WARE-WASHER OVER-SHELF

Abstract

A ware-washer includes a cabinet assembly. An over-shelf includes opposing side supports extending from the over-shelf. A translation mechanism is operably coupled to the side supports and the cabinet assembly and allows the over-shelf to be moved from a storage position to a maintenance position.

Claims

1. A ware-washer comprising: a ware-washer including a cabinet assembly; an over-shelf including opposing side supports extending from the over-shelf; a translation mechanism operably coupled to the side supports and the cabinet assembly, wherein the translation mechanism allows the over-shelf to be moved from a storage position to a maintenance position.

2. The ware-washer of claim 1, wherein the translation mechanism includes a rotation assembly operably coupled to the cabinet assembly and to the side supports, allowing the over-shelf to be rotated from the storage position to the maintenance position.

3. The ware-washer of claim 2, wherein the side supports are a pair of legs and the rotation assembly further includes at least a pair of rotation stops connected to either the legs or the cabinet assembly.

4. The ware-washer of claim 2, wherein the rotation assembly further includes at least one arcuate slotted bracket with a bolt held within the slot and a wing-nut threaded onto the bolt for allowing the over-shelf to rotate when the wing-nut is loosened on the bolt and for holding the over-shelf in a position when the wing-nut is tightened on the bolt.

5. The ware-washer of claim 1, wherein the translation mechanism includes a slider assembly operably coupled to the cabinet assembly and to the side supports, allowing the over-shelf to slide from the storage position to the maintenance position.

6. The ware-washer of claim 1, wherein the translation mechanism includes at least a pair of telescoping legs forming at least a part of the side supports and when the telescoping legs are extended, the over-shelf is lifted, rotated, or lifted and rotated from the storage position to the maintenance position.

7. The ware-washer of claim 1, wherein the translation mechanism includes roller bars allowing the side supports to roll from the storage position to the maintenance position.

8. The ware-washer of claim 1, wherein each of the side supports includes at least one wheel operably coupled adjacent a side support end and the translation mechanism includes a track or slot for guiding the side support wheels as the over-shelf is rolled from the storage position to the maintenance position.

9. The ware-washer of claim 1, further including one or more raised sides along a periphery of the over-shelf.

10. The ware-washer of claim 9, further including a drain assembly operably attached to the over-shelf.

11. A ware-washer comprising: a ware-washer including a cabinet assembly having a top surface and opposing side surfaces; a pair of rotation brackets, including structure forming a rotation hole in each bracket, wherein one of the brackets is attached to each cabinet assembly side surface such that the bracket rotation holes are positioned above the cabinet assembly top surface; an over-shelf including a pair of opposing side supports extending from the over-shelf, each side support including structure forming a rotation hole adjacent a side support lower end; wherein the bracket rotation holes align with the side support rotation holes; and a pair of spindles held within the aligned rotation holes, such that the over-shelf is rotatable from a storage position to a maintenance position.

12. A ware-washer comprising: a ware-washer including a cabinet assembly having a top surface and opposing side surfaces; an over-shelf including opposing side supports extending from the over-shelf; rotation assemblies attached to the cabinet assembly and the side supports, such that the rotation assemblies cooperate with the side supports to rotate the over-shelf from a storage position to a maintenance position.

12. An over-shelf kit for a ware-washer comprising: an over-shelf; opposing side supports for attachment to opposing sides of the over-shelf; a plurality of translation mechanisms for operable attachment to the side supports and/or the ware-washer; and attachment hardware for attaching the translation mechanisms to the side supports and/or the ware-washer.

14. The over-shelf kit of claim 13 further including components for a drain assembly.

Description

DRAWINGS

[0006] The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0007] FIG. 1 is a partial perspective of an example over-shelf attached to a ware-washer in a storage position;

[0008] FIG. 2 is a partial perspective of an example over-shelf in a maintenance position;

[0009] FIG. 3 is a partial side perspective of an example over-shelf with a drain assembly;

[0010] FIGS. 4 and 4A are elevations of another example over-shelf and translation mechanisms;

[0011] FIG. 5 is an elevation showing a still further example over-shelf and translation mechanisms;

[0012] FIG. 6 is an elevation showing yet another example over-shelf and translation mechanisms;

[0013] FIG. 7 is an elevation showing another example over-shelf and translation mechanisms;

[0014] FIG. 8 is an elevation showing another example over-shelf and translation mechanisms; and

[0015] FIG. 9 is an elevation showing still another example over-shelf and translation mechanisms.

