Prior art

Analysis of Prior Art Cited in U.S. Patent 10,512,385

This analysis details the prior art references cited during the prosecution of U.S. Patent 10,512,385, as listed in the patent's "References Cited" section. Each reference is evaluated for its potential to anticipate the independent claims of the '385 patent under 35 U.S.C. § 102.

It is important to note that these references were reviewed by the USPTO examiner and the patent was issued over them, indicating the examiner found the claims to be novel and non-obvious.

1. U.S. Patent 2,910,207 (A. W. L. Tulleners, et al.)

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent 2,910,207, "Dish rack for domestic appliance," assigned to General Motors Corp.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published October 27, 1959; Filed September 26, 1957.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a dish rack for a dishwasher with wire supports designed to hold various items. It includes features for organizing plates, bowls, and glasses. The supports can be configured to hold items at an angle to facilitate draining.
• Potential Anticipation Analysis:
  • Claim 1: This reference does not disclose a first rack with a tiered bottom defining an effective inclination angle, nor a second rack below it with a non-tiered, flat bottom wall inclined at a matching parallel angle. The '207 patent focuses on the wire support structures within a single rack rather than a coordinated, multi-level, parallel-inclined rack system.
  • Claim 13 & 17: The '207 patent shows supports for holding glasses but does not teach a bottom wall with the specific combination of a flat central portion, curved mounting portions, and opposing inclined portions. Crucially, it does not disclose a spray tube carried with the dish rack and positioned adjacent to a curved mounting portion to spray along the inclined portions, as required by claims 13 and 17.

2. U.S. Patent 4,064,887 (R. L. Constant, et al.)

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent 4,064,887, "Upper level wash arm system," assigned to Hobart Corporation.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published December 27, 1977; Filed July 27, 1976.
• Brief Description: This patent focuses on a spray arm system for an upper dish rack. It describes how to deliver wash fluid to a spray arm that is part of the movable upper rack, including a docking mechanism to connect the spray arm to the dishwasher's water supply when the rack is pushed in.
• Potential Anticipation Analysis:
  • Claim 1, 13, & 17: While relevant to the general concept of a rack with an integrated sprayer, this patent's teachings are focused on the fluid delivery mechanism and the spray arm itself. It does not disclose the specific rack structures recited in the independent claims. It does not teach the parallel, inclined, tiered/non-tiered two-rack system of claim 1, nor the contoured bottom wall with integrated spray tube of claims 13 and 17. The disclosure of a docking spray assembly is a background feature but does not, by itself, anticipate the specific rack geometry claimed.

3. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0192578 (J. E. Tapper, et al.)

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0192578, "Water spray system for a dishwasher," assigned to Distinctive Appliances, Inc.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published October 16, 2003; Filed April 2, 2002.
• Brief Description: This application describes a dishwasher with multiple spray arms, including spray arms integrated into the dish racks. It shows various configurations for delivering water to different levels and zones within the dishwasher to improve cleaning performance.
• Potential Anticipation Analysis:
  • Claim 1: The '578 application does not disclose a first rack with a tiered bottom and a second rack below it with a non-tiered bottom where both have matching, parallel inclination angles.
  • Claim 13 & 17: This reference discloses the concept of rack-mounted sprayers but does not describe the specific bottom wall structure of the dish rack as claimed. The unique contoured bottom with flat, curved, and inclined portions designed to both hold glasses and mount a spray tube is not present in this prior art.

4. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0226580 (T. A. Gagliano, et al.)

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0226580, "Three rack dishwasher," assigned to Maytag Corporation.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published December 11, 2003; Filed May 28, 2002.
• Brief Description: This application discloses a dishwasher with three racks: a lower rack, an upper rack, and a middle rack. The middle rack is described as being useful for small items, cups, and glasses and can be vertically adjustable. It also contemplates dedicated spray arms for each level.
• Potential Anticipation Analysis:
  • Claim 1: The '580 application teaches a multi-rack system but does not describe the specific geometric relationship of a tiered upper rack and a parallel, inclined, non-tiered lower rack. The racks in this reference are generally horizontal.
  • Claim 13 & 17: This reference does not disclose the claimed contoured bottom wall structure with integrated sprayers. The focus is on the arrangement of three racks, not on a specialized rack geometry for holding glassware with a dedicated, co-located spray system.

5. U.S. Patent 8,287,660 (A. J. Kendrick, et al.)

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent 8,287,660, "Upper spray arm water deflector," assigned to Whirlpool Corporation.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published October 16, 2012; Filed February 3, 2010.
• Brief Description: This patent, assigned to the same entity as the '385 patent, is explicitly referenced in the '385 patent's specification (Figure 7 description) as an example of a "tiered dish rack." It describes a dish rack with a bottom wall constructed in multiple tiers or steps, creating an overall slope.
• Potential Anticipation Analysis:
  • Claim 1: This reference discloses the first element of claim 1—a "first dish rack...having a bottom wall tiered to form multiple levels...defining an effective inclination angle." However, it does not disclose the second key element of claim 1: "a second dish rack located below the first dish rack, the second dish rack having a non-tiered, flat bottom wall that is inclined at an angle" that matches and is parallel to the first rack. Therefore, it does not anticipate the complete combination claimed.
  • Claim 13 & 17: The '660 patent does not disclose the specific contoured bottom wall structures or the integrated spray tubes recited in these claims. Its focus is on the tiered nature of the rack itself.