Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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DISH RACK
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to dish racks.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Dish racks are kitchen organizers designed for holding kitchen articles, such
as cups,
dishes, plates, cutlery, and other utensils for drying. A dish rack typically
includes a body
with a structure for supporting the articles in an organized manner for
drying, and a
catchment platform for catching water drips from the articles.
Heretofore, dish racks have been developed with various structural features to
enhance functionalities of dish racks. For example, U.S. design patent nos.:
D552,013 and
D599,067; U.S. Patent nos.: 7,748,543; 8,074,813; 7,455,184; 7,325,695;
7,775,380; U.S.
Publication nos.: 2008-0029465 and 2005-0269273 disclose various features
desirable for
dish racks. Some of the disclosed features are configurable by the user to
provide flexible
options to the users.
It is desirable to design an improved configurable dish rack to provide
further
improved functionalities for organizing and supporting kitchen articles for
drying, which are
not found in the earlier applications, and further with improved aesthetics.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed to a dish rack that includes structures for improved
functionalities
and aesthetics. In one aspect of the present invention, an extendable drip
tray is provided to
increase when needed the drip catchment area of the dish rack, to beyond the
footprint
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or general perimeter of the dish rack. The extendable drip tray may be
slidably supported by rails
below the main body of the dish rack, to cover an area beyond the side of the
dish rack body,
thereby increasing the drip catchment area. In another aspect of the present
invention, pivoted,
attachments are provided along the outside walls of the main body of the dish
rack, which can be
pivoted when needed to extend an area beyond the perimeter of the body to
provide supports for
holding kitchen articles such as cups and glasses for drying. In one
embodiment, the attachment
is a cup holder. The drip tray can be extended to catch water drips from the
extended cup holding
area. In a further aspect of the present invention, within the body of the
dish rack, a wire rack,
which may be removable or detachable, is provided with pivoted support prongs
for configuring
the wire rack. In yet a further aspect of the present invention, the main body
of the dish rack is
configured with a substantially continuous metal wall that defines the
perimeter or footprint of the
dish rack, and the internal drip area, which improves ease of cleaning the
body as well as the
aesthetics of the dish rack. To facilitate support of the pivot mechanism for
the pivotable cup
holders, a base is provided which is made of another material, such as
plastic, to facilitate
attachment of the cup holders to the metal wall. The plastic base also
facilitates support and
coupling of metal legs and other components to the metal body of the dish
rack.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the invention, as
well as the
preferred mode of use, reference should be made to the following detailed
description read in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following drawings, like
reference numerals
designate like or similar parts throughout the drawings.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a dish rack, in accordance with one embodiment
of the present
invention.
Fig. 2 is a top view of the dish rack in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a front view of the dish rack in Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a rear view of the dish rack in Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 is a side view of the dish rack in Fig. 1.
Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the dish rack in Fig. 1.
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a dish rack in accordance with another
embodiment of the
present invention, with the slidable drip tray in the retracted position.
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Fig. 8 is a bottom view of the dish rack in Fig. 7, with the slidable drip
tray in the retracted
position.
Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the dish rack in Fig. 7, with the slidable
drip tray in the
retracted position.
Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the dish rack in Fig. 7, with the slidable
drip tray in the
extended position.
Fig. 11 is a bottom view of the dish rack in Fig. 7, with the slidable drip
tray in the extended
position.
Fig. 12 is a bottom perspective view of the dish rack in Fig. 7, with the
slidable drip tray in the
extended position.
Fig. 13 is an external view showing the cup holders in the extended position,
in accordance
with one embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 14 is an internal view showing a cup holder in the stowed position, in
accordance with
one embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 15A is a top view of the cup holder pivot mechanism with the cup holder
in the stowed
position; Fig. 15B is a top view of the cup holder pivot mechanism with the
cup holder in the
extended position.
Fig. 16 is a top perspective view showing the cup holder pivot mechanism with
the cup holder
in the stowed position.
Fig. 17 is a perspective view of the cup holder pivot mechanism with the cup
holder in the
extended position.
Fig. 18 is a perspective view of a wire rack, with the prongs extended, in
accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 18 is a perspective view of a wire rack, with a row of the prongs stowed.
