Dishwasher rack adjustment mechanism

A holding rack for installation in a washer having a track secured to a side wall of a tub, said rack comprising:

• a side structure having an exterior side for disposal adjacent to the side wall, and an opposing interior side;
• an arm having a plurality of retaining structures;
• a carriage for insertion into the track, said carriage being joined to the arm and having a plurality of wheels rotatably mounted thereto;
• a bracket having a base structure disposed adjacent to the interior side of the side structure, and a cover plate disposed adjacent to the exterior side of the side structure, said cover plate being secured to the base structure so as to trap the side structure between the cover plate and the base structure, thereby attaching the bracket to the side structure, said base structure cooperating with said cover plate to define a passage through which the arm extends, said bracket being movable relative to the arm;
• and
• a lever joined to the bracket and having a detent, said detent being engaged with a first one of the retaining structures so as to support the side structure on the arm at a first vertical position, said lever being resiliently movable to permit the detent to be disengaged from the first one of the retaining structures and moved into engagement with a second one of the retaining structures, thereby supporting the side structure on the arm in a second vertical position.

A washer comprising:

• a tub having opposing side walls, each of said side walls having a track secured thereto;
• a holding rack having opposing side structures;
• a pair of arms;
• a pair of carriages movably disposed within the tracks, said carriages being respectively joined to the arms and each having a pair of wheels rotatably mounted thereto;
• a pair of brackets respectively attached to the side structures, said brackets each defining a passage through which one of the arms extends and each comprising a base structure and a cover plate secured together with one of the side structures trapped in between, said base structures each having a guide bar defining an elongated slot, said brackets being movable relative to the arms so as to permit the rack to be movable between a plurality of vertical positions;
• a pair of retaining structures respectively secured to the carriages and extending through the slots in the guide bars, said retaining structures being movable through the slots in response to relative movement between the brackets and the arms;
• and
• a pair of levers respectively extending from the brackets and each having a detent, said detents being engageable with the arms so as to lock the brackets to the arms at a first one of the vertical positions, said levers being resiliently movable to permit the detents to be disengaged from the arms, thereby permitting the upper rack to be moved to a second one of the vertical positions and re-engaged with the arms to lock the brackets to the arms at the second one of the vertical positions.