Abstract:
A drying rack assembly having a first drying rack, a utensil bin, a support that connects the utensil bin to the first drying rack, and an elevated foundation which promotes air ventilation throughout the drying rack. The first drying rack includes an integrated clamp and a collapsible peg that secures objects in place. The utensil bin is a cylindrical sleeve having guided projections that connects to the support located on the first drying rack. At least one aperture is located on the support to provide proper drainage for items placed inside the utensil bin.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62/194,083, filed Jul. 17, 2015; the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety into this disclosure. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The subject disclosure relates to a drying rack. More particularly, to a high capacity drying rack having a utensil bin, drying slots for straws, nipples, valves, pacifiers and other bottles, cups and accessories, and a reversible drip tray. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Various types of drying racks are known. After various containers, dishes, bottles, straws, valves, pumps, nipples, pacifiers, or other accessories are washed they are typically placed on a drying rack to allow items to dry and for the extra water to drain. Often these items have a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Consequently, organizing these various items can be quite challenging. Additionally, the items have limited drying positions and are oriented in a manner such that water will pool instead of being drained. As a result, various containers and accessories are not efficiently dried. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]    Various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail, wherein like reference numerals refer to identical or similar components or steps, with reference to the following figures, wherein: 
           [0005]      FIG. 1  illustrates an upper perspective view of an exemplary drying rack assembly having a utensil bin, top drying rack, bottom drying rack and tray according to the subject disclosure. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  shows a front view of the drying rack assembly. 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  depicts a side view of the drying rack assembly. 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  illustrates a top view of the drying rack assembly. 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  shows a partially exploded view of the drying rack assembly having the utensil bin lifted off from the top drying rack. 
           [0010]      FIG. 6  depicts another exploded view of the drying rack assembly. 
           [0011]      FIG. 7  illustrates a lower perspective exploded view of the drying rack assembly. 
           [0012]      FIG. 8  shows an upper perspective view of the utensil bin and top drying rack. 
           [0013]      FIG. 9  depicts a front view of the utensil bin and top drying rack. 
           [0014]      FIG. 10  illustrates a side view of the utensil bin and top drying rack. 
           [0015]      FIG. 11  shows a top view of the utensil bin and top drying rack. 
           [0016]      FIG. 12  depicts an exploded view of the utensil bin and top drying rack. 
           [0017]      FIG. 13  illustrates a lower perspective exploded view of the utensil bin and top drying rack. 
           [0018]      FIGS. 14-15  show upper perspective views of the top drying rack. 
           [0019]      FIG. 16  depicts a top view of the top drying rack. 
           [0020]      FIG. 17  illustrates a front view of the top drying rack. 
           [0021]      FIG. 18  shows the utensil bin and top drying rack holding various bottle components and accessories. 
           [0022]      FIG. 19  depicts the top drying rack having foldable pegs and height adjusting mechanism. 
           [0023]      FIG. 20  illustrates the drying rack assembly holding various bottle components and accessories. 
           [0024]      FIG. 21  shows the drying rack assembly having a reversible drip tray in a closed configuration. 
           [0025]      FIG. 22  depicts the drying rack assembly with the reversible drip tray in an open configuration. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0026]    Particular embodiments of the present invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the figures. 
         [0027]      FIG. 1  illustrates an upper perspective view of a drying rack assembly  10 . The drying rack assembly  10  includes a base  20 , bottom drying rack  30 , top drying rack  40 , at least one clamp  52 , utensil bin  60  and reversible drip tray  70 . Various items can be used with the drying rack assembly  10 , including but not limited to for example, bottles, cups, dishes, valves, straws, nipples, pump accessories, pacifiers, collars, utensils, or other container or tool. 
         [0028]    The drying rack assembly  10  may be configured in any size or shape. As shown, the base  20 , bottom drying rack  30  and top drying rack  40  are generally circular. The top drying rack  40  includes a support  82  to provide elevated foundation for optimal air ventilation when items are placed therein. The elevated foundation is displaced by a predetermined amount from the bottom drying rack  30  and may be adjusted using a height adjustment mechanism  80  on the support  82  which will be discussed in detail below. The racks  30 ,  40  may be referred to as first, second, upper, lower or the like. 
         [0029]    The base  20  may include a lip  22  disposed circumferentially around the top surface  24  of the base  20 . As liquid drips off of the various items being stored within the drying rack assembly  10 , it will collect on the top surface  24  and eventually evaporate. The lip  22  will prevent the liquid from overflowing. In addition, instead of a lip  22 , the top surface  24  may be slanted, conical, frustoconical, or any other suitable shape to facilitate effective drainage of liquid. 
