US-12622568-B2 - Dish drying mat

US12622568B2US 12622568 B2US12622568 B2US 12622568B2US-12622568-B2

Abstract

A dish drying mat has elongate spaced-apart ribs upwardly extending from a general upper surface, and spaced-apart dimples downwardly extending from a general lower surface. The lateral locations of the ribs and the dimples do not intersect. A lower portion of a marginal wall has at least one gap so as to communicate a continuous lower volume below the general lower surface to the atmosphere beyond the peripheral margin of the mat. At rounded corners, the peripheral wall has inwardly concave surfaces which are sized to fit to a thumb or finger of a user's hand when grasping or cleaning the mat.

Inventors

Stephen Kane

Assignees

MACNEIL IP LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240816

Claims (4)

1 . A dish drying mat, comprising: a body having a general upper surface and a general lower surface spaced from the general upper surface; a plurality of elongate, laterally spaced apart ribs upwardly extending from the general upper surface, each rib occupying a respective lateral rib location; and a plurality of laterally spaced apart dimples downwardly extending from the general lower surface, each dimple occupying a respective lateral dimple location; wherein the lateral rib locations and the lateral dimple locations have no intersection, and wherein the general lower surface is spaced from the general upper surface by a substantially uniform body thickness, each of the ribs being at least partially hollow and being formed by walls having a thickness substantially the same as the substantially uniform body thickness, each rib having a downwardly open groove, and wherein the body, ribs and dimples are integrally injection-molded from a thermoplastic polymer.
2 . The dish drying mat of claim 1 , wherein each dimple has a sidewall that includes a concave curved transition to the general lower surface of the body, a radius of the concave curved transition being selected from the range of 0.04 to 0.08 in.
3 . The dish drying mat of claim 1 , wherein each rib has first and second elongate rib sidewalls connected together by end walls, each rib sidewall and end wall making a concave curved transition to the general upper surface, a radius of the concave curved transition being greater than about 0.1 inches.
4 . The dish drying mat of claim 1 , wherein the dish drying mat is adapted to be placed in an atmosphere and wherein the body has a horizontal margin, a bottom wall downwardly extending from the general lower surface at the horizontal margin, at least one gap formed in the bottom wall, the dimples and the bottom wall spacing the general lower surface of the body from a support surface so as to create a lower space disposed beneath the general lower surface, the at least one gap communicating the lower space to the atmosphere.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The dishes, vessels and implements used to prepare and serve a meal are often washed by hand and are set aside next to a kitchen sink to dry. A dish drying mat, such as one that may be placed under a dish rack, contains drips from the wet dishes and prevents them from spreading over the countertop and/or the floor. Dish drying mats have been made of coated and noncoated metal, cloth, rubber and plastic. Where the dish drying mat is made of a fluid-impervious rather an absorbent material, dishwater will sometimes find its way under the mat and stay there in an unevaporated condition. This is undesirable. Often a dish drying mat will have raised ribs or the like to elevate the items placed there for drying above a general upper surface of the mat. If these raised features make sharp corners with the general upper surface of the mat, the resultant mat will be difficult to keep clean and instead will provide locations where bacteria may grow. Improvements may therefore be made in conventional dish drying mats to enhance their utility and cleanliness. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the invention, a dish drying mat has a body with a general upper surface and a general lower surface spaced from the general upper surface. A plurality of elongate, laterally spaced apart ribs upwardly extend from the general upper surface, and occupy respective lateral rib locations. A plurality of laterally spaced apart dimples downwardly extend from the general lower surface, with each dimple occupying a respective lateral dimple location. The lateral rib locations and lateral dimple locations have no intersection; as vertically projected onto a common horizontal plane, the lateral rib locations and lateral dimple locations are entirely distinct from each other. This makes the mat easier to mold from a thermoplastic polymer. In one embodiment, the body, ribs and dimples are integrally molded of a fluid-impervious material. For example, the body, ribs and dimples may be integrally injection-molded of a thermoplastic elastomer. In embodiments, the ribs have elongate sidewalls joined together by endwalls. These sidewalls and endwalls may each make a concave curved transition to the general upper surface, where the radius of curved transition may be selected from the range of about 0.04 to about 0.1 in. More particularly, the radius of the curved transitions may be about 0.1 in. The body may have a horizontal peripheral margin, at which a bottom wall downwardly extends from the general lower surface. At least one gap is formed in this bottom wall. The bottom wall and the dimples space the general lower surface of the body from a horizontal support surface so as to create a lower space or volume bounded by the general lower surface, the support surface and the horizontal peripheral margin. The gap communicates this lower space to the atmosphere, permitting any water finding its way therein to evaporate. According to another aspect of the invention, a dish drying mat comprises a body with a general upper surface and a general lower surface spaced from the general upper surface. The body has a lateral margin. A plurality of dimples downwardly extend from the general lower surface by a uniform height. The dimples are spaced apart from each other and act to support the body on a horizontal support surface. A continuous lower space is bounded by the support surface, the general lower surface and the lateral margin. The continuous lower space is in communication with the atmosphere beyond the lateral margin, such that any fluid in the continuous lower space may evaporate. In one embodiment, a bottom wall downwardly extends from the general lower surface by the uniform height. At least one gap in the bottom wall communicates the continuous lower space with the atmosphere beyond the lateral margin. The mat may have a left side, an opposed right side, a front side and an opposed back side, and in one embodiment gaps are formed in the bottom wall at each of the sides. In a further aspect of the invention, a dish drying mat is provided that has a body with a lateral peripheral margin, a general upper surface and a general lower surface. A plurality of elongate ribs upwardly extend from the general upper surface. The ribs are spaced from each other and from the peripheral lateral margin. A plurality of dimples downwardly extend from the general lower surface. The dimples are spaced from each other and from the peripheral lateral margin. The lateral peripheral margin has a plurality of horizontal sides, and adjacent ones of the sides meet at rounded corners. A peripheral wall is formed at least at the corners to upwardly extend from the general upper surface and to downwardly extend from the general lower surface. At each corner, the upper portion of the peripheral wall has an inwardly-facing concave surface, and the lower portion does likewise. Horizontal radii of these concave surfaces may be select