Fig. 20 is a top view of the wire rack, with the prongs extended upright.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present description is of the best presently contemplated mode of carrying
out the
invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the
general principles of the
invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the
invention is best determined
by reference to the appended claims. The invention has been described herein
in reference to various
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embodiments and drawings. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art
that variations and
improvements may be accomplished in view of these teachings without deviating
from the scope and
spirit of the invention.
By way of illustration, various aspects of the present invention will be
described in reference
to a dish rack having a wire rack within a main body, for supporting kitchen
articles such as cups,
dishes, plates, cutlery, and other cooking utensils. Other types of dish racks
(e.g., a dish rack having a
wire frame body) may take advantage of certain of the novel features of the
present invention.
Figs. 1 to 6 illustrate a dish rack in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention.
The dish rack 10 includes a main body 12. The body 12 has walls 13 defining
the footprint or general
perimeter of the dish rack 10. The walls also define the regular drip area of
the dish rack. Water
dripping from the kitchen articles is caught and diverted by a drip tray 18
spaced below the drip area,
below the walls 13 and a wire rack 16. The drip area defined by the walls 13
is not closed at the
bottom, comprising an opening exposing an underlying drip tray 18, allowing
water to drip onto the
underlying drip tray 18. Legs 14 extend below the body 12. The wire rack 16 is
held within the walls
13 of the body 12, extending to cover the entire drip area. In the illustrated
embodiment, a removable
accessory tray 17 is provided at one side of the drip area, which may include
a knife block and
baskets for holding items such as silverware. The drip tray 18 is slidably
supported on rails below the
body, which is sized to extend to provide coverage to catch water drips from
the entire drip area. The
tray 18 may include a drainage spout 19, which may be rotatable for directing
water drainage to a
desired direction with respect to the sides of the body 12. Cup holders 20 are
pivotally supported
along at least one side wall 13 of the body 12. In Fig. 1, the cup holders 20
are pivoted in the
outward, extended position.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the drip catchment
area can be
extended to increase coverage to catch water drips at beyond the footprint or
general perimeter of the
dish rack. By sliding the drip tray 18 below the main body of the dish rack to
cover an area beyond
the walls of the dish rack body, the overall drip area and complementary water
catchment area of the
dish rack can be effectively extended beyond the regular drip area within the
walls 13 of the dish rack.
Fig. 7 illustrates a dish rack 10 in accordance with another embodiment of the
present invention, with
a slight modification to the wire rack 16 as compared to the wire rack in Fig.
1. In Figs. 7 to 9, the
drip tray 18 is shown in the retracted position (Fig. 9 shows the spout
removed). The spout 19 is
shown rotated to below another side of the body 12, and the cup holders 20 are
shown in the retracted,
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the retracted, stowed position. Figs. 10 to 12 illustrate the slidable drip
tray 18 in the extended
position (Fig. 10 shows the view with the wire rack 16 removed; Fig. 12 shows
the spout removed).
The drip tray 18 is slidably supported by longitudinal rails 22 provided below
two opposing walls. In
the embodiment shown, longitudinal tracks are defined by the longitudinal
rails 22, which are in the
form of a rod or wire supported between two adjacent legs 14. Complementary
guides 23 and 25
provided at the bottom side of the drip tray 18 ride slidably against the
rails 22. Alternatively,
grooves may be defined at the bottom side of the drip tray 18 to receive the
rails 22 for sliding
motion.
To avoid having the drip tray slide out too much from the dish rack and/or
slide in below the
dish rack, stops are provided on the bottom surface of the drip tray to limit
the range of permissible
sliding motion. As more clearly shown in the embodiment of Fig. 12, the rail
22 is supported by the
legs 14, with a short bent section 24 at each end of the rail 22. This bent
section 24 provides a stop to
limit the extent of sliding for the drip tray 18. The bent section 24 engages
the center rail guide 25 to
limit the drip tray from further sliding on the rail 22. This would be the
fully extended position of the
drip tray 18.
