Rack level adjustment apparatus in an appliance cabinet

Claim 1

In a front-loading dishwashing machine cabinet having oppositely-disposed side walls defining a wash chamber therebetween, a rack mounted generally in the upper end of the chamber for supporting dishes to be washed, the rack being adapted to be slidable horizontally between an operative position where it is disposed fully within the wash chamber and a position where it extends outwardly from the chamber for loading, an adjustable means on a side of the rack permitting manual adjustment of the side between vertically-spaced positions, the adjustable means comprising: a. a plurality of rigid brackets located in spaced-apart relation along the side of the rack, b. each of the brackets having a straight generally verticallyextending elongated slot provided therein, c. a support arm extending substantially laterally with respect to the rack and through the slot whereby the rack side may be moved vertically such that the slot moves relative to the support arm extending therethrough, d. the rack side being adapted to be moved directly upwardly by a manual lifting action to an upper position wherein the support arm is adjacent the lower end of the slot, and e. manually releasable locking means for holding the lower end of the slot adjacent the support arm whereby the rack side is held in a position above the lowermost of the vertically-spaced positions.