Abstract:
An expandable dish rack assembly includes upstream and downstream racks that are in sliding nesting relationship to one another. The downstream rack has upstream and downstream legs projecting down from the bottom wall of the downstream rack for supporting the downstream rack on a horizontal surface. The downstream legs are shorter than the upstream legs of the downstream rack so that the bottom wall of the upstream rack slopes downwardly from the upstream end to the downstream end. Upstream legs project down from the bottom wall of the upstream rack. Thus, the upstream rack can be supported on the upstream legs thereof and on the bottom wall of the downstream rack.

Description:
[0001]     This application claims priority on U.S. Provisional Patent Appl. No. 60/729,961, filed Oct. 25, 2005. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The subject invention relates to a dish rack for placement on a countertop so that dishes, glassware and silverware can drain.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Dish racks are in employed in many kitchens to permit dishes, glasses and silverware to drain after washing and prior to a more permanent storage. A typical dish rack includes a bottom wall with a top surface, a bottom surface and plurality of openings extending through the bottom wall between the top and bottom surfaces. Legs typically extend down from the bottom surface of the bottom wall so that the dish rack can be supported in spaced relationship to the countertop or a drain board sold with the dish rack. A plurality of supports extend up from the top surface of the bottom wall and are configured to permit dishes, glasses and silverware to be supported in a generally vertical orientation. Thus, water can drain from the dishes, glasses and silverware through the apertures in the bottom wall and onto the countertop or drain board. The typical dish rack also includes an array of side walls that extend up from the bottom wall. The side walls retain the dishes and other items neatly within the dish rack and may be configured to support glasses, cups and the like. The drain board adds to the cost of a dish rack and complicates packaging and shipment prior to sale and further complicates storage between uses. The prior art dish rack can be used without a drain board. However, water then will accumulate directly on the countertop and can damage or discolor the countertop. The countertop must be wiped dry each time the dish rack is used without a drain board.  
         [0006]     Some dish racks are formed from wires that are coated with a synthetic resin. Other dish racks are molded from a plastic material. Dish racks are made in many different colors to coordinate with other colors use in the kitchen. However, dish racks are generally unattractive and detract from and otherwise aesthetically appealing kitchen. As a result, many homeowners store dish racks in a cabinet or closet between uses, and considerable space must be allocated in a cabinet or closet near the sink to accommodate the aesthetically unattractive dish rack between uses.  
         [0007]     A dish rack must be sufficiently large to accommodate all dishes, glassware, silverware and cooking items that will be used during a meal. However, the number of dishes, glasses, silverware pieces and cooking utensils varies considerably from one meal to another. For example, the number of people who are being served at each meal is not always constant. Additionally, some meals require separate dishes for each of several courses. More particularly, some meals merely require each family member to have a dinner plate. Other meals, however, may require each family member to have dinner plate, a salad plate and a dessert bowl. The dish rack must be sufficiently large to accommodate the maximum number of dishes that are expected to be used, and hence the dish rack will be larger than necessary for many meals. Accordingly, a homeowner often will have an excessively large unsightly dish rack supported in an obtrusive position on a countertop and will require a large amount of storage space in a cabinet or closet to accommodate the excessively larger dish rack between uses.  
         [0008]     The subject invention has been developed in view of these problems and inconveniences.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     The invention relates to a dish rack assembly that can be expanded or telescoped from a small size to a larger size in accordance with the drainage needs for a particular meal. The dish rack assembly can be collapsed to its smallest size for storage between uses.  
         [0010]     The dish rack preferably is formed from an upstream rack and a downstream rack that can be telescoped relative to one another for selectively defining the size of the dish rack assembly. The terms upstream and downstream are used herein to define the direction of flow of water in the preferred embodiment. Thus, the upstream rack is configured to be gravitationally above the downstream rack and the respective racks may be sloped to accommodate the flow of drainage water from the upstream rack to the downstream rack and to the drain board or sink. The upstream and downstream racks preferably are molded from a thermoplastic material. In a preferred embodiment, a least a major portion of each rack is molded unitarily from a thermoplastic material. However, one of the upstream and downstream racks may have a separately formed compartment for storing silverware or the like.  
         [0011]     The downstream rack includes a bottom wall with opposite top and bottom surfaces. The bottom wall of the downstream rack includes an upstream end and a downstream end and preferably is free of openings between the ends. Legs projects down from the bottom surface of the bottom wall of the downstream rack. The legs at the upstream end of the bottom wall of the downstream rack project further than the legs at the downstream end thereof. As a result, the bottom wall of the downstream rack can be sloped on a horizontal surface so that the downstream end is lower than the upstream end. The top surface of the bottom wall of the downstream rack preferably is formed with an array of channels to ensure a gravitational flow of water towards the downstream end of the downstream rack. For example, the top surface of the bottom wall of the downstream rack may include a central channel flowing completely from the upstream end to the downstream end of the downstream rack. A plurality of transverse channels may communicate with the central channel.  
