Patent Publication Number: US-2007114195-A1

Title: Rack for stem glasses

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to storage devices for drinking glasses, and more particularly to a rack for storing stem glasses.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Goblets or stem glasses commonly comprise a cup held at one end of a stem, the stem in turn connected to the center of a discoid foot. In bars and restaurants in particular, it is desirable that stem glasses be stored in a convenient way without cluttering up the bar space, while remaining easily accessible to the barman. Stem glasses are therefore typically hung to a rack overhanging the bar, in a side by side relationship. Such stem glass racks are generally serially loadable in a last-in-first-out manner, and hold the glasses vertically and upside-down so that the opening in the cup is oriented downwardly. This downward orientation of the cup prevents dust to settle and accumulate inside the cup.  
      However, even though this upside down storing position of the glass prevents the accumulation of some settling dirt in the liquid-containing cavity of the cup from particles and gaseous fumes that are denser than air, some particles and gaseous fumes on the other hand such as cigarette smoke and fatty kitchen fumes that are carried by an upward air flow or that are less dense than air may flow upwardly into the cup and leave an undesirable and dirtying coating on the inner peripheral wall of the cup cavity.  
      Moreover, the glasses being generally loaded in a first-in-last-out order in these racks, glasses that were the first inserted in the rack are prone to remain unused for extended periods of time while the latterly inserted glasses are cyclically used, washed and reengaged in the rack. These unused glasses are thus prone to becoming dirty by the cumulative deposit of settling dust and other particles or fumes (cigarette smoke, fatty kitchen fumes, etc.) even without being used.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a rack for stem glasses of the type comprising a stem portion interconnecting a foot portion and a cup portion, said rack being elongated and defining first and second ends destined to be horizontally spaced-apart in an operative position of said rack, said rack comprising: 
          an elongated lower rail extending between said first and second ends;     an elongated upper rail extending between said first and second ends, said upper rail destined to be positioned substantially vertically over said lower rail in said operative position of said rack;     an elongated foot channel between said lower and upper rails and extending between said first and second ends, said foot channel sized for accommodating the foot portion of a stem glass;     an elongated insertion slot made between said lower and upper rails and being narrower than said foot channel, said insertion slot extending between said first and second ends; and     an elongated clearance positioned above said foot channel and extending between said first and second ends, for allowing the foot portion of the stem glass to partially and temporarily enter said clearance when a glass is being inserted or removed from said rack; 
 
 wherein the foot portion of the stem glass may be inserted into and removed from said foot channel at any point along said elongated insertion slot, and wherein the stem glass may be mounted in said rack in a cantilevered position where the foot portion is located in said foot channel with an upper portion of the foot portion abutting on said upper rail and a lower portion of the foot portion abutting on said lower rail. 
       

      In one embodiment, said elongated lower rail comprises a foot supporting groove for accommodating the lower portion of the stem glass foot portion.  
      In one embodiment, said upper rail comprises an upper rail wall having front and rear surfaces, said insertion clearance being located about said rear surface thereof, wherein said upper rail wall is for allowing the upper portion of the stem glass foot portion to abut against said rear surface thereof.  
      In one embodiment, said rack further comprises a shelf affixed to said front surface of said upper rail wall and projecting therefrom, said shelf destined to overhang the stem glasses held in said rack, said shelf acting as a deflector means for causing at least a portion of rising fumes to be deflected away from said rack and thus away from the glasses mounted therein, and also for preventing dust to settle on the stem glasses mounted in said rack and located under said shelf.  
      In one embodiment, said rack further comprises wall mounting means for mounting said rack to a wall, said rack also comprising spacer means for maintaining said upper rail plank spaced apart from the wall in order for said clearance to be defined between said upper rail plank and the wall.  
      In one embodiment, said rack further comprises a wall mounting bracket, said wall mounting bracket comprising said wall mounting means and said spacer means.  
      In one embodiment, said elongated upper and lower rails each define first and second lateral extremities, both said first extremities of said upper and lower rails fixedly interconnected by a first lateral bracket, both said second extremities of said upper and lower rails being fixedly interconnected by a second lateral bracket, said first and second lateral brackets thus fixedly interconnecting said upper and lower rails.  
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      In the annexed drawings:  
       FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a rack for stem glasses according to the present invention, holding a number of stem glasses in a horizontal and cantilevered position, and also supporting miscellaneous items on its top shelf;  
       FIG. 2  is a rear perspective view of the rack of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIGS. 3-5  are side cross-sections of the rack mounted on a wall, sequentially showing the insertion of a stem glass in the rack of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       FIGS. 1-5  show a stem glass rack  10  in its operative position, for holding a number of stem glasses G. Stem glasses G, as best shown in  FIGS. 3-5 , generally comprise a discoid foot portion F, merging at its center with one end of an elongated stem portion S, which in turn merges at its other end with a liquid-containing cup portion C.  
