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THIS invention relates to a stack able ice tray w th drainage overflow, Irs domestic applications, t often happens that there is not enough ice for beverages, particularly whilst entertaining guests. Typically, the Sack of ice on such occasions is caused by not having a sufficient number of ice trays, having insufficient space for ice trays particularly in modern day combination fridge-freezer type refrigerators, but mostly by the hassle and mess of having to continually refill individual ice trays and carefully manoeuvring them back to into the freezer without spilling water ait over the floor.

Accordingly, there is a requirement for ice trays that can produce a larger number of ice cubes, One solution is to manufacture ice frays with larger numbers of ice cube making compartments, The problem with such ice trays is the amount of premium space they occupy in freezers.

Another solution to the problem is to produce conventionally s zed see trays thai are stackabie one over the other, The problem with stackabie ice trays is how to fill the lowermost trays with water. This problem may be addressed by introducing overflow holes to the trays such that tower trays can be filled from water flowing into it from an overflowing superjacent tray.,

O'Brien and Chafferton in patent documents CA 2,253,645 and US 5,012,655 respectively, teach of ice tray drawer box systems wherein a plurality of ice trays having drainage holes slide in and out like drawers from a drawer box such that the pluralit of frays are retained one over the other. Although the inventions disclosed in these patent documents address the problem of filling stackable-!ike see trays, these inventions rely on an independent and bulky unit into which the ice trays are receivable, it Is an object of the present invention to provide a siackable ice tray having overflow drainage holes that eliminates the need for an independent stacking component by connecting siackable ice tray one directly to another,

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention there is provided an ice tray including: a tray-like body divided into a plurality of compartments for receiving water and further for in use, with the ice tray received in a chilled environment, creating ice; one or more primary and secondary connector formations on the body, the primary connector formations of the ice tray being correspondingly engageable with the secondary connector formations of other like ice trays such that a plurality of like ice frays are releasabiy conoectable to one another, one above the other in a stackabie fashion; and a plurality of overflow drainage holes defined in the body for operab!y limiting a maximum wafer level of a filled superjacent ice try and permitting excess wafer to flow therethrough and fill a subjacent ice tray relative thereto in a cascading fashion.

Each of the compartments define a first open end through which water is receivable info the compartment and an opposite dosed second end, the compartment being further defined by walls tapering from the first end towards the second end. Typically, each of the compartments are frustum pyramid shaped. Generally, the compartments are configured in the body in at least a pair of rows, with each row defining at st 5 compartments. Preferably, the walls of adjacent compartments meet one another at or near their respective first open ends to form an operably upper meeting surface, the meeting surface being recessed operably downwardly from an operably upper end of a peripheral wail running about the periphery of the ice tray body thereby defining a peripheral rim for restricting water spillage from the operably upper side of ice tray body.

Water flow channels may be defined in the ice tray body for communicating water between adjacent compartments, the channels being recessed Into the compartment walls from the open first ends in the direction of the opposite closed second ends.

Preferably, the overflow drainage holes are defined In the ice tray body at or near the open first ends of the compartments. Generally, the overflow drainage holes are defined in the operabiy upper meeting surface of the ice tray body such that in use the maximum water level of the ice tray substantially coincides with the plane on which the operably upper meeting surface and first open ends of the compartments lie.

Typically, the overflow drainag holes are located on the operably upper meeting surface to lie close or partially aligned with outer surfaces of the tapering walls of the compartments such that in use, forces of attraction acting between the outer surfaces of the tapering walls of the compartments and the excess water draining through the overflow drainage holes causes the water to How substantially along the tapering wails of the compartments thereby to fall under the force of gravity into the compartment of a subjacent stacked ice tray.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the overflow drainage holes are drainage slits located between the adjacent compartment rows. The primary connector formations may be connector posts each having a free end extending beyond the closed second ends of the compartments, the free ends of the connector posts being raleasably engageabte with respective connecting apertures defined in the ice tray body. Generally, the connecting apertures are connecting slots defined in the peripheral rim of the ice tray body, the free ends of the primary connector each comprising a pair of prongs resifienily movable between a first "at rest'' condition, wherein the prongs are spaced from one another, and a second condition, wherein the prongs are forced toward one another, the pair of prongs being resiliency biased towards the first "at rest" condition.

Typically, a major dimension of the connecting slots Is smaller than the dimension between outer sides of the prongs such that operable engagement of the connector post into the respective connecting slots forces the prongs into the second condition during engagement and, once fully engaged, the prongs are resiliency biased back into the first "at rest" condition thereby to connect like ice trays to one another in a slackabie fashion. Preferably, the connector posts define a shoulder formation spaced backward iy from the free end thereof for limiting the extent by which the connector posts extend into the connecting slots, and further wherein co-operation of the connecting posts and slots act to space stacked ice trays such that the second closed ends of the compartments of a superjacent ice tray is spaced operably above the first open ends of the compartments of a subjacent ice tray connected thereto.

