Patent Application
20240298871
Conventionally, there are existing dish drying mats on the market that come in a variety of types and configurations. One common type of dish drying mat consists of a fabric which may be of a single layer or multiple layers. In the case of a multiple-layer dish drying mats, there may be padding or absorptive materials, in between the layers, for moisture retention to prevent dripping or staining of surfaces. Such drying mats preclude airflow and tend to absorb only a small amount of liquid thereby allowing dishes to dry minimally over long periods of time.
Another type of conventional drying mat is in the form of a plastic tray which may have standoffs in the bottom of the tray to increase air circulation from the underside of the dishes. Such plastic trays are often cumbersome because of their rigidity and large size, making storage, when not in use, difficult. Also, in some cases counter space may be limited and a smaller mat would possess better functionality and utility.
Silicone mats have also gained in popularity. Much like their plastic counterparts they may similarly be large and cumbersome. Some silicone mats have been configured to be foldable in half but may still be overly large for storing or awkward for washing.
Accordingly, it may be advantageous to provide a silicone drying mat which overcomes one or more of these disadvantages.
An exemplary embodiment relates to a foldable dish drying mat. The foldable dish drying mat includes a first mat section having a recessed area and the recessed area including discrete discontinuous ridges all directed in a first direction. The foldable dish drying mat also includes a second mat section having a recessed area and the recessed area including discrete discontinuous ridges all directed in a second direction, the first mat section configured to be coupled to the second mat section along an edge and forming a first hinge. Further, the foldable dish drying mat includes a third mat section having a recessed area and the recessed area including discrete discontinuous ridges all directed in a third direction, the third mat section configured to be coupled to the second mat section along an edge and forming a second hinge. The third direction is substantially perpendicular to the second direction and the ridges of the second mat section are configured to engage with the ridges of the third mat section when the dish drying mat is in a folded state.
Another exemplary embodiment relates to a silicone dish drying mat. The silicone dish drying mat includes a first mat section having a rim formed around the periphery of the first mat section, the rim forming a recessed area and the recessed area including discrete discontinuous ridges disposed within the recessed area, a plurality of the discrete discontinuous ridges directed in a first direction. The silicone dish drying mat also includes a second mat section having a rim formed around the periphery of the second mat section, the rim forming a recessed area and the recessed area including discrete discontinuous ridges disposed within the recessed area, a plurality of the discrete discontinuous ridges directed in a second direction, the first mat section configured to be coupled to the second mat section along an edge and forming a first hinge. The silicone dish drying mat further includes a third mat section having a rim formed around the periphery of the third mat section, the rim forming a recessed area and the recessed area including discrete discontinuous ridges disposed within the recessed area, a plurality of the discrete discontinuous ridges directed in a third direction, the third mat section configured to be coupled to the second mat section along an edge and forming a second hinge. The third direction is substantially perpendicular to the second direction and the ridges of the second mat section are configured to engage with the ridges of the third mat section when the dish drying mat is in a folded state.
In addition to the foregoing, other system aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of the disclosure set forth herein. The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications, generalizations, inclusions, and/or omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is NOT intended to be in any way limiting. Other aspects, features, and advantages of the devices and/or processes and/or other subject matter described herein will become apparent in the disclosures set forth herein.
The use of the same symbols in different drawings typically indicates similar or identical items unless context dictates otherwise.
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In accordance with illustrative embodiments, a rim 313, 323, 333 may be formed around each section of sections 310, 320, 330, respectively. Rims 313, 323, and 333 define recessed areas 315, 325, and 335 respectively as well as keeping liquid contained within the recessed areas 315, 325, and 335. It should also be noted that ridges 317, 327, and 337 are configured to be discrete and discontinuous so that water may flow and be contained throughout the recessed areas 315, 325, and 335. Further, ridges 317, 327, and 337 along with rims 313, 323, and 333 may support various drying dishes. The height of ridges 317, 327, and 337 and rims 313, 323, and 333 allow drying dishes to drip water into recessed areas 315, 325, and 335 while also allowing air to flow around the bottom of the dishes resting on the mat surface. In accordance with various embodiments, ridges 317, 327, and 337 may be substantially the same height as rims 313, 323, and 333, which further aids in maintaining the surfaces flat when in a folded state.
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In some instances, one or more components may be referred to herein as “configured to,” “configured by,” “configurable to,” “operable/operative to,” “adapted/adaptable,” “able to,” “conformable/conformed to,” etc. Those skilled in the art will recognize that such terms (e.g., “configured to”) generally encompass active-state components and/or inactive-state components and/or standby-state components, unless context requires otherwise.
While particular aspects of the present subject matter described herein have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from the subject matter described herein and its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to claims containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that typically a disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms unless context dictates otherwise. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be typically understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
With respect to the appended claims, those skilled in the art will appreciate that recited operations therein may generally be performed in any order. Also, although various operational flows are presented in a sequence(s), it should be understood that the various operations may be performed in other orders than those which are illustrated or may be performed concurrently. Examples of such alternate orderings may include overlapping, interleaved, interrupted, reordered, incremental, preparatory, supplemental, simultaneous, reverse, or other variant orderings, unless context dictates otherwise. Furthermore, terms like “responsive to,” “related to,” or other past-tense adjectives are generally not intended to exclude such variants, unless context dictates otherwise.