      Rack  10  is elongated and defines opposite first and second ends  10   a ,  10   b  that are horizontally spaced apart in an operative position of rack  10  where it is fixed to a wall as described herein after. Rack  10  comprises an elongated glass supporting portion  12  defining a longitudinal axis  13  extending between rack ends  10   a ,  10   b . Glass supporting portion  12  has a substantially planar overall shape and is destined to lay in a substantially vertical plane. Glass supporting portion  12  defines an elongated front glass insertion slot  14 , extending lengthwisely along glass supporting portion  12  between rack ends  10   a ,  10   b , and defining a longitudinal axis extending therealong coinciding with longitudinal axis  13  of glass support portion  12 . Rack  10  also has a flat shelf  50 , affixed to glass supporting portion  12  and projecting perpendicularly thereto and from a front surface thereof, as further described below.  
      Glass supporting portion  12  comprises a lower rail  15  extending between rack ends  10   a ,  10   b , including an elongated bottom rod  16  defining top and bottom surfaces  16   a ,  16   b respectively and made of hardwood for example, bottom rod  16  being coupled to an L-shaped elongated backing bracket  18  made of metal for example. This L-shaped backing bracket  18  is formed of a first horizontal flat portion  18   a  affixed to the flat bottom surface  16   b  of rod  16 , and of a second vertical flat portion  18   b  integrally projecting upwardly from one edge of first portion  18   a and running alongside the rear surface of rod  16 , as best shown in  FIG. 3-5 .  
      Furthermore, lower rail  15  comprises a crenel-shaped foot supporting groove  20 . The inner peripheral wall of foot supporting groove  20  is formed by the vertical side wall  22   a  and the horizontal bottom wall  22   b  of a square-angled indentation  22  routed on rod upper surface  16   a , and by the vertical bracket portion  18   b . The inner peripheral wall of foot supporting groove  20 , as described herein after, defines a lower abutment surface onto which the lower portion of the foot portion F will abut when glass G is held in rack  10 .  
      Glass supporting portion  12  also comprises an upper rail  30  including an elongated, flat wall in the form of a plank  32  extending horizontally between rack ends  10   a ,  10   b  and made of hardwood for example. Upper rail plank  32  comprises a flat top surface  32   a , a rounded bottom surface  32   b , and flat front and rear surfaces  32   c ,  32   d  respectively. Upper rail  30  is linked to lower rail  15  by first and second metallic brackets  40 ,  42 . Each one of brackets  40 ,  42  is affixed to the lateral extremities of lower and upper rails  15  and  30  respectively as best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , brackets  40 ,  42  thus coinciding with rack ends  10   a ,  10   b . Brackets  40 ,  42  thus connect lower and upper rails  15 ,  30  together such that the upper surface  16   a  of rod  16  and the lower rounded surface  32   b  of plank  32  are parallel and spaced apart from each other, in order for lower and upper rails  15  and  30  to be separated by elongated glass insertion slot  14 . The width of glass insertion slot  14  is inferior to the diameter of the discoid foot portion F of the stem glasses G that rack  10  is intended to support. Glass insertion slot  14  is closed off at its lateral extremities by the lateral brackets  40 ,  42 . Moreover, brackets  40 ,  42  connect lower and upper rails  15 ,  30  such that the rear surface  32   d  of plank  32  is substantially coplanar with rod  20  albeit located frontwardly of groove  20 .  
      As mentioned above, glass rack  10  also comprises a shelf  50 , made of hardwood for example, affixed perpendicularly to plank  32  of upper rail  30  with screws  52  (only one screw  52  being shown in  FIGS. 3-5 ). In addition to screws  52 , the interconnection between shelf  50  and plank  32  is further achieved by an elongated square  54  affixed to and extending lengthwisely along the lower one of the comers formed between shelf  50  and upper rail plank  32 , and by lateral brackets  40 ,  42 , which as shown in  FIG. 1  and  2 , interconnect the coplanar lateral extremities of lower rail  15 , upper rail  30  and shelf  50 . Shelf  50  is located spacedly above slot  14  and is destined to overhang and substantially cover the stem glasses G held in rack  10 . In addition to being capable of providing shelf storage space for miscellaneous items I as shown in  FIGS. 1-2 , shelf  50  also has the function of preventing downwardly moving dust to settle and accumulate on stem glasses held in rack  10 , and of deflecting upwardly rising fumes and particles such as cigarette smoke away from the glasses held in rack  10  by forcing the moving air currents to circumvent shelf  50 .  
