Abstract:
A dish drainer and tray system providing reduced space requirements for packaging, shipping, display and storage. The tray may be compacted into storage size which allows it to fit in the drainer, thereby allowing the drainer rather than the combination to determine the space requirements. In one embodiment, the tray folds about one or more live hinges, and in a second embodiment the tray rolls and includes a closure to maintain it in the rolled position. A particularly preferred embodiment includes a detachable silverware compartment that drains directly into the sink and which can be stored with the tray in the drainer.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     NONE 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to the field of kitchen accessories and more particularly to dish drainers and trays. In its most specific embodiments, the present invention relates to a dish drainer —tray system, the tray being constructed and arranged to be compacted into a size to fit within the drainer for packaging, shipment, in-store display and for storage by the end user. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Many different types of dish drainer and tray systems are know in the art. Some include the capability of folding to reduce storage space requirements. For example, folding dish drainers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,957 issued Apr. 2, 1974 to Krause for “Combination Dish Rack and Tray” and U.S. Pat. No. 3,025,967 issued Mar. 20,1962 to Christophersen and entitled “Dish Drying Rack”. Folding dish drainers which include a drain board include U.S. Pat. No. 2,443,404 issued Jun. 15, 1948 to Tallarico for “Drain Board for Dishes” and U.S. Pat. No. 1,835,232 issued Dec. 8, 1931 to Lord for “Dish Drainer”. 
     Dish trays themselves are also well known and may be used without dish draining racks. This is generally considered to be preferable to simply drying dishes or other kitchenware on a dish towel, as is common practice in many households. Trays are shown in U.S. Pat. No. D365,182 issued Dec. 12, 1995 to Zehrung for “Dish Drain Tray”, U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,485 issued Apr. 21, 1992 to Sciabarassi for “Drain Board”, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,522,921 issued Jan. 13, 1925 to Smiley for “Dish Mat”. The latter includes a coupling between individual mat portions to allow them to fold. 
     A folding dish rack is also shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,714,629 issued May 28, 1929 to Rodin for “Folding Dish Rack”. This device includes a framework and several pivotal elements which may be elevated from horizontal to vertical positions depending on the desired use. 
     Finally, a dish draining system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,638 issued Oct. 2, 1979 to Cirasuuolo et al. for “Drainboard—Extend-A-Drain”. In this device, the tray may be stored within a housing and be extended over the sink when in use, as best appreciated from FIGS. 7 and 8 of this patent. 
     While the above-referenced patents show a variety of prior attempts to reduce storage space requirements for certain dish draining equipment, the systems are not applicable to tough, durable, plastic dish drainer and tray sets, which employ a tray that has a footprint larger than that of the base of the drainer. Such combinations are frequently sold as sets, and for packaging and sale, it is necessary to package the combination in a container, such as a folding carton or corrugated package, which accommodate the component having the largest dimensions, i.e. the tray. Accordingly, a considerable amount of wasted cube results, leading to logistical problems. For example, fewer packages can be transported on a pallet or in a truck, and fewer products can be displayed in a given space on a store shelf. 
     Consumers are also faced with the need to store both the tray and drainer, since typically these devices are placed on a counter adjacent a sink only after meal times and are left out until the items placed in the drainer have dried completely. Once again, the footprint of the tray typically dictates the storage space required for the set, or the individual components can be separately stored horizontally or vertically in the most convenient location in the users kitchen. 
     A dish drainer and tray system which could be packaged, shipped and displayed for sale in less space and which could be stored by the consumer in less space, while maintaining the desirable features of toughness and durability, would be a significant advance in this art. 
     FEATURES AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention features a combination dish drainer and tray system in which the tray has a footprint sufficiently large to in accommodate the drainer in a first configuration and may be compacted to a second configuration for storage within the drainer itself. 
     Another feature of the present invention is to provide a dish drainer and tray system in which a tough, durable drainer may be employed with a foldable or rollable tray to reduce the space required to package, ship, display, and store the two components. 
