Hidden Dishwasher Indicator Signs

Abstract

Indicator signs adapted for internal use in hot and/or humid environments have been developed. The indicator signs are suitable for use inside dishwashing machines, steam chambers, sterilization machines, autoclaves and the like where they are hidden from view and safe from external forces that could render the information provided by the sign inaccurate.

Claims

1. A machine comprising: a waterproof sign having a body with two indicators on one or more surfaces of the body, wherein the two indicators are antonyms oriented 180 degrees relative to one another, and at least one attachment device securing the body of the sign to an interior component of the machine.

2. The machine of claim 1, wherein the sign is not visible from outside the machine when the machine is closed.

3. The machine of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the body is rotatable relative to the attachment device.

4. The machine of claim 1, wherein the two indicators are on a front surface of the body.

5. The machine of claim 1, wherein a first of the two indicators is on a front surface of the body and a second of the two indicators is on a back surface of the body.

6. The machine of claim 1, wherein the two indicators are words, images or both.

7. The machine of claim 6, wherein the words are “clean” and “dirty”, “new” and “old”, “fixed” and “broken”, “hot” and “cold”, “sterile” and “contaminated”, or “cooked” and “raw”.

8. The machine of claim 1, wherein the two indicators are permanently or impermanently marked on the body.

9. The machine of claim 1, wherein the attachment device is selected from the group consisting of a magnet, a suction cup, a hook, a loop, a clamp, double-sided foam, and combinations thereof.

10. The machine of claim 1, wherein the attachment device is an L-bracket extending backward and inward from an edge of the body.

11. The machine of claim 1, wherein the interior component is an interior wall of the machine or a rack within the machine.

12. The machine of claim 1, wherein the rack is selected from the group consisting of wire racks, shelving trays, dish racks, peg racks, flatware racks, glass racks, silverware baskets, stemware holder attachments, utensil baskets, utensil compartments, and glass attachments.

13. The machine of claim 1, wherein the sign is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of plastic, rubber, silicone, wood, metal, carbon fiber composite, and combinations thereof.

14. The machine of claim 1, wherein the machine is a dishwashing machine, a steam chamber, sterilization machine, an autoclave, or an incubator.

15. The machine of claim 14, wherein the sign is disposed inside the machine during an operating cycle.

16. An indicator sign comprising: a waterproof body with at least two indicators on a surface thereof, wherein the two indicators are antonyms oriented 180 degrees relative to one another; and at least one L-bracket extending from each of a top edge and a bottom edge of the body away from a front surface thereof.

17. The indicator sign of claim 16, wherein the two indicators are on a front surface of the body.

18. The indicator sign of claim 16, wherein a first of the two indicators is on a front surface of the body and a second of the two indicators is on a back surface of the body.

19. The indicator sign of claim 16, wherein each of the L-brackets extends inward toward a center of a back surface of the body.

20. The indicator sign of claim 16, wherein the two indicators are words, images or both.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Illustrative embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings, which may not be drawn to scale.

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a hidden dishwasher sign in use hanging from the dish rack inside an automatic dishwasher, according to an embodiment.

[0028] FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of signage disclosed herein, according to an embodiment.

[0029] FIG. 3 shows the front view, profile and side view of a hanging version of signage, according to an embodiment.

[0030] FIG. 4 shows the front view, profile and side view of a scroll-style hook attaching version of signage, according to an embodiment.

[0031] FIG. 5 shows the front view, profile and side view of an alternative magnetic-style version of signage with pictures instead of words, according to an embodiment.

[0032] FIG. 6 shows the front view, profile and side view of an alternative sliding-style version with screw backing of signage, according to an embodiment.

[0033] FIG. 7 shows the front view, profile and side view of an alternative dial-style with clip backing of signage, according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] In general, the terms and phrases used herein have their art-recognized meaning, which can be found by reference to standard texts, journal references and contexts known to those skilled in the art. The following definitions are provided to clarify their specific use in the context of this description.

[0035] A “device” is a combination of components operably connected to produce one or more desired functions.

[0036] A “component” is used broadly to refer to an individual part of a device.

[0037] The terms “direct and indirect” describe the actions or physical positions of one component or object relative to another component or object. For example, a component or object that “directly” acts upon or touches another component or object does so without intervention from an intermediary. Contrarily, a component or object that “indirectly” acts upon or touches another component or object does so through an intermediary (e.g., a third component).

[0038] “Proximal” and “distal” refer to the relative positions of two or more objects, planes or surfaces. For example, an object that is close in space to a reference point relative to the position of another object is considered proximal to the reference point, whereas an object that is further away in space from a reference point relative to the position of another object is considered distal to the reference point.

