HK1116372B - Cooking appliance lid - Google Patents

Description

Lid for kitchen utensils

The present invention relates to a lid for a kitchen appliance, for example for a cooking pan, or frying pan.

Existing lids include a cover for covering the cookware and gripping means projecting from the cover to allow the lid to be gripped. However, due to the protruding arrangement of the gripping means, the gripping means prevents a smooth stacking of several similar lids.

Against this background, we have known a cap of the type in which the gripping means can be transferred from a stacking position, in which they do not obstruct the stacking of the caps, to a gripping position, in which they provide a gripping surface that is separate from the caps.

Thus, particularly for camping articles, there are lids whose gripping means are in the form of handles which are connected in a pivoted manner to a base which is connected to the centre of the lid. Since the handle is freely pivotable, it rests against the cover when the lid is laid flat, so that when the lid is laid on the culinary article placed on the heat source, firstly the handle will rise to a high temperature (like the cover) and then the user will have difficulty gripping the handle (the gripping difficulty will increase as the handle gets hotter).

According to document US 5,154,114, there is also a lid with two handles connected to the outer edge of the lid by hinge means, so that each handle has two stable positions, namely a stacked position and a carrying position substantially perpendicular to said stacked position. Due to the provision of the hinge means, two hands must be used to transfer the handle from one position to the other (and therefore there is always a risk of scalding when the cover is hot). Also, if the carrying position is relatively locked, it must be returned to the stacking position again with both hands, which is a lengthy and laborious process.

The object of the present invention is to create a lid which overcomes the above-mentioned drawbacks.

According to the invention, a cap of the above-mentioned type comprises an elastic element for moving the gripping means from its stacked condition to the gripping condition.

In this way, the gripping means is in its gripping position, in which the gripping surface of said gripping means is separated from the cover, without being subjected to external forces, in particular when no cover is resting on the gripping means. Thus, firstly, the lid can be gripped easily, and secondly, the gripping surface is not heated by the cover due to heat conduction.

Other specific features and advantages will emerge from the following description of a particular embodiment, illustrated by way of non-limiting example and by way of the accompanying drawings, in which:

figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a gripping device for caps according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one tab of the gripping device;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the lid with the tab of the gripping device in a gripping position;

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of two lids stacked with the flaps of the gripping means of the lower lid in a stacked position and the flaps of the gripping means of the upper lid in a gripping position;

fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lid with the flaps of the gripping device in a transport position.

As can be seen from fig. 3 to 5, the cover 1 for a kitchen appliance comprises a cover 2, which cover 2 is designed to cover the kitchen appliance, and a gripping device 3, which gripping device 3 is designed to grip the cover 1. The gripping means 3 are variable in state and comprise at least two states, namely a stacked state in which the gripping means 3 do not interfere with the stacking of said cap with another cap 1a, as shown in fig. 4, and a gripping state in which the gripping means 3 have a gripping surface 4, the gripping surface 4 being separate from the cap 1 (more specifically, from the covering cap 2), as shown in fig. 3 and 4.

In this embodiment, the gripping means 3 comprise a base 5 and at least one flap 6, said base 5 being fixed to said cover 2 (in this case it is fixed in the centre of the cover 2), said flap 6 (in this case two flaps 6) having a gripping surface 4 of the gripping means 3, and each flap 6 being variable with respect to the base 5 at least between a stacked position in which the gripping surface 4 is not in contact with the cover 2 and a gripping position corresponding to the stacked and gripped condition of the gripping means 3, respectively.

Each flap 6 is mounted so as to be rotatable with respect to the base 5 about an axis of rotation 7, said axis of rotation 7 being parallel to a plane 8, which plane 8 is tangent to the cover 2 on a reference plane of the base 5, and the two axes of rotation 7 of the two flaps 6 being parallel to each other. In order to achieve this kind of articulation, each flap 6 comprises a semicircular handle 9 and two axles 10, said axles 10 being diametrically opposite each other and extending radially towards the inside of the handle 9. For each tab 6, the base 5 comprises two mutually opposite openings 11 arranged in parallel, each opening 11 being designed to receive the shaft 10 of the tab 6.

