Stemware holder

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9877632-B2
Application number	US-201213550636-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 17, 2012
Priority date	Jul 17, 2012
Publication date	Jan 30, 2018
Grant date	Jan 30, 2018

Abstract

A stemware holder for a dishwashing rack has a central shaft. The stemware holder also has a holding portion that has a stemware receiving area defined by a first set of prongs and extends from the central shaft in a first direction. The first set of prongs is adapted to hold a portion of a piece of stemware in the receiving area. The stemware holder further has a securing portion that has a dishwasher rack receiving area defined by a second set of prongs and extends from the central shaft in a second direction that is at an angle from the first direction. The second set of prongs is adapted to receive a portion of the dishwasher rack and secure the stemware holder to the dishwashing rack.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A stemware holder for a dishwashing rack, the stemware holder comprising:
a central shaft;
a holding portion including a stemware receiving space defined by a first set of prongs and extending from the central shaft in a first direction, the first set of prongs being adapted to hold a portion of a piece of stemware in the receiving space; and
a securing portion including a dishwasher rack receiving space defined by a second set of prongs and extending from the central shaft in a second direction that is at an angle from the first direction, the second set of prongs being adapted to receive a portion of the dishwasher rack and secure the stemware holder to the dishwashing rack,
wherein the holding portion is configured to hold the piece of stemware at an inclined orientation when the stemware holder is secured to the dishwasher rack.

2. The stemware holder of claim 1 , wherein an angle between the first direction and the second direction is less than or greater than 90 degrees.

3. The stemware holder of claim 1 , wherein the first set of prongs includes a first pair of outer prongs and a first inner prong offset from and between the first pair of outer prongs.

4. The stemware holder of claim 3 , wherein the second set of prongs includes a second pair of outer prongs and a second inner prong offset from and between the second pair of outer prongs.

5. The stemware holder of claim 4 , wherein the holding portion mirrors the securing portion.

6. The stemware holder of claim 4 , wherein the first pair of outer prongs, the first inner prong, the second pair of outer prongs and the second inner prong forms a prong unit adapted to hold a single piece of stemware.

7. The stemware holder of claim 6 , wherein the central shaft is attached to a plurality of prong units.

8. The stemware holder of claim 6 , wherein only one prong unit is attached to the central shaft.

9. The stemware holder of claim 1 , wherein the central shaft is a hinge, and the first and second sets of prongs are rotatable around the central shaft.

10. The stemware holder of claim 9 , wherein the angle between the first and second directions is variable.

11. The stemware holder of claim 1 , wherein the angle between the first and second directions is fixed.

12. The stemware holder of claim 1 , wherein the prongs and the central shaft are formed from the same material.

13. The stemware holder of claim 1 , wherein the prongs and the central shaft are formed from different materials.

14. A dishwasher rack comprising:
at least one side wall having an inner surface facing an interior of the rack; and
a stemware holder according to claim 1 that is attached to the at least one side wall.

15. The stemware holder of claim 1 , wherein in the inclined orientation, the stemware is orientated at an angle relative to a vertical plane, the angle being within a range of about 45-75 degrees.

16. The stemware holder of claim 1 , wherein the holding portion is configured to hold the piece of stemware away from a bottom of the dishwasher rack.

17. A dishwasher rack comprising:
at least one side wall having an inner surface facing an interior of the rack; and
a stemware holder attached to the at least one side wall, the stemware holder comprising:
a central shaft; and
a holding portion adapted to suspend stemware at a non-zero angle with respect to a vertical plane, the holding portion including a first set of prongs extending from the central shaft in a first direction,
wherein in the non-zero angle is within a range of about 45-75 degrees.

18. The dishwasher rack of claim 17 , wherein
the first set of prongs define a stemware receiving space that extends in the first direction and is adapted to receive a portion of a piece of stemware.

19. The dishwasher rack of claim 17 , wherein the stemware holder is permanently attached to the side wall.

20. The dishwasher rack of claim 19 , wherein the stemware holder is formed from one piece with the side wall.

21. The dishwasher rack of claim 17 , wherein the central shaft is an upper part of the side wall.

22. The dishwasher rack of claim 21 , wherein the dishwasher rack is a wire rack and the central shaft is an uppermost horizontally oriented wire of the side wall.

23. The dishwasher rack of claim 19 , wherein the central shaft is a hinge, and the first set of prongs is rotatable around the central shaft.

24. The dishwasher rack of claim 23 , wherein the angle between the first direction and the inner surface is variable.

25. The dishwasher rack of claim 17 , wherein the angle between the first direction and the inner surface is fixed.

26. A dishwasher comprising:
the dishwasher rack of claim 17 .

27. The dishwasher rack of claim 17 , wherein the holding portion is configured to suspend the stemware above a bottom of the dishwasher rack.

28. A dishwasher rack comprising:
at least one side wall having an inner surface facing an interior of the rack; and
a stemware holder attached to the at least one side wall, the stemware holder comprising:
a central shaft; and
a holding portion adapted to suspend stemware at a non-zero angle with respect to a vertical plane, the holding portion including a first set of prongs extending from the central shaft in a first direction,
wherein the stemware holder is removably attached to the side wall.

29. The dishwasher rack of claim 28 , wherein the stemware holder further comprises a securing portion that engages the side wall and includes a second set of prongs that extend in a second direction.

30. The dishwasher rack of claim 29 , wherein the holding portion mirrors the securing portion.

31. The dishwasher rack of claim 30 , wherein the first set of prongs includes a first pair of outer prongs and a first inner prong offset from and between the first pair of outer prongs and the second set of prongs includes a second pair of outer prongs and a second inner prong offset from and between the second pair of outer prongs.

32. A dishwasher comprising:
a dishwashing rack with a bottom surface and at least one side wall extending from the bottom surface, the at least one side wall having an inner surface facing an interior of the rack;
a stemware holder attached to the dishwashing rack and configured to suspend a piece of stemware at a particular orientation so that the piece of stemware does not contact the bottom surface; and
a washing compartment configured to house the dishwashing rack and the stemware holder, the washing compartment having a side wall,
wherein in the particular orientation, the stemware is suspended at a non-zero angle with respect to the sidewall of the compartment,
wherein the non-zero angle is less than 90 degrees,
wherein the stemware holder includes a pair of outer prongs and an inner prong that is offset from and between the pair of outer prongs, the outer prongs being configured to support the piece of stemware, and
wherein the stemware holder is removably attachable to the dishwashing rack.

33. A dishwasher comprising:
a dishwashing rack with a bottom surface and at least one side wall extending from the bottom surface, the at least one side wall having an inner surface facing an interior of the rack;
a stemware holder attached to the dishwashing rack and conf

Assignees

• Roberson Lindsay
• Roberson Andrew
• Bsh Home Appliances Corp

Inventors

• Roberson Lindsay
• Roberson Andrew

Classifications

• A47L15/505 Primary

  Inserts, e.g. for holding baby bottles, stemware or cups · CPC title