At one section of the drip area adjacent the base of the side wall 13 (in the
illustrated
embodiment, along the longer side of the generally rectangular base), an apron
26 in the form of a
ramp extends from the base edge of the wall 13 into the drip area, partially
covering the drip area.
The apron 26 slopes slightly downwardly towards the opposite side of the drip
area, thereby draining
water falling on the apron 26 towards the center of the drip area. The apron
26 is sized to match the
desired fully extended position of the drip tray 18, so that the apron 26
overlaps the drip tray 18 below
in its fully extended position (and non-extended position as well), thereby
maintaining full coverage
in the drip area to catch water dripping from the articles supported by the
wire rack 16 above,
regardless of the position of the drip tray 18. The user has the option of
using the dish rack 10 with
the drip tray 18 in the extended or non-extended position.
As can be appreciated, in the extended position, the drip tray 18 provides
additional catchment
surface area for catching water drips from articles such as cups supported
outside of the regular drip
area (i.e., the area covered by the wire rack 16) as defined within the side
walls 13 of the body 12.
The drip tray 18 may be provided with surface textures, such as raised rings
(which may be useful to
retain item such as cups if they are placed directly on the extended drip tray
18). The drip tray 18
may be contoured to drain water to one edge or to the center of the drip tray
18 (e.g., a sloping
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contour, v-shaped controur, bowl-shaped contour, ramp, etc.) In the embodiment
shown, the drip tray
18 has a drain hole 21 (see Fig. 2) from the top surface of the drip tray 18,
leading to a spout 19 at the
bottom surface of the drip tray 18 to discharge water. In the illustrated
embodiment, the drain spout
19 is rotatably attached to the drip tray, to direct water to a range of
positions (e.g. one of two
orthogonal sides of the dish rack) to match the environment (e.g., the
location of a kitchen sink).
In another aspect of the present invention, pivotal attachments (e.g., cup
holders) are
provided along the outside of the walls of the base for providing additional
support for kitchen
articles (e.g., cups, glasses, and small bowls). The pivoted cup supports can
be pivoted outward
from the wall when needed to extend an area beyond the perimeter of the body
to provide
supports for holding cups for drying, and they can be pivoted towards and
against the wall in a
stowed position when not in use. The pivoted cup holders are provided along
the side of the base
at which the drip tray can slidably extend, so that they can take advantage of
the extended drip
tray to provide catch area for drips from items supported by the pivotal
attachments. The drip tray
is extended to catch water drips when the cup holders are pivoted to define
the extended cup
holding area.
Referring to Figs. 13 to 17, the cup holder 20 includes a U-shaped loop
section 28 shaped
and/or contoured to facilitate support of kitchen articles such as cups and
small bowls. (Fig. 14 is
a view with the side wall 13 removed). The pivoted cup holders may be provided
with stops to
more securely maintain the loop section 28 in the extended position and the
stowed position. As
shown in the diagrams, loop section 28 are pivotally supported by the base 60
which supports the
wall 13, on the interior side of the wall 13. More specifically, the loop
section 28 is pivotally
supported by a pivot mechanism supported on the base 60 that includes sideways
outward
extending tabs 29 that ride over complementary notches 30 when the loop
section 28 is pivoted,
thereby securing the loop section 28 in the extended position shown in Fig.
15A and the stowed
positions shown in Fig. 15B. The base 60 will be described in further detail
below.
In a further aspect of the present invention, within the body of the dish
rack, a wire rack,
which may be removable or detachable, is provided with pivoted support prongs
for configuring the
wire rack. Referring to Figs. 18 to 20, the wire rack 16 includes a grid of
wires shaped and/or
contoured to facilitate support of kitchen articles such as plates, bowls,
cups, etc. For example, part
of the wire rack 16 could be shaped and contoured to form raised rack or
partitions 32 with slotted
openings to facilitate support of plates. To provide additional flexibility,
the wire rack 16 is provided
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with prongs 34 that can be configurable or adjustable by the user. In the
illustrated embodiment, one
or more rows of interconnected prongs 34 are provided, which can be pivoted
from a generally
horizontal flip-down stowed position in which the prongs are substantially
flush with the general base
plane of the wire rack 16 (one of the rows shown in Fig. 19), to a generally
vertical flip-up or
extended position in which the prongs 34 extends upwards and away from the
general base plane of
the wire rack 16. Specifically in the illustrated embodiment, the row of
interconnected prongs 34 are
commonly attached to a horizontal pivot bar, which rod has two ends, each
pivotally attached to a
ring/cylindrical pivot support 37 to allow rotation of the wire. Each prong 34
terminates in an
enlarged end (e.g., a ball shaped end 35).