         [0012]     Opposite side walls extend up from the bottom wall of the downstream rack and a downstream end wall extends from the downstream end of the bottom wall and between the side walls of the downstream rack. The downstream end wall of the downstream rack is configured to accommodate an outflow of drainage water from the channels in the top surface of the bottom wall of the downstream rack. Upper ends of the side walls of the downstream rack preferably are curved outwardly. Significantly, there is no upstream end wall opposite to the downstream and wall of the downstream rack in the preferred embodiment.  
         [0013]     The upstream rack includes a bottom wall with an upstream end, a downstream end and opposite top and bottom surfaces extending between the ends. Additionally, the bottom wall preferably has no openings formed therethrough. Upstream legs extend down from the bottom surface of the bottom wall near the upstream end of the upstream rack. However, the bottom wall of the upstream rack has no legs near the downstream end thereof in the preferred embodiment. A plurality of dish supports preferably project up from the top surface of the top wall of the upstream rack. The dish supports are configured to support dishes in a generally vertical orientation to accommodate a gravitational flow of water from the dishes and onto the bottom surface of the bottom wall of the upstream rack. Opposed side walls project up from opposite sides of the bottom wall and an upstream end wall projects up from the upstream end of the bottom wall of the upstream rack and joins to the side wall of the upstream rack. In the preferred embodiment, the upstream rack has no downstream end wall opposed to the upstream end wall. Upper ends of the side walls of the upstream rack curve outwardly and away from one another. The upstream rack may further include a partition or compartment to define a space for storing silverware and other eating utensils. The partition or compartment may be molded unitarily with the remainder of the upstream rack or may be assembled to the upstream rack. One or more channels may be formed in the top surface of the bottom wall of the upstream rack to accommodate a flow of drainage water from the upstream end of the bottom wall towards the downstream end thereof.  
         [0014]     The downstream end of the upstream rack is configured to nest with and telescope into the upstream end of the downstream rack. More particularly, the bottom surface of the bottom wall of the upstream rack is dimensioned to rest on the top surface of the bottom wall of the downstream rack. Additionally, outer surfaces of the side walls of the upstream rack are dimensioned to slidably engage inner surfaces of the side walls of the downstream rack. The curved upper ends of the side wall of the upstream rack are dimensioned to nest over the curved upper ends of the side walls of the downstream rack. With this construction, the dish rack assembly can be telescoped together so that the downstream end of the upstream rack is near the downstream end wall of the downstream rack. This smaller telescoped configuration is convenient for storage of the dish rack assembly and for drainage of a relatively small number of dishes. Alternatively, the dish rack assembly can be expanded so that the downstream end of the upstream rack is supported near the upstream end of the downstream rack. This expanded orientation of the dish rack assembly is suitable for the drainage of a relatively large number of dishes. In all possible orientations of the dish rack assembly, drainage water will flow in an upstream to downstream direction along the top surface of the bottom wall of the upstream rack. The drainage water then will continue onto the upper surface of the downstream rack and will merge into drainage water that may be accumulated from dishes on the downstream rack. This combined flow of drainage water will continue to the downstream end of the downstream rack and can be deposited into the sink. The absence of openings in the bottom walls can eliminate the need for a separate drain board. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a dish rack assembly in accordance with the invention and shows the dish rack assembly in an expanded condition.  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the assembly shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  is a downstream end elevational view of the dish rack assembly shown in  FIG. 1   
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is a side elevational view of the dish rack assembly.  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is an upstream end elevational view of the dish rack assembly.  
         [0020]      FIG. 6  is a bottom plan view of the dish rack assembly in the condition shown in  FIGS. 1, 2  and  4 .  
         [0021]      FIG. 7  is perspective view similar to  FIG. 1 , but showing the dish rack assembly in the collapse condition. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0022]     A dish rack assembly in accordance with the invention is identified generally by the numeral  10  in  FIGS. 1-7 . The dish rack assembly  10  includes a downstream rack  12  and a upstream rack  14 . The downstream rack  12  is molded unitarily from a thermoplastic material and includes an upstream end  16  and a downstream end  18 . A bottom wall  20  extends between the upstream and downstream ends  16  and  18  of the downstream rack  12 . The bottom wall includes a top surface  22  and an opposite bottom surface  24  and has no openings extending between the top and bottom surfaces  22  and  24 . Upstream legs  26  project down from the bottom surface  24  of the bottom wall  20  near the upstream end  16  of the downstream rack  12  and downstream legs  28  project down from the bottom surface  24  of the bottom wall  22  near the downstream end  18  of the downstream rack  12 . The upstream legs  26  project a further distance than the downstream legs  28 . As a result, the bottom wall of the downstream rack  12  will define a downward slope from the upstream end  16  to the downstream end  18  when the downstream rack  12  is supported on a horizontal surface.  
         [0023]     The top surface  22  of the bottom wall  20  is formed with an upwardly concave central channel  30  that extends continuously from the upstream end  16  to the downstream end  18 . The downstream end of the central channel  30  defines a chute  32  from which drainage water will flow gravitationally. The top surface  22  of the bottom wall  20  of the downstream rack  12  further includes transverse channels  34  that flow downwardly and into the central channel  32 .  
