Adjustable support apparatus for a dishrack

A manually adjustable support assembly for movably supporting an upper dishrack within a dishwasher. A plurality of support assemblies are provided for each dishrack and permit manual adjustments of the dishrack between predetermined vertically spaced positions. Each of the adjustable support assemblies comprise a housing for interconnection with the dishrack. A flex plate is disposed adjacent the housing and slidably interconnects with the housing. A wheel rotatably interconnects with the flex plate and is rotatably received into a track supported on the sidewall of the dishwasher tub. The flex plate includes a positioning rib which is received into one of a plurality of receiving slots formed into the housing. By flexing the flex plate, the positioning rib may be disengaged from one of the receiving slots and the flex plate moved longitudinally relative to the housing. By relaxing the flex plate, the positioning rib is engaged into the adjacent-most receiving slot. In this fashion, therefore, the dishrack may be moved between predetermined vertical positions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to an adjustable dishrack support apparatus for a 
dishwasher in which improved means are provided for supporting each side 
of the dishrack and for vertically adjusting the support apparatus 
relative to the dishrack to accommodate articles of varying heights in the 
dishwasher. 
In a typical front-loading dishwasher, there is provided an upper dishrack 
which is moveable in and out of the interior of the dishwasher tub in 
order to enable loading of dishware items into the dishrack. In a 
conventional form of a dishwasher, the dishrack is provided with simple 
support wheel assemblies disposed on opposite sides of the dishrack for 
rolling on a track provided on the sidewall of the dishwasher tub such 
that the dishrack is supported for movement in and out of the dishwasher 
tub. Typically, the simple support assemblies provided for dishracks do 
not allow for vertical height adjustments of the dishrack. Examples of 
these common non-adjustable dishrack support assemblies are clearly shown 
in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,449,765 and 4,226,490. 
The conventional non-adjustable support assemblies are generally adequate 
for the average load of dishes. There are times, however, when it is 
desirable to place unusually large items within the wash chamber. Often 
the space between the lower and upper rack in the typical front-opening 
dishwasher is not sufficient to enable loading and washing of large 
platters or cookie sheets, etc., in the preferred on-edge position 
therein. Moreover, space between the upper rack and the top of the wash 
chamber is not adequate to permit the placing of tall glasses or 
long-stemmed crystal ware within the upper rack. 
Many complicated systems, therefore, have been developed to provide a 
dishrack vertical height adjustment feature in combination with the 
slidable support means of the upper dishrack in a front opening 
dishwasher. These adjustable dishrack support assemblies may be of a first 
type providing infinite height adjustment of the dishrack within a given 
range. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,822,085 and 4,097,099 disclose examples of this 
first type of adjustable dishrack support assembly. Additionally, 
adjustable dishrack support assemblies may be of a second type providing 
height adjustment between a predetermined number of positions. Frequently 
these second types of adjustable support assemblies allow the dishrack to 
be adjusted between an upper position and a lower position. U.S. Pat. Nos. 
3,726,580, 3,736,037 and 3,560,069 disclose examples of this second type 
of adjustable dishrack support assembly. 
These prior art adjustable support assemblies, however, all contain 
disadvantages and drawbacks. In particular, these prior art attempts are 
relatively complicated assemblies, typically requiring large metallic 
elements, spring elements and additional wiring welded onto the dishrack. 
Furthermore, the second type of prior art adjustable support assemblies, 
as described above, typically do not allow for easy operator access from 
the top of the dishrack. Rather, these prior art assemblies typically 
require reaching beneath the dishrack to operate the adjustable 
mechanisms. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an 
improved rack arrangement for a front opening dishwasher cabinet that not 
only incorporates a minimum number of relatively simple mechanical parts 
but makes possible a quick height adjustment of a dishwasher rack between 
predetermined levels, regardless of whether the rack is empty or loaded 
with dishes when the adjustment is made. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a manual height 
adjustment means for a dish supporting rack in an automatic dishwasher 
that may be relatively inexpensively produced for installation in a front 
loading dishwasher wherein the dish supporting racks are slidably mounted 
for manual outward movement to facilitate loading and unloading of soiled 
tableware therein. 
