DISHWASHER BASKET WITH FOLDABLE CROCKERY HOLDER RACKS

Abstract: The dishwasher basket (9) consists of one or more crockery holding rack(s) (1) that is produced independently of said basket (9) and that can be attached to the basket (9), and a locking mechanism (4) located on the basket (9), which is used for attaching the crockery holding rack (1) to the basket (9). The crockery holding rack (1) consists of the supporting wires (2) placed on the same plane in parallel to each other, a connecting wire (3) and a locking wire (11). The crockery holding rack (1) is fitted by means of its ends to the rotation recess (5) at the lower end of said locking mechanism. The crockery holding rack (1) can be rotated in the rotation recess (5) taking the connecting wire (3) as its rotational axis and is brought to a vertical position by fitting the locking wire (11) into the blocking recess (6) at the upper end of the loading mechanisms (4).

Description: DISHWASHER BASKET WITH FOLD ABLE CROCKERY HOLDER RACKS The present invention relates to providing the dishwasher baskets with movable crockery holders, so that the dishwasher basket is used efficiently. The lower basket used in the dishwashers are formed by assembling the plastic coated wires, in different shapes. The lower basket is provided with support rods that are fixed to the wires at the bottom of the basket in such a manner that these support rods are placed perpendicularly or at sloping angles with the plane of the basket bottom, to hold and to space apart the plates and similar kitchen utensils at right or inclined angles, in order to provide an easy and effective structure for washing the said plates and the like. The support wires which are formed as perpendicular or at a certain angle to the bottom plane of the basket, and which are fixed to the basket, provide an increase in the area where such objects as plates, etc. can be placed without tilting. However such a fixed arrangement makes difficult to use the lower basket for washing such kitchen utensils as large pots, pans and the like. In the state of art, this problem has been tried to be solved by providing a holder with the support wires constructed independently from the basket which can be removed as a one piece rack from the basket by the user. However this solution brings out some other problems. Once the user removes the removable rack an extra space is required to store it somewhere outside the dishwasher. So the user either does not use this rack any more after it is removed or the user never removes it from the basket if there is no extra space available. In the European Patent Application, EP 797949, the reverse V-shaped locking mechanism is mounted in the basket, independently of the crockery holder rack which is disposed in the basket resiliently. This resilience leads to difficulties in mounting . The object of the present invention is to provide the possibility to place large and small crockery and cooking utensils at the same time with the plates, in the basket by folding the rack without requiring it to be removed out of the basket. Another object of the present invention is to provide the possibility to wash large crockery and cooking utensils at the same time with the plates, in the basket by forming the crockery holder rack in more than one pieces, not in one-piece. The dish washer basket with foldable racks, realized to attain the said object of the invention is illustrated in the attached drawings, wherein : Figure 1- is the general view of the basket when the crockery holder is in a vertical, upright position. Figure 2- is the detail view of the basket when the crockery holder is in a vertical, upright position. Figure 3- is the profile view of the basket when the crockery holder is in a vertical, upright position Figure 4- is the detail view of the basket when the two-piece crockery holder rack is folded on the horizontal plane Figure 5- is the profile view of the basket when the two-piece crockery holder rack is folded on the horizontal plane Figure 6- is the view of the locking mechanism. Figure 7- is the view of the crockery holder rack. The components shown in the drawings have been separately enumerated as shown bellow: I . Crockery holder 2. Supporting wire 3. Connecting wire 4. Locking mechanism 5. Rotation recess 6. Blocking recess 7. Obstructing surface 8. Resilience surface 9. Basket 10. Support nest I I . Locking wire 12. Guide surface 13. Alternative support wire The dishwasher basket (9) is made by welding together the wires arranged vertically and horizontally, on the base plane. The crockery holder (1) consisting of vertical wires which has an inclination upwards from the base plane, holds and spaces apart the plates to be washed at a certain angle. The crockery holding rack (1) consists of the supporting wires (2) placed on the same plane in parallel to each other, a connecting wire (3) and a locking wire (11) located on at least one end of said connecting wire (3). The support wires (2) hold the crockery placed in the basket, at the desired position. The support wires (2) are welded to the connecting wire (3). The locking wire (11) located at the end of the crockery holder rack (1) is engaged to the locking mechanism (4) on the basket in order to keep the crockery holder rack (1) at a substantially vertical position. To hold the crockery at a certain angle, preferably at least two crockery holder racks (1) are placed in parallel to each other, in trie basket (9). The locking mechanism (4) located on the basket (9) provides the movement of the crockery holding rack (1) and its vertical or horizontal positioning in the basket (9). Preferably two opposing locking mechanisms (4) are provided on two sides of the basket (9) for attaching the crockery holder rack (1) to the basket (9). The locking mechanism (4) consists of a rotation recess (5) located at its lower end, into which the connecting wire (3) is fitted in such a way that it can rotate and a blocking recess (6) into which the locking wire (1 1) is fitted. The connecting wire (3) is placed in the rotation recess (5) located at the lower end of the locking mechanism (4) while the crockery holder rack (1) is attached to the basket (9). The crockery holder rack (1) can move up and downwards and can rotate in the rotation recess (5) taking the connecting wire (3) as its rotational axis. The rotation recess (5) is preferably U-Shaped but it may be elliptical or triangular. When the crockery holder rack (1) is desired to be brought to a vertical or substantially vertical position, it is pulled upwards in the rotation recess (5) and is rotated taking the connecting wire (3) as its rotational axis. When the rack (1) comes to a substantially vertical position, the locking wire (11) is fited into the blocking recess (6). The blocking recess (6) comprises obstructing surfaces (7) which prevent the horizontal moment of the locking wires (11) and prevent it from folding on the horizontal plane under the forces in advertently applied on the holder rack (1); the guiding surface (12) that guides the locking wire (1 1) during the locking process and directs it towards the blocking recess (6) and a resilience surface (8) that makes the user sense the locking while bringing the rack (1) to a vertical or horizontal position. When the crockery holder rack (1) is desired to be brought to a vertical or substantially vertical position, it is pulled upwards in the rotation recess (5) and is rotated taking the connecting wire (3) as its rotational axis. During the rotational movement, the end of the locking wire (11) touches the guiding surface (12), said wire (11) moves along the guiding surface (12) and passes beyond the resilience surface (8) by a pushing force applied by the user; and when the crockery holder rack (1) is released at this point, the locking wire (11) fits into the blocking recess (6) and is fixed between the two obstructing surfaces (7). Supporting nests (10) can be located on the basket (9) in the same direction with locking mechanisms (4), in order to hold the rack (1) more rigidly in the basket (9). The support nests (10) can be in any shape, i.e. oval, triamgular but preferably in U-shape. In cases when the support nests (10) are designed in U- shape, the release of the connecting wire (3) from the support nest (10) is prevented by providing at least one lateral surface of the support nest (10) with knuckle or nodes. While placing the rack (1) into the basket (9), the connecting wire (3) is inserted simultaneously into the rotation recess (5) and the support nest (10). In the baskets (9) of the present invention, optionally two locking mechanisms (4), or one locking mechanism (4) and one or more support nests (10), or two locking mechanisms (4) and one or more support nests (10) may be used. The crockery holding rack (1) may be made in one-piece along the basket (9) or with more than one pieces. When it is made of more than one pieces, the support wires (2) at one portion of the basket (9) can be held at a vertical position, and those at the other portion, at a horizontal position on the same direction, thus both large kitchen utensils and crockery and the dishes can be washed together, at the same time, in the s w? basket (9). In cases when the rack (1) is made of two- pieces, two locking mechanisms (4) located opposite to each other in the basket and between these two locking mechanisms (4), at least two support nests (10) placed so that they are on the same axis (coaxial), are used. Each part of the crockery holding rack (1) is attached to the basket (9) by using one locking mechanism (4) and at least one supportnest (10). In the baskets (9) of the invention, optionally alternative support wires (13) can also be added onto the rack (1). These alternative support wires (13) may be located at the end of the rack (1) in proximity to the locking mechanism (4) on a plane vertical to the plane of the support wires (2). Said alternative support wires (13) make it possible to allow washing several more plates, if desired, in cases when the rack (1) is brought to a horizontal position in order to wash large utensils e.g. pots, pans etc. With such a crockery holding rack (1) made without using an additional piece, the user can use the basket more efficiently only by movement the rack (1), without removing it out of the basket (9). The fact that more than one crockery holding racks (1) can be used, and the use of the alternative support wires (13) improves and enhances the efficient use of the basket (9).