[0016] Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0018] FIG. 1 shows an example ware-washer 10 including a cabinet assembly 12. An over-shelf 14, including opposing side supports 16 extending from the over-shelf 14. A translation mechanism, shown generally at 18, is operably coupled to the side supports 16 and the cabinet assembly 12. The translation mechanism 18 allows the over-shelf 14 to be moved from a storage position (shown in FIG. 1) to a maintenance position (shown in FIGS. 2 and 3).

[0019] The ware-washer 10 typically also includes a control system assembly 20 and fresh water plumbing assembly 22 mounted on a top surface 24 of the cabinet assembly 12. The side supports 16 must be long enough to hold over-shelf 14 and high enough to freely move with respect to the assemblies 20, 22.

[0020] The over-shelf 14 may include one or more raised sides 26 along a periphery of the over-shelf, as shown. The raised sides 26 help contain a dish rack 28 on over-shelf 14 during storage. Dish rack 28 is for holding glasses to be washed by the ware-washer 10, although other racks may be used, such as rack 30, shown partially within cabinet assembly 12 and partially on a door 32 of cabinet assembly 12.

[0021] An angled lower edge 34 positions the over-shelf 14 in the storage position, at a convenient angle and height for removing racks 28, 30 from and placing racks 28, 30 on over-shelf 14. The angle 36 formed relative to the lower edge 34 depends on the design specification but it has been found that a convenient storage angle is about 30 degrees.

[0022] The translation mechanism 18 may be of any known construction that allows the over-shelf 14 to be moved from the storage position to the maintenance position. In the example of FIG. 1, the translation mechanism includes rotation assemblies 38 (an identical assembly 38, not shown, is attached to the opposing side of the cabinet assembly 12) operably coupled to the cabinet assembly 12, by bolts 40, and to the side supports 16, via spindles 42, allowing the over-shelf to be rotated from the storage position to the maintenance position. The rotation assemblies 38, attached to the cabinet assembly 12 and the side supports 16, allow the rotation assemblies 38 to cooperate with the side supports 16 to rotate the over-shelf 14 from the storage position to the maintenance position. In the example of FIG. 1, the rotation assemblies 38 include a pair of rotation brackets 44. The rotation brackets 44, may include structure forming a rotation hole (not shown) in each bracket 44, wherein one of the brackets 44 is attached to each cabinet assembly 12 opposing side surface 46 such that the bracket rotation holes are positioned above the cabinet assembly top surface 24. The over-shelf 14 may include a pair of opposing side supports 16 extending from the over-shelf. Each side support 16 may include structure forming a rotation hole (not shown) adjacent a side support lower end (not shown, but generally behind brackets 44). The bracket rotation holes align with the side support rotation holes and a pair of spindles 42 are held within the aligned rotation holes, such that the over-shelf 14 is rotatable from the storage position to the maintenance position.

[0023] An angled lower edge 48 allows the over-shelf 14 to be moved to the maintenance position, at a convenient angle and height, such that the over-shelf 14 does not interfere with maintenance of control system assembly 20. The angle 50 formed relative to the lower edge 48 depends on the design specification but it has been found that a convenient maintenance angle is about 12 degrees.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 2, translation mechanism 18 ensures the over-shelf 14 and side supports 16 are moved out-of-the-way, allowing control system assembly 20 to be worked on, in the maintenance position shown. Conveniently, the rotation/pivot position of the spindles 42 relative to the side supports 16 and the cabinet assembly sides 46 allows the over-shelf to be moved up, above the control system assembly 20 and back away from the front of the control system assembly 20.

[0025] Raised sides 26 also allow liquid draining from racks 28, 30 to be collected and directed towards a drain assembly 52, especially when in the storage position. For example drain assembly 52 operably attached to over-shelf 14, is best seen in the side view of FIG. 3. Drain assembly 52 may include a nipple (not shown) formed in over-shelf 14, over which is fitted a drain hose 54. Drain hose 54 is then directed to an appropriate location such as a scrap trap 56, as shown. Further, drain assembly 52 may include a band clamp 58 to secure hose 54 to the nipple, and tabs 60 for routing hose 54 and attaching the hose 54 to the ware-washer 10, as shown.

[0026] A retrofit kit for mounting an over-shelf to an installed ware-washer 10 may include the over-shelf 14, opposing side supports 16 for attachment to opposing sides of the over-shelf 14, a plurality of translation mechanisms 18 for operable attachment to the side supports 16 and/or the ware-washer 10, and attachment hardware for attaching the side supports 16 to the over-shelf 14 and for attaching the translation mechanisms 18 to the side supports 16 and/or the ware-washer 10. The retrofit kit may conveniently be in a deconstructed state, so that the retrofit kit may be transported in a flat, compact manner for economical shipping to the ware-washer site. The retrofit kit may also include the components of the drain assembly 52.

