Abstract:
An accessory for supporting crockery in a dishwasher comprises a generally U-shaped main body having a pair of legs and a connecting portion that connects the pair of legs, at least one of the legs having a free end that is adapted to be releasably attached to a crockery basket in the dishwasher when in an installation position, and a smoothly radiused portion connecting each leg to the connecting portion, wherein the legs are spaced apart in the installation position a sufficient distance to promote stability of the crockery.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation, under 35 U.S.C. §120, of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/332,508, filed Dec. 21, 2011, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 29/393,079, filed May 31, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No.: D668,401, issued Oct. 2, 2012, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A dishwasher removes unwanted foreign substances from reusable crockery and utensils using washing liquid injected through an injection nozzle. The nozzle may be located in various locations inside the dishwasher, e.g., typically directly beneath the dishes, or, in the case of U.S. Pat. No. 3,167,183, may be located beside the dishes. The removed substances then drop to the bottom of a tub beneath the dishes. 
     Typically, a dishwasher contains at least one crockery basket or rack, usually two, each with a number of upstanding tines to hold the crockery in an upright position to allow for maximum cleaning. Occasionally, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,793,790 B2, dishwashers will contain a bottle rack for separately placing dishware products having a hollow shape, such as milk bottles and feeding bottles, in a vertical position to maximize cleaning. As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,033, an article holder for the dish rack of a dishwasher is provided for securely holding cup shaped articles in an upright position on the sides of the basket. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,655,267 a detachable device to prevent damage to glasses and cups from heavier metal instruments by more forcefully supporting the objects is disclosed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,822 discloses an arrangement to prevent damage to dishware due to the deterioration of coatings of a wire rack due to continued exposure to high levels of heat by introducing a removable and replaceable sleeve. As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,841,288, plates are occasionally held in place by tilted racks on both sides and with raised lower supports extending from one tilted rack to the other, and also holding the dish. In addition to dishes, specific types of reusable bags can also be washed in dishwashers, using the special dishwasher attachment shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,018. Also known is an accessory which may be clamped in an upright manner to an existing basket, to hold a baby bottle. 
     A need has developed to address one or more shortcomings of the prior art. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One aspect of the present technology is directed to a dishwasher accessory to hold or help hold in place various items of crockery to maximize the support given to these items to help prevent them from falling over and/or being cleaned improperly. 
     In one example, a dishwasher accessory may be removably secured to a rack of the dishwasher in such a way as to blend with the existing structure of the rack, in a space conserving manner. For example, the dishwasher accessory may have a main body with a distal end that is aligned with the tines, but extends to a height that is greater than the height of the tine. 
     In one example, a dishwasher accessory is attachable to one or more existing tines of a dishwasher, e.g., by providing the accessory with hollow ends than can be slid over the existing tines. 
     The accessory may have a predefined shape, or it may be deformable, e.g., in one of three ways: elastically, plastically or in a plurality of predetermined positions, similar to how a drinking straw with corrugations is adjustable. 
     In another example of the present technology, there is provided an accessory for supporting crockery in a dishwasher, the accessory comprising a generally U-shaped main body having a pair of legs and a connecting portion that connects the pair of legs, at least one of the legs having a free end that is adapted to be releasably attached to a crockery basket in the dishwasher when in an installation position, and a smoothly or gently radiused portion connecting each leg to the connecting portion, wherein the legs are spaced apart in the installation position a sufficient distance to promote stability of the crockery. The sufficient distance maybe about 4-15 cm, or about 8-12 or about 5-8 cm, or at least 4 cm. 
     In another example of the present technology, there is provided an accessory for a dishwasher having at least one crockery basket with a base and upstanding tines extending at an angle relative to the base, said accessory comprising a main body having a proximal end for connection to the crockery basket, and a distal end extending away from the proximal end, e.g., in cantilever fashion, wherein the distal end is angled to match the angle at which the upstanding tines of the crockery basket are oriented and dimensioned to extend a height that is greater than the height of the tines. 
     In another example of the present technology, there is provided an accessory for a dishwasher for washing crockery, the dishwasher having at least one crockery basket, said accessory comprising a main body having a proximal end for connection to the crockery basket, and a distal end extending away from the proximal end in cantilever fashion, wherein the main body, e.g., distal end, is adjustable in dependence on shape and/or size of the crockery. 