         [0030]    The base  20  may further include an aperture  26  (See  FIG. 4 ) on its side adapted to receive the reversible drip tray  70 . Depending on how the reversible drip tray  70  is configured, water stored on the top surface  24  may drain through aperture  26 , over the reversible drip tray  70  and into a sink or other suitable draining area. This will be shown in greater detail below. 
         [0031]      FIGS. 2-4  depict front, side and top pan views of the drying rack assembly respectively. The bottom drying rack  30  sits on top of the base  20  and is spaced by a predetermined distance upward from the base  20  to facilitate drying of various items placed upon it. The base  20  may also include ridges  28  or scalloped openings, as shown in  FIG. 3 . The ridges  28  may be used as handles to more easily move the drying rack assembly  10 . 
         [0032]      FIGS. 5-7  illustrate various exploded views of the drying rack assembly  10 . A support  82  connects the base  20  to the top drying rack  40 . The support  82  may be attached to the base  20  and top drying rack  40  through a threaded connection, friction fit, snap fit, or any other suitable method of securing. As shown, the top drying rack  40  rests upon at least one push tabs  84  of the support  82 . The support  82  may take a variety of different shapes or may be cylindrical as shown, which allows the top drying rack  40  to rotate or freely spin about a central axis to gain greater access to items drying at various locations around the drying rack assembly  10 . 
         [0033]    The height adjustment mechanism  80  comprises multiple push tabs  84  at various heights along the support  82 . As a user depresses the push tab  84  towards the center of the support  82 , the overall diameter of the support  82  at the location of the push tab  84  will decrease until it is less than the inner diameter of an aperture  42  in the top drying rack  40 . At this point, the top drying rack  40  may slide over the push  t abs  84  until it reaches another undepressed push tab  84 . An advantage of adjusting the height of top drying rack  40  is to allow for different size bottles, dishes or other items stored between the bottom drying rack  30  and the top drying rack  40 . The user may minimize the amount of space taken up by the drying rack assembly  10  for his specific need. 
         [0034]      FIGS. 8-13  show various views of the utensil bin  60  and top drying rack  40 . The utensil bin  60  may be included to store various spoons, forks, knives, sparks or other utensils while drying. The connected utensil bin  60  has an open top to provide easy access to any items stored therein. The utensil bin  60  may be frustoconical, have a cylindrical sleeve, or may be any other suitable size or shape to keep stored utensils upright while drying. As shown in  FIG. 13 , the utensil bin  60  may be removable and may include at least one locking tab  62  to connect the utensil bin  60  to the top drying rack  40 . 
         [0035]      FIGS. 9-10  depict front and side views, respectively, of the top drying rack  40  and utensil bin  60 . The top drying rack  40  may comprise a center support  41  upon which the utensil bin  60  rests. As shown in top view  FIG. 11 , the center support  41  may include apertures  44  which allow liquid to drain from the stored utensils. The center support  41  may be constructed to elevate the utensil bin  60  slightly upward away from the plane of the top drying rack  40  to allow the incorporation of drainage holes therein. 
         [0036]      FIGS. 12-13  illustrate exploded views of the top drying rack  40  and utensil bin  60 . The utensil bin  60  may be attached to the top drying rack  40  with the locking tabs  62  which are adapted to fit into slots  46   a  in the center support  41  of the top drying rack  40 . The locking tabs  62  may be long enough to be accessible from an underside  41   a  of the center support  41 . To release the utensil bin  60  from the top drying rack  40 , the user would push the locking tab  62  and unalign it from its locked position. The utensil bin  60  may also comprise at least one guide projection  64  which fit into other slots  46   b . The locking tabs  62  and guide projections  64 , alone and in combination, keep the utensil bin  60  secure to the top drying rack  40 . 
         [0037]      FIGS. 14-17  show various views of the top drying rack  40 . The top drying rack  40  may include at least one collapsible drying peg  50 , clamp  52 , straw holder  54 , and drainage apertures  56 . Drying pegs  50  may be positioned upright, as shown in  FIGS. 14-15 , or may be pivoted about a hinge  50  (as shown in  FIG. 19 ) to various angles for custom set up and easy storage. In their upright position, the drying pegs  50  may slide into openings in various bottles, lids, collars, etc. to hold them in place while drying. In their stored position, the drying pegs are substantially flush with a top surface located the top drying rack  40  to provide a substantially flat surface area. In addition, the drying pegs  50  may be located circumferentially around the top drying rack  40  and bottom drying rack  30 , as shown in  FIGS. 14-17 . 