In the present embodiment, for some caps 1 whose covering cap 2 has an external diameter of 140mm to 280mm, base 5 has a cylindrical shape with an external diameter of 40mm to 50mm, preferably 45mm, and a thickness of 5mm to 10mm, preferably 8mm, and each flap 6 (or more specifically each handle 9) has a half-king crown shape with an internal diameter corresponding to the diameter of base 5 and an external diameter of 70mm to 90mm, preferably 80mm, and a thickness of 4mm to 8 mm.

As can be seen in fig. 4, the gripping surface 4 is rotated towards the cover 2 when the flaps 6 are in the stacked position. Depending on the shape of the cover 2, when the flap 6 is in the stacked position, it may be oriented at a positive angle of less than 10 ° (upward orientation), more commonly parallel to the above-mentioned tangential plane 8; or may even be oriented at a slight negative angle (downward orientation) when it lies in a plane between the tangential plane 8 and the plane of the cover 2.

The gripping means 3 has a small thickness in its stacked position, which means that it does not interfere with the placement of the cover 2a of the lid 1a on the lid 1, wherein the gripping means 3 is arranged on the lid 1. The thickness of the gripping device 3 in its stacked state is smaller than a spacing distance which separates the upper surface 12 of the cover 2 of the lid 1 with the gripping device 3 from the fixing screw 20a of the gripping device 3 of the lid 1a at the same height of the gripping device 3.

In the present embodiment, the thickness of the base 5 and of each flap 6 is less than the spacing distance which, considering the orientation of the flaps 6, separates the upper surface 12 of the cover 2 of the lid 1 with these elements 5, 6 from the lower surface 13a of the cover 2a of the lid 1a resting on the first lid 1, at the level of these elements 5, 6.

The height difference between the cover 2 and the cover 2a lying above it is determined primarily by the height of the rounded outer edges 21, 21a, which outer edges 21, 21a delimit each planar or slightly concave cover 2, 2 a.

According to the invention, the lid 1 comprises an elastic element 14, which elastic element 14 moves the gripping means 3 from its stacked state to its gripping state. Thus, when the lid 1 is placed on a culinary article resting on a heat source, the gripping means 3 is in its gripping condition, thanks to the presence of the elastic element 14, and its gripping surface 4 is separated from the lid 2 without being heated, and can be easily gripped by the user.

The elasticity of the elastic element 14 is such that the weight of an object, for example a lid for a kitchen utensil placed on the gripping device 3, can move the gripping device 3 from its gripping state to its stacked state.

As can be seen from fig. 3 and 4, when the flap 6 is in its gripping position, the flap 6 is inclined with respect to the tangential plane 8 so that the gripping surface 4 can be touched. In order to obtain an easy grip, each tab 6 in the gripping position should preferably be oriented in a plane at an angle of at least 30 ° to the tangential plane 8 (in this case, this orientation is about 45 °).

In the present embodiment, the elastic element 14 is provided in the form of a spring 14 in the gripping means (in this case in the base 5). Each shaft 10 of each tab 6 comprises a contact surface 15, on which contact surface 15 the spring 14 rests, and the contact surface 15 is at an angle to the surface formed by the handle 9 which is equal to the angle formed by the tab 6 and the tangential plane 8 in the gripping position, in which tangential plane 8 the spring 14 is arranged. Thus, when the tabs 6 are in their stacked position, the spring 14 bears against the first axial edge 16 of the axles 10 and thereby moves each axle 10 until the spring 14 bears against all of the contact surfaces 15.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, each tab 6 in the gripping position is oriented in a plane making an angle of at most 60 ° with the tangential plane 8 and is movable beyond the gripping position to a transport position in which the tab 6 lies in a plane substantially parallel to the plane 17, wherein the plane 17 is perpendicular to the tangential plane 8.

In this embodiment, the flaps 6 abut against each other by their contact surfaces 18 when in the transport position, said contact surfaces 18 of the flaps 6 being on the side of the gripping surface 4 of the flap 6 facing away from each other.

In this embodiment, when in the handling position, the tabs 6 are moved by the elastic elements 14 towards their gripping position, the springs 14 abutting against the second axial edge 19 of the axles 10, and moving each axle 10 until the springs 14 abut against all the contact surfaces 15.