     A different feature of the present invention is to provide a dish drainer tray which may be folded using live hinges to a sufficiently small size to allow it to fit within a dish drainer. 
     A still further feature of the present invention is to provide a dish drainer tray which may be rolled and secured in the rolled position. 
     A different feature of the present invention is to provide a silverware container which may be releasable attached to a dish drainer tray which may be compacted by rolling or folding so that the dish drainer can accommodate both the tray and the silverware container. 
     How these and other features of the present invention, either singly or in any combination, are accomplished will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the FIGURES. Generally, however, they are provided in a system which includes a dish drainer which may have any desired shape and structure to receive kitchenware, dishes, glasses and the like for drying and which has a base. The system further includes a tray which has a footprint which exceeds the base of the dish drainer and is adapted to receive water from articles placed in the drainer and to guide it toward a sink. In the present invention, the tray may be compacted, such as by rolling or folding, to a configuration to allow it to fit within the drainer. In the preferred embodiments disclosed below, folding is preferentially accomplished using live hinges, while rolling is preferentially accomplished by rolling a flexible tray and self-locking it in the rolled-up position for easy storage within the drainer. In a particularly preferred embodiment, a detachable silverware container is provided and may be coupled to the tray when in use and may be detached therefrom for storage within the drainer. Other ways in which the above-mentioned and other features of the invention are accomplished, will become apparent to those skilled in the art after they have read this specification. All such ways are deemed to fall within the scope of the present invention, if they fall within the scope of the claims which follow. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dish drainer and tray according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the dish drainer and tray shown in FIG. 1 with a silverware container; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the drainer and tray of FIG. 1, with the tray in its storage configuration and a package surrounding the set and shown in phantom; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a different tray and a detachable silverware container; and 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the tray and container of FIG. 4, with the tray in its storage configuration and both within the drainer of FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Before proceeding to the detailed description of the preferred embodiment, several general comments can be made about the applicability and the scope of the present invention. First, the particular shape and functionality of the dish drainer is not a limiting feature of the invention, and any known dish drainer can be employed. In its most preferred embodiments, the dish drainer itself is an integral molding made from a synthetic resin and has a generally rectangular profile. However, other materials may be used and the shape may vary both as to size and geometric configuration. Preferably, the drainer has feet, ramps or other structural components to space the bottom of the drainer above the tray with which it will be used, to allow items placed within the drainer to drip onto the tray. 
     Second, the size and structural features of the tray can also vary widely, it being necessary only that the tray have a footprint which is larger than the bottom of the drainer with which it will be used. The tray preferably is inclined so that it can empty into a sink and may have various decorative features (for example ribs) or other structural or aesthetic components. The tray also will typically have some type of rim around its outer periphery to keep water collected by the tray flowing toward the sink rather than spilling onto the counter or floor. 
     Third, the materials used to construct the tray are also preferably synthetic resins. For one embodiment, it is necessary that the tray be made from a material which may be rolled up easily, while in the other illustrated embodiment, where live hinges are used, a more rigid tray material may be employed. However, it should be appreciated that the folding embodiment may employ construction materials which are rigid or flexible. 
     Fourth, the detachable silverware component which is shown in FIG. 4 coupled to the rollable tray could also be used with the folding tray design without departing from the intended scope of the invention. Moreover, either tray may be used without any auxiliary components, such as the silverware container. 
     Fifth, the particular number of rolls to attain a compacted size, or the number of folds used with a foldable tray, can vary from those shown in the illustrated embodiments. 
     Finally, the foldable and rollable trays disclosed and claimed herein may be used without a separate drainer, for example where only a few items may require drying or where the geometry of the washed item does not easily fit within the drainer. The reduced sized storage benefits for the tray itself are deemed to be a separate feature of the present invention. 
