Patent Application
20200129039
The present disclosure relates to commercial ware-washers and particularly to small footprint ware-washers.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
In certain commercial settings, particularly for Quick Serve Restaurant (QSR) installations, ware-washers are becoming more common or even mandated by local health codes. Floor space in QSRs is typically very limited, especially in QSRs that were not originally designed to accommodate a ware-washer. The typical QSR ware-washer has a single front door that pivots down to create a table-top onto which a dish/glass rack is pushed and pulled to and from the ware-washer. There is typically no storage space for the rack when not in use or space for a second rack when in use.
It is known to store racks on inclined shelves attached to a wall; however, this requires free wall space to accommodate the shelf and also requires installation by a carpenter or other skilled technician.
There is a need to provide a ware-washer to a user, especially a user retrofitting a ware-washer into an existing facility, that provides rack storage without the need for additional installation costs and taking up minimal facility space, such that the rack storage does not interfere with the operation and maintenance of the ware-washer.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The ware-washer 10 typically also includes a control system assembly 20 and fresh water plumbing assembly 22 mounted on a top surface 24 of the cabinet assembly 12. The side supports 16 must be long enough to hold over-shelf 14 and high enough to freely move with respect to the assemblies 20, 22.
The over-shelf 14 may include one or more raised sides 26 along a periphery of the over-shelf, as shown. The raised sides 26 help contain a dish rack 28 on over-shelf 14 during storage. Dish rack 28 is for holding glasses to be washed by the ware-washer 10, although other racks may be used, such as rack 30, shown partially within cabinet assembly 12 and partially on a door 32 of cabinet assembly 12.
An angled lower edge 34 positions the over-shelf 14 in the storage position, at a convenient angle and height for removing racks 28, 30 from and placing racks 28, 30 on over-shelf 14. The angle 36 formed relative to the lower edge 34 depends on the design specification but it has been found that a convenient storage angle is about 30 degrees.
The translation mechanism 18 may be of any known construction that allows the over-shelf 14 to be moved from the storage position to the maintenance position. In the example of
An angled lower edge 48 allows the over-shelf 14 to be moved to the maintenance position, at a convenient angle and height, such that the over-shelf 14 does not interfere with maintenance of control system assembly 20. The angle 50 formed relative to the lower edge 48 depends on the design specification but it has been found that a convenient maintenance angle is about 12 degrees.
As shown in
Raised sides 26 also allow liquid draining from racks 28, 30 to be collected and directed towards a drain assembly 52, especially when in the storage position. For example drain assembly 52 operably attached to over-shelf 14, is best seen in the side view of
A retrofit kit for mounting an over-shelf to an installed ware-washer 10 may include the over-shelf 14, opposing side supports 16 for attachment to opposing sides of the over-shelf 14, a plurality of translation mechanisms 18 for operable attachment to the side supports 16 and/or the ware-washer 10, and attachment hardware for attaching the side supports 16 to the over-shelf 14 and for attaching the translation mechanisms 18 to the side supports 16 and/or the ware-washer 10. The retrofit kit may conveniently be in a deconstructed state, so that the retrofit kit may be transported in a flat, compact manner for economical shipping to the ware-washer site. The retrofit kit may also include the components of the drain assembly 52.
In most of the examples above and those described below, only a single side of the ware-washer and only one of a pair of support sides and translation mechanisms are shown, for convenience and ease of understanding. It is noted that the examples shown include identical support sides and/or translation mechanism on the opposing side of the ware-washer 10 that is not shown.
The translation mechanism of
The ware-washer 10, including cabinet assembly 12, over-shelf 14, and side supports 16 may be made from stainless steel or any other suitable material that will reliably withstand the rigors experienced by a commercial ware-washer.
The examples disclosed above provide a user with desirable and convenient dish rack storage for ware-washers placed in facilities with little or no storage space while also ensuring that the dish rack storage does not interfere with the operation and maintenance of the ware-washer, especially the control system assembly.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62750579 | Oct 2018 | US |