It is also an object of this invention to provide a manually operated 
height adjustment means for a dish supporting rack that may allow for easy 
operator access from the top of the dishrack and that can be manipulated 
to raise one end or one side of the rack without changing the level of the 
respective other end or side thereof. 
According to the present invention, the foregoing and other objects are 
attained by a manually adjustable support assembly for movably supporting 
an upper dishrack within a dishwasher. A plurality of support assemblies 
are provided for each dishrack and permit manual adjustments of the 
dishrack between predetermined vertically spaced positions. Each of the 
adjustable support assemblies comprise a housing for interconnection with 
the dishrack. A flex plate is disposed adjacent the housing and slidably 
interconnects with the housing. A wheel rotatably interconnects with the 
flex plate and is rotatably received into a track supported on the 
sidewall of the dishwasher tub. The flex plate includes a positioning rib 
which is received into one of a plurality of receiving slots formed into 
the housing. By flexing the flex plate, the positioning rib may be 
disengaged from one of the receiving slots and the flex plate moved 
longitudinally relative to the housing. By relaxing the flex plate, the 
positioning rib is engaged into the adjacent-most receiving slot. In this 
fashion, therefore, the dishrack may be moved between predetermined 
vertical positions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
In the illustrative embodiment of the invention as disclosed in the 
drawing, a dishwasher generally designated 10 is provided with an upper 
dishrack 12 and a lower dishrack 14. The upper dishrack 12 is provided at 
opposite sides with at least two adjustable support assemblies per side 
generally designated 16 and the lower rack 14 is provided at its opposite 
sides with at least two wheel assemblies per side generally designated 18. 
The adjustable support assemblies 16 are received in tracks 20 
longitudinally movable between pairs of rollers 22 carried by the sidewall 
24 of the dishwasher tub 26, as is well known. The lower wheel assemblies 
18 roll on suitable track surfaces 28 provided on the sidewalls 24 of the 
tub 26. 
As seen in FIG. 1, the tub 26 defines a dishwashing space 30, in which 
racks 12 and 14 are movably mounted, with spray means 32 provided for 
spraying dishwashing liquid upwardly against dishes and the like placed in 
the racks 12 and 14, respectively. Access to dishwashing space 30 is 
controlled by a closure door 34 hingedly mounted to the tub 26 to swing 
downwardly to an open position, wherein the dishracks may be rolled 
outwardly as for loading and the like. 
Each of the adjustable support assemblies 16 of the present invention is 
similar and is disclosed in greater detail in FIGS. 2-4. Each adjustable 
support assembly 16 includes a housing 44, a flex plate 46, a wheel 48 and 
an axle pin 50. 
The housing 44 includes an elongated guide slot 52 having a lower widened 
portion 54 and an upper narrowed portion 56. Ribs 57 are disposed on the 
peripheral edge of the guide slot 52. A plurality of receiving slots 59 
are formed into the housing 44 above the guide slot 52. The housing 44 
further includes a pair of longitudinally extending ribs 58 and 60. 
The flex plate 46 is disposed adjacent the housing 44, between the 
longitudinally extending ribs 58 and 60, and slidably interconnects with 
the housing 44. As shown, the flex plate is provided with a slot follower 
which includes a rib 62 having an enlarged head 64 extends from the middle 
portion the of back surface of the flex plate 46. The rib 62 and the 
enlarged head 64 are configured such that the enlarged head 64 extends 
through the guide slot 52. The enlarged head 64 is sized to be insertable 
into the widened portion 54 of the guide slot 52 but to be greater in 
width than the upper narrowed portion 56. In this fashion, therefore, the 
flex plate 46 may move longitudinally along the housing 44, between the 
longitudinally extending ribs 58 and 60, while the rib 62 rides within the 
guide slot 52 and the enlarged head 64 rides along ribs 57, engaging the 
flex plate 46 with the housing 44. A positioning rib 66 also extends from 
the upper portion of the back surface of the flex plate and is received 
into one of the plurality of receiving slots 59 when the flex plate 46 is 
disposed adjacent the housing 44. 
