US2164649A - Spoon holder for saucepans - Google Patents

Description

July 4, 1939. G. K. FORBES SPOON HOLDER FOR SAUCEPANS Filed Feb. 9, 1958 j} JV WWL'M.)

Patented July 4, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE.

SPOON HOLDER FOR SAUCEPANS Gertrude K. Forbes, Pasadena, Calif.

Application February 9, 1938, Serial No. 189,485

3 Claims.

My invention relates to a spoon holder of the type adapted for attachment to pans or culinary vessels in which the handle of a spoon may be wedged and secured between contiguous wires or metal bands or the equivalent so that the spoon may be positioned to drip into the vessel and the handle being positioned outside of the vessel. In a number of these spoon holders patented and on the market, there is not sufficient stiffness and rigidity to the wires or metal strips to prop erly hold the handle of the spoon and moreover there is not sufficient attachment of the wires to a clamp which engages the side of the vessel to maintain the wires always in a position to readily receive and to hold a spoon.

An object and feature of my invention involves the combinational structure and attachment of a spring clamp to engage the wall and over the edge of a culinary vessel with a resilient and spring wire assembly utilized to grip and engage the handle of a spoon. A further feature of my invention is forming the wire spoon engaging element in the manner of a helical coil of spring wire, each convolution of which is threaded through perforations in the clamp and the two opposite ends of the coil are bent or distorted to prevent unthreading. A further feature of my invention is in making the clamp with inner and outer jaws with a reverse bend at the top. The perforations are thus through the upper portion of both the inner and outer jaws, such perforations being substantially aligned. The helical coil of wire when threaded through the aligned perforations develops a spaced contact i. and support for the lower portion of each convolution of wire. This therefore develops a relatively stiff construction so that the wires do not wobble and are not readily displaced from their correct position. A further characteristic of my invention is having the perforations located closer together than the natural position of the uncompressed helical spring. Therefore the upper portions of the convolutions tend to spread apart due to the natural resiliency of the spring pressing spaces to readily insert the handle of the spoon. Another detail feature of my invention is forming the clamp with the outer jaw with an outwardly bent portion adapted to engage over the bead on culinary vessels using a bead and also to form a stop when the device is used on vessels with extra thick walls.

My invention is illustrated in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my holder at J tached to a culinary vessel.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation taken in the direction of the arrow 2 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation taken in the direction of the arrow 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an elevation similar to Fig.2 showing a different shape of clamp.

In my invention I employ a clamp ll formed. of a strip or strap of resilient sheet metal. This may be considered as having a substantially straight inner jaw l2 with a slight inward flare 13 adjacent the tip end. The outer jaw M has an inwardly extending convex curve l5 adjacent its upper end, a pronounced internal concave curve It followed by a sharp convex curve ii, the tip end l8 flaring outwardly. These jaws are connected by the integral reverse bend ii? at the top.

The coil spring assembly requires a series of substantially aligned perforations 26 and Zl in the upper part of the inner and outer jaws adjacent the reverse bend ill. The helically coiled spring 28 has the lower portion of its convolutions 29 threaded through these aligned perforations. The end convolutions 3i and 3! have the ends of the spring with an angular bend indicated at 32 and 33 or these ends may be upset if desired 3 to prevent them pulling out of the perforations. By this construction the individual convolutions of the spring assembly are held in a correct spaced position on the clamp structure, the perforations however being sufficiently large to allow a slight 31') angular movement to the convolutions. The convolutions are spaced apart at the top and sides as indicated by the numeral 3 3 and may thus be used to readily support a spoon or other utensil indicated by the numeral Alt of Fig. 1, the bowl 35 ll of the spoon being located inside of the line of the wall of the utensil, the handle portion 42 being engaged by the spring and the finger grip end 43 located outside of the wall of the utensil. This finger grip end is thus maintained cool and the spoon may be tilted so that material will drip off the spoon back into the vessel. While the device is only intended to support one spoon or similar article, at a time, it will be obvious that a number of such articles could be supported de- 45 pending on the number of convolutions to the helical spring.

In Fig. 4. I illustrate a different type of clamp 45 in which the inner jaw MS has a reverse concave and convex curvature considered on its in 0 side surface indicated at 4? and 48. The outer jaw 49 has an inside convex curve 56 at the top,

a somewhat pronounced concave curve 5i and a sharp convex curve 52. Both jaws have outwardly flared ends. The reverse bend 53 at the top has perforations similar to the construction of Figs. 2 and 3 with the convolutions of the wire threaded therethrough. In this construction the convex curved portions 48 and 52 of the jaws are quite close together, therefore when the clamp is fitted over a vessel the inner jaw forms an arch and therefore develops an increased spring pressure on the edge of the utensil. For some types of vessels this gives a better grip than the type of jaw of Fig. 2 having the straight inner jaw 12. It is advisable in both types of the jaw construction to have several nubs 55 pressed inwardly on the inner jaw. This gives a point contact with the vessel on which the spoon holder is mounted.

Various changes may be made in the details of the construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a device as described a clamp formed of a strap of resilient metal having an inner and an outer jaw connected by a reverse bend, a plurality of aligned perforations to the strap adjacent the reverse bend, a helical wire coil having the lower parts of its convolutions threaded each through a pair of aligned perforations and means on the ends of the wire to restrain unthreading.

2. In a device as described and claimed in claim 1, the convolutions having a relatively loose fit at the perforations to permit an angular pivoting of a pair of adjacent convolutions at the portion connected to the clamp.

3. In a device as described, a clamp having inner and outer jaw portions, each portion at its upper part having a set of perforations in substantially a straight line, the perforations on the opposite jaws being approximately in alignment, a helical wire coil having the lower parts of its convolutions threaded each through a pair of aligned perforations, the end portions of wire being threaded through at least one perforation with means to restrain the unthreading of such end portions, the convolutions having a relatively loose fit at the perforations to permit an angular pivoting of a pair of adjacent convolutions to permit an angular pivoting of a pair of adjacent convolutions at the portion connected to the jaws of the clamp.

GERTRUDE K. FORBES.

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