EP0968679A1

EP0968679A1 - Rack adapted to be directly supported on supporting elements in a dishwasher

Info

Publication number: EP0968679A1
Application number: EP98830408A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Rossano Compagnucci
Original assignee: Compagnucci SpA
Current assignee: Compagnucci SpA
Priority date: 1998-07-03
Filing date: 1998-07-03
Publication date: 2000-01-05

Abstract

The present invention concerns a dish draining rack with grid structure, whose horizontal bottom surface is provided with two longitudinal corners capable of being locked in place on the two horizontal bars located in parallel inside the housing cabinet to connect the cabinet sides.

Description

The present patent application for utility model concerns a dish draining rack capable of being locked in place inside the housing cabinet.
As it is known, dish draining rack cabinets are often used today. These cabinets lack the bottom surface and contain a rack with grid structure that is generally made up of metal wire coated with a plastic sheath.
The shape and the number of levels in these racks can vary, but the racks often feature a flat shelf with perimetral border used to store pans and Kitchen tools and another level with a more complex structure, made up of vertical rods placed one next to the other to support dishes or glasses in vertical position.
In any case, the racks with traditional structure feature a perfectly flat bottom surface that rests on two horizontal bars placed in parallel inside the dish draining rack cabinet, with a reinforcing purpose as well.
In particular, these two bars are usually mounted at the height of the open bottom of the cabinet, it being provided that one of the bars is located next to the back of the cabinet and the other one in the front, behind the cabinet door.
According to this traditional - and indeed very popular - technology, however, the dish draining rack is supported by the above mentioned bars in an unstable and insecure way.
As mentioned above, the rack rests on the bars, thus being subject to movements inside the cabinet when loading or unloading dishware.
This problem gets even worse in case of very long cabinets with long racks that are often subject to accidental and uncontrolled movements inside the cabinet.
In case of very long cabinets, the dish draining racks are often divided up into various sections with lower length, to guarantee better handling as well as the possibility of washing them in a dishwasher.
In this case, the various sections of the said long dish draining racks rest one next to the other on the two horizontal bars with no connection. It is obvious that the various sections of the rack can move easily and take incorrect positions inside the cabinet.
In view of the above, the Company owning the present patent application decided to create a system able to guarantee the stable coupling between the dish draining rack and the two supporting bars, in the most practical and economical way possible, that is without radically modifying the structure of the dish draining rack cabinet or the constructive characteristics of the rack. The idea according to the present invention is to create a stable, easily removable, coupling between the bottom surface of the dish rack and the two horizontal support bars mounted inside the cabinet.
By taking advantage of the intrinsic elastic flexibility of the rack, the said coupling takes place between the front and back longitudinal corners of the bottom surface of the rack and the two bars that are normally located inside the cabinet.
For clearer explication, the description of the invention continues with reference to the enclosed drawing, that only has an explanatory, not restrictive purpose, where Fig. 1 is the side view of the rack according to the present invention.
With reference to the enclosed figure, the rack according to the present invention (1) usually consists in a grid; more exactly, it is made up of a series of shaped metal rods (1a), located in transversal position and connected through longitudinal sections (1b and 1c).
Thanks to the particular shape of the said metal rods (1a), the rack according to the present invention (1) is made up of a bottom horizontal panel (2) featuring a back border (3) used to support and hold the dishes to be drained (P) in vertical position, and a short rail (4) in the front.
Fig. 1 also shows that the longitudinal sections (1b) located on the outside of the back border (3) and on the outside of the front rail (4) have a higher thickness, while the sections (1c) located under the bottom surface (2) feature a lower thickness.
The use of thin connecting sections (1c) under the bottom surface (2) gives a high elastic flexibility to the surface, allowing it to bend when subject to stress and spontaneously return perfectly flat once the stress is over.
It must be noted that the back border (3) and the front rail (4) are joined to the bottom surface (2) through two longitudinal corners (5) with "L-shaped" cross-section; in correspondence of both corners (5), an horizontal profile (5b) is joined to a sub-vertical profile (5b) that is slightly tilted towards the outside of the rack (1).
The bottom surface (2) of the rack (1) is pushed in place between the two bars (B) that are usually provided with the dish draining rack cabinet. At this purpose it must be noted that the length of the bottom surface (2) is slightly higher than the distance between the said bars (B).
It is easily understood that, when pushing the bottom surface (2) between the two bars (B), an interference is created between the longitudinal corners (5) and the bars (B); such interference tends to push the longitudinal corners (5) of the bottom surface (2), inwards, that is, in other words, to cause a reduction in the distance between them.
The movement of the longitudinal corners (5) is made possible by the intrinsic flexibility that characterizes the whole structure of the said rack (1); due to the stress applied on the corners (5), such flexibility makes it possible to bend the sub-vertical profiles (5b) of the corners (5) inwards, while also bending the bottom surface (2).
The stable positioning of the rack (1) is completed when the horizontal profiles (5a) of the corners (5) of the bottom surface (2) touch the support bars (B).
In view of the fact that the upper part of the sub-vertical profiles (5b) of the corners (5) of the bottom surface (2) are tilted inwards, it becomes evident that, once the coupling has been completed, no interference is present between the said profiles and the bars (B), as clearly shown in the enclosed figure.
This avoids any stress on the rack (1), thereby allowing the bottom surface (2) to spontaneously return perfectly flat.
In this particular operational position of the rack (1), the higher distance between the corners (5) of the bottom surface (2) with respect to the bars (B) avoids any possible risk of accidental uncoupling or unwanted movement. It is however possible to remove the rack (1) from the two bars (B) by simply pulling it upwards, if necessary, for instance, for washing operations.
When the rack (1) is pulled upwards, the new interference created between the longitudinal corners (5) and the bars (B) causes the bending of the bottom surface (2) with a reduction in the distance between the two corners (5).
With reference to fig.1, it must be noted that the longitudinal section (1b) located in the upper part of the border (3) also acts as a lateral support for the dishware (P) stored in vertical position in the rack (1), while the two sections (1c) located towards the center of the bottom surface (2) hold the lower part of the dishware (P) stored in the rack (1).

Claims

Dish draining rack, of the type made up of a series of shaped metal rods (1a), located in transversal position and connected through longitudinal sections (1b and 1c), characterized by the fact that the horizontal bottom surface (2) features two longitudinal corners (5) with "L-shaped" cross-section creating on each corner (5) a horizontal profile (5a) joined to a sub-vertical profile (5b) that is slightly tilted towards the outside of the rack (1).
Dish draining rack, according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the said longitudinal corners (5) are joined to the horizontal bottom surface (2) of the rack (1) with a short front rail (4) and a back border (3).