US3214031A

US3214031A - Rack for stemmed glassware

Info

Publication number: US3214031A
Application number: US343842A
Authority: US
Inventors: John B Mccauley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1964-02-10
Filing date: 1964-02-10
Publication date: 1965-10-26
Anticipated expiration: 1982-10-26

Description

1965 J. B. M CAULEY 3,214,031 I RACK FUR STEMMED GLASSWARE V 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 10, 1964 JOHN B. MCCAULEY N VE N T 0/? SPAR/(MAN RNEYS BUG/(HORN, BLORE, KLAROU/S Oct. 1965 J. B. M CAULEY 3,214,031

RACK FOR STEMMED GLASSWARE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 10, 1964 JOHN B MCCAULEY INVENTOR BUG/(HORN, BLO/PE, KLAROU/ST 8 SPAR/(MAN ATTORNEW United States Patent 3,214,031 RACK FOR STEMMED GLASSWARE John B. McCauley, 2612 N. Killingsworth, Portland, Oreg. Filed Feb. 10, 1964, Ser. No. 343,842 12 Claims. (Cl. 21171) The present invention relates to a rack for glasses and more particularly to a rack for storing stemmed glassware in pendant position.

Stem glasses are expensive, and, because of their peculiar shapes and fragility, are particularly subject to breakage. Thus, handling and storage of such glasses so as to minimize breakage has always been a problem, especially in automatic glass washers and on open shelves where they are readily accessible. Previously suggested racks for stemmed glasses have not obviated the above difficulties, nor have they been adapted for holding large quantities of such glassware.

Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved rack for supporting large quantities of stemmed glassware in pendant position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved rack for stemmed glassware, which can be safely stacked on top of other like racks.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved rack into which stemmed glassware can readily be placed and from which such glassware can be easily removed, even while the rack is stacked beneath other racks.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved rack for storing stemmed glassware of various sizes and shapes and for protecting such glassware from breakage.

Another object is to provide a portable rack for supporting stemmed glassware that can be placed, full of glasses, in an automatic glass washer, wherein such glasses can be cleaned while thus supported and protected from injury.

In furtherance of the above objects and in accordance with an illustrated embodiment, the rack includes a wire framework including a series of transverse bridge members extending over the top of the framework and a series of spaced-apart, longitudinal stringers extending side by side slightly beneath the bridge members from which glassware is pendantly suspended. The stringers are supported at one of their ends from above by one of the bridge members, and adjacent ones of the stringers define longitudinal slots, each having an open end underneath the supporting bridge member for receiving the stems of the glassware.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will become more apparent upon inspection of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front end view of two of the racks of FIG. 1, stacked one on top of the other;

' FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modification of the rack of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of a further modification in accordance with the invention; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are side and front perspective views, respectively, of still further modifications in accordance with the invention.

With reference to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred form of rack which consists of a wire framework 10 of generally rectangular shape suitable for placement in a glass washer. The framework has a base 12, an upper, or top, portion 14, an open front end 16, a back end 18 and sloping opposite sides 20. The base of the framework is composed of lower side members 22, which establish the length of the framework at its base, and lower end members 24 extending at right angles to and between the side members to establish the width of the base.

Each of the lower side members 22 is welded to the lower ends of four upstanding leg members 26 which are inclined slightly inwardly toward the upper portion of the framework to define the sloping sides 20. The lower end members 24, also, are welded to opposed leg members 26, at a position spaced slightly above the lower side members 22, as shown clearly in FIG. 2, so that the lower sides 20 overhang the lower ends to provide lateral stability when two or more of the racks are stacked together.

Four bridge members 28 span the width of the framework and are each joined at their opposite ends to the upper ends of laterally opposed leg members 26, each opposed pair of leg members and its connecting bridge member preferably being bent from a single piece of wire. Extending side by side beneath the bridges 28 are a plurality of spaced-apart, parallel stringers 30. Adjacent ones of the stringers 30 are spaced alternately relatively closely together and relatively widely apart. The more widely spaced pairs are joined together at one end of each in a loop 32, whereby the more closely spaced, unjoined adjacent stringers define longitudinal slots 34 between the looped pairs for receiving the stems 36 of glassware 38. The enlarged bases 40 of the glassware are supported on adjacent stringers 30 defining the slots.

The looped ends 32 of the center stringers 30 are supported from above on L-shaped, vertical supports 42 which depend from the front bridge member 28. The looped ends of the stringers 30 adjacent the sides of the framework are supported on horizontal supports 44 attached to the front leg members 26. Thus, as most clearly shown in FIG. 2, the front bridge member 28, with its depending supports 42, and the looped ends 32 define unobstructed entrance openings into the slots 34 for the insertion and removal of glassware 38. The distances between vertical supports 42 are greater than the base diameter of the largest stemmed glass, and the clearance between the string ers 30 and bridge members 28 is ample to permit passage of the bases of the glassware 38 beneath such bridges.