Most preferably, the ice tray body, primary and secondary connector formations and the overflow drainage holes are part of a single monolithic component. According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provide a set of ice trays comprising at least two ice trays connected to one another in a stackabie fashion,

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described n more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which; Fig re 1 is a perspective view of a pair of stackabie ice trays in accordance wit the present invention, illustrated in a spaced apart orientation relative to one another;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the stackabie ice trays of figure one in a stacked and connected condition; and

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional front view of the stacked and connected ice trays of figure 2 in use being filled with water,

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OP THE DRAWI GS

A stackabie ice tray according to a preferred embodiment of the invention is designated generally in the accompanying figures with reference numeral 10. The ice tray 10 includes a body 12, a plurality of compartments 14, primary connector formations 18, secondary connector formations 18 and a plurality of overflow drainage holes 20,

With reference to figure 1 , the body 12 is Iray-iike in configuration with each of the compartments 14 therein defined by an open first end 22, an opposite closed second end 24 and compartment walis 28 tapering from the open first end 22 towards the opposite closed second end 24 to define substantially frustum pyramid shaped compartments 14, The compartments 14 are configured in the ice tray body 12 in a pair of rows, with each row defining six compartments 14. The walls 26 of adjacent compartments 14 meet one another at or near their respective first open ends 22 to form an operably upper meeting surface 28, with the meeting surface 28 being recessed operabiy downward Sy from an operably upper end of a peripheral wail 30 running about the periphery of the ice tray body 12 thereby defining a peripheral rim 32 for restricting water spillage from the operably upper side of ice fray body 12.

Water flow channels 34 are defined in the ice fray body 12 and act to in use communicate water between adjacent compartments 14. Preferably, and as illustrated in the accompanying figures, the channels 34 are recessed into the compartment walls 26 from the open first ends 22 in the direction of the opposite dosed second ends 24.

Each of the primary connector formations is a connector post 16 having a free end 36 extending beyond the closed second ends 24 of the compartments 14. The free ends 36 of the connector post 18 comprise a pair of prongs 38 being reieasabfy engageab!e with the respective secondary connecter formations 18.

Although the secondary connector formations may take many different forms, it is preferable that they are connecting apertures, more preferably connecting slots 18 defined in the peripheral rim 32 of the ce tray body 12.

The prongs 38 of the connector posts 16 are resiliency movable between a first "at rest" condition, wherein the prongs 28 are spaced from one another, and a second condition, wherein the prongs 28 are forced toward one another, the pair of prongs 28 being resiiiently biased towards the first "at rest" condition.

With reference now also to figure 2, a major dimension ^" d ^" of the connecting slots 18 is smaller than the dimension ^a D" between outer sides of the prongs 38 such that operable engagement of the connector post 16 into the respective connecting siots 18 forces the prongs info the second condition during engagement and, once fully engaged, the prongs 38 are resiliency biased back into the first "at rest" condition thereby to connect like ice trays 10 to one another in a sfackabie fashion. The connector posts 18 define a shoulder formation 40 spaced backwardly from the free end 36 thereof for limiting trie extent by which the connector posts 16 extend into the connecting siots 18. if will be appreciated that co-operation of the connecting posts 18 and slots 18 also act to space stacked ice trays 10 such that the second closed ends 24 of the compartments 14 of a superjacent ice tray 10A is spaced operably above the first open ends 22 of fbe compartments 14 of a subjacent ice tray 10B connected thereto. Although not necessary, the ice tray body 12, as well as the primary and secondary connector formations 16, 18 are part of a single monolithic component, the primary connector formations 16 being supported on the ice tray body 12 by webbing 42. The overflow drainage holes 20 defined in the ice tray body 12 operab!y limit a maximum water level of a filled superjacent ice try 10A and furthermore, permit excess water to flow there through and fill a subjacent ice tray 1 GB in a cascading fashion as illustrated in figure 3 _: with the stacked ice frays 10A, 10B positional© beneath a lap 100 and within a flow path of water 200 coming there from.

The overflow drainage holes, in the form of drainage slits 20, are defined in the operably upper meeting surface 28 of the ice tray body 12 such that in use. the maximum wafer level of the ice tray 0 substantially coincides with the plane on which the operably upper meeting surface 28 and first open ends 22 of the compartments 14 fie.

With particular reference now to figure 3, the overflow drainage slits 20 are located on the operably upper meeting surface 28 to lie close or partially aligned with outer surfaces of the tapering walls 26 of the compartments 14. in this manner, forces of attraction acting in use between the outer surfaces of the tapering wails 26 and the excess water 200 draining through the overflow drainage slits 20 causes the water 200 to flow substantially along the tapering wails 28 of the compartments 14 thereby to fall under the force of gravity in a cascading fashion into the compartment 14 of a subjacent stacked ice tray 108. it will be appreciated that the handling of the stacked ice trays 10A, 108, by holding them at the upper most ice tray 10A, is much more stable than handling individual ice trays due to the centre of gravity of the stacked ice frays 0A, 10B being operably below the hands of a user handling the upper most ice fray 10A.

Once filled, the stacked ice trays 10A. 10B may be introduced into a chilled environment, such as a freeser, for freezing the wate received in the compartments 14 to make ice cubes. Although the invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated thai many modifications or variations of the invention are possible without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, For example, if is h ghly that the See trays 10 of the present invention will be sold in sets of three or more instead of individually, although the latter is possible.