      Rack  10  also comprises wall mounting means in the form of an elongated wall mounting bracket  58  suitably affixed to and running lengthwisely alongside the upper end portion of plank  32 . More particularly, wall mounting bracket  58  is made of four integrally interconnected portions as best shown in FIGS.  3 - 5 : 
          a vertical front portion  58   a  bearing against the front surface  32   c  of plank  32  near its top edge,     a horizontal top portion  58   b  perpendicularly connected to front portion  58   a  and bearing partially against top surface  32   a  of plank  32 , with its end opposite front portion  58   a  extending beyond the rear surface  32   d  of plank  32 ;     a vertical wall-bearing rear portion  58   c , perpendicularly connected to top portion  58   b , extending in a plane parallel to plank  32  and spacedly from its rear surface  32   d , wall bearing portion  58   c  being coplanar with vertical portion  18   b  of backing bracket  18 ; and     a horizontal bottom portion  58   d  perpendicularly connected to rear portion  58   c  at one end, and abutting at its end opposite rear portion  58   c  against plank rear surface  32   d.          

      As shown in  FIG. 2 , a number of wall mounting apertures  59  are made through the rear bracket portion  58   c , which are intended to be penetrated by screws or the like fasteners driven into a wall W for mounting the stem glass rack  10  on wall W as shown in  FIGS. 3-5 .  
      It is noted that when rack  10  is mounted on a wall W, wall bearing rear portion  58   b  of wall mounting bracket  58  and vertical portion  18   b  of backing bracket  18 , which are coplanar, will abuts on wall W. Since the wall bearing rear portion  58   c  of wall mounting bracket  58  is spaced away from the rear surface  32   d  of plank  32 , the rear surface  32   d  of plank  32  will be located in spaced apart fashion relative to wall W. Wall mounting bracket  58  thus also acts as a spacer means for maintaining plank  32  spaced-apart from wall W. The space formed therebetween in turn forms an elongated vacant clearance extending between rack ends  10   a ,  10   b , illustrated in dotted lines in the cross-sectional views of  FIGS. 3-5  and labelled  60 , about the rear side of upper rail  30 . Clearance  60  is located above a virtual foot channel  17  (shown in exemplary fashion on  FIG. 5 ) which is destined to be occupied by foot portion F of the stem glasses G which are loaded in rack  10 . This clearance  60  will allow glass G to be loaded into glass insertion slot  14 , as described herein after.  
      The mounting of a stem glass G in rack  10  is achieved by inserting the foot portion F into glass insertion slot  14 , and then having the glass G rest in cantilevered position in rack  10  as shown in  FIG. 5 .  
      To insert foot portion F into glass insertion slot  14 , a user must pivot stem glass G as indicted by the counter-clockwise arrow A 1  in  FIG. 3 . Indeed, discoid foot portion F being wider than glass insertion slot  14 , it must be first be tilted into an inclined position in which it may be upwardly and rearwardly translated until the upper portion of foot portion F is brought inside slot  14  as indicated by arrow A 2 . Then, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the user can pivot glass G into a clockwise direction as indicated by arrow A 3  so as to tilt it back into a horizontal position, all the while moving foot portion F upwardly as indicated by arrow A 4  in order for the bottom portion of foot portion F to clear the lower rail  15  so that it can be passed through glass insertion slot  14 . This pivotal and upward displacement (arrow A 4 ) of stem glass G would not be possible had there be an obstacle occupying clearance  60 .  
      Finally, as indicated by arrow A 5  in  FIG. 5 , glass G is moved vertically downwardly, such that the upper portion of foot portion F egresses out of clearance  60 , and such that the bottom of foot portion F enters into foot supporting groove  20  of lower rail  15  and is supported therein by the bottom wall  22   b  of indentation  22 . Then, as the user releases the glass, the weight repartition of glass G will bias it into a pivotal displacement similar to arrow A 3 , which pivotal displacement will be prevented by the simultaneous abutment of the bottom portion of foot portion F against the vertical portion  18   b  of backing bracket  18  and of the top portion of the glass foot portion F against the rear surface  32   d  of plank  32 , so that glass G remains balanced in a cantilevered and horizontal position as shown in  FIG. 5 . In this cantilevered position, stem glass foot portion F occupies foot channel  17 , which is located below clearance  60 .  
      These steps can be accomplished in the reverse order in order to take a glass G out of rack  10 .  
