Pitcher dispenser
The present invention relates to a new and improved rack for facilitating the compact storage and dispensing of pitchers in restaurants and the like. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Many pitchers are inherently non-nestable, and being relatively large they have created a storage problem at the location where they are to be used. Beverages are frequently served in public places such as restaurants in pitchers and, therefore, it is necessary to have a relatively large supply of pitchers on hand. If the pitchers are simply placed on a counter, they occupy excessive space. If the pitchers are stacked on one another on the counter there is a danger that they will fall to the floor. Inasmuch as pitchers can be readily contaminated by dust or refuse which might fall therein, it is desirable to store the pitches in an inverted position which presents an added problem because of the fact that pitchers are generally unstable when resting on a counter in the inverted position. 
     For these and other reasons it is not uncommon in restaurants and the like to store the pitchers on overhead hooks where the ceiling is sufficiently high to permit it, but that method of storage in itself presents other problems related to the difficulty experienced by short people in attempting to reach the pitchers to hang them on the hooks and to remove them from hooks. As a consequence, it would be desirable to provide a compact and attractive rack for holding and protecting a plurality of pitchers at the point of use and from which the pitchers could be easily removed when needed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Briefly, there is provided in accordance with the teachings of the present invention a storage rack which includes one or more rigid vertical tubes which are each open at the top and bottom ends to hold a plurality of pitchers, one above the other, and which are slotted from top to bottom to receive the handles of the pitchers and thus orient them within the tubes. A stop shoulder is provided on a ledge located in proximity to the bottom of each tube and on which the pouring spout of the lowermost pitcher rests to prevent that pitcher and the other pitchers disposed in the tube above it from falling out of the bottom of the tube. 
     Pitchers are preferably stored in the tubes in an inverted position, and the portion of the tube which is diametrically opposite to the stop shoulder is cut away so that the slot is flared outwardly toward the bottom to have an angular extent of approximately one hundred eighty degrees or more. This permits the lowermost pitcher when lifted off of the shoulder to be cocked in an upward direction toward the slot for removal of the pitcher through the flared out portion of the slot. The flared out portion of the slot is substantially shorter in length than is the corresponding height of the pitcher to prevent inadverent removal of the bottom pitcher and the subsequent dropping of the next pitcher onto the shoulder. 
     In order to remove a pitcher from the rack the user grasps the handle of the lowermost rack lifts it and any other pitchers in the same tube a short distance and then cocks the lowermost pitcher in an upward direction toward the slot to move the spout of the pitcher past the ledge. As the pitcher is then removed through the flared out portion it is slowly lowered until the pouring spout on the next pitcher rests on the shoulder. 
     Fresh pitchers are easily loaded into the top of the tube, but if desired because, for example, of overhead space limitations, the pitchers can be loaded into the tubes from the bottom. 
     In a preferred embodiment of the invention three or more tubes are symmetrically mounted in a cluster to a central post for rotation about the axis of the post, the post extending up from a support base which may rest on a counter in proximity to the point of use of the pitchers. 
    
    
     GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     The present invention will be better understood by a reading of the following detail description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein. 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rack for holding and dispensing pitchers; 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of rack shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is an elevational view, partly broken away, of the rack shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; and 
     FIG. 4 is a elevational view of the rack shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, one pitcher being shown during removal thereof from the rack. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the drawing, there is a shown a rack 10 which comprises as its principal elements a base 12 including a circular portion 14 having a flat bottom surface adapted to rest on a countertop or the like and a central hub 16 in which the lower end of a post 17 is rotatably supported. A plurality of cylindrical tubes 18 are fixedly mounted in a cluster to post 17. The post 17 is rotatable relative to the base 12 whereby the cluster of tubes 18 may be rotated about the central vertical axis of the post. A cap member 19 is fitted onto the top of the post 17. 
     Each of the pitcher storage tubes 18 is open at the top and bottom and is provided with a vertical slot 22 which extends from the top to the bottom of its associated tube. As may best be seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, the lower portion of each slot 22 is flared outwardly at 22a to an angular extent which at the bottom is about 180 degrees. The flared out portion 22a is curved as shown in FIG. 3. The vertical extent of the flared portion 22a is substantially less than the height of the pitchers 23 with which the rack 10 is adapted to be used and as more fully described hereinafter is sufficiently large in cross sectional size to permit removal of a pitcher from the rack through the opening defined by the flared out portion 22a of slot. 
     An annular stop member 24 is mounted on the post 17 at the bottom end of the tubes 18 and provides an upwardly facing shoulder 24a on which the tubes 18 rest. For the reasons explained hereinafter, the stop member 24 is provided with three arcuate notches 24b respectively disposed on the diameters of the tubes 18. As best shown in FIG. 2, the annular member 24 has a sufficient external diameter interiorly of the notches 24b so as to extent into the space directly below the interiors of the tubes 18 and to provide a ledge which engages the pouring spouts of the lowermost ones of the pitchers located within the tubes 18. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a plurality of pitchers 30 are adapted to be stored in inverted positions in each of the tubes 18 with the pouring spout portion of the lowermost pitcher resting on the ledge 24 as best shown on the left side of FIG. 3. The upper portion of the slot 22 is of uniform width and slightly greater than the corresponding thickness of the handle portion 23a of the pitchers 23. The diameter of the tubes 18 is slightly greater than the diameter of the body portion 23b and the laterally extending spout portion 23c which is opposite to the handle portion 23a. 
     When in the stored position as shown in FIG. 1, the pouring spouts of the lowermost pitchers rest on the ledge 24 and prevent removal of the pitchers from the tubes. When it is desired to remove a pitcher, the handle 23a of a bottom pitcher is grasped and that pitcher is lifted a sufficient distance to permit cocking of the pitcher in an upward direction towards the slot 22 to clear the spout 23c of the ledge 24 so that the pitcher can then be removed from the tube through the flared out lower portion 22a while lowering the spout 23c through the notch 24b. As the lowermost pitcher is removed the pitchers above it are slowly lowered until the bottom pitcher rests on the ledge 24. 
     In order to facilitate removal of the pitchers from the tubes, the ledge 24 is provided with arcuate notches 24a. It will be understood that the internal diameter of the tubes 18 must be sufficiently larger than the external diameter of the body portion of the pitcher 23 to permit tilting of the pitcher in the associated tube to the position shown in FIG. 3 for removal of the pitcher. It will be understood that where desired the user can use one hand to lift and tilt the lowermost pitcher and use his other hand to grasp the handle of the next to lowest pitcher and lift that pitcher and those above it away from the lowermost pitcher so as to facilitate cocking of the lowermost pitcher to clear the spout of the ledge and therefor to permit its removal through the flared out portion 22a. 
     If desired, the individual tubes 18 may be mounted separately to a wall or other supporting device if counter space is not available for the entire rack. 
     While the present invention has been described in connection with a particular embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications which come within the true spirit and scope of this invention.