Dish rack and ware washing system for reusable plastic wares
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Solution Overview
Problem
Reusable plastic dishware tends to move around and collide in commercial dishwashers, leading to cracking, breaking, scratching, or creating surface defects due to its lower weight and susceptibility to high-pressure water contact.
Innovation Solution
A dish rack design with upwardly extending prongs and a cover that securely retains plastic dishware, minimizing movement and collisions during washing by enclosing the dishware in a bounded space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If reusable plastic dishware is cleaned in commercial-style dishwashers using high pressure water, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but the dishware may move around and collide causing cracking, breaking, or scratching
Solution Approach 1:
The dish rack is divided into multiple individual compartments, each designed to hold a single piece of dishware. This segmentation prevents dishes from moving and colliding with each other during the high-pressure washing process, while still allowing effective cleaning of each item.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a dish rack as an intermediary device between the dishware and the high-pressure water environment. The rack provides structural support and containment, acting as a mediator that protects the lightweight plastic dishware from direct exposure to the harsh cleaning conditions that would otherwise cause damage.
2Ease of manufacture
If reusable plastic dishware is made lightweight for cost effectiveness, then cost efficiency is improved, but the dishware moves excessively during cleaning causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The dish rack provides a counterbalancing structural framework that compensates for the lightweight nature of the plastic dishware. The rack's heavier, more rigid structure counteracts the tendency of lightweight dishes to move excessively during the washing process, enabling the use of cost-effective lightweight materials without sacrificing stability.
3Area of stationary object
If dishware items are placed close together for efficient rack usage, then space utilization is improved, but collision and surface defects increase
Solution Approach 1:
The rack is segmented into distinct compartments that efficiently utilize space while physically separating individual dishware items. This segmentation allows maximum packing density without allowing collisions, as each compartment acts as an isolated holding space for a single piece of dishware.
Data Source
AI summary
A dish rack for cleaning reusable plastic dishware can include a bottom support wall, a sidewall defining an outer frame, and a cover positionable over the bottom support wall. In some examples, the dish rack includes spaced-apart prongs extending upwardly from the bottom support wall. In use, an operator can load reusable plastic dishware on or between the prongs of the dish rack and close the cover. This can enclose the reusable plastic in a space bounded between the bottom support wall, the sidewall defining the frame, and the cover. Once loaded, the operator can insert the dishrack into the dishwasher to clean the reusable plastic dishware while retained in the dish rack. The dish rack can allow the reusable plastic dishware to be properly cleaned while minimizing or eliminating problems associated with the comparatively light reusable plastic dishware moving in response to high pressure water within the dishwasher.