Wheel mounting means for dishwasher racks

Claim 2

A removable wheel assembly for use on the rack of a dishwashing machine or the like, said wheel assembly comprising a wheel mount and a wheel rotatably affixed thereto, said rack having a U-shaped recess at the position on said rack where said wheel assembly is to be mounted, said wheel mount comprising a body, said body having a first and second sides and top, bottom and side edges, grooves extending along said side edges and said top edge Being bifurcated to form a peripheral U-shaped groove along said side and top edges, means at said top edge releasably engaging said body in said recess and preventing relative movement of said wheel mount body with respect to said rack recess, axle means extending laterally of said first side of said wheel mount body and said wheel being rotatively mounted on said axle means.

Claim 3

The structure claimed in claim 1 wherein said wheel mount is a unitary, one-piece molded member.

Claim 4

The structure claimed in claim 1 wherein the free end of said axle is bifurcated, said bifurcations having flanges thereon, said wheel having an axial bore of a diameter slightly greater than said axle, said bifurcations being deformable toward each other and said flanges being so sized as to pass through said axial bore in said wheel when said bifurcations are deformed toward each other, whereby said wheel may be forced onto said axle and retained thereon by said flanges when said flanges have passed through said bore.

Claim 5

The structure claimed in claim 2 wherein said means to releasably engage said body in said recess is a snap-acting means comprising a part of said unitary, one-piece molded member.

Claim 6

The structure claimed in claim 1 wherein said rack is made up of a plurality of coated wire elements, said recess comprising a U-shaped loop in a selected one of said wire elements.

Claim 7

The structure claimed in claim 5 wherein said means to releasably engage said body in said recess is a snap-acting means comprising said bifurcations at said top edge of said mount said bifurcations being resilient, the free ends of said bifurcations being spaced from each other by a distance less than the diameter of said coated wire of said loop, whereby when said mount is engaged in said loop said ends of said bifurcations will be forced over the base portion of said U-shaped loop and provide a snap engagement of said mount therewith.

Claim 8

In a dishwasher of the type having a vat with a bottom, a top, a rear wall, side walls, a front wall with an access opening and at least one rack for tableware, an elongated slide mounted on each side wall, said slides being shiftable between a retracted position wholly within said vat and a forward position wherein said slides extend part way through said access opening, each of said slides having a top edge, a bottom edge and forward and rearward ends, a pair of wheels on each side of said rack, a wheel mount for each of said wheels, each of said wheels rotatively affixed to its respective mount, said rack having a U-shaped recess at the position on said rack where each of said wheels is to be mounted, each of said wheel mounts comprising a body having a peripheral U-shaped groove, each of said wheel mount bodies being configured to be engaged in its respective one of said rack recesses with the peripheral portion of said recess being received in said wheel mount body groove, a snap-acting means to removably retain each of said mounts in its respective rack recess and to prevent relative movement of said mounts with respect to their respective rack recesses, one wheel of each pair engaging said upper edge of the adjacent one of said slides, the other wheel of each pair engaging said bottom edge of the adjacent one of said slides, said rack being movable on said slides between a position wherein said rack is located substantially wholly between said slides and a position wherein a portion at least of said rack extends beyond said forward ends of said slides, whereby the movement of said slides with respect to said side walls and the movement of said rack on said slides render said rack shiftable between a position wholly within said vat and a position substantially wholly outside said vat.

Claim 9

In a dishwasher of the type having a vat with a bottom, a top, a rear wall, side walls, a front wall with an access opening and at least one rack for tableware, an elongated slide mounted on each side wall, said slides being shiftable between a retracted position wholly within said vat and a forward position wherein said slides extend part way through said access opening, each of said slides having a top edge, a bottom edge and forward and rearward ends, a pair of wheels on each side of said rack, a wheel mount for each of said wheels, each of said wheels rotatively affixed to its respective mount, said rack having a U-shaped recess at the position on said rack where each of said wheels is to be mounted, each of said wheel mounts comprising a body having a peripheral U-shaped groove, each of said wheel mount bodies being configured to be engaged in its respective one of said rack recesses with the peripheral portion of said recess being received in said wheel mount body groove, a snap-acting means to removably retain each of said mounts in its respective rack recess and to prevent relative movement of said mounts with respect to their respective rack recesses, one wheel of each pair engaging said upper edge of the adjacent one of said slides, the other wheel of each pair engaging said bottom edge of the adjacent one of said slides, said rack being movable on said slides between a position wherein said rack is located substantially wholly between said slides and a position wherein a portion at least of said rack extends beyond said forward ends of said slides, whereby the movement of said slides with respect to said side walls and the movement of said rack on said slides render said rack shiftable between a position wholly within said vat and a position substantially wholly outside said vat.

Claim 10

The structure claimed in claim 7 wherein each of said mounts comprises a unitary, one-piece molded member.

Claim 11

The structure claimed in claim 8 wherein each of said slides has an abutment means at its forward end and an abutment means at its rearward end, Each of said mounts having an elongated extension with a stop means thereon, the stop means of each wheel mount being so positioned as to cooperate with the adjacent one of the abutments on its respective slide, whereby to define said two positions of said rack on said slides.

Claim 12

The structure claimed in claim 6 including a plurality of said wheel assemblies, said rack having a number of said U-shaped loops equal to the number of said wheel assemblies and located at positions where said wheel assemblies are to be mounted on said rack, the wheel mount body of each assembly being engaged in its respective one of said rack loops.