Expandable dish rack assembly

Abstract

An expandable dish rack assembly includes upstream and downstream racks that are in sliding nesting relationship to one another. The downstream rack has upstream and downstream legs projecting down from the bottom wall of the downstream rack for supporting the downstream rack on a horizontal surface. The downstream legs are shorter than the upstream legs of the downstream rack so that the bottom wall of the upstream rack slopes downwardly from the upstream end to the downstream end. Upstream legs project down from the bottom wall of the upstream rack. Thus, the upstream rack can be supported on the upstream legs thereof and on the bottom wall of the downstream rack.

1 . An expandable dish rack assembly comprising: a downstream rack having upstream and downstream ends, a bottom wall extending between the ends of the downstream rack and having opposite top and bottom surfaces, a downstream support on the bottom surface of the bottom wall of the downstream rack in proximity to the downstream end thereof, upstream legs extending from the bottom surface of the downstream rack in proximity to the upstream end thereof, sidewalls extending up from opposites of the bottom wall of the downstream rack; and an upstream rack having opposite upstream and downstream ends, a bottom wall formed on the upstream rack and extending between the upstream and downstream ends thereof, the bottom wall of the upstream rack having opposite top and bottom surfaces, upstream legs extending from the bottom surface of the bottom wall of the upstream rack in proximity to the upstream end thereof, first and second sidewalls extending up from opposite sides of the bottom wall of the upstream rack, portions of the bottom wall of the upstream rack in proximity to the downstream end thereof being supported in sliding nested relationship with the top surface of the bottom wall of the downstream rack and portions of the sidewalls of the upstream rack being in nested sliding relationship with portions of the sidewalls of the downstream rack, whereby the downstream rack can be supported on the upstream legs and downstream support thereof and whereby the upstream rack can be supported by the upstream legs thereof and by the bottom wall of the downstream rack.  
   
   
       2 . The expandable dish rack assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the downstream support of the downstream rack are legs that have projecting distances from the bottom wall of the downstream rack, the projecting distance of the downstream legs being less than the projecting distance of the upstream legs of the downstream rack.  
   
   
       3 . The expandable dish rack assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the upstream legs of the upstream rack have projecting distances from the bottom surface of the bottom wall of the upstream rack, the projecting distances of the legs of the upstream rack exceeding the projecting distances of the upstream legs of the downstream rack, whereby the expandable dish rack assembly can be supported on a substantially horizontal surface with the bottom walls of the upstream and downstream racks being sloped continuously downwardly from the upstream end of the upstream rack to the downstream end of the downstream rack.  
   
   
       4 . The expandable dish rack assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the side walls of the downstream rack have outwardly curved top lips with convex upper surfaces, and wherein the sidewalls of the upstream rack have outwardly curved top lips with downwardly facing concave surfaces, the concave surfaces of the lips of the upstream rack being slidably nested over the convex surfaces of the lips on the downstream rack.  
   
   
       5 . The expandable dish rack assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the upper surface of the bottom wall of the upstream rack is formed with a plurality of dish supports projecting upwardly therefrom, the bottom wall of the downstream rack being substantially free of dish supports for permitting sliding movement of the upstream rack along the bottom wall of the downstream rack.  
   
   
       6 . The expandable dish rack assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the bottom wall of the downstream rack has a central channel extending from the upstream end to the downstream end thereof at a position substantially centrally between the sidewalls of the downstream rack, and wherein the bottom wall of the upstream rack has a central channel extending substantially from the upstream end to the downstream end of the upstream rack, the central channel of the upstream rack being nested slidably with the central channel of the downstream rack.  
   
   
       7 . The expandable dish rack assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the central channel of the downstream rack terminates at a chute at the downstream end of the downstream rack.  
   
   
       8 . The expandable dish rack assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the top surface of the bottom wall of the downstream rack includes a plurality of transverse channels extending substantially from the sidewalls of the downstream rack to the central channel in the bottom wall of the downstream rack.  
   
   
       9 . The expandable dish rack assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the bottom wall of the downstream rack is sloped downwardly from the sidewalls of the downstream rack to the central channel.  
   
   
       10 . The expandable dish rack assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the downstream rack is molded unitarily from a synthetic resin.  
   
   
       11 . The expandable dish rack assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the upstream rack further includes an end wall extending up from the bottom wall of the upstream rack and connecting the sidewalls of the upstream rack.  
   
   
       12 . The expandable dish rack assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the bottom wall, the sidewalls and the end wall of the upstream rack are molded unitarily with one another.  
   
   
       13 . The expandable dish rack assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one silverware partition extending upwardly from the top surface of the bottom wall of the upstream rack and between the sidewalls of the upstream rack at a location closer to the upstream end of the upstream rack then to the downstream end thereof.  
   
   
       14 . The expandable dish rack assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the upstream and downstream racks are telescoped relative to one another from a collapsed position to an expanded position, the downstream end of the upstream rack being substantially adjacent the downstream end of the downstream rack when the upstream and downstream racks are in their collapsed condition, the downstream end of the upstream rack being in proximity to the upstream end of the downstream rack when the expandable dish rack assembly is in its expanded condition.  
   
   
       15 . The expandable dish rack assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the bottom walls of the upstream and downstream racks are free of openings therethrough.