[0027] In most of the examples above and those described below, only a single side of the ware-washer and only one of a pair of support sides and translation mechanisms are shown, for convenience and ease of understanding. It is noted that the examples shown include identical support sides and/or translation mechanism on the opposing side of the ware-washer 10 that is not shown.

[0028] FIGS. 4 through 9 disclose several examples of side supports and translation mechanisms. Control system assemblies and fresh water assemblies have not been shown for simplicity. In FIGS. 4 and 4A, the side supports are a pair of legs 62 and the translation assembly includes a rotation assembly of spindles 42 and brackets 64. The translation assembly further includes at least a pair of rotation stops 66, 68 connected to either the legs 62 or the cabinet assembly 12, as shown. As shown in FIG. 4A, the translation assembly may include a pair of rotation stops 66, 68 for each pair of legs 62.

[0029] FIG. 5 shows an example where the side supports include a pair of rotatable legs 70 on either side of over-shelf 14 and the translation assembly, shown generally at 72, includes a rotation assembly 74 that further includes at least one arcuate slotted bracket 76 with a bolt 78 held within the slot 80 and a wing-nut 82 threaded onto the bolt 78 for allowing the over-shelf 14 to rotate when the wing-nut 82 is loosened on the bolt 78 and for holding the over-shelf 14 in a position when the wing-nut 82 is tightened on the bolt 78. The translation assembly 72 rotates about spindle 42 mounted within legs 70 and brackets 71 while rotation assemblies 74 allow the over-shelf to be set at a desired position and the length of slot 80 limits the amount over-shelf 14 may be rotated.

[0030] The translation mechanism of FIG. 6, includes a slider assembly 84 operably coupled to the cabinet assembly top surface 24 and to the side supports 86, 88, allowing the over-shelf 14 to slide from the storage position shown to the maintenance position. The slide assembly may include slick skid plates 90 and slider feet 92. Dashed line 94 may represent a track or channel in which plates 90 and 92 are held, allowing over-shelf to be slid back and forth along plates 90, as shown by the double-arrowhead. In addition, stops 96, 98 may stop and/or capture feet 92 to hold over-shelf 14 in the storage or maintenance positions.

[0031] FIG. 7 shows an example translation mechanism 100 that includes at least a pair of telescoping legs 102 forming at least a part of the side supports and when the telescoping legs are extended, the over-shelf 14 is lifted, rotated, or lifted and rotated from the storage position to the maintenance position. In the FIG. 7 example, translation mechanism 100 further includes rotation mechanisms 104 attached to side support legs 106. Further translation mechanism may include pivot mechanisms 108, 110 on opposing ends of telescoping legs 102 and attached to over-shelf 14 and top surface 24, respectively. Telescoping legs 102 may be pneumatic, or use detents (not shown), or use any other known way of locking/unlocking telescopic movement.

[0032] FIG. 8 shows an example translation mechanism 112 that includes roller bars 114 allowing the side supports 116, 118 to roll from the storage position shown to the maintenance position, as shown by the double-arrowhead. The dashed line 120 may represent a housing or track containing the distal ends 122, 124 of side supports 116, 118 and the roller bars 114 for guiding the distal ends 122, 124 along the roller bars 114.

[0033] FIG. 9 is an example where each of the side supports includes a pair of legs 126, 128 and at least one wheel 130, 132 is operably coupled adjacent a side support end, as shown. The translation mechanism 134 includes a track or slot 136 for guiding the side support wheels 130, 132 as the over-shelf 14 is rolled from the storage position shown, to the maintenance position. The stops 138, 140 limit the travel of over-shelf between the storage position and the maintenance position and may also include structure for capturing and holding the wheels 130, 132 in the desire position.

[0034] The ware-washer 10, including cabinet assembly 12, over-shelf 14, and side supports 16 may be made from stainless steel or any other suitable material that will reliably withstand the rigors experienced by a commercial ware-washer.

[0035] The examples disclosed above provide a user with desirable and convenient dish rack storage for ware-washers placed in facilities with little or no storage space while also ensuring that the dish rack storage does not interfere with the operation and maintenance of the ware-washer, especially the control system assembly.

[0036] The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.

[0037] Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.

[0038] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms a, an, and the may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms comprises, comprising, including, and having, are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.

[0039] When an element or layer is referred to as being on, engaged to, connected to, or coupled to another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being directly on, directly engaged to, directly connected to, or directly coupled to another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., between versus directly between, adjacent versus directly adjacent, etc.). As used herein, the term and/or includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0040] Spatially relative terms, such as inner, outer, beneath, below, lower, above, upper, and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as below or beneath other elements or features would then be oriented above the other elements or features. Thus, the example term below can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.