Dishwasher Folding Rack Support With Axial Tine Offset
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional dishwasher racks face interference issues when folding tines from adjacent spines are folded flush, as they are regularly spaced and designed to cooperate for supporting specific items, limiting accommodation of larger objects without interference.
Innovation Solution
A support member with a first channel for rotating the main spine and a second channel to secure the folding rack, featuring an aperture with horizontal and vertical support portions and an arcuate channel for axial displacement of tines, allowing adjacent rows to align without interference in the folded position, and can be made from injection-molded polymer or machined from a polymer blank.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If tines from adjacent spines are regularly spaced to cooperate for supporting items, then support functionality is improved, but interference occurs when folding rows are folded flush
Solution Approach 1:
The patent offsets tines from adjacent spines in the axial direction (adding a dimension to the regular spacing pattern) so that when folding rows are folded flush, the tines are staggered rather than aligned, preventing interference while maintaining support functionality when unfolded
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces asymmetric spacing where tines from adjacent spines are offset relative to each other in the axial direction, breaking the symmetry that would cause interference when folded, while still allowing both rows to provide support when unfolded
2Adaptability or versatility
If tines are folded to be substantially flush with the rack, then accommodation of larger objects is improved, but interference between adjacent rows occurs
Solution Approach 1:
By offsetting tines in the axial dimension, the patent enables the folding rows to be folded flush without interference, creating sufficient clearance to accommodate larger objects that would not be needed in the unfolded configuration
3Manufacturing precision
If support members are designed with complex mechanisms for axial displacement, then tine alignment is improved, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The support member is designed with separate functional elements (aperture with horizontal and vertical support portions, arcuate channel) that work together to achieve axial displacement and alignment through the natural rotation of the folding rack, avoiding complex integrated mechanisms
Data Source
AI summary
A support member is provided that includes a body defining a first channel configured to engage a main spine of a folding rack and a second channel perpendicularly disposed with respect to the first channel and configured to engage a wire member of a dishwasher rack so as to secure the folding rack thereto. The body further defines an aperture configured to receive therethrough one of a plurality of tines of the folding rack. The aperture can define horizontal and vertical support portions configured to support the tine when the folding rack is in folded and unfolded positions, respectively. The aperture can further define an arcuate channel extending between the horizontal support portion and the vertical support portion, the arcuate channel being configured to axially displace the tine along the longitudinal axis as the tine is moved between the horizontal support portion and the vertical support portion.