U.S. patent application number 10/767137 was filed with the patent office on 2004-09-23 for rack for jars and other items.
Invention is credited to Paul, Denise E..
Application Number | 20040182802 10/767137 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32772063 |
Filed Date | 2004-09-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040182802 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Paul, Denise E. |
September 23, 2004 |
Rack for jars and other items
Abstract
A rack for holding containers that can be mounted on a cabinet
or appliance door, and that includes multiple holders. The rack is
preferably molded, and includes multiple sets of gripping arms
extending from a notched base. The notched base can be separated
into individual racks, each with a single set of arms if
desired.
Inventors: |
Paul, Denise E.; (Bend,
OR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
GLENN C. BROWN, PC
777 NW WALL STREET, SUITE 308
BEND
OR
97701
US
|
Family ID: |
32772063 |
Appl. No.: |
10/767137 |
Filed: |
January 28, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60443708 |
Jan 29, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
211/75 ;
211/89.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 96/16 20130101;
A47J 47/16 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
211/075 ;
211/089.01 |
International
Class: |
A47F 005/08 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A rack for holding containers comprising: a base having a front
side and a back side; and, at least one pair of opposed resilient
arms extending from the base front side, the arms having a first
position for resiliently engaging a container.
2. A rack according to claim 1 further comprising an adhesive on
the back side of the base.
3. A rack according to claim 1 further comprising at least one hole
formed in the base for receiving a fastener selected from the group
consisting of a nail, a screw, a bolt, a tack and a rivet.
4. A rack according to claim 1 further comprising the resilient
arms having spaced apart distal ends, and the resilient arms having
a second position for receiving a container between the spaced
apart distal ends.
5. A rack according to claim 1 wherein the at least one base
comprises a plurality of base sections defined by notches in the
base, and the at least one pair of resilient arms includes a pair
of resilient arms extending from each base section.
6. A rack according to claim 5 wherein the base sections are
separable.
7. A rack according to claim 1 wherein the rack is formed of a
polymeric material.
8. A rack according to claim 1 wherein the rack is formed of a
metal.
9. A rack according to claim 1 wherein the rack is a molded
material.
10. A rack according to claim 1 wherein the pair of resilient arms
are curved.
11. A rack according to claim 1 wherein the base further comprises
a magnet.
12. An array of racks comprising: a plurality of individual racks
arranged in a plurality of rows and columns, each rack including a
base having a front side and a back side, and at least one pair of
opposed resilient arms extending from the base front side, the arms
having a first position for resiliently engaging a container, and,
a beveled portion adjacent each row of racks and operable to
separate each respective row and column from at least one adjacent
row of racks.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation in part of U.S.
provisional patent application serial No. 60/443,708, filed on Jan.
29, 2003. The priority of the prior application is expressly
claimed and its disclosure is hereby incorporated by reference in
its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to racks for holding jars and bottles
on vertical surfaces such as cabinet doors. In many instances,
cabinets installed in homes, travel trailers and recreational
vehicles do not include a rack for conveniently holding and
displaying jars and containers such as those used for spices and
the like. In other instances, the total amount of cabinet space in
cabinets is limited, and more space would be a benefit. At the same
time, it would be nice to provide storage of jars and bottles
within the cabinet to maintain the neat and orderly appearance of
the kitchen area.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] This invention meets these needs by providing a rack, which
for convenience will be referred to as a spice rack, that can be
mounted on the inside of a cabinet door, or on the inside of any
other surface, and which firmly grips and holds a number of jars.
In a preferred embodiment the invention includes rack for holding
containers including a base having a front side and a back side and
at least one pair of opposed resilient arms extending from the base
front side. The arms have a first position for resiliently engaging
a container. The resilient arms are spreadable to receive and
frictionally hold the container, which can be inserted and removed
from the clip with a modest amount of effort.
[0004] A rack according to one embodiment includes an adhesive on
the back surface of the base for attaching the rack to a surface
such as the inside of a cabinet door. In other embodiments the base
includes at least one hole formed in the base for receiving a
fastener such as a nail, a screw, a bolt, a tack and a rivet.
[0005] In a preferred embodiment, the base includes a plurality of
base sections defined by notches in the base, and the at least one
pair of resilient arms resilient arms extending from each base
section. This configuration provides the user with a flexible rack
that can be tailored to each application. The preferred method of
manufacture of the invention is by molding a polymeric material
into a plurality of connected units that can be easily packaged and
sold, to be separated and mounted as needed by the user. These and
other aspects of the preferred embodiments of the invention will be
described in greater detail below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a preferred embodiment of the
invention showing an array of racks according to the invention.
[0007] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a single row of racks, and
showing in phantom a container held in a single rack.
[0008] FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the single row of racks
shown in FIG. 2.
[0009] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along line A-A in FIG.
3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0010] Referring to the figures, FIG. 1 shows a first preferred
embodiment of a rack according to the invention, and includes and
array of racks 10 of multiple rows and columns of racks
manufactured in a single mold. This provides several advantages.
First, a single mold can be used to manufacture a maximum number of
racks, reducing manufacturing costs. Second, the multiple rack
arrays directly from the mold can be packaged and sold without any
further processing. The invention is preferably molded from a
resilient plastic material, although the invention is not intended
to be limited to any particular material of construction.
[0011] It is anticipated that a user would use multiple racks in
horizontal rows, which are formed by separating individual rows a
shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 from array 10. Each rack 12 in array 10
includes a base 14 and a pair of opposed resilient arms 16 and 18.
Each rack is sized to hold a small jar 19, such as a spice jar, as
shown in phantom in FIGS. 2-4. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3,
adjacent racks are separated by a bevel 20 that extends most of the
distance through base 14, and provides a ready and convenient
separation point between adjacent racks by bending the array along
the bevel line until the base material fatigues and breaks along
the base of bevel 20. An adhesive layer 22 is attached to each base
14, and is used to attach the rack to a surface such as a cabinet
door 26 as shown in FIG. 4.
[0012] These and other features of the invention will be apparent
to those skilled in the art, who will also appreciate that numerous
modifications and changes in detail are possible without departing
from the scope of the invention.
* * * * *