At their opposite, unlooped ends, the stringers 30 are supported on a horizontal upper cross member 46 which extends from side to side of the framework and'forms a closed end of each of the slots 34, whereby the glassware cannot be inadvertently pushed through the back end of the rack.

An important feature of the rack as thus described is that several of them can be stacked one on top of another as shown in FIG. 2, and further, glasses can be inserted into and removed from all of the racks while so stacked. A pair of base stringers'47 extend the length of the framework between the lower side members 22. Each base stringer has curled opposite ends 48 which project beyond the lower end members 24 and support the upper rack 49 on the bridge members 28 of the lower rack 50. Two lower cross members 51 intermediate the lower end members 24 span the base and provide the supporting base stringers 47 with added rigidity between their opposite ends.

Because the base of each rack is slightly wider than its .top and because the lower sides 20 overhang slightly the

lower ends

16, 18, the top of the lower rack 50 nests within the base of the upper rack 49 to provide the upper rack with laterial stability. Longitudinal stability is provided by the intermediate bridge members 28 of the lower rack, which members support the upper rack should the latter rack, when stacked, be misaligned forwardly or rearwardly with respect to the ends of the lower rack.

The series of bridges 28 not only serve to support the stringers 30 and other racks stacked on top of the framework 10, but also provide protection from breakage for glassware 38 suspended within the framework.

FIG. 3 illustrates a portion of a framework that is modified slightly to provide greater stability when stacked than the framework 10 of FIG. 1. A portion of a lower rack 52 is illustrated, including a front bridge member 53, a front leg member 54, a lower side member 56 and the looped ends 58 of paired stringers 60. Also shown is a portion of a front leg member 54 and a lower side member 56 of an identical upper rack 61. The bridge member 53 joins the leg member 54 at an inwardly bent upper corner which forms a horizontal shoulder 62. The lower side member 56, where it joins the lower end of the leg member 54, forms a downwardly projecting foot 64. The four feet 64 of the upper rack 61 hook over the four corner shoulders 62 of the lower rack when the two racks are stacked one on top of the other. With this arrangement, the lower stringers 47, cross members 51 and intermediate bridge members 28- of the framework of FIG. 1 can be eliminated if desired.

The overall dimensions of the

racks

52 and 62 must be proportioned slightly dilferently than those for the rack 10 of FIG. 1 in order to be stacked as illustrated in FIG. 3. The base of the rack 52 has a slightly greater length than the upper portion thereof to enable the feet 64 of the upper rack to hook over the shoulders 62 of the lower rack. However, the base Width of the rack is slightly less than the upper width thereof, whereby the lower side members 56 of the upper rack engage and are supported on the shoulders 62 of the lower rack. When stacked as shown, it will be readily apparent that the upper rack 61 cannot be moved appreciably either laterally or longitudinally with respect to the lower rack 52.

Illustrated in FIG. 4 is a further modification of the framework of FIG. 1 having a series of paired stringers 66, each pair being joined together at both ends to form elongated closed loops and longitudinal slots 68 between adjacent loops. Bridge members 70 at the ends of the framework support both ends of the two center loops, and both ends of each side loop are supported on horizontal stub supports 72 from leg members 74. Thus, both ends of each slot 68 are open. However, -a horizontal stop member 76 extends from side to side of the back end of the framework and is spaced outwardly from the looped back ends 77 of the stringers 66 so as to define, together With the loops, a transverse slot 78 interconnecting all of the longitudinal slots 68. With this construction, glassware in one of the longitudinal slots 68 can be moved via the transverse slot 78 to a different one of the longitudinal slots '68, thus enabling removal from the rack of a desired glass at the rear of one slot 68 without first having to withdraw all other glasses forward of the desired glass in the same slot.

The rack of FIG. is of modified construction such that glassware is inserted in and removed from a central portion of an open side 79 of the framework. Two pairs of stringers 80 extend from each upper end of the framework toward the center thereof, iand each pair from one end terminates in a closed loop 82 at the center just short of a like pair extending from the opposite end. The loop stringers 80, together with a single continuous side stringer 83 extending from one end to the other end of the framework, define two longitudinal slots 84 bisected by a central transverse slot 86. A pair of central bridge members 88 are cantilevered over the looped ends 82 from one side of the framework and support such looped ends from above. The opposite, unlooped ends of the stringers 80 terminate at 'upper end members 90 whereby'the only access to the longitudinal slots 84 is from the open side 79 of the framework through the transverse slot 86.

