Container lid for preventing overbrimming

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a container lid for preventing overbrimming, which can prevent accidents by heating means and uncleanness or damage of the heating means by preventing overbrimming of the contents. The container lid for preventing overbrimming includes a steam outlet formed on a grip fixed on the lid and a cover plate formed on the inner surface of the lid and elevated by elevation means for opening and closing the steam outlet so as to smoothly discharge steam, thereby preventing uncleanness or damage of heating means and preventing accidents by preventing overbrimming of contents contained in a container.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This a continuation of pending International Patent Application PCT/KR2005/001258 filed on Jun. 1, 2005, which designates the United States and claims priorities of Korean Patent Application No. 20-2004-0015280 filed on Jun. 1, 2004; No. 20-2004-0019840 filed on Jul. 8, 2004; No. 20-2004-0023514 filed on Aug. 12, 2004; No. 20-2004-0024116 filed on Aug. 19, 2004.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a lid of a cooking container or a heating container for preventing overbrimming, and more particularly, to a container lid for preventing overbrimming, which includes overbrimming preventing means disposed on a handle of the container lid in order to prevent contents from overbrimming out of a container when the container is heated, thereby preventing accidents by heating means such as a gas range, and preventing uncleanness or damage of the heating means due to the overbrimming of the contents.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In general, when foods are cooked or the laundry or nursing bottles are sterilized and disinfected, the contents (foods, laundry, nursing bottles or others) are inserted into a container, a lid of the container is closed, and then the contents are heated by heating means such as a gas range or an electric range. At this time, when temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature, the contents is overbrimmed out of the container by steam generated inside the container, so that the heating means is damaged, gets dirty or causes accidents. So, to overcome the above problems, a steam outlet for discharging steam is formed on a lid of the container.

However, the conventional container lid cannot smoothly discharge steam when the contents are boiled since the steam outlet formed on the conventional container lid is small. Furthermore, the conventional container lid generates noise or causes overbrimming of the contents, since the lid is vibrated by steam. As a result, a user has to separate the lid from the container to prevent overbrimming. However, at this time, the heating time period is lengthened since the inside steam of the container is suddenly discharged to the outside. Lots of means to solve the above problems have been disclosed, but most of them are not practically used. So, development of new means for solving the above problems is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a container lid for preventing overbrimming, which includes a steam outlet formed on a grip fixed on the lid and a cover plate formed on the inner surface of the lid and elevated by elevation means for opening and closing the steam outlet so as to smoothly discharge steam, thereby preventing uncleanness or damage of heating means and preventing accidents by preventing overbrimming of contents contained in a container.

The elevation means which is the main technical subject of the present invention may one of the following means.

First, a sensing piece made with bimetal which is transformed according to temperature change is mounted on the lower portion of the cover plate so that the cover plate is automatically elevated according to the temperature change.

Second, considering that magnetic force of a permanent magnet is gradually reduced when heat is applied to the magnet and restored in normal temperature (when heat is cooled down), a magnet is mounted on the cover plate and a magnetic substance is mounted on the container lid in correspondence with the magnet so that the cover plate is automatically elevated according to the temperature change.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container lid for preventing overbrimming according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment, showing a state before an automatic opening and closing unit is operated.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment, showing a state after the automatic opening and closing unit is operated.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a second preferred embodiment, showing a state before the automatic opening and closing unit is operated.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the second preferred embodiment, showing a state after the automatic opening and closing unit is operated.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the third preferred embodiment, showing a state before the automatic opening and closing unit is operated.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the third preferred embodiment, showing a state after the automatic opening and closing unit is operated.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the fourth preferred embodiment, showing a state before the automatic opening and closing unit is operated.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the fourth preferred embodiment, showing a state after the automatic opening and closing unit is operated.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a modification of the fourth preferred embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing another modification of the fourth preferred embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view of the fifth preferred embodiment, showing a state before the automatic opening and closing unit is operated.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view of the fifth preferred embodiment, showing a state after the automatic opening and closing unit is operated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container lid for preventing overbrimming according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment showing a state before an automatic opening and closing unit is operated, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment showing a state after the automatic opening and closing unit is operated.

The container lid 1 for preventing overbrimming according to the present invention, as shown in the drawings, includes a lid body 2 having semicircular through-holes 2a formed on right and left side of the center thereof and opposed to each other, a grip 3 disposed on the lid body 2 and having steam outlets 6 formed on opposite sides thereof and an elevation hole 7 pierced in the grip 3, a fixing plate 4 disposed beneath the lid body 2 and having through-holes drilled therein to communicate with the through-holes 2a of the lid body 2, and fixing means 5 for fixing the grip 3 and the fixing plate 4 to the lid body 2.

