Abstract
A cutlery tray is provided. The cutlery tray may be used in a dishwasher, where the cutlery tray may be configured to be inserted into the tub of the dishwasher. The cutlery tray may include a frame and a mesh. The frame may be connectable to the inside of the tub of the dishwasher. The mesh may form a bottom section of the cutlery tray on which items to be washed can be placed. The frame may be configured to hold the mesh. The cutlery tray may be formed as one molded piece. In some instances, the cutlery tray can be manufactured in one piece to save time during assembly. Some embodiments may also extend to removable cutlery delimiters for efficient loading of the cutlery tray.
Claims
1. A cutlery tray for a dishwasher, wherein the cutlery tray is configured to be inserted into the tub of the dishwasher, the cutlery tray comprising: a frame connectable to the inside of a tub of the dishwasher, and a mesh, wherein the mesh forms a bottom section of the cutlery tray on which items to be washed can be placed and wherein the frame is configured to hold the mesh, the cutlery tray being formed as one molded piece.
2. The cutlery tray according to claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a double structure formed by an outer wall and an inner wall.
3. The cutlery tray according to claim 2, wherein the outer wall and the inner wall are interconnected by connection ribs.
4. The cutlery tray according to claim 3, wherein at least some connection ribs extend between the inner wall and the outer wall at an angle such that the connection ribs do not form a 90-degree angle with the outer wall and inner wall.
5. The cutlery tray according to claim 4, wherein the angle is in the range 30-60 degrees.
6. The cutlery tray according to claim 1, wherein the mesh is supported by at least one support rib extending all across the width of the mesh from a first position on a wall of the frame to a second position.
7. The cutlery tray according to claim 6, wherein the at least one support rib is further configured to hold items to be washed.
8. The cutlery tray according to claim 6, wherein at least two support ribs are provided to support the mesh.
9. The cutlery tray according to claim 1, wherein connectors are formed on the outside of the frame.
10. The cutlery tray according to claim 9, wherein the connectors are holders for wheels.
11. The cutlery tray according to claim 1, wherein at least one cutlery delimiter is located on the cutlery tray.
12. The cutlery tray according to claim 11, wherein the at least one cutlery delimiter is removable from the cutlery tray.
13. The cutlery tray according to claim 1, wherein the cutlery tray is configured to receive removable cutlery delimiters at a multitude of different positions to provide a variable cutlery delimiter configuration.
14. A cutlery delimiter for designating a space on a cutlery tray for a dishwasher to a particular type of item to be washed in the dishwasher, wherein the cutlery delimiter is removable from the cutlery tray.
15. The cutlery delimiter according to claim 14, wherein the cutlery delimiter has an elongated main body with a forward nose section and a rear section and wherein the forward nose section and the rear section are both provided with projections to attach to a cutlery tray.
16. The cutlery delimiter according to claim 15, wherein the elongated main body has a curved shape.
17. The cutlery delimiter according to claim 15, further comprising a handle.
18. The cutlery delimiter according to claim 14, wherein an icon is formed on the cutlery delimiter, the icon corresponding to a type of cutlery.
19. A dishwasher comprising the cutlery tray according to claim 1.
20. A dishwasher comprising the cutlery delimiter according to claim 14.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0023] FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a dishwasher with a cutlery tray,
[0024] FIG. 2 is a top view in perspective of a cutlery tray,
[0025] FIG. 3 is a bottom view in perspective of a cutlery tray,
[0026] FIG. 4 is a detail of the cutlery tray shown in FIG. 3,
[0027] FIG. 5 is a side view of a cutlery delimiter,
[0028] FIG. 6 is a top view in perspective of a cutlery delimiter, and
[0029] FIG. 7 is a bottom view in perspective of a cutlery delimiter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] The invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. For example, like or similar components of different embodiments can be exchanged between different embodiments. Some components can be omitted from different embodiments. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description.
[0031] In FIG. 1, a dishwasher to is shown. The dishwasher has regular drawers generally indicated by the arrow 14. Above the regular drawers a cutlery tray 12 is located. The cutlery tray 12 is an additional drawer or rack that can be used to load small items such as knives, forks, spoons, ladles etc. into the dishwasher 10 to be washed. Hereby space can be saved in the regular drawers 14 and the dishwasher can be used more efficiently in that more dishing goods can be placed in the dishwasher 10.