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A dishwasher basket (9) comprising a crockery holding rack (1) that comprises the supporting wires (2) placed on the same plane in parallel to each other, a connecting wire (3) connecting the support wires (2) and a locking wire (11); a locking mechanism (4) located on the basket (9), to which the crockery holding rack (1) is attached, a rotation recess (5) into which the connecting wire (3) is fitted in such way that it can rotate and which is located at the lower end of said locking mechanism (4); and a blocking recess (6) into which the locking wire (1 1) is engaged and which is located at the upper end of said locking mechanism (4). 2. A dishwasher basket (9) as claimed in Claim 1, characterized with the obstructing surfaces (7) which prevent the horizontal movement of the locking wires (1 1) and which are located in the blocking recess (6), the guiding surface (12) that guides the loading wire (1 1) during the locking process and directs it towards the blocking recess (6) and a resilience surface (8) that makes the user sense the locking while bringing the rack (1) to a vertical or horizontal position. 3. A dishwasher basket (9) as claimed in Claims 1 and 2, characterized with one or more than one support nests (10), located on the basket (9). in the same direction as the locking mechanism (4). 4. A dishwasher basket (9) as claimed in Claims 1 to 3, characterized with one or more than one crockery holding rack (1), and a locking mechanism (4) wherein each part of the crockery holding rack (1) is attached to the basket (9) by using one locking mechanism (4) and at least one support nest (] 0). A dishwasher basket (9) as claimed in Claim 1 to 3, characterized with one or more than one alternative support wires (13) that are located at the end of the rack (1) in proximity to the locking mechanism (4) on a plane vertical to the plane of the support wires (2).

Inventors: BASTUJI CEM, BASTUJI, CEM
Applicants: ARCELIK AS, BASTUJI CEM, ARCELIK A.S., BASTUJI, CEM
Application year: 2001
Main classification: A47L
IPC codes: A47L15