Dishwasher Rack Tray With Grid Bottom for Better Drying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Household dishwashers lack a dishwasher rack accessory that offers increased flexibility and ease of use while being simple and economically advantageous to produce, while also ensuring effective washing and drying results.
Innovation Solution
A dishwasher accessory featuring a tray with a grid-like bottom, handles for easy handling, and lower supports to prevent water contact, allowing for flexible positioning and improved drying, designed to be easily coupled to the dish rack and used outside the dishwasher.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the tray is designed with a grid-like bottom and lower supports, then drying performance is improved by preventing water contact, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tray bottom is segmented into a grid-like structure with multiple bars instead of a solid surface. This segmentation allows water to pass through and prevents water accumulation, enabling items placed on the tray to dry effectively without direct water contact while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
Lower supports are introduced as intermediary elements between the tray bottom and the water environment. These supports elevate the tray body above water level, creating a physical barrier that prevents water contact with items on the tray while allowing the tray to maintain its functional position.
2Reliability
If the tray is designed for upright positioning of items, then washing and drying effectiveness is improved, but ease of operation decreases due to handling difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
Handles are pre-formed as integral parts of the tray side walls during manufacturing. These handles are strategically positioned and shaped to provide optimal grip points, allowing users to easily grasp and maneuver the tray even when it contains upright items, thus preparing the tray for easy operation before use.
3Ease of operation
If the tray is made with handles and lower supports, then ease of use is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The handles, lower supports, and tray body are merged into a single integrated component. This unification allows all elements to be manufactured as one piece using injection molding or similar processes, eliminating the need for separate manufacturing and assembly steps, thereby reducing overall manufacturing complexity and cost despite the increased functional features.
Data Source
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AI summary
A dishwasher rack accessory comprises a tray having an elongated body (20), with a grid-like bottom (21) and a peripheral wall (26) that define a supporting space (27, 28) for items to be washed, and with a releasable coupling guide (29) in each of two opposite end parts of the tray body (20), for removable coupling to a dishwasher rack (8; 8'). The tray body (20) has a handle (30) defined in each of the two opposite end parts, for the lifting of the tray, and has lower rests (31) to keep the grid-like bottom (21) in a raised position with respect to a generic resting surface of the tray, when the latter is removed from the dishwasher tray.