Extending dish drain rack

[0002] The applicant claims the benefit of Disclosure Document no. 462,220, filed Oct. 6, 1999 and Provisional Application No. 60/191,917, filed Mar. 24, 2000.

[0003] The present invention relates to the field of drain racks and more particularly to drain racks that can extend to cover a longer kitchen counter.

[0004] The standard method of washing cutlery, dishes, cups, saucers, glasses, pots, pans, etc. (which will be collectively designated dishes in this document) includes washing the items in hot, soapy water, rinsing them in hot, clean water and placing them into a drying rack placed on the kitchen counter adjacent to the sink. The dishes may be allowed to air dry in the rack or may be taken from the rack when only partially dry and dried with a towel. Standard dish drain racks are designed with inclines and lips so that, when placed with the lip over the edge of the sink, water dripping off the dishes etc. drains into the sink for convenient discharge into the sanitary sewer connected to the sink.

[0005] When a lot of dishes need to be washed, several racks may be needed. However, in many cases, only one may be placed with its lip over the edge of the sink. Then water accumulates on the counter. What is needed is a dish drain rack that is extendible and that allows water from any part of the rack to drain into the sink.

[0006] Several inventors have invented improvements in the standard dish drain rack. U.S. Pat. No. 1,522,921 discloses a drain mat composed of a plurality of rectangular frames with wire coils to support dishes and lift the mat above the surface on which it stands, joined together by another wire coil. U.S. Pat. No. 1,835,232 discloses a drain rack having a lower, slanted member and an upper member composed of a series of slats, attached together with a hinge. U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,638 discloses an extendible drain rack having three sections which can slide inside each other. The three sections have slanted tops and are of different heights. U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,448 discloses a device that can be used as a dish drain rack in one orientation and a cutting, washing board in the inverse orientation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,343 discloses a combination drain and cutting board for use with a dish rack. U.S. Pat. No. D267,125 discloses a drain board of the specific design illustrated.

[0007] However, none of the above innovations solves the problem outlined above. Development of a dish drain rack which can extend for drying of a large quantity of dishes and drain water from all sections to the sink represents a great improvement in the field of drain racks and satisfies a long felt need of the homemaker.

[0008] The present invention is an extendible dish drain rack comprising: a first section which provides support at an angle of inclination sufficient to effectively and efficiently drain water and a second section which also provides support at an angle of inclination equal to the angle of inclination of the first section. Each section has an essentially flat base and a rear leg or foot. At the front of the first section is a lip which is designed to overlap the rim of a sink. The second section is designed so that its front overlaps and rests on the rear of the first section and its angle of inclination is the same as the angle of inclination of the first section. To accomplish this, the leg or foot of the second section must be taller than the leg or foot of the first section. It will be appreciated that the exact dimensions can easily be derived from simple trigonometry once the angle of inclination, the lengths of the sections, and the overlap distances have been decided. There is also provided a mechanism for removably interconnecting the front of the second base to the rear of the first base. Thus water can drain from the rear of the second section to the front of the first section, i.e. all the way into the sink. This creates an essentially water tight joint between the two sections. In typical fashion there are a number of supports on the top surfaces of both sections for holding dishes in a water draining configuration. Clearly, further sections similar to the second section can be added. Each additional section must simply have a taller foot or leg than the preceding one. Again, the exact dimensions can be derived trigonometrically as described above.

[0009] An appreciation of the other aims and objectives of the present invention and an understanding of it may be achieved by referring to the accompanying drawings and description of a preferred embodiment.

[0010] FIG. 1 is an exploded side view of an embodiment of this invention having three sections.

[0011] FIG. 1 is an exploded side view of an embodiment of this invention having three sections 14a, 14b, 14c. The first section has an inclined base 26awith a lip 30aat its front 34aand support members 38afor supporting dishes in a water draining configuration on its top surface 42a. The angle of inclination 18 is sufficient to effectively and efficiently drain water from the rear 46ato the front 34aand is preferably provided by a foot or leg 50aunder the rear 46aof the base 26a. The second section 14bhas an inclined base 26bwith support members 38bfor supporting dishes in a water draining configuration on its top surface 42b. The angle of inclination 18 of the second base 14bis the same as the angle of inclination 18 of the first base 14aand is also preferably provided by a foot or leg 50bunder the rear of the base 14b. However, this second foot or leg 50bis taller than the foot or leg 50aunder the first base 14a.

[0012] The rear 46aof the first section 14aand the front 34bof the second section 14bare designed to mate with an essentially watertight connection. One way of providing this is to provide for a slight overlap 54 of the second base 26bover the first base 26a. In order to prevent the second base 26bfrom slipping off the first base 26a, a disassemblable connection is provided at the overlap 54. This can preferably be a system of loosely fitting slots 58 and tabs 62. In this way water will drain all the way from the rear 46bof the second base 26bto the front 34aof the first base 26a, and then into the sink (not illustrated) by gravity, similar to the way water drains off the tiles of a roof. Also, the sections 14a, 14bcan be easily disassembled for storage.

[0013] A third 14cand subsequent 14nsections (not illustrated) can also be provided. The design of the third section 14cis identical to that of the second section 14b, including the slots 58, tabs 62 and overlap 54, except that the foot or leg 50cis taller in order to continue the selected angle of inclination 18. The design of subsequent sections 14nis also identical to that of the second 14band third 14csections with even taller legs or feet 50n. The exact dimensions can easily be derived from simple trigonometry once the angle of inclination 18, the lengths of the sections 14a, 14b. . . 14n, and the overlap distances 54 have been decided. It will readily be appreciated that the exact configurations of the dish draining supports 38a, 38b, 38care a matter of design choice and can be varied on each section.

[0014] The following reference numerals are used on FIG. 1. The suffixes a, b and c are used to designate features only associated with the first, second and third sections of the invention, respectively.

[0015] 10 Extending dish drain rack

[0016] 14aFirst section

[0017] 14bSecond section

[0018] 14cThird section

[0019] 18 Angle of inclination

[0020] 26aBase of first section

[0021] 26bBase of second section

[0022] 26cBase of third section

[0023] 30aLip at front of first section

[0024] 34aFront of first base

[0025] 34bFront of second base

[0026] 34cFront of third base

[0027] 38aDish drain supports of first section

[0028] 38bDish drain supports of second section

[0029] 38cDish drain supports of third section

[0030] 42aTop of first base

[0031] 42bTop of second base

[0032] 42cTop of third base

[0033] 46aRear of first base

[0034] 46bRear of second base

[0035] 46cRear of third base

[0036] 50aFoot or leg of first section

[0037] 50bFoot or leg of second section

[0038] 50cFoot or leg of third section

[0039] 54 Overlap

[0040] 58 Slot

[0041] 62 Tab

[0042] The extendible dish drain rack 10 has been described with reference to a particular embodiment. Other modifications and enhancements can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims that follow.