BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Traditional bottle drying racks are designed to lie flat on a countertop, thereby taking up precious counter space in a kitchen. The present invention is intended to be mounted on a wall so that no counter space is taken up by bottle drying and is capable of providing drying space for multiple bottles simultaneously, along with the bottle accessories such as nipples and nipple attachment rings, as well as other small items. The issue with moisture running down and dripping on the counter is solved by the removable drip tray at the bottom of the invention.
DESCRIPTION AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a bottle drying rack intended for mounting on a wall to facilitate easy drying of washed baby bottles in a compact space without taking up counter space. The rack has embedded spikes extending upward from a base at an angle less than ninety degrees to hold a bottle, can have removable baskets with drainage holes to dry and hold bottle accessories, and can have a removable drip tray at the bottom of the rack. Silicone tips on the end of the spikes provide grip to keep the bottles secure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a drawing of the front of the invention with drainage baskets and removable drip tray.
FIG. 2 is a drawing of the front of the invention without drainage baskets and removable drip tray.
FIG. 3 is an angled view of the invention showing the front and side of the invention with drainage baskets and removable drip tray.
FIG. 4 is an angled view of the invention showing the back and side of the invention.
FIG. 5 is an angled view of the removable drip tray.
FIG. 6 is an angled view of a drainage basket
FIG. 7 is an angled view of the invention showing the front and side of the invention with the drip tray removed.
FIG. 8 is an angled view of the invention showing the front and side of the invention with the drip tray removed.
LEGEND FOR DRAWINGS
1. Base
2. Base front
3. Base back
4. Spike
5. Tip
6. Basket prong
7. Drainage basket
8. Drainage hole
9. Basket mounting hole
10. Base bottom
11. Drip tray
12. Base side
13. Catch basin
14. Drip tray side
15. Drip tray attachment prong
16. Drip tray attachment indentation
17. Base top
18. Mounting bracket
19. Mounting indentation
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG. 1, the invention has a base (1) to which all other parts of the invention are attached. Said base can take the form of many shapes, such as a blossom as depicted in the figures, or any other flat shape a consumer may want, such as a circle, rectangle, profile or face of an animal, balloon, etc. In the description herein, the base is referred to in its vertical position as it will appear when mounted, with one of the two large flat sides being the base front (2) and the other large flat side being the base back (3) (FIG. 4) that is mounted to and rests against a wall.
Referring to FIG. 3, protruding from the base front at an angle less than ninety degrees and sufficient to hold a bottle for drainage purposes, are elongated spikes (4) of sufficient length to securely hold a baby bottle, sippy cup, water bottle, or other beverage container. In the preferred embodiment, the spikes are joined to the base by being part of one piece of plastic formed using an injection mold. The spikes could be attached to the base front using other means, such as being screwed into, welded onto, or glued onto the base front, depending on whether the spike and base are made of metal, wood, or plastic. The preferred embodiment is made of food-grade plastic for safety, ease of sanitation, and lower cost of manufacture. The spikes have tips (5) made of food-grade silicone or similar material for providing grip to keep bottles secure and prevent scratching of the bottles. The preferred embodiment has fifteen spikes arranged on the base front in a pattern such that the spikes are spaced sufficiently apart to accommodate having a baby bottle on each spike simultaneously. There may be more or fewer spikes.
Referring to FIG. 2, in the center of the base front in the preferred embodiment are four short basket prongs (6) protruding from the base front at less than a ninety-degree angle, for use in attaching a detachable drainage basket (7) (FIG. 1), two basket prongs per drainage basket. The drainage baskets are for draining and storage of bottle accessories, such as covers or lids, nipples and nipple attachment rings, and other small items. As seen in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, the drainage basket has a flat back side so it can rest flush with the base front. The shape of the drainage basket in the preferred embodiment is a semicircle, with the straight edge at the top. The remainder of the drainage basket in the preferred embodiment is one curved shape attaching to the back of the drainage basket along the curved side, such that the drainage basket forms a quarter-globe shape. As in FIG. 6, there is at least one drainage hole (8) at the bottom of the drainage basket to allow water to escape rather than collect. The drainage basket could take other shapes, provided that the overall shape is such that any water will flow to and through the drainage hole. Referring to FIG. 6, The drainage basket has two basket mounting holes (9) at the top corner of the back of each drainage basket that correspond to the basket prongs on the base front. The drainage basket is attached to the base by sliding the basket prongs through the basket mounting holes. The preferred embodiment has two drainage baskets in the center, one above the other, though no drainage basket is required, and more than two drainage baskets are possible. The drainage baskets in the preferred embodiment are in the center of the base, but they could be on the top, bottom, or sides of the front of the base, provided that the drainage holes are positioned so water draining through them will be directed toward the bottom of the front of the base. Ideally the drainage baskets are made of the same material as the base to provide a consistent look to the invention for aesthetic reasons.
At the base bottom (10), as shown in FIG. 1, is a removable drip tray (11). The drip tray is also ideally made of the same material as the base to provide a consistent look to the invention for aesthetic reasons. As depicted in FIG. 5, the drip tray is an elongated piece, shaped to match the shape of the base bottom and surround the base bottom and the lower part of each base side (12). The drip tray has a catch basin (13) in the middle such that the drip tray fits around the base bottom with the drip tray sides (14) extending up from the catch basin in a curved or squared-off U-shape to allow water to collect in the drip tray catch basin without overflowing. The drip tray has a drip tray attachment prong (15) at the top of each end that attaches the drip tray to the base by being inserted into a drip tray attachment indentation (16), shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, which is preferably a groove indentation but could also be a slot, in each base side.
As shown in FIG. 4, near the base top (17) the invention has at least two mounting brackets (18) in the base back. In the preferred embodiment, a mounting bracket has a corresponding mounting indentation (19) in the base back to create additional space for a mounting hook, allowing the invention to stick out less from the wall than if there were no such mounting indentation. In the preferred embodiment, an adhesive hook is used with each bracket to mount the base on a wall, though Velcro strips attached to the base back and wall or any other kind of mounting hook preferred by the user can be used.
Patent Application
20250151971