     These and other aspects of the present technology will be described in or apparent from the following detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view of a dishwasher according to an example of the present technology; 
         FIG. 2  is a partial view of a crockery basket including an accessory according to an example of the present technology; 
         FIG. 3  is a side view thereof showing an exposed height differential between the accessory and the tines of a crockery basket; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view thereof; 
         FIG. 5  is a left side view thereof; 
         FIG. 6  is a top view thereof; 
         FIG. 7  is a bottom view thereof; 
         FIG. 8  is a front view thereof; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of an accessory according to another example of the present technology; 
         FIG. 10  is a front view thereof; 
         FIG. 11  is a top view thereof; 
         FIG. 12  is a bottom view thereof; 
         FIG. 13  is a side view thereof; 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view of an accessory according to still another example of the present technology; 
         FIG. 15  is a side view of an accessory according to yet another example of the present technology; 
         FIG. 16  is a perspective view thereof; 
         FIG. 17  is a perspective view of an accessory according to another example of the present technology; 
         FIG. 18  is a front view thereof; 
         FIG. 19  is a side view thereof; 
         FIG. 20  is a top view thereof; 
         FIG. 21  is a bottom view thereof; 
         FIG. 22  is a perspective view thereof in an installation position relative to a basket and supporting a relatively flat pan or plate; 
         FIG. 23  is a perspective view of an accessory according to still another example of the present technology; 
         FIG. 24  is a front view thereof; 
         FIG. 25  is a top view thereof; 
         FIG. 26  is a bottom view thereof; 
         FIG. 27  is a side view thereof; and 
         FIG. 28  is a perspective view thereof in an installation position relative to a basket and supporting a relatively deep dish bowl or pot. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present technology is described in relation to several examples that may share one or more common features. It should be noted that an aspect of one example can be combined with an aspect of another example, and that any aspect of any example may form the basis for subject matter applicant may wish to pursue. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a dishwasher  5  for washing and/or drying crockery items, such as dishes, frying pans, cookie sheets, cutting boards, bowls, pots, etc. Dishwasher  5  includes a manually openable door  10  and a compartment  15 . Door  10  is openable to allow access to the compartment  15 . Door  10  will form a generally water/air tight seal relative to the compartment  15  when closed. The compartment  15  includes at least one crockery basket  20 ,  25 . 
       FIG. 2  shows further details of a portion of the sample crockery basket  25 , within which are several rows of generally parallel base rails  27  and upright tines  30 , generally used to support the items of crockery to maximize cleaning efficiency. However, sometimes the existing tines  30  are not enough to fully and/or optimally stabilize larger and/or irregular items, in a space conserving manner, in which case such items may not be fully washed/rinsed, or they may impact the loading/cleaning efficiency of surrounding items. There are several different designs for the dishwasher accessories, and each one may be specifically designed to support a different type of crockery item, or they may be adjustable. 
       FIGS. 2 through 8  show a first example of a dishwasher accessory  45  of the present technology. The dishwasher accessory  45  attaches or is otherwise provided to the crockery basket  20 , in an easily removable manner. Dishwasher accessory  45  can be provided to the base rail  27 , existing tines  30 , or even sides of the basket  25 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , accessory  45  has a main body  46 , a proximal end  50  that is attached to the basket and a distal end  55  that extends away from the distal end  50 . The accessory  45  may have a generally U-shape, including a pair of legs  60  and a connecting portion  56  ( FIG. 4 ) although other shapes are contemplated. The U-shape is able to better fit the contour of dishes and other crockery and avoids the potential for sharp points (e.g., from existing tines) that may cause damage to the crockery and/or premature wear on the accessory itself, which may be a malleable wire coated with a soft layer, e.g., plastic, etc. 
     The spacing between the legs may be about 4-15 cm, e.g., 5-8 cm, or 8-12 cm (or roughly about 95 mm) to ensure adequate contact with the crockery, and/or to best ensure stability of the crockery in an upright or optimal cleaning position that can robustly withstand the various cleaning/rinsing cycles which occur in a dishwasher. If the distance between the legs is less than 4 cm, then the stability of the crockery may be compromised, and if the distance is greater than about 15 cm, then the accessory will be wider than a large percentage of the crockery that is intended to be supported by the accessory. 