An automatically opening and closing member 9 is mounted between the grip 3 and the lid body 2 and inserted into the elevation hole 7 in an elevated manner. The automatically opening and closing member 9 is formed integrally with a cover plate 11 having an annular packing 11a formed at the outer rim of the cover plate, for sealing the through-holes 2a of the lid body 2.

To guarantee a more safe operation of the automatically opening and closing member 9, the fixing plate 4 has a hollow bar 8 formed integrally with the center thereof and passing through the center of the lid body 2 in such a way as to be fit into an insertion portion 9a formed inside the automatically opening and closing member 9, and the hollow bar 8 has an auxiliary spring 10 seated therein for elastically supporting the automatically opening and closing member 9.

As elevation means 12 for lifting the cover plate 11 of the automatically opening and closing member 9 by vapor pressure and temperature change generated when the vapor pressure is generated inside a container, a sensing piece 14 which is made with plate spring bimetal bended to a side according to the temperature change is used. That is, the lower end of an actuating shaft 15 of the elevation means 12 combined by a connection pin 13 fixed to the upper portion of the automatically opening and closing member 9 passes through a hollow portion 8a of the hollow bar 8 and is exposed to the outside from the lower portion of the fixing plate 4. The elevation means 12 is rotatably mounted to the sensing piece 14, which is closely fixed on the lower portion of the lid body 2 by the fixing plate 4, by a pin 16.

The sensing piece 14 is made with the plate spring bimetal manufactured in such a way that upper and lower thin sheets 14a and 14b of different thermal expansive coefficients are bonded to each other. The sensing piece 14 is bended toward the thin sheet 14a of low thermal expansive coefficient since the two thin sheets 14a and 14b have different lengths from each other due to a difference of the thermal expansive coefficients when temperature rises. In case of the thin sheets 14a and 14b applied to the sensing piece 14, the upper thin sheet 14a is low in thermal expansive coefficient and the lower thin sheet 14b is high in thermal expansive coefficient, so that the sensing piece 14 is bended upwardly when the temperature rises so that the actuating shaft 15 is ascended. Particularly, the sensing piece 14 is embossing-processed in such a way as to protrude upwardly in the normal temperature (when heat is cooled) so as to be minutely bounced when the temperature rises.

At this time, the actuating shaft 15 is slidably elevated inside the hollow portion 8a of the hollow bar 8.

If a user does not want that the automatically opening and closing member 9 is automatically elevated by the elevation means 12, for example, in case of rice, chestnuts, potatoes, sweet potatoes and so on which must be boiled for a long time, a slide stopper 17 is pushed inwardly along a slide groove 18 formed on the upper portion of the grip 3 for fixing the automatically opening closing member 9 so as to prevent discharge of steam, and is slidably fit into a slot groove 19 formed on the upper portion of the automatically opening and closing member 9, so that the automatically opening and closing member 9 is firmly fixed.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a second preferred embodiment showing a state before the automatic opening and closing unit is operated, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the second preferred embodiment showing a state after the automatic opening and closing unit is operated. The second preferred embodiment is to supplement shortcomings in elevation of the actuating shaft 15 by the sensing piece 14 made with the plate spring bimetal when the elevation distance of the automatically opening and closing member 9 is long.

That is, the auxiliary spring 10 is made of highly elastic material to elevate the automatically opening and closing member 9. The sensing piece 14 has the upper thin sheet 14a of high thermal expensive coefficient and the lower thin sheet 14b of low thermal expensive coefficient, the center of the sensing piece 14 is bended upwardly, and both ends of the sensing piece 14 are fixed on the fixing plate 4. The elevation means 12 for upwardly elevating the automatically opening and closing member 9 includes: an approximately rectangular lever 20 operated by the sensing piece 14, rotatably mounted on the fixing plate 4 opposed to the sensing piece 14 and being empty at the center thereof; a pressure lever 21 downwardly mounted on the lower portion of the lever 20; and a stopper 22 mounted on the fixing plate 4 and rotated by the operation of the lever 20.

