Rack for jars and other items

Abstract

A rack for holding containers that can be mounted on a cabinet or appliance door, and that includes multiple holders. The rack is preferably molded, and includes multiple sets of gripping arms extending from a notched base. The notched base can be separated into individual racks, each with a single set of arms if desired.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application is a continuation in part of U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/443,708, filed on Jan. 29, 2003. The priority of the prior application is expressly claimed and its disclosure is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to racks for holding jars and bottles on vertical surfaces such as cabinet doors. In many instances, cabinets installed in homes, travel trailers and recreational vehicles do not include a rack for conveniently holding and displaying jars and containers such as those used for spices and the like. In other instances, the total amount of cabinet space in cabinets is limited, and more space would be a benefit. At the same time, it would be nice to provide storage of jars and bottles within the cabinet to maintain the neat and orderly appearance of the kitchen area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] This invention meets these needs by providing a rack, which for convenience will be referred to as a spice rack, that can be mounted on the inside of a cabinet door, or on the inside of any other surface, and which firmly grips and holds a number of jars. In a preferred embodiment the invention includes rack for holding containers including a base having a front side and a back side and at least one pair of opposed resilient arms extending from the base front side. The arms have a first position for resiliently engaging a container. The resilient arms are spreadable to receive and frictionally hold the container, which can be inserted and removed from the clip with a modest amount of effort.

[0004] A rack according to one embodiment includes an adhesive on the back surface of the base for attaching the rack to a surface such as the inside of a cabinet door. In other embodiments the base includes at least one hole formed in the base for receiving a fastener such as a nail, a screw, a bolt, a tack and a rivet.

[0005] In a preferred embodiment, the base includes a plurality of base sections defined by notches in the base, and the at least one pair of resilient arms resilient arms extending from each base section. This configuration provides the user with a flexible rack that can be tailored to each application. The preferred method of manufacture of the invention is by molding a polymeric material into a plurality of connected units that can be easily packaged and sold, to be separated and mounted as needed by the user. These and other aspects of the preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in greater detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a preferred embodiment of the invention showing an array of racks according to the invention.

[0007] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a single row of racks, and showing in phantom a container held in a single rack.

[0008] FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the single row of racks shown in FIG. 2.

[0009] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along line A-A in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Referring to the figures, FIG. 1 shows a first preferred embodiment of a rack according to the invention, and includes and array of racks 10 of multiple rows and columns of racks manufactured in a single mold. This provides several advantages. First, a single mold can be used to manufacture a maximum number of racks, reducing manufacturing costs. Second, the multiple rack arrays directly from the mold can be packaged and sold without any further processing. The invention is preferably molded from a resilient plastic material, although the invention is not intended to be limited to any particular material of construction.

[0011] It is anticipated that a user would use multiple racks in horizontal rows, which are formed by separating individual rows a shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 from array 10. Each rack 12 in array 10 includes a base 14 and a pair of opposed resilient arms 16 and 18. Each rack is sized to hold a small jar 19, such as a spice jar, as shown in phantom in FIGS. 2-4. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, adjacent racks are separated by a bevel 20 that extends most of the distance through base 14, and provides a ready and convenient separation point between adjacent racks by bending the array along the bevel line until the base material fatigues and breaks along the base of bevel 20. An adhesive layer 22 is attached to each base 14, and is used to attach the rack to a surface such as a cabinet door 26 as shown in FIG. 4.

[0012] These and other features of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, who will also appreciate that numerous modifications and changes in detail are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A rack for holding containers comprising:

a base having a front side and a back side; and,

at least one pair of opposed resilient arms extending from the base front side, the arms having a first position for resiliently engaging a container.

2. A rack according to claim 1 further comprising an adhesive on the back side of the base.

3. A rack according to claim 1 further comprising at least one hole formed in the base for receiving a fastener selected from the group consisting of a nail, a screw, a bolt, a tack and a rivet.

4. A rack according to claim 1 further comprising the resilient arms having spaced apart distal ends, and the resilient arms having a second position for receiving a container between the spaced apart distal ends.

5. A rack according to claim 1 wherein the at least one base comprises a plurality of base sections defined by notches in the base, and the at least one pair of resilient arms includes a pair of resilient arms extending from each base section.

6. A rack according to claim 5 wherein the base sections are separable.

7. A rack according to claim 1 wherein the rack is formed of a polymeric material.

8. A rack according to claim 1 wherein the rack is formed of a metal.

9. A rack according to claim 1 wherein the rack is a molded material.

10. A rack according to claim 1 wherein the pair of resilient arms are curved.

11. A rack according to claim 1 wherein the base further comprises a magnet.

12. An array of racks comprising:

a plurality of individual racks arranged in a plurality of rows and columns, each rack including a base having a front side and a back side, and at least one pair of opposed resilient arms extending from the base front side, the arms having a first position for resiliently engaging a container, and,

a beveled portion adjacent each row of racks and operable to separate each respective row and column from at least one adjacent row of racks.