The rack illustrated in FIG. 6 is of simplified construction in that it has only a single bridge member 92, above the open front end 94 of its framework. The bridge member supports looped ends 96 of paired stringers 98, which define a series of slots 100 and terminate at a continuous upper cross member 102 at the back of the framework. The slots, therefore, are accessible only from the open front 94 of the rack. The base of the rack is open, and consists of only a pair of opposed lower side members 104 connected by a single lower end member 106. Because of the open base and single bridge, suoh racks are not suited for stacking.

For the foregoing it will be evident that the number of glasses that can be accommodated in a single rack is limited only by the number and length of the longitudinal slots provided, which in turn depend on the size of rack desired. The different slots in each rack can, of course, be of various widths to accommodate different stern sizes, but a single uniform slot width slightly greater than the diameter of the largest stem expected will, in most instances, be sufiiciently narrow so that the smallest stemware can be supported.

Having illustrated and described several preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments admit of modification in arrangement and detail. It is my intention to claim as my invention all such modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A rack for supporting stemmed glassware in pendant position comprising:

(a) frame means defining a framework having opposite sides and ends, a base portion and an upper portion,

(b) elongate glass-supporting means extending across said upper portion intermediate said opposite sides and defining a slot for receiving the stems of said glassware,

(c) bridging means extending from one side of said framework over one end of said glass-supporting means,

(d) said bridging means supporting in spaced relationship therefrom said one end of said glass-supporting means,

(e) said bridging means and said one end of said glasssupporting means defining an unobstructed entrance opening for the insertion of said glassware into said slot.

2. A rack for supporting stemmed glasswear in a pendant position comprising:

(a) a wire framework including opposite sides and ends, a base portion and an upper portion,

(b) bridging means extending transversely from one side of said framework toward the opposite side thereof,

(0) stringer means extending across the upper portion of said framework beneath and spaced from said bridging means,

(d) said stringer means defining a longitudinal slot for receiving the stems of said glasswear,

(e) at least one end of said stringer means being supported from above by said bridging means such that said bridging means and said one end provide an open end of-said slot for the insertion of said glasswear.

3. A rack for supporting stemmed glasswear in a pendant position comprising:

-(a) a wire framework including opposite sides and ends, a base portion and an upper portion,

(b) bridging means extending transversely from one side of said framework over said upper portion toward the opposite side thereof,

(0) a plurality of spaced-apart stringers extending side by side from adjacent one end of the upper portion of said framework beneath said bridging means,

(d) adjacent ones of said stringers defining a slot therebetween for receiving the stems of said glasswear,

(e) said bridging means including downwardly extending support means supporting at least one of the opposite ends of said stringers such that said bridging means, said support means and the bridge-supported ends of said stringers define an entrance opening into said slot for the insertion of said glasswear.

4. A rack for supporting stemmed glasswear in pendant position comprising:

(a) a wire framework of generally rectangular shape including upstanding leg members connected by side and end members,

(b) a plurality of spaced-apart stringers extending side by side across an upper portion of said framework parallel to said side members,

() alternate ones of stringers being joined at one end thereof to a corresponding end of a different adjacent one of said stringers so as to define a series of joined pairs separated by longitudinal slots,

(d) a bridge member extending from one side of said framework over the joined ends of said pairs,

(e) support means extending downwardly from said bridge member and supporting the joined ends of said pairs such that said bridge member, said support means and said joined ends define and unobstructed entrance opening for the insertion of glasswear into said slots.

5. A rack for supporting stemmed glasswear in pendant position comprising:

(a) a wire framework of generally rectangular shape having opposite sides and ends, a base and an upper portion,

(b) said framework including at least two overhead bridge members each extending transversely from side to side of said frame, one adjacent each of said opposite ends,

(c) a series of spaced-apart stringers extending longitudinally in side-by-side relationship across the upper portion of said frame beneath said bridge members for supporting said glasswear,

(d) adjacent ones of said stringers defining a series of slots therebetween for receiving the stems of said glasswear,

(e) at least one end of some of said stringers being supported from above by one of said bridge members such that the said one bridge member and the bridge-supported ends of said stringers define entrance openings into said slots of sufficient size to insert said glasswear.

