Back to results
US 5,823,100 AGranted
Baking/cooling rack
AssigneeL&L Products, Inc.
InventorsJames L. Wienhold, Irene C. Kramer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A baking and/or cooling rack having at least two shelves formed of wire. The shelves are connected by wire support legs such as at the outside corners of the shelves. The connection between each shelf and its attached support legs is provided by a spring pin. The spring pins form hinges which provide a friction force preventing free movement of the connected support legs with respect to the shelves, but which allows forced movement of the connected support legs with respect to the shelves, thereby allowing the rack to fold between an upright position and a knocked down position. A third shelf may be removably supported by the support legs between the first and second shelves.
Claims15
A rack comprising:
- a first shelf;
- a plurality of first shelf hinges connected to the first shelf, each of the first shelf hinges generally extending parallel to one another in a first hinge plane;
- a plurality of support legs spaced from each other, each of the support legs connected with one of the first shelf hinges to the first shelf;
- and
- a plurality of second shelf hinges, each of the second shelf hinges connected to one of the support legs, each of the second shelf hinges generally extending parallel to one another in a second hinge plane and parallel to the first shelf hinges;
- a second shelf, the second shelf connected to each of the support legs with the second shelf hinges;
- wherein the first shelf hinges and the second shelf hinges provide a friction force preventing free movement of the connected support legs with respect to the first shelf surface and the second shelf surface but allowing forced movement of the connected support legs with respect to the first shelf surface and the second shelf surface, thereby allowing the rack to move between an upright position and a knock down position.
4 more elements
A rack comprising:
- a first shelf defining a first shelf plane, the first shelf including at least four generally cylindrical first shelf wire ends, each of the first shelf wire ends extending in a parallel relationship in the first shelf plane;
- a second shelf defining a second shelf plane, the second shelf including at least four generally cylindrical second shelf wire ends, each of the second shelf wire ends extending in a parallel relationship in the second shelf plane;
- spring pins connected to each of the first shelf wire ends and second shelf wire ends, each spring pin having a central lumen with a longitudinally extending opening, the spring pin receiving the received wire ends in the central lumen, each central lumen having an unexpanded diameter which is smaller than an outer diameter of the received wire end, such that each spring pin receives the received wire end by expansion to place a radial compressive force on the corresponding wire end;
- at least four support legs spaced from each other, each of the support legs having a first leg end and a second leg end, each of the first leg ends extending in a parallel relationship in the first shelf plane, each of the second leg ends extending in a parallel relationship in the second shelf plane, each of the first leg ends received in the central lumen of one of the spring pins, each first leg end having an outer diameter which is larger than the unexpanded diameter of the central lumen of the corresponding spring pin such that spring pin receives the received first leg end by expansion to place a radial compressive force on the received first leg end, each of the second leg ends received in the central lumen of one of the spring pins, each second leg end having an outer diameter which is larger than the unexpanded diameter of the central lumen of the corresponding spring pin such that spring pin receives the received second leg end by expansion to place a radial compressive force on the received second leg end;
- wherein the spring pins provide a friction force preventing free movement of the connected support legs with respect to the first shelf surface and the second shelf surface but allowing forced movement of the connected support legs with respect to the first shelf surface and the second shelf surface, thereby allowing the rack to fold between an upright position and a knock down position.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.