The axle pin 50 is provided for insertion through the widened portion 54 of 
the guide slot 52 and a hole 68 formed into the lower portion of the flex 
plate 46. When inserted, a flanged end 70 of the axle pin 50 abuts the 
ribs 57 while a snap retention means 72, disposed opposite the flanged end 
70, rotatably interlocks with the wheel 48. In this fashion, the axle pin 
50 and wheel 48 serve to interconnect the flex plate 46 and the housing 44 
in combination with the enlarged head 64. Furthermore, the position of the 
hole 68 on the lower portion of the flex plate 46 is such that 
longitudinally moving the flex plate 46 along the housing 44 causes the 
shaft of the axle pin 50 to move within the widened portion 54 of the 
guide slot 52 and the rib 62 to move within the narrowed portion 56. 
Interference between the shaft of the axle pin 50 and the bottom surface 
of the widened portion 54 of the guide slot 52 maintains the rib 62 within 
the narrowed portion 56 of the guide slot 52 such that the enlarged head 
64 cannot travel below the narrowed portion 56 of the guide slot 52. 
The flex plate 46 is manually adjustable between predetermined vertically 
spaced portions in the following manner. When the adjustable support 
assemblies are assembled together, the positioning rib 66 is received into 
one of the plurality of receiving slots 59 for controlling the vertical 
position of the flex plate 46 relative to the housing 44. As shown in FIG. 
4, the positioning rib 66 is disposed in the uppermost receiving slot. By 
exerting a force F on a handle 74, extending from the top portion of the 
flex plate 46, the body of the flex plate 46 may be flexed such that the 
positioning rib 66 disengages from the receiving slot 59 wherein the flex 
plate 46 may be moved longitudinally relatively to the housing 44. 
Removing the force F causes the position rib 66 to engage the adjacent 
receiving slot 59. In this fashion, it can be understood by one skilled in 
the art that for the disclosed embodiment, the flex plate 46 may be 
positioned in any one of three receiving slots 59 corresponding to three 
predetermined vertically spaced positions. The present invention, however, 
is not limited to three receiving slots 59, but may be configured to 
include any number of receiving slots of two or more. 
The interconnection of the upper dishrack 12 and one of the adjustable 
support assemblies 16 is shown in greater detail in FIGS. 5 and 6. As seen 
in FIG. 5, the dishrack 12 includes a support means 80 including a top, 
horizontally elongated element 82 which extends generally parallel to the 
track 20. Support 80 further includes a pair of downwardly directed spaced 
side elements 84 and 86, extending generally perpendicular to the 
horizontally elongated element 82. Each adjustable support assembly 16 
includes an upper snap retention member 88 (FIGS. 3 and 4), extending from 
the housing 44, for snapping onto the top element 82. The upper snap 
retention member vertically positions the adjustable support assembly 16 
and prevents the adjustable support assembly 16 from sliding upwardly 
along the side element 84 and 86 under a loaded rack condition. Opposed 
side hooks 90 and 92 are provided for capturing the side elements 84 and 
86 for preventing the adjustable support assembly 16 from rotating about 
the top element 82. 
In this fashion, therefore, the adjustable support assemblies 16 support 
the dishrack 12. As shown in FIG. 6, the wheel 48 is received into the 
track 20 such that the dishrack 12 may be movably supported within the 
dishwasher. The dishrack 12 and any items loaded therein, illustrated as 
weight W, is supported by the adjustable support assemblies 16. 
Specifically, for each adjustable support assembly 16, the dishrack load W 
is transferred through the flex plate 46, axle pin 50 and finally the 
wheel 48, such that the rollers 22, being rotatably mounted to the 
dishrack sidewall 24, support the weight of the dishrack 12. This loading 
configuration, forces the positioning rib 66 upwardly against upper 
surfaces 59a, 59b and 59c of the receiving slots 59. 
Although the present invention has been described with reference to a 
specific embodiment, those of skill in the art will recognize that changes 
may be thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the 
invention as set forth in the appended claims.