[0039] “Monolithic” refers to materials or components that are touching or connected throughout in an unbroken sequence or formed as a single unit.

[0040] FIG. 1 shows a hidden dishwasher sign in use hanging from the dish rack inside an automatic dishwasher, according to an embodiment. With “clean” written on one end of the indicator sign 11 and “dirty” written upside down on the opposite end of the indicator sign 11, the user 50 would be able to manually flip the sign 11 to one or the other end and hang it on a wire rack 62 as needed. To see the clean/dirty hidden sign 11, the user 50 would open the dishwasher door 63. The user 50 would load the dishes 61 into the dishwasher 60 and then flip the indicator sign 11 to “clean” or a picture 22 (FIG. 5) representing “clean”, and then close the dishwasher door 63 and turn on the dishwasher 60. Then, when the washing cycle has finished and the user 50 opens the door 63 again, he or she will see the indicator sign 11 displaying “clean”. Once the user 50 empties the clean dishes 61 from the dishwasher 60, he or she would then turn the indicator sign 11 upside down again to read “dirty”. In this way, he or she knows any dishes 61 put into the dishwasher 60 at that point are in fact dirty.

[0041] FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of signage disclosed herein, according to an embodiment. This design may be made of a flat sheet of stainless steel with words 21 or pictures 22 (FIG. 5) depicting “clean” and “dirty” cut into, dented, embedded, embossed, etched, engraved, or in some other way applied to the face(s) of the sign 12. In this embodiment, there exists a bent shelf, L-bracket or hanging element 31 on two opposite ends of the sign 12 allowing it to hang on the dish rack 62 or another element inside the dishwasher 60. As shown, sign 12 can hang from the dish rack 62 from only one wire, but will be prevented from hitting the dishes 61 in the dishwasher 60 during the wash cycle by a second wire on the dish rack 62 which the sign 12 lays against. As mentioned, parts of or all the sign 12 may be made of softer materials such as silicone which would pose little or no threat to harming dishware including glasses in the dish rack 62. When the user 50 wishes to change the position of the sign 12 from the word 21 or picture 22 of “clean” to “dirty” or vice versa, he or she simply uncouples the hanging element 31 from the wire of the dish rack 62 and turns the sign 12 upside down, then recouples sign 12 with the dish rack 62 by a hanging element on the opposite end of the sign 12. The angles of hanging element 31 are bent to provide an opening sufficient to receive the dish rack wire and an internal area of the hanging element 31 forms a V-shape that is able to securely contact components of various widths.

[0042] FIG. 3 shows the front view (top left), profile (top right) and side view (bottom center) of a hanging version of signage, according to an embodiment. Hanging elements 31 are used as attachment elements to couple the indicator sign 12 to a receiving component, such as dish rack 62. The front view (top left) depicts the face of the sign 12 on which the words 21 “clean” and “dirty” are oriented 180 relative to one another. Of course, other words, which would typically be antonyms, may be used instead of “clean” and “dirty”. The accompanying arrow shows how a user would turn sign 12 upside-down to change the message of the sign 12. The profile (top right) shows the body of sign 12 with two hanging elements 31 protruding away from the body and inward toward a center of the body. The side perspective view (bottom center) shows how sign 12 looks when coupled with a receiving component. The a sign 12 is manufactured from a flexible material, such as silicone, rather than a rigid material, such as stainless steel, it is possible to couple sign 12 with multiple elements by bending the sign to open the hanging elements 31 to fit top and bottom hanging elements 31 over individual wires.

[0043] FIG. 4 shows the front view (top left), profile (top right) and side view (bottom center) of a sign 12 having hanging elements 32 on opposing faces of the sign body, according to an embodiment. This sign 12 can be flipped 42 from front to back to change between the two indicator words 21 or pictures 22. In the front view (top left) one can see a single indicator 21 on the front face of the sign 12 and the second indicator 21 would be upside down on the back face of the sign 12. The arrows show that in this embodiment, the sign 12 would be flipped 42 upside-down as well as back to front to display the second indicator. In the profile view (top right), one can see this embodiment has hooks 32 extending in opposite directions from the body of the sign 12. Finally, the side perspective view (bottom center) shows this embodiment as it would look with hooks 32 on one side of sign 12 coupled to a receiving component.