      An important feature of the present invention is the presence of a vacant clearance  60  about the rear face of upper abutment rail  30  above the foot channel  17 , or in other words the absence of obstacles in the space located between the rear surface  32   d  of plank  32  and wall W, appearing in dotted lines in  FIG. 3-5 . Indeed, the absence of obstacles behind plank  32 , i.e. in clearance  60 , allows the upper portion of foot portion F of glass G to be moved upwardly in this clearance as suggested by arrow A 4  of  FIG. 4 , which allows the lower portion of foot portion F to clear lower rail  15  as the glass is pivoted back to a horizontal position as suggested by arrow A 3 , to permit the passage of foot portion  14  completely through insertion slot  14 , i.e. therethrough from the front side of glass supporting portion  12  to the rear side thereof.  
      In some prior art racks for stem glasses, the stem glasses are inserted therein through the outermost open end of a channel in which the glasses&#39; foot portion can be slidably engaged, and the glasses are then slid along this channel towards the innermost closed end thereof. To remove a glass from the rack, the glass must slide towards the open outermost end of the channel until its foot portion reaches it, and can then be dismounted from the rack. In these prior art racks, the glasses are thus sequentially stored and can thus only be disengaged therefrom in a last-in-first-out order. Dismounting a stem glass in particular from the rack is not possible without also dismounting all glasses that have been inserted in the support after it, if any. With these prior art serially loadable/unloadable racks, as mentioned in the “Background of the invention” section above, glasses that were the first inserted in the rack are prone to remain unused for extended periods of time while the latterly inserted glasses are cyclically used, washed and reengaged in the rack. These unused glasses are thus prone to becoming dirty by the deposit of settling dust and rising fumes (cigarette smoke, fatty kitchen fumes, etc.) even without being used.  
      In the present invention, a stem glass can be frontwardly inserted in the glass insertion slot  14  at any vacant location therealong, in a discrete rather than in a serial fashion. This independent loading/unloading of the glasses allows the barman to pick any glass from the rack and remove it independently therefrom without having to unload other glasses from the rack. This feature facilitates the task for a barman who for example stores glasses of different varieties in the same rack, and to easily independently dismount a glass of the desired variety from the rack without dismounting other glasses.  
      Moreover, when mounted in rack  10 , glasses G are less prone to dirtying than if held vertically upside down in a conventional ceiling-hung rack. Indeed, the interior surface of a glass G is protected against upwardly rising fumes such as cigarette smoke and fatty kitchen fumes since glasses G are held horizontally, and the opening of the glasses&#39; cup portion C does not lie in the path of these rising fumes as it does when the glasses are held vertically upside-down in prior art racks. Moreover, as mentioned above, shelf  50  is wide enough so as to extend over the whole length of the cantilevered glasses G, and thus prevents dust from settling on the outer surface of the glass. The frontwardly projecting shelf  50  also serves as a deflector means which tends to cause at least a proportion of the upwardly rising fumes to be deflected and flow around the rack  10  and thus around the glasses held therein instead of flowing directly onto the outer surface of the cantilevered glasses.  
      Alternative embodiments of the present invention could be envisioned without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, lower and upper rails  15 ,  30  could be movably mounted to brackets  40 ,  42  instead of being affixed thereto. They could therefore be movable relative to one another, and their relative position could be selectively varied to widen or narrow down glass insertion slot  14 , in order for the rack of the present invention to adapt to stem glasses having foot portions F of different diameters. It is recalled that the glass insertion slot needs to be slightly narrower than the foot portion of the stem glass, and thus the width of the aperture will depend on the width of the foot portion of the stem glasses the rack is intended to support.  
      Or, alternately, brackets  40 ,  42  could be absent from the rack of the present invention, and the lower and upper rails could each be independently affixed to a wall by independent wall mounting means such as screws or the like fasteners. Since the lower and upper rails of the glass supporting portion of the rack can be affixed to the wall at the desired distance from each other, this embodiment also permits an adjustment of the width of the wall mounting aperture.  
      Also, in the embodiment shown in the drawings, the wall mounting bracket  58  is shown to act not only as wall mounting means for mounting rack  10  to wall W, but also as spacer means for keeping the rear surface of plank  32  spaced away from wall W. In an alternate embodiment, the rack&#39;s wall mounting means and spacer means could be independent and distinct structures.  
      Moreover, rack  10  could be hung from the ceiling instead of being affixed to a wall. It this case, means should be provided on the rack to stably connect the rack to the ceiling.  
      Also, although the upper rail  30  is shown in the drawings as being located perfectly vertically over lower rail  15 , it is understood is that the upper rail only needs to register substantially vertically over the lower rail, i.e. their relative arrangement should be such that the rack can hold and maintain stem glasses in a cantilevered position. Thus, the upper and lower rails of the rack could be horizontally offset, and thus not be vertically aligned, as long as stem glasses can be held thereby in a cantilevered, non-vertical position.