         [0038]      FIG. 16  shows the clamps  52  and straw holders  54  in greater detail. The clamp  52  is used to secure items into place or provide rugged edges for items to drape over for drying. The clamp  52  may have various sized and shaped undulating indentations, slopes, curvatures, scallops, and teeth  53  or inward projections which project inward from outer edges  52   a  of the clamp  52  defined within the top drying rack  40 . The teeth  53  depress various flexible items such as nipples and valves in order to securely grip the item while drying, such as shown in  FIG. 18 . As shown, the teeth  53  may take on various sized teeth  53   a,    53   b,    53   c  which will allow a user to dry both nipples and valves of various diameters. 
         [0039]    The distance D1 (as shown in  FIG. 16 ) between adjacent teeth  53  may decrease from adjacent teeth  53   a  located near an opening  52   b  of the clamp  52  to adjacent teeth  53   c  located near a closed back  52   c.  This provides the additional advantage of allowing a user to push the nipple or valve into the opening  52   b,  past adjacent teeth  53  which are too far spaced apart, until the item is sufficiently secured without needing to consciously select which teeth  53  to place the item between. 
         [0040]      FIG. 18  depicts the top drying rack  40  and utensil bin  60  in use, holding lids  90 , collars  91 , nipple  92 , valve  93 , spoon  94  and straw  95 . As previously mentioned, the orientation of these items is important to facilitate effective drying. For example, if the nipple  92  is supported upside down, liquid will pool and not evaporate. By distancing the top drying rack  40  from the bottom drying rack  30  and base  20 , items such as the nipple  92  and valve  93  may be supported in an upright position which allows liquid to completely drain from any inner crevices or recesses. Drying pegs  50  provide a similar function for lids  90  and collars  91 . 
         [0041]      FIG. 19  shows the pivoting rotation of drying pegs  50  and the height adjustment mechanism  80  in greater detail. The drying pegs  50  may be rotated such that they are substantially flush with the top drying rack  40  or bottom drying rack  30 . When completely disassembled, the overall height of the base  20 , bottom drying rack  30 , top drying rack  40  and support  80  may be minimized for effective storage and transportation of the drying rack assembly  10 . Furthermore, the top drying rack  40  may be adjusted in use by the push tabs  84  as previously discussed and illustrated by  FIGS. 6-7 . 
         [0042]      FIG. 20  illustrates the drying rack assembly  10  in use for drying lids  90 , collars  91 , bottles  96 , nipples  92 , spoons  94  and plates  97 . 
         [0043]      FIG. 21  depicts the drying rack assembly  10  having drying pegs  50  and reversible drip tray  70  in a closed position. The drying pegs  50  are shown recessed substantially flush with an upper surface of the drying rack  30 . In juxtaposition,  FIG. 22  shows the drying pegs  50  and reversible drip tray  70  in an open position. The reversible drip tray  70  may include a ramp  72  having a predetermined direction which, when in the open position, will act as a guide to drain water from the top surface  24  of the base  20  into a sink or other drain. The ramp  72  may include raised edges or may be slightly concave. To change the reversible drip tray  72  from the open to closed position, or vice versa, the reversible drip tray  72  may include tracks  76  which run along rails  29  (as shown in  FIG. 7 ). A front side  72   a  may completely block the aperture  26  in the base  20  and include a lip  71  to allow the user to easily pull the reversible drip tray  70  from the base  20 . A back side  72   b  may include the ramp  72  and allow liquid to flow from the top surface  24  down the ramp  72 . 
         [0044]    The reversible drip tray  70  may also consist of the ramp  72  which pivots along an edge of the base  20 . In this manner, when the ramp  72  is exposed it will allow liquid to drain. However, when the ramp  72  is rotated underneath the base  20 , the reversible drip tray  70  may block the aperture  26  to prevent liquid from escaping from the top surface  24 . 
         [0045]    The illustrations and examples provided herein are for explanatory purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that changes or modifications may be made to the above described embodiment without departing from the broad inventive concepts of the invention. It is understood therefore that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiment which is described, but is intended to cover all modifications and changes within the scope and spirit of the invention.