In order to increase the grip on the lid 1, the gripping means 3 are shaped such that the two flaps 6 in the transport position act as a fixed (or almost fixed) part with respect to the cover 2 and the two flaps 6 cannot slide relative to each other.

For this purpose, in the present embodiment, the distance between the two rotation axes 7 corresponds approximately to the thickness of each tab 6, so that when the two tabs 6 abut against each other, they can only be rotated by an angle of at most 10 ° on either side of the orthogonal plane 17, respectively, with respect to the base 5. Likewise, each handle 9 is made such that the contact area between the two contact surfaces 18 is not limited to a line segment, but forms a true surface. The user's grip on the wings 6 creates a friction force that resists sliding relative to the two wings 6. This prevention of sliding movement ensures that the assembly of two flaps 6 does not rotate when being handled. Also, in order to increase the stability of the flaps in the handling position, the roughness of the contact surface of each flap 6 corresponds, on a grain scale, to 27CH (charmiel 27CH) in the charmie technologies company defined standard for representing roughness etc., when the flaps are held together by the user.

The handling of the lid 1 according to the invention is thus particularly simple, since the user only has to pinch the two flaps in the gripping position (in which the gripping surface 4 can naturally be touched) and up to the handling position in which the two flaps abut against each other, wherein the two flaps are stable when gripped by the user. When the user lets go of the flap 6, they return from the carrying position to the gripping position.

Other embodiments than those shown in the drawings are possible.

Thus, the resilient element may be an integral part of the element having the gripping surface, the element being made of a resiliently deformable resilient material and being arranged so as to be mechanically constrained when the gripping means is in its stacked position; and when the gripping device is in its gripping position, the element is not mechanically constrained. With a gripping device similar to the embodiment, the shaft of each flap thereof may be fixed to the base so that each flap is not subjected to binding mechanical torque in its gripping position.

Claims (9)

1. A lid (1) for a kitchen appliance, the lid (1) comprising a cover lid (2) for closing the kitchen appliance and a gripping device (3) for gripping the lid, characterized in that said gripping means (3) comprise a base (5) and at least one flap (6), the base (5) being fixed to the cover (2), the flap (6) having a gripping surface (4), and the flap (6) is movable with respect to the base (5) between a stacking position and a gripping position, wherein, in said stacked position, the gripping means (3) do not interfere with the stacking of said cap (1) with another similar cap, in the gripping position, the gripping surface (4) is separated from the cover (1) and is not in contact with the cover (2), the cover (1) comprises an elastic element (14) for moving the flaps from the stacking position to the gripping position.

2. A cap (1) according to claim 1, wherein each of said flaps (6) is mounted so as to be rotatable with respect to said base (5) about a rotation axis (7), said rotation axis (7) being parallel to a tangential plane (8), said tangential plane (8) being tangential to said cover (2) on a reference plane of said base (5).

3. A cap (1) as claimed in claim 2, wherein said gripping surface (4) of each said flap (6) is pivoted downwardly towards said cover (2) when said flap (6) is in its stacked position.

A cap (1) as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of said flaps (6) in said gripping position is oriented in a plane at an angle of 30 ° to 60 ° to said tangential plane (8).

5. A lid (1) according to claim 2, wherein each of said flaps (6) is movable to a handling position in which said flap (6) is perpendicular to said tangential plane (8).

6. Cap (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that said gripping means (3) comprise two wings (6), the two rotation axes (7) of said two wings (6) being parallel to each other.

7. A cap (1) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the two flaps (6) are moved into a handling position in which the two flaps (6) abut against each other with their contact surfaces (18), the contact surfaces (18) of the flaps (6) being on the side of the gripping surfaces (4) of the flaps (6) facing away from each other.

8. A cap (1) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the distance between the two rotation axes (7) is such that, when the two flaps (6) abut each other, the two flaps (6) can only make an angular rotation of at most 10 ° with respect to the base (5) on both sides of a plane (17) perpendicular to the tangential plane (8).

9. A cap (1) according to claim 1, wherein said elastic element (14) is a spring (14).