Third rack assembly for a dishwasher appliance

Abstract

A dishwasher appliance includes a tub defining a wash chamber for receipt of articles for washing and a third rack assembly slidably positioned within the wash chamber and configured for movement along the transverse direction. The third rack assembly includes a perimeter support wire and a flat floor suspended from the perimeter support wire, the flat floor being formed from interwoven floor wire and defining a floor width that is greater than 70% of a tub width of the tub. The diameter of the perimeter support wire is about 0.17 inches, the diameter of the floor wire is about 0.06 inches, and both the perimeter support wire and the floor wire are formed from stainless steel or nylon-coated metal.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A dishwasher appliance defining a vertical, a lateral, and a transverse direction, the dishwasher appliance comprising:
 a tub defining a wash chamber for receipt of articles for washing, the tub defining a tub width measured along the lateral direction; and   a third rack assembly slidably positioned within the wash chamber and configured for movement along the transverse direction, the third rack assembly comprising:
 a perimeter support wire; and 
 a flat floor suspended from the perimeter support wire, the flat floor being formed from interwoven floor wire and defining a floor width that is greater than 65% of the tub width of the wash tub. 
   
     
     
         2 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the perimeter support wire defines a substantially rectangular rack footprint in a horizontal plane defined by the lateral direction and the transverse direction. 
     
     
         3 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the perimeter support wire has a support wire diameter of between about 0.1 and 0.2 inches. 
     
     
         4 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 3 , wherein the support wire diameter is about 0.17 inches. 
     
     
         5 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the floor wire has a floor wire diameter of between about 0.04 and 0.09 inches. 
     
     
         6 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 5 , wherein the floor wire diameter is about 0.06 inches. 
     
     
         7 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 one or more central support wires that extend below the floor wire from a rear side of the perimeter support wire to a front side of the perimeter support wire to support the floor wire.   
     
     
         8 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 7 , wherein the one or more central support wires have a central wire diameter of between about 0.1 and 0.2 inches. 
     
     
         9 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the floor width of the flat floor is greater than 85% of the tub width of the tub. 
     
     
         10 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the perimeter support wire and the floor wire are formed from metal and coated in nylon. 
     
     
         11 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the perimeter support wire and the floor wire are formed from stainless steel. 
     
     
         12 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the floor wire is interwoven in a 1-inch by 1-inch grid. 
     
     
         13 . The dishwasher appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a rack mounting assembly for slidably supporting the third rack assembly within the wash tub, wherein the third rack assembly comprises a mounting wire attached to both the perimeter support wire and the floor wire for engaging the rack mounting assembly.   
     
     
         14 . A third rack assembly slidably mounted within a wash chamber of a dishwasher appliance, the third rack assembly defining a vertical, a lateral, and a transverse direction, the third rack assembly comprising:
 a perimeter support wire defining a support width measured along the lateral direction; and   a flat floor suspended from the perimeter support wire, the flat floor being formed from interwoven floor wire and defining a floor width that is greater than 70% of the support width of the perimeter support wire.   
     
     
         15 . The third rack assembly of  claim 14 , wherein the perimeter support wire has a support wire diameter of between about 0.1 and 0.2 inches. 
     
     
         16 . The third rack assembly of  claim 16 , wherein the support wire diameter is about 0.17 inches. 
     
     
         17 . The third rack assembly of  claim 14 , wherein the floor wire has a floor wire diameter of between about 0.04 and 0.09 inches. 
     
     
         18 . The third rack assembly of  claim 17 , wherein the floor wire diameter is about 0.06 inches. 
     
     
         19 . The third rack assembly of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 one or more central support wires that extend below the floor wire from a rear side of the perimeter support wire to a front side of the perimeter support wire to support the floor wire, wherein the one or more central support wires have a central wire diameter of between about 0.1 and 0.2 inches.   
     
     
         20 . A dishwasher appliance defining a vertical, a lateral, and a transverse direction, the dishwasher appliance comprising:
 a tub defining a wash chamber for receipt of articles for washing; and   a third rack assembly slidably positioned within the wash chamber and configured for movement along the transverse direction, the third rack assembly comprising:
 a perimeter support wire; and 
 a flat floor suspended from the perimeter support wire, the flat floor being formed from interwoven floor wire having a floor wire diameter of between about 0.04 and 0.09 inches.