[0032] In FIG. 2, an exemplary cutlery tray 12 is shown from the top side. The cutlery tray 12 can be formed in one single piece and is preferably molded in a plastics material such as polypropylene. The polypropylene can be reinforced by glass fiber to increase the robustness of the cutlery tray. By forming all details of the cutlery tray in a single mold process assembly time can be significantly reduced. The cutlery tray 12 is formed by a frame 16 that supports a mesh 18. The mesh 18 forms a bottom section of the cutlery tray 12 on which items to be washed can be placed. To enable the mesh 20 to have small dimensions e.g. less than 2 mm strands with a spacing of about to 10 mm between the strands, supporting ribs 20 can be integrated in the molded cutlery tray 12. The support ribs 20 can extend all across the width of the mesh from a first position on a wall of the frame to a second position. In particular they can interconnect one side of the frame 16 to an opposite side of the frame 16. Any number of support ribs 20 can be provided. In this exemplary embodiment two support ribs 20 are provided. The support ribs 20 can have a double function, to both serve as a support structure for the mesh 18 and to also have holder for items on a top section of the support ribs 20. Other support members 22 can be provided to support the mesh 18 and to increase the robustness of the cutlery tray 12. In FIG. 2, a central support member 22 is provided running from one side of the frame 16 to the other side of the frame 16 at the mid-section of the cutlery tray 12. Connectors 24 can also be molded in the one-piece cutlery tray 12. The connectors can for example be wheel holders or any other type of structure such as pins used to keep the cutlery tray in place in the tub of the dishwasher and to slide the cutlery tray in and out of the tub when loading/unloading the cutlery tray. Thus, the connectors can be used to attach the cutlery tray to the inside of the tub of a dishwasher.
[0033] Further, cutlery delimiters 50, 51 are shown in FIG. 2. The cutlery delimiters 50 are used to designate different spaces on the cutlery tray 12 to different types of items. For example, at one side of the cutlery delimiter 50 forks are to be placed. The cutlery tray 12 can be configured to receive removable cutlery delimiters 50, 51 so that the cutlery delimiters 50, 51 can be move within or re-moved from the cutlery tray 12. Removable cutlery delimiters 50, 51 will be described in more detail in conjunction with FIGS. 5-7.
[0034] In FIG. 3, the cutlery tray 12 is shown from the bottom side. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the frame 16 is formed having an outer wall 32 and an inner wall 34. Hereby a double structure of the frame 16 is formed that will help to increase the robustness of the cutlery tray. This is particularly helpful when, as here, the cutlery tray is formed in one piece without any additional re-enforcements, such as metal re-enforcements.
[0035] In FIG. 4, a detail of FIG. 3 is shown. FIG. 4 shows a close-up on the double wall 32, 34 in FIG. 3. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the wall sections 32, 34 can be interconnected by connections ribs 36 formed in the molded cutlery tray. The connection ribs 36 can be positioned to interconnect the inner wall and the outer wall at an angled direction. For example, the angle can be in the range 30-60 degrees.
[0036] In FIG. 5, a removable cutlery delimiter 50 is shown from the side. The removable cutlery delimiter 50 can be generally elongated in shape. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 5 the removable cutlery delimiter 50 is formed by a main body 52 having an elongated, curved shape. The removable cutlery delimiter 50 has a forward nose section 54 and a rear section 56. The forward nose section 54 and the rear section 56 can both have projections 60, 62 to attach the removable cutlery delimiter 50 to a cutlery tray. Further, a handle 58 can be formed on the removable cutlery delimiter 50 to make it easy to move/remove the removable cutlery delimiter 50.
[0037] In FIG. 6, the removable cutlery delimiter 50 is shown in a top perspective view. As can be seen, the handle 58 can have a curved shape. Also, the projection 60 on the forward nose section can have a curved front. To make the placement of items easier and to reduce the risk of placing items at the wrong location on the cutlery tray, the removable cutlery delimiter 50 can have an icon 64 indicating what type of item should be placed at the space delimited by the removable cutlery delimiter 50. In the example shown in FIG. 6 a fork is indicated so that a user will know where to place forks when loading the cutlery tray.
[0038] In FIG. 7, the removable cutlery delimiter 50 is shown in a bottom perspective view. As is shown in FIG. 7, the forward nose section 54 can be provided with a support structure 66 to enhance the robustness of the forward nose section 54.