     The U-shape may also include smooth, radiused transitions  57  ( FIG. 4 ) between the legs  60  of the U-shape and the connecting portion  56  or distal end  55  of the U-shape, to enhance stable support. The distal end  55  and/or the radiused transitions  57  are intended to support the crockery. 
     Each leg  60  of the U shape may include an attaching member for attaching to the base rails  27  of the basket  25 . In  FIG. 2 , each end of the legs  60  includes an attaching member in the form of a claw  65 , one attached or otherwise provided to each leg  60  of the accessory. Each claw  65  includes a cross member  70  and at least one hook member  75 , with two such hook members for each claw  65  being shown in the example of  FIG. 2 . The hook members  75  are spaced to provide sufficient stability. 
       FIGS. 2 and 3  show the accessory  45  in the attached or installation position relative to the basket  25 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the angle of the main body  46  is selected to match the angle of the existing tines  30  (part of the accessory  45  is hidden behind the tine  30 ), which helps to ensure that the accessory blends  45  with the basket  25 , to help maintain maximum loading capacity and cleaning efficiency. The main body  46 , e.g., the distal and/or proximal ends  50 ,  55  of the accessory  45  can be adjustable relative to the cross member  70 , e.g., by using deformable materials such as malleable wires, to allow the angle of tines to be matched. 
       FIG. 3  shows the distal end  55  of the accessory  45  to extend an exposed height h that is greater than the height of the tines  30 , e.g., in the range of about 5-10 cm. The accessory has an overall height of approximately 10-20 cm. 
     While  FIGS. 2 and 3  show the accessory in the attached or installation position,  FIG. 4  shows the accessory in the pre-attached, pre-installation position. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the legs  60  are pulled outwards from both sides in the directions indicated by the arrows until the distance  76  between the claws  65 , and more particularly the tips of the hooks  75 , is more than the distance  77  ( FIG. 2 ) between the base rails  27 . Once the legs  60  are stretched to achieve this distance, they are released at which point the resiliency of the legs causes the hooks  75  to “snap” in and firmly engage the respective rails  27 . It can be appreciated that the legs  60  in  FIG. 4  converge towards one another as seen in the direction of the proximal end  50  of the accessory  45 , but the legs  60  are generally parallel once the accessory  45  takes up the attached position ( FIG. 2 ). 
       FIG. 4  shows that the hook  75  is formed at an angle α relative to the cross member  70  of the claw  65 .  FIG. 8  shows the accessory  45  from the front, making more apparent the angle α between the cross  75  and the hook  80  that makes supporting larger crockery easier. The angle α is in the range of 5-45 degrees, or about 10-30 degrees. 
       FIG. 5  shows the accessory in side view, including the angle β that is between the proximal end  50  and the cross member  70 . Angle β is in the range of about 45 to less than 90 degrees or about 60-75 degrees. The angles α and β may be adjustable, e.g., by making the accessory of spring wire that can be deformed. 
     Adjustability may be provided in the form of an adjustment mechanism, e.g., to allow selection of two or more predetermined positions, e.g., like corrugations in a drinking straw may allow the tip of the straw to assume a number of positions. As seen in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the angle β may result in the distal end  55  of the accessory being positioned slightly outward of an extent  73  between the hooks  75 . Although the distal end  55  is shown to project a small distance  71  (e.g., of a few millimeters, e.g., 1-10 mm) outside one of the hooks  75 , the distal end  55  may be positioned within the extent  73  and between the claws as seen in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . Such configuration helps to provide stability (given the distance between the hooks) and at the same time allow the angle β to match the angle of the tines in the basket. 
       FIGS. 9 through 13  show a second example of a dishwasher accessory  200  according to the present technology. Accessory  200  is similar to accessory  45  and thus parts that operate in the same manner will not be repeated for the sake of conciseness, where like reference numbers indicate like parts. Accessory  200  differs from accessory  45  in a variant on the way that it can be attached to the crockery basket&#39;s base rails  27 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , the claws  265  are rotated 90° compared to the claws  65  shown in  FIGS. 2-8 . The claws  265  may be fixedly attached in this manner, or they can be adjustable via an adjustment mechanism, e.g., the proximal end  250  may be swivelable or rotatable relative to the cross member  270 . When in this position, the claws  265  can be squeezed in the direction indicated by the arrows against the natural resiliency of opposed legs  260  of the accessory, which again has a generally U-shape. This is in contrast to the pulling the legs outwards in relation to accessory  45 . 
       FIG. 10  features the accessory  200  in a relaxed, pre-installation position (solid lines) as well as in the installation position (broken lines). Again, the legs  260  are generally parallel to one another in the installation position, and generally not parallel (diverging away from one another in the direction of the proximal ends  250 ) in the pre-installation position. As compared to accessory  45 , a distance  266  between the claws may be less than the distance  76  between the claws as shown in  FIG. 4 , which distance may be more useful if the base rails  27  of the basket  25  are closer to one another. 
     As shown in  FIG. 14 , an accessory  290  can also be manufactured of a material (e.g., spring wire) that that allows the claws  65 ,  265  to be positioned in either the inwardly facing orientation ( FIGS. 2-8 ) or alternatively the outwardly facing orientation ( FIGS. 9-13 ).  FIG. 14  shows the inwardly facing orientation in the broken lines, which can be converted into the solid line orientation by bending one leg  60 ,  260  over the distal end as indicated by the arrow until the claws  65 ,  265  face away from one another. 
       FIGS. 15 and 16  show another example of an accessory  300  according to the present technology. Accessory  300  is similar to accessory  45 , but has an exposed height H, i.e., the amount it rises above the tines  30 , that is greater than the exposed height h shown in  FIG. 3  in relation to accessory  45 . The greater height H allows for better and/or more complete support of even taller pieces of crockery, e.g., cookie sheets. The exposed height H is approximately 10-15 cm. 
       FIG. 16  also shows that the claw  365  to have a slightly different shape. Specifically, the claw  365  includes a cross member  370  and a hook  375 , as above, but the hook  375  is generally radiused rather than being angled relative to the cross member  370 . 
       FIGS. 17-22  show another variant of an accessory  400  according to the present technology. Accessory  400  includes a proximal end  450  and a distal end  455 , but the proximal end  450  attaches onto the crockery basket in a different manner as compared to the examples discussed above. For example, the accessory  400  is U-shaped and includes first and second legs  460 , the proximal end of which is connected to the tines  30  ( FIG. 22 ). In the specific example shown each end  450  has a hollow tip portion  451  dimensioned to receive the end  30 . 1  of an existing tine  30  of the crockery basket  25 . Specifically, the inner diameter d of the hollow tip portion is about equal to, or slightly greater or less than, the diameter D (or cross sectional dimension) of the end  30 . 1  of tine  30 . The hollow tip portions  451  may take the form of a blind bore to limit the insertion depth (e.g., 1-2 cm) of the tines  30  into the hollow tip portions  451  of the accessory  400 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 18 , accessory  500  has a general “U” shape, with the distal and proximal ends being in the same general plane, as also shown in  FIGS. 19-21 . The distal end provides a smooth surface such that crockery, e.g., a plate or pan  499  ( FIG. 22 ) with a shallow concavity, can be supported in a position that is more ideal for dishwashing machines and without scratching and with improved stability. 
       FIGS. 23-28  show an accessory  500  according to another aspect of the present technology. Accessory  500  shares many similarities with accessory  400 . One main difference is that the accessory  500  has a more pronounced three dimensional shape to better support crockery with a deeper bowl area, as shown in  FIG. 28 . The accessory may have a pre-defined shape, or it may start off in a generally planar state as in the accessory  400  and be bent or shaped to match the general dimensions or depth of the crockery to be supported, e.g., by plastic deformation and/or by elastic deformation due to the weight of the crockery. 
     Accessory  500  has a generally U-shape with a pair of legs  560  or proximal portions  550  and a connecting portion  556  or distal portion  555  that connects the legs  560  to one another. Legs  560  have hollow tips  551  as described above, and begin to curve at a distance  553  that is about two thirds of the total height  554  of the accessory  500 . The connecting portion  556  extends at an angle δ that is about 50-80 degrees relative to the legs  560 . This shape helps to support bowls or other deeply concave crockery, e.g., pots. 
     While the accessory shown in  FIGS. 23-28  includes hollow ends that receive tines of the basket, in an alternative, the accessory  500  may be attached to the basket using an attachment mechanism like those shown and described in relation to  FIG. 8  or  FIG. 9 , e.g., claw like attachment mechanism. 
     While the present technology has been described in connection with what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred examples, it is to be understood that the technology is not to be limited to the disclosed examples, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.