     Proceeding now to a description of the detailed embodiments, FIG. 1 shows an illustrative dish drainer  10  to be generally rectangular or square in horizontal cross section. A plurality of ribs  12  are provided and extend upwardly from the bottom of drainer  10  and serve to hold plates, bowls or other kitchenware in a vertical orientation within the drainer. A plurality of apertures  14  are provided about the perimeter of drainer  10 , each having an internal flap  16 , over which a glass can be placed. The illustrated drainer of the first embodiment also includes a pair of compartments  18  and  19  which could be used for cooking utensils, silverware and the like. Drainer  10  includes a slotted or perforate base so that items placed in the drainer  10  may drip through the drainer onto the tray soon to be described. In the illustration of FIG. 1, four elongated ramps  22  extend from the forward portion of the drainer toward the rear portion thereof to suspend the bottom of the drainer above the surface upon which it will be placed. This ensures that items placed in the drainer are free to release water droplets onto a lower surface than the bottom of drainer  10 . 
     As mentioned previously, this drainer  10  is for purposes of illustration and should not be taken as limiting. However, it serves well to illustrate the features of the invention which will become apparent as the description of the preferred embodiments continues. 
     FIG. 1 also shows a tray  30  suitable for use with drainer  10 . Tray  30  has a footprint which is larger than the base of drainer  10  and includes raised side edges  31  and  32  and a raised rear edge  33  to contain water falling onto the tray from drainer  10 . The tray  30  is inclined to direct water toward a front edge  34 . Tray  10  also includes a live hinge  35  extending from the forward edge  34  to the rear edge  33 . The hinges allow tray  30  to be folded into a compact size for storage within drainer  10 . The tray is illustrated in FIG. 2 in its deployed position without drainer  10 , and FIG. 3 shows a combination of the tray  30  folded about the hinge  35  and located within drainer  10 . Ribs  42  which are not visible in FIG. 1 or  2  are shown in FIG.  3  and the extend from front edge  34  to rear edge  33  to incline the tray  30  for discharging its contents into a sink or other receptacle. A package  45  is shown in phantom in FIG.  3  and can be any suitable shipping and/or display package, including folding carton, corrugated or plastic film packages or combinations thereof. 
     A second embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 4 where a roll-up dish drainer tray  50  is illustrated. It is generally flat with a plurality of longitudinal ribs  52  on its upper surface and a raised rim  53  surrounding the upper surface  51 . This tray  50  is also inclined toward the left as shown in this prospective view, so that the contents of the tray may empty into the sink  60  partially illustrated here. Also shown in FIG. 4 is a selectively detachable silverware compartment  62  having chambers  63  into which silverware can be placed and a flange  64  extending along one edge. The flange includes a plurality of pegs holes  65  which are arranged and constructed to receive pegs  66  extending upwardly from the forward edge  68  of tray  50 . The tray functions to discharge water from either the silverware compartment or the tray surface into the sink  60 . Once detached, silverware compartment  62  allows tray  50  to be rolled for storage. Furthermore, the pegs  66  are arranged and adapted to enter lock holes  70  located along the underside of tray  50  as shown in phantom in FIG.  4 . When the rear edge  72  of tray  50  is rolled toward edge  68  (the rolling taking place by turning edge  72  underneath the upper surface  51  of tray  50  and continuing the holes  70  of the tray  50  are aligned with the pegs  66  to permit locking the tray in its rolled position. 
     FIG. 5 illustrates how both the rolled tray  50  and the silverware compartment  62  can fit within the drainer  10  shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. For emphasis, it can again be pointed out the drainer is shown for illustrative purposes only, and that when using a separate silverware container, the drainer may not require separate compartments such as those illustrated by reference numbers  18  and  19  in FIG.  1 . 
     Other ways may be used to hold a rolled tray in a rolled configuration, such as the use of straps, Velcro® closure materials and the like, but it is believed that the peg and hole technique is advantageous from a cost molding, manufacturing and sanitation standpoints. 
     While the present invention has been described in connection with two different embodiments, the invention is not to be limited thereby but is to be limited solely by the scope of the claims which follow.