The actuating shaft 15 is stopped by the stopper 22 mounted on the lower portion of the fixing plate 4 in such a way as to be moved angularly, and has a holding jaw 15a formed on the lower portion thereof so as to hold the stopper 22, so that the stopper 22 is relieved from the holding jaw 15a of the actuating shaft 15 when the sensing piece 4 is thermally expanded and the lever 20 is compressed.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a third preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the third preferred embodiment showing a state before the automatic opening and closing unit is operated, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the third preferred embodiment showing a state after the automatic opening and closing unit is operated.

The third preferred embodiment of the present invention is to simplify the structure of the container lid 1 for preventing overbrimming.

That is, the automatically opening and closing member 9 formed integrally with the cover plate 11 having the annular packing 11a for sealing the through-holes 2a of the lid body 2 is fit into the elevation hole 7. At this time, a slide protrusion 7a of the elevation hole 7 is slidably fit into the slide groove 9b of the automatically opening and closing member 9 for accomplishing a safe elevation motion.

The auxiliary spring 10 seated on a supporting portion 23 formed on the lower end of the elevation hole 7 is located outside the automatically opening and closing member 9, and compressed by a spring adjustor 25 fastened to the upper end of the automatically opening and closing member 9 by adjustment screw 24.

As the elevation means 12 for elevating the automatically opening and closing member 9, the elevation means 12 includes a bracket 11b is formed on the lower portion of the cover plate 11, and the sensing piece 14 closely fixed to the lower portion of the lid body 2 by the fixing plate 4 and made with plate spring bimetal in which upper and lower thin sheets 14a and 14b of different thermal expensive coefficients are bonded with each other. The bracket 11b is rotatably mounted to an end portion of the sensing piece 14 by a pin 16 for elevating the automatically opening and closing member 9.

The slide stopper 17 for fixing the automatically opening and closing member 9 is pushed inwardly along the slide groove 18 formed on the upper portion of the grip 3, and slidably fit into a slot groove 25a formed on the upper portion of the spring adjustor 25.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the fourth preferred embodiment showing a state before the automatic opening and closing unit is operated, and FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the fourth preferred embodiment showing a state after the automatic opening and closing unit is operated.

In the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention, considering that magnetic force of a permanent magnet 26 is gradually reduced when heat is applied to the magnet 26 and restored in normal temperature (when heat is cooled down), as the elevation means 12 of the automatically opening and closing member 9, the permanent magnet 26 is mounted on the cover plate 11 and a magnetic substance 27 is mounted on the lid body 2 or the lower portion of the lid body 2 in correspondence with the permanent magnet 26, so that the elevation means 12 is operated according to the temperature change.

That is, in the container lid 1 in which the grip 3 having the steam outlets 6 formed at the sides thereof is fixed on the through-holes 2a of the lid body 2 by the fixing means 5, the automatically opening and closing member 9 formed integrally with the cover plate 11 having the annular packing 11a for sealing the through-holes 2a of the lid body 2 is fit into the elevation hole 7 of the grip 3. At this time, the slide protrusion 7a of the elevation hole 7 is slidably fit into the slide groove 9b of the automatically opening and closing member 9 for accomplishing a safe elevation motion.

The auxiliary spring 10 seated on a supporting portion 23 formed on the lower end of the elevation hole 7 is located outside the automatically opening and closing member 9, and compressed by a spring adjustor 25 fastened to the upper end of the automatically opening and closing member 9 by an adjustment screw 24.

The elevation means 12 for elevating the automatically opening and closing member 9 includes the permanent magnet 26 mounted on the lower portion of the cover plate 11 for sensing temperature and the magnetic substance 27 mounted on the lid body 2 corresponding to the permanent magnet 26.

Of course, the grip 3 has the slide stopper 17, and the spring adjustor 25 has the slot groove 25a for firmly fixing the automatically opening and closing member 9.

It is preferable that the permanent magnet 26 for sensing temperature has a thin coated layer (not shown), or a soft cover 28 is covered on the permanent magnet 26 for the purpose of protecting magnetic force and prevent damage of the permanent magnet 26.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a modification of the fourth preferred embodiment. In FIG. 13, the cover plate 11 has at least two permanent magnets 26 mounted on the edge portion thereof for sensing temperature, and the lid body 2 has at least two magnetic substances 27 corresponding to the permanent magnets 26.

The permanent magnets 26 for sensing temperature may be mounted on the lid body 2, and the magnetic substances 27 may be mounted on the cover plate 11 on the contrary to the above.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing another modification of the fourth preferred embodiment. In the fourth preferred embodiment, the fixing plate 4 is fixed on the lower portion of the lid body 2 by the fixing means 5, and has the magnetic substance 27 corresponding to the permanent magnet 26 mounted on the automatically opening and closing member 9 for sensing temperature.