         [0024]     The downstream rack  12  further includes first and second opposed side walls  36  and  38  that extend up from the bottom wall  20 . The upper end of the first side wall  36  includes an outwardly curved lip  37 . Similarly, the upper end of the second side wall  38  includes an outwardly curved lip  39 . First and second downstream end walls  40  and  42  project up from the bottom wall  20  and inwardly from the respective first and second side walls  36  and  38  at the downstream end  18  of the downstream rack  12 . The downstream end walls  40  and  42  slope downwardly towards the outlet end chute  32  of the central channel  30  to accommodate an outflow of drainage water.  
         [0025]     The upstream rack  14  has an upstream end  44  and a downstream end  46 . A bottom wall  50  extends from the upstream end  44  to the downstream  46  and has opposite top and bottom surfaces  52  and  54 . No openings are formed through the bottom wall  50  of the upstream rack  14 . Upstream legs  56  project down from the bottom surface  54  of the bottom wall  50  of the upstream rack  14  near the upstream end  44  of the upstream rack  14 . The projecting distance of the upstream legs  56  on the upstream rack  14  exceed the projecting distance of the upstream legs  26  on the downstream rack  12 . There are no downstream legs on the upstream rack  14 . The upper surface  52  of the bottom wall  50  of the upstream rack  14  is formed with a plurality of dish supports  58 . The dish supports  58  are configured to support dishes, bowls or the like in a generally vertical orientation that will permit droplets of water to flow from the dishes and onto the top surface  52  of the bottom wall  50  of the upstream rack  14 . An upwardly concave central channel  60  is formed in the bottom wall  50  of the upstream rack  14 . The central channel  60  has a convex lower surface that is dimensioned to nest in the channel  30  of the downstream rack  12 .  
         [0026]     First and second side walls  66  and  68  project up from opposite sides of the bottom wall  50  of the upstream rack  14 . An outwardly curved lip  67  is formed along the top edge of the first side wall  66 . Similarly, an outwardly curved lip  69  is formed along the top edge of the second side wall  68  of the upstream rack  14 .  
         [0027]     An upstream end wall projects up from the upstream end  44  of the upstream rack  14  and joints the first and second side walls  66  and  68 .  
         [0028]     The upstream rack  14  further includes silverware partitions  72  that extend between the first and second side walls  66  and  68  near the upstream end wall  70 . The silverware partitions  72  may be molded unitarily with the remainder of the upstream rack  14  or may be mounted to the remainder of the upstream rack  14 .  
         [0029]     The downstream end  46  of the upstream rack is dimensioned and configured to be supported on the top surface  22  of the bottom wall  20  of the downstream rack  12  as shown in  FIGS. 1-6 . More particularly, the central channel  60  in the bottom wall  50  of the upstream rack  14  will nest with the central channel  30  in the bottom wall  20  of the downstream rack  12 . The side walls  66  and  68  will nest inwardly of the side walls  36  and  38  respectively of the downstream rack  12 . In this nested configuration, the outwardly curved lips  67  and  68  on the side walls  66  and  68  of the upstream rack  14  will nest over the outwardly curved lips  37  and  38  respectively of the side walls  36  and  38  of the downstream rack  12 . This assembly  10  will be supported by the upstream and downstream legs  26  and  28  of the downstream rack  12  and by the upstream legs  56  of the upstream rack  14 . The downstream end  46  of the upstream rack  14  will be supported on the upstream end  16  of the downstream rack  12 .  
         [0030]     The dish rack assembly  10  can be maintained in an expanded condition as shown most clearly in  FIG. 1  to accommodate a relatively large number of dishes, glasses and silverware. In this expanded condition, the dishes, bowls and the like will be supported generally vertically by the supports  58  on the upstream rack  14 . Glasses, cups and the like can be supported on the top surface  22  of the bottom wall  20  of the downstream rack  12 . Silverware can be supported generally vertically between the partition  72  and the upstream end wall  70 .  
         [0031]     The dish rack assembly  10  can be collapsed into the  FIG. 7  orientation by telescoping the upstream rack  14  further onto the downstream rack  12 . In this smaller telescoped condition, the assembly still will be supported by the upstream and downstream legs  26  and  28  of the downstream rack  12  and by the upstream legs  56  of the upstream rack  14 . The downstream portions of the upstream rack  14  will continue to be supported by downstream rack  12 . In both configurations, water that drains from dishes, glasses and silverware will flow downwardly from the upstream end to the downstream end along the telescoped bottom walls  50  and  20 . The water from the upstream rack  14  will flow along the central channel  60 , into the central channel  30  of the downstream rack  12  and from the chute  32 . The bottom walls  20  and  50  have no openings. Thus, water will not accumulate on the countertop, and a drain board is unnecessary. The collapsed or inwardly telescoped dish rack assembly  10  defines a relatively small space and can be stored conveniently in a closet or cabinet. The absence of a drain board further reduces storage space. The dish rack assembly  10  then can be expanded to appropriate dimensions for use.