6. A rack for supporting stemmed glassware in pendant position comprising:

(a) a wire framework of generally rectangular shape having opposite sides and ends, a base portion and an upper portion,

(b) said framework including a series of bridge members extending transversely from said opposite sides over said upper portion, one of said bridge members being positioned adjacent each of said opposite ends and another said bridge member being positioned between said opposite ends,

(c) a plurality of spaced-apart stringers extending side by side across the upper portion of said framework below said bridge members from one of said ends to the other of said ends,

(d) alternate adjacent ones of said stringers being joined together in a loop at a corresponding end of each to define a series of looped pairs,

(c) said looped pairs defining a series of longitudinal slots therebetween for receiving the stems of said glassware,

(f) the looped ends of at least some of said pairs being supported from above by an end one of said bridge members such that said slots are open at the ends thereof adjacent said looped ends of said pairs,

(g) and a continuous horizontal end member extending from side to side of said framework supporting the opposite ends of said pairs and closing the opposite ends of said slots.

7. A rack according to claim 6 wherein the distance from side to side of said framework at the base thereof is greater than said distance at the upper portion thereof, and further wherein the lower margins of said opposite sides overhang the lower margins of said opposite ends, whereby identical ones of said racks can be stacked one on top of the other without appreciable lateral movement of the upper one ofsaid racks.

8. A rack according to claim 7 wherein the base portion of said framework includes opposite lower side members, opposite lower end members spaced slightly above said side members, and intermediate longitudinal base members extending between said opposite end members and spaced slightly above said side members for support ing a lower one of two or more said racks on the bridge members of an upper one of said racks.

9. A rack according to claim 5 wherein said framework includes upstanding leg members extending between said base portion and said upper portion at the opposite ends of said framework, lower side members joining the lower ends of said leg members in downwardly extending foot portions, and the opposite ends of said bridge members defining shoulders for engaging said foot portions of an upper one of two or more said racks stacked one on top of another.

10. A rack according to claim 9 having a framework wherein the length of said base is slightly greater than the length of said upper portion, and wherein the width of said base is slightly less than the width of said upper portion.

11. A rack for supporting stemmed glassware in pendant position comprising:

(a) a wire framework having opposite sides, a front end, a back end, a base portion and an upper portion,

(b) at least two overhead bridge members one adjacent each of said opposite ends extending transversely from one of said sides to the other thereof,

(c) a plurality of elongate closed wire loops extending side by side in a common plane across the upper portion of said framework beneath said bridges,

(d) adjacent ones of said loops being spaced apart to define a series of longitudinal slots therebetween for receiving the stems of said glassware,

(e) support means extending downwardly from each of said bridge members supporting the opposite ends of said loops,

(f) a horizontal stop member at the back end of said framework spaced laterally outwardly from one end of said loops so as to define a lateral slot interconnecting said longitudinal slots, whereby a piece of glassware can be inserted into one of said longitudinal slots from the front end of said framework and removed from another of said slots at the same end of said framework.

12. A rack for supporting stemmed glassware in pendant position comprising:

(b) a pair of horizontal upper end members extending from side to side of said framework one at each of said opposite ends,

(c) a plurality of laterally spaced-apart pairs of stringers extending parallel to one another toward the center of said upper portion from each of said upper end members,

(d) the inwardly extending ends of each of said pairs 7' :8 from one of said upper end members terminating in supported from above by-said bridge members so as a closed loop inthe center portion of said frameto define entrance openings into each ofsaid :longiwork in longitudinally spaced relationship from an tudinal slots from said central'slot. inwardlyextending'looped'end of alike pair from the other of said upper end members, References Clted by the Examiner -(e) the looped ends of said longitudinally spaced UNITED STATES PATENTS pairs defining a central transverse slot extending from side to side of said framework, Juvls 220*97 (f) laterally adjacent ones of said pairs defining longi- 312t248 3 098 568 7/63 La P1erre 21160 tudmalvslots intersecting said central slot, 1 (g) a pair of bridge members, each extending trans- References Cited y the'APPlimIlt versely from one side of said framework one over 560,447 5/96 VOege. the looped ends of said laterally spaced pairs from 3,022,899 2/62 U th each of said upper end members, (h) the looped innerends of each of said pairs being 15 CLAUDE Primary-Examiner-

Claims

1. A RACK FOR SUPPORTING STEMMED GLASSWARE IN PENDANT POSITION COMPRISING: (A) FRAME MEANS DEFINING A FRAMEWORK HAVING OPPOSITE SIDES AND ENDS, A BASE PORTION AND AN UPPER PORTION, (B) ELONGATE GLASS-SUPPORTING MEANS EXTENDING ACROSS SAID UPPER PORTION INTERMEDIATE SAID OPPOSITE SIDES AND DEFINING A SLOT FOR RECEIVING THE STEMS OF SAID GLASSWARE, (C) BRIDGING MEANS EXTENDING FROM ONE SIDE OF SAID FRAMEWORK OVER ONE END OF SAID GLASS-SUPPORTING MEANS,