If the fixing plate 4 in itself is made of magnetic material, the magnetic substance 27 may not be mounted on the fixing plate (not shown).

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 16 is a sectional view of the fifth preferred embodiment showing a state before the automatic opening and closing unit is operated, and FIG. 17 is a sectional view of the fifth preferred embodiment showing a state after the automatic opening and closing unit is operated.

The automatically opening and closing member 9 formed integrally with the cover plate 11 having the annular packing 11a for sealing the through-holes 2a of the lid body 2 is fit into the elevation hole 7 of the grip 3. At this time, the slide protrusion 7a of the elevation hole 7 is slidably fit into the slide groove 9b of the automatically opening and closing member 9 for accomplishing a safe elevation motion, and the auxiliary spring 10 seated on a supporting portion 23 formed on the lower end of the elevation hole 7 is located outside the automatically opening and closing member 9. The automatically opening and closing member 9 has a threaded portion 29 formed on the outer circumference of the upper end portion thereof, and the threaded portion 29 is screwed with the spring adjustor 25. A fixing cover 31 includes a fixing protrusion 30 corresponding to a holding protrusion 33 of the spring adjustor 25 and an indicating portion 32 formed on the upper surface thereof for allowing the user to check a spring-compressed level with naked eyes. The fixing cover 31 is connected to the lower end of the spring adjustor 25, so as to control the rotation of the spring adjustor 25.

In the drawings, the unexplained reference numeral 34 designates a container, and the reference numeral 35 designates a lid body 34 of the container 34.

As shown in FIG. 1, the container lid 1 for preventing overbrimming according to the present invention discharges steam through the grip 3 fixed on the upper portion of the lid body 2 as temperature rises when heating means such as a gas range or an electric range heats the container after foods, the laundry or nursing bottles are contained in the container and the container lid 1 covers the container body 35 of the container 34. Hereinafter, the operation of the present invention will be described.

First, according to the first preferred embodiment, after the foods are inserted into the container 34, the user covers the container lid 1 on the container 34, presses the automatically opening and closing member 9 connected to the elevation hole 7 of the grip 3, and then, heats the container 34 by the heating means.

When the user presses the automatically opening and closing member 9, the automatically opening and closing member 9 elastically mounted on the auxiliary spring 10 seated on the hollow bar 8 is moved downwardly and moves the sensing piece 14 made with the plate spring bimetal downwardly in a bended state. At this time, the sensing piece 14 pulls the automatically opening closing member 9 with greater power than elasticity of the auxiliary spring 10, so that the automatically opening and closing member 9 is moved downwardly and the cover plate 11 seals the through-holes 2a of the lid body 2 (see FIG. 3).

At this time the sensing piece 14 is in a state before thermal expansion. The sensing piece 14 has the two thin sheets 14a and 14b: the upper thin sheet 14a being expanded a little due to the low thermal expansive coefficient; and the lower thin sheet 14b being expanded greatly due to the high thermal expansive coefficient.

In the above state, when vapor pressure is generated inside the container 34 and temperature rises while the foods contained in the container 34 is gradually heated, the sensing piece 14 gradually causes thermal expansion.

When the sensing piece 14 is heated, as described above, the lower thin sheet 14b of the sensing piece 14 causes the greater thermal expansion than the upper thin sheet 14a, so that the sensing piece 14 is fixed to the automatically opening and closing member 9 by the connection pin 13 and power for upwardly pushing the actuating shaft 15 rotatably connected with the end portion of the sensing piece 14 by the pin 16 is generated.

When the sensing piece 14 is thermally expanded and the power for upwardly moving the actuating shaft 15 gradually reaches a limit point, the elasticity of the auxiliary spring 10 for upwardly moving the automatically opening and closing member 9 becomes greater than the power of the sensing piece 14 for pulling the automatically opening and closing member 9.

When the elasticity of the auxiliary spring 10 becomes greater than the power for pulling the sensing piece 14, the auxiliary spring 10 seated on the hollow bar 8 is returned to the original position, and the automatically opening and closing member is moved upwardly. At this time, the through-holes 2a of the lid body 2 sealed by the cover plate 11 is opened, so that steam inside the container 34 can be rapidly discharged to the outside through the steam outlet 6 formed in the grip 3 so as to prevent overbrimming of the foods contained in the container (see FIG. 4).

Meanwhile, when the foods such as chestnuts, rice, sweet potatoes and so on are cooked, if the user does not want the automatic operation of the automatically opening closing member 9, the user can cook the foods in a state where the automatically opening and closing member 9 is fixed.

