of claim 1 wherein the
attachment members include collars to slidably fit over
the tines.
4. The accessory basket of claim 1 wherein the
attachment members include clips to frictionally engage
the tines.
5. An accessory basket for a dishwashing machine
having a rack with a plurality of upstanding tines, the
accessory basket comprising:
a basket for holding objects to be washed; and
attachment members on the basket for removably mounting
the basket to the tines.

6. The accessory basket of claim 5 wherein the
attachment members include a cap having an open lower
end to receive the tines and a closed upper end.
7. The accessory basket of claim 5 wherein the
attachment members include collars to slidably fit over
the tines.
8. The accessory basket of claim 5 wherein the
attachment members include clips to frictionally engage
the tines.
9. The accessory basket of claim 5 wherein the
attachment members are spaced apart from one another.
10. The accessory basket of claim 5 wherein the
attachment members include vertically spaced apart
pairs, with each pair of attachment members adapted to
be received on one tine.

Description

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DISHWASHER ACCESSORY BASKET
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A dishwashing machine typically includes upper and
lower racks for holding miscellaneous objects to be
washed, including glasses. It is common for the
glasses to be set upon a shelf portion of one of the
racks at an inclined orientation so that rinse water
drains from the upwardly disposed bottom of the
glasses. A plurality of vertical or upstanding tines
typically are positioned on the rack adjacent the glass
shelf. The inclined orientation of the glasses thus
creates an unused space between the glasses and the
tines.
There is a need for a place in dishwashers to load
thin, flat items, such as lids for plastic bowls and
carving knives, and other odd shaped utensils, such as
mixing spoons and the like. The unused space between
the inclined glasses and the vertical tines can be
utilized for holding lids, knives, spoons, and other
oddly shaped items to be washed.
Therefore, a primary objective of the present
invention is the provision of an accessory basket for
use in a dishwasher to hold thin, flat items and oddly
shaped items to be washed.
Another objective of the present invention is the
provision of an accessory basket which could be mounted
upon the tines of a dishwasher rack.
A further objective of the present invention is
the provision of a dishwasher accessory basket which
can be positioned on either the upper or lower
dishwasher rack.
Another objective of the present invention is the
provision of an accessory basket which can be mounted

CA 02242366 1998-07-06
in numerous places in the dishwasher for holding items
to be washed.
Still another ob~ective of the present invention
is the provision of an accessory basket which can be
positioned so as to occupy normally unused space in a
dishwasher.
These and other objectives will become apparent
from the following description of the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A dishwasher accessory basket is provided for
holding thin, flat and oddly shaped items to be washed.
The accessory basket is adapted to be removably mounted
upon the vertical tines of one of the dishwasher racks.
Preferably, the accessory basket is mounted on the
tines adjacent the inclined shelf which holds glasses
in a tilted orientation, such that the basket occupies
the unused space between the glasses and the upstanding
tines. The accessory basket includes attachment
members for attaching the basket to at least two of the
tines. The attachment members may be a cap, a collar,
or a clip.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a front elevation view of a dishwasher
showing the accessory basket of the present invention
mounted upon tines of the upper dishwasher rack.
Figure 2 is a top plan view of the accessory
basket mounted upon the upper dishwasher rack.
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the accessory
basket.
Figures 4 and 5 are perspective views of
alternative embodiments of the accessory basket of the
present invention.

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A dishwasher is designated in Figure 1 by the
reference numeral 10. The dishwasher 10 includes a
washing chamber 12 and a door 14 movable between open
and closed positions to provide access to the washing
chamber 12. An upper rack 16 and a lower rack 18 are
mounted in the washing chamber 12. The racks 16, 18
are mounted upon rollers 20, 22 respectively, such that
the racks can be moved into and out of the washing
chamber 12 to provide for easy loading and unloading of
objects.
As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the upper rack 16
includes a shelf 24 upon which glasses 26 can be set at
an inclined orientation. This inclined orientation of
the glasses 26 allows water to drain from the upwardly
disposed bottom of the glasses. The upper rack 16
includes a plurality of rows 28, 30, and 32 of tines
34. The tines 34 are vertically disposed, such that a
space exists between the inclined glasses 26 and the
row 32 of tines.
The dishwasher 10, as described above, is
conventional and does not constitute a part of the
present invention.
The present invention is directed towards an
accessory basket 36 which is adapted to hold long, flat
items, such as lids for plastic bowls and carving
knives, as well as large and oddly shaped utensils,
such as mixing spoons, and the like.
The accessory basket 36 is elongated and
relatively narrow, so as to fit in the space between
the glasses 26 and the row 28 of tines 34, as best seen
in Figures 1 and 2. The basket 36 is preferably
constructed of vinyl or plastic coated wire elements,
including horizontal wire elements 38 and vertical wire
elements 40. The precise construction, shape and

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CA 02242366 1998-07-06
appearance of the basket 36 may vary from that shown in
Figure 3, without departing from the scope of the
present invention. While the preferred form of the
instant invention has been identified as coated wire
construction, it is further anticipated that the basket
36 can also be formed entirely of plastic using
injection molding technology. The basket also includes
attachment members 42 for removably attaching the
basket to at least two of the tines 34.
The attachment members 42 may take various forms.
A first embodiment of the attachment members 42 is
shown in Figure 3, wherein the attachment members
include a hollow cap 44 having an open lower end and a
closed upper end. The caps 44 are adapted to receive
the tines 34, such that the accessory basket 36 is
mounted on the tines in a position between the tines
and the inclined glasses 26.
A second embodiment of the attachment members is
shown in Figure 4, where the attachment members
comprise two pairs of spaced apart collars or rings 46
which are adapted to slide over a pair of the tines 34.
A third embodiment of the attachment members is shown
in Figure 5, where the attachment members comprise
clips 48 adapted to frictionally engage the tines 34.
It is understood that a collar 46 or clip 48 may also
be used in conjunction with the caps 44 shown in Figure
3.
It is understood that the accessory basket 36 of
the present invention can be quickly and easily mounted
on any of the rows 28, 30 or 32 of tines 34 of the
upper rack 16. The accessory basket 36 can also be
placed on any of the tines of the lower rack 18.
However, the preferable position for the accessory
basket 36 is in the otherwise unused space between the

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glasses 26 and the row 28 of tines 34, as seen in
Figures 1 and 2.
Whereas the invention has been shown and described
in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof,
it will be understood that many modifications,
substitutions, and additions may be made which are
within the intended broad scope of the following
claims. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the
present invention accomplishes at least all of the
stated objectives.

Representative Drawing