[0044] FIG. 5 shows the front view (top left), profile (top right) and side view (bottom center) of an alternative magnetic version of signage with pictures instead of words, according to an embodiment. In the front view (top left) one sees a rectangular sign body 12, although other shapes are possible. The front surface of the body shows happy face and sad face pictures 22, and one face 22 is upside down. As is suggested from the accompanying arrow, sign 12 would be flipped upside down by the user 50 to remind himself or herself whether dishes 61 are clean or dirty. The profile view (top right) shows one or more strong magnets 33 adhered to a back surface of the body of the sign 12. Alternatively, a magnetic material may be embedded into the body of sign 12 or the entire body may be made of a magnetic material, making it unnecessary to connect a separate magnet 33 to the sign. One can see in the side perspective view (bottom center), this magnetic embodiment would be attracted to a magnetic surface, such as an interior wall of a dishwashing machine or wires of a dish rack 62.

[0045] FIG. 6 shows the front view (top), profile (middle) and side view (bottom) of a sliding version 44 of an indicator sign 12. As shown in the front view, two words 21 or images/pictures are displayed on the front face of the sign 12 with another piece of material forming a sliding element 23 that can move from side to side, covering one word 21 or picture 22 at a time. Looking at the profile view (middle right), one sees the means of coupling the sign 12 with a screw 34 attached to the body of the sign 12, and a backing plate 35 for receiving the screw. When properly positioned, e.g., over two or more wires in the dish rack 62, sign 12 can be tightened to prevent movement.

[0046] FIG. 7 shows a front view (top), profile (middle right) and side view (bottom left) of a dial version of an indicator sign 12 having a clip 35 as an attachment element, according to an embodiment. Sign 12 includes a dial display 24 where a word 21 or image/picture is displayed to identify the status of dishes 61 in automatic dishwasher 60. There is also a dial handle 25 that enables the user 50 to rotate the dial, thereby changing the word 21 or image/picture displayed. The profile view (center right) shows a clip 35 extending from a back of sign 12.

STATEMENTS REGARDING INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE AND VARIATIONS

[0047] All references cited throughout this application, for example patent documents including issued or granted patents or equivalents; patent application publications; and non-patent literature documents or other source material are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties, as though individually incorporated by reference.

[0048] The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed. Thus, it should be understood that although the invention has been specifically disclosed by preferred embodiments, exemplary embodiments and optional features, modification and variation of the concepts herein disclosed can be resorted to by those skilled in the art, and that such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims. The specific embodiments provided herein are examples of useful embodiments of the invention and it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the invention can be carried out using a large number of variations of the devices, device components, and method steps set forth in the present description. As will be apparent to one of skill in the art, methods and devices useful for the present methods and devices can include a large number of optional composition and processing elements and steps.

[0049] When a group of substituents is disclosed herein, it is understood that all individual members of that group and all subgroups are disclosed separately. When a Markush group or other grouping is used herein, all individual members of the group and all combinations and subcombinations possible of the group are intended to be individually included in the disclosure.

[0050] It must be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a magnet” includes a plurality of such magnets and equivalents thereof known to those skilled in the art, and so forth. As well, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more” and “at least one” can be used interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms “comprising”, “including”, and “having” can be used interchangeably. The expression “of any of claims XX-YY” (wherein XX and YY refer to claim numbers) is intended to provide a multiple dependent claim in the alternative form, and in some embodiments is interchangeable with the expression “as in any one of claims XX-YY.”

[0051] Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, the preferred methods and materials are described. Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the invention is not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention.

[0052] Whenever a range is given in the specification, for example, a range of integers, a temperature range, a time range, a composition range, or concentration range, all intermediate ranges and subranges, as well as all individual values included in the ranges given are intended to be included in the disclosure. As used herein, ranges specifically include the values provided as endpoint values of the range. As used herein, ranges specifically include all the integer values of the range. For example, a range of 1 to 100 specifically includes the end point values of 1 and 100. It will be understood that any subranges or individual values in a range or subrange that are included in the description herein can be excluded from the claims herein.

[0053] As used herein, “comprising” is synonymous and can be used interchangeably with “including,” “containing,” or “characterized by,” and is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps. As used herein, “consisting of” excludes any element, step, or ingredient not specified in the claim element. As used herein, “consisting essentially of” does not exclude materials or steps that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristics of the claim. In each instance herein any of the terms “comprising”, “consisting essentially of” and “consisting of” can be replaced with either of the other two terms. The invention illustratively described herein suitably can be practiced in the absence of any element or elements or limitation or limitations which is/are not specifically disclosed herein.

[0054] All art-known functional equivalents of materials and methods are intended to be included in this disclosure. The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed. Thus, it should be understood that although the invention has been specifically disclosed by preferred embodiments and optional features, modification and variation of the concepts herein disclosed can be resorted to by those skilled in the art, and that such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims.