Patent Publication Number: US-2003230955-A1

Title: Dishwasher trim strip

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] Dishwashers often are installed in an opening between cabinets in a kitchen. Since the width of the dishwasher is slightly less than the cabinet opening, a space or gap remains between the sides of the dishwasher and the cabinets. When the dishwasher door is open, the gap is visible, along with the normally unfinished sides of the cabinets and the exposed tub flange of the dishwasher. The gap thus yields an undesirable appearance.  
       [0002] Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of a trim strip for use on a dishwasher to cover the gap between the dishwasher and cabinets on each side.  
       [0003] Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a dishwasher trim strip which allows for adjustable positioning of the dishwasher within a cabinet opening.  
       [0004] Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a dishwasher trim strip which accommodates different sized gaps between the cabinets and the dishwasher.  
       [0005] A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a dishwasher trim strip having a resilient seal for sealing with the dishwasher door when the door is closed.  
       [0006] Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of a dishwasher trim strip which can be quickly and easily installed.  
       [0007] Another objective of the present invention is the provision of trim strip which is slidably mounted on the tub flange of the dishwasher and secured to the sides of the cabinets so that the dishwasher is mounted to the sides of the cabinets.  
       [0008] A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a trim strip for a dishwasher which allows the dishwasher to be mounted flush with the cabinet facia or flush with the cabinet door and drawer fronts.  
       [0009] Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a dishwasher trim strip which is economical to manufacture and durable in use.  
       [0010] These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the invention.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011] A trim strip is provided for a dishwasher to cover the gap between the dishwasher and the adjacent cabinets. The trim strip includes an elongated body portion having opposite forward and rearward edges, and a pair of spaced apart arms extending from the body portion to slidably mount onto the tub flange of the dishwasher. The body portion is then screwed to the sides of the cabinets so as to cover the gap between an adjacent cabinet and the dishwasher and securely mount the dishwasher within the cabinet opening. The trim strip includes a resilient seal adapted to sealingly engage the door when the door is in the closed position so as to enhance sound proofing of the dishwasher. The trim strip accommodates various width gaps on the sides of the dishwasher, and allows the dishwasher to be mounted flush with the cabinet facia or the cabinet door fronts. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0012]FIG. 1 is a view of a dishwasher installed in an opening between cabinets, with the door of the dishwasher opened to show the trim strip of the present invention.  
     [0013]FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along lines  2 - 2  of FIG. 1.  
     [0014]FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the trim strip  
     [0015]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the trim strip.  
     [0016]FIG. 5 is a view of an alternative embodiment of a reversible trim strip. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
     [0017] A dishwasher is generally designated by the reference numeral  10  in the drawings.  
     [0018] The dishwasher  10  is mounted in an opening or cavity between kitchen cabinets  12  and beneath a kitchen countertop  14 . Due to the tolerance between the cabinet cavity and the dishwasher  10 , a space or gap  16  normally exists between the sides of the cabinets  12  and the dishwasher  10 , as best seen in FIG. 2.  
     [0019] The present invention is directed towards a trim strip  18  used to cover the gap  16 . More particularly, the trim strip  18  includes a body  20  defined by first and second legs  22 ,  24  respectively. A pair of arms  26 ,  28  extend inwardly from the body  20  and are spaced apart from one another. The dishwasher  10  includes a tub having a flange  30  extending at least on opposite sides of the tub. The arms  26 ,  28  of the trim strip  18  are adapted to be slidably press fit onto the tub flange  30  for a frictional fit therewith, as best seen in FIG.  2 . The first leg includes an outer portion  32  and an inner portion  34 . Each of the outer and inner portions  32 ,  34  includes a reduced thickness area  36  through which a screw  35  is inserted for securing the leg  22  to the side of the cabinet  12 , as shown in FIG. 2. A hole  37  may be provided in the reduced thickness areas  36  of the leg  22  for the screws  35 . The reduced thickness areas  36  allow the head of the screw  35  to be recessed with respect to the surface  38  of the leg  22 .  
     [0020] The length of the leg  22  allows the dishwasher to be installed in two positions relative to the cabinets  12 . First, the dishwasher  10  can be mounted so as to be flush with the cabinet facia  40 , in which case, the fall length of the leg  22  is used, with the screw  35  being installed through the outer portion  32  of the leg  22 . As a second option, the dishwasher  10  can be moved slightly forward, so as to be flush with the cabinet door  42 , in which case the leg  22  is cut at an indicia or notch  44 , so as to remove the outer leg portion  32 . The screw  35  then extends through the inner portion  34  of the leg  22  to secure the trim strip  18  to the cabinet  12 .  
     [0021] In a preferred embodiment, the trim strip  18  includes a resilient leaf-type seal  46  extending forwardly from the first arm  26 . The seal  46  provides a sealing engagement with the dishwasher door  48  when the door is closed, so as to enhance sound proofing of the dishwasher  10 . The seal  46  may take other configurations, such as a bulb seal.  
     [0022] An alternative embodiment trim strip  18 A is shown in FIG. 5. The trim strip  18 A is similar to the trim strip  18 , though does not include the seal  46 . The leg  22 A also does not include the notch  44 , since the trim strip  18 A is reversible. Thus, when the dishwasher is to be mounted flush with the cabinet facia  40 , the arms  26 A,  28 A are slidably mounted on the tub flange, with the longer leg  22 A extending forwardly for securement to the cabinet  12 . When the dishwasher  10  is to be mounted flush with the cabinet doors  42 , the trim strip is turned 180° so that the shorter second leg  24 A extends forwardly for securement to the cabinet  12 . Thus, there is no need to cut off a portion of the leg  22 A in order to accommodate the two installation positions of the dishwasher when using the alternative embodiment trim strip  18 A. The legs have reduced thickness portions  36 A with holes  37 A to receive a screw, similar to the trim strip  18 .  
     [0023] Preferably, the trim strips  18 ,  18 A are extruded from a plastic material, such as PVC. More particularly, the trim strip body  20  is extruded from relatively rigid PVC, and the seal  46  is co-extruded from flexible PVC.  
     [0024] With the trim strips  18 ,  18 A of the present invention, the gap  16  between the dishwasher  10  and the cabinets  12  is covered to provide a more finished appearance when the dishwasher door  48  is open.  
     [0025] This mounting arrangement allows the dishwasher  10  to be secured to the side walls of the cabinet  12  without any attachment to the underside of the countertop  14 . This feature is an improvement over previous designs that generally required attachment to the countertop  14  and is of particular importance in new housing where the countertop  14  may be fabricated from materials such as granite or marble.  
     [0026] The invention has been shown and described above with the preferred embodiments, and it is understood that many modifications, substitutions, and additions may be made which are within the intended spirit and scope of the invention. From the aforegoing, it can be seen that the present invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.