With the prongs 34 in the flip-down position, large items such as pots and
pans may be
accommodated and supported on relatively large flat sections of the wire rack
16. With the prongs 34
flipped up in the vertical position, racks are effectively formed to define
vertical spaced openings to
accommodate plates and cups, for example. Thus, by allowing for adjustable
wire racks, the user can
easily reconfigure the dish rack to accommodate different kitchen articles.
To secure the prongs 34 in the vertical flip-up position, each row of
interconnected prongs 34
are provided with one or more holding prongs 38. The holding prongs 38 are
connected to the pivot
bar 36 that supports the prongs 38. Each holding prong 38 has an enlarged end
(e.g., ball shaped end
39), which is resiliently or spring biased against an adjacent wire section 40
of the wire rack 16
(which wire section 40 and/or holding prong 38 flexes a little laterally) as
the row of prongs 34 are
flipped from a horizontal position to a vertical position. The ball end 39 of
the holding prong 38 is
supported against the top of the adjacent wire 40, which holds the row of
prongs 34 in the vertical
flip-up position.
At the end of the horizontal pivot rod 36 that connects the prongs 34, a stop
is provided
that provides a limit to the range of rotation of the horizontal pivot rod 36,
and thus define the
vertical and horizontal limits for the prongs 16. The stop is in the form of a
short bent wire
section 42, which presses against the adjacent horizontal wire section 43 of
the wire rack when
the prongs 16 are in the horizontal flip-down position, and presses on the
bottom of the ring pivot
support 37 (or the wire section below the pivot support 37) when the prongs 34
are in the vertical
flip-up position.
The walls 13, cup holder loop section 28, wire rack 16 and legs 14 (and rails
22) of the
dish rack 10 may be made of polished, matte finished, coated or painted metal
(e.g., polished or
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brushed stainless steel). Rubber feet (not shown) may be provided to the legs
14 to provide better
traction on a support surface. The drip tray may be made of plastic.
In yet a further aspect of the present invention, the main body 12 of the dish
rack 10 is configured
with a substantially continuous, closed, metal side wall that defines the
general perimeter or footprint
of the dish rack 12 and the internal drip area, which improves ease of
cleaning the body as well as the
aesthetics of the dish rack. To facilitate pivotal attachment of the cup
holder loop section 20 to the
metal side wall 13 of the dish rack, a base 60 is provided to couple the pivot
mechanism for the cup
holders to the metal side wall 13. The base 60 of the dish rack is preferably
made of a non-metal
material, such as plastic, to facilitate coupling the various components. As
illustrated in the drawings
(see for example Fig. 9 and Fig. 14), the plastic base 60 facilitates
attachment and support of the
metal legs 14 (which supports the metal rails 22 for slidable support of the
extendable drip tray 18),
the metal side walls 13, and the pivot mechanism of cup holder 20. The apron
26 in the drip area may
be made an integral part of the base 60 (as illustrated in the drawings), or
be a separate part attached
to the base. The U-shaped loop section 28 extends on the exterior side of the
side wall 13, through
openings 62 in the plastic base 60, to be pivotally supported by the pivot
mechanism attached on the
base 60 at the interior side of the wall 13. Fig. 14 shows the interior side
of the base 60. The metal
wall 13 is omitted from view in Fig. 14. A trim cover 64 is provided to hide
the pivot mechanism and
extending around the entire rectangular base edge of the wall 13 (see Fig. 2).
The wire rack 16 may
be configured to sit against the trim cover 64.
* * *
The scope of the claims should not be limited by the embodiments set forth in
the examples,
but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the
description as a whole.
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