That is, to fix the automatically opening and closing member 9, the user pushes the slide stopper 17 mounted on the slide groove 18 of the grip 3 toward the slot groove 19 (or the slot groove 25a formed on the spring adjustor 25) formed on the upper portion of the automatically opening and closing member 9 in a state where the automatically opening and closing member 9 is elevated, so that the automatically opening and closing member 9 is firmly fix to the grip 3.

According to the second preferred embodiment, when the user presses the automatically opening and closing member 9 fit into the elevation hole 7 of the grip 3 with his or her finger, the actuating shaft 15 fixed to the automatically opening and closing member 9 by the connection pin 13 is moved downwardly.

When the actuating shaft 15 is moved downwardly, the sensing piece 14 is relieved from the lever 20 since it is in a state before the thermal expansion. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, an end portion of the stopper 22 rotatably mounted on the lower portion of the fixing plate 4 is caught to the holding jaw 15a formed on the lower end portion of the actuating shaft 15.

In the above state where the end portion of the stopper 22 is caught to the holding jaw 15a formed on the lower end portion of the actuating shaft 15, when the foods contained inside the container 34 is heated and the vapor pressure and temperature rise, the sensing piece 14 compresses the lever 20.

That is, when the sensing piece 14 having the upper thin sheet 14a of the high thermal expansive coefficient and the lower thin sheet 14b of the low thermal expansive coefficient is thermally expanded, power of the upper thin sheet 14a of the high thermal expansive coefficient is applied to the lower thin sheet 14b of the lower thermal expansive coefficient, so that the upwardly bended portion of the sensing piece 14 compresses the end of the lever 20.

When the lever 20 is compressed, the pressure lever 21 downwardly protruding from the lower portion of the lever 20 presses the rear end of the stopper 22 and rotates the stopper 22 caught to the holding jaw 15a of the actuating shaft 15, so that the stopper 22 is relieved from the holding jaw 15a. When the stopper 22 is relieved from the holding jaw 15a, the automatically opening and closing member 9 is moved upwardly by tension force of the auxiliary spring 10 and the cover plate 11 sealing the through-holes 2a is opened, so that steam inside the container 34 is rapidly discharged to the outside through the steam outlet 6 so as to prevent overbrimming of the foods (see FIG. 6).

According to the third preferred embodiment, the present invention guarantees safety in operation of the automatically opening and closing member 9 and simplifies its structure.

That is, the elevation hole 7 has the slide protrusion 7a and the automatically opening and closing member 9 has the slide groove 9b, thereby guaranteeing safety in operation without rotation of the automatically opening and closing member 9 during the vertical movement of the automatically opening and closing member 9.

The auxiliary spring 10 seated on the supporting portion 23 formed on the lower end of the elevation hole 7 is seated on the upper end of the automatically opening and closing member 9 and compressed by the spring adjustor 25 mounted by the adjustment screw 24. The tension force of the auxiliary spring 10 can be simply controlled by a simple manipulation that the user tightens or releases the adjustment screw 24.

In the fourth and fifth preferred embodiments, the elevation means 12 has the permanent magnet 26 which loses about 20% of magnetic force when heat is applied but recovers the magnetic force when heat is cooled down. Hereinafter, the operation of the elevation means 12 will be described.

According to the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the user presses the automatically opening and closing member 9 connected to the grip 3 with his or her finger, as shown in FIG. 11, the automatically opening and closing member 9 provided with the elasticity of the auxiliary spring 10 is moved downwardly, and the permanent magnet 26 fixed on the automatically opening and closing member 9 is attached and fixed to the magnetic substance 27 mounted on the fixing plate 4 fixed on the lid body 2 (FIGS. 10, 11 and 12) or on the lower portion of the lid body 2 (FIG. 13). At this time, since the magnetic force of the permanent magnet 26 is greater than the elasticity of the auxiliary spring 10, the cover plate 11 of the automatically opening and closing member 9 can keep the state where the through-holes 2a of the lid body 2 is sealed (see FIG. 11).

In the above state, the foods inside the container 34 is heated and the vapor pressure and temperature rise, and at this time, the permanent magnet 26 gradually loses its magnetic force (about 20% of the magnetic force).

When the permanent magnet 26 loses some of the magnetic force, the elasticity of the auxiliary spring 10 which is greater than the magnetic force of the permanent magnet 26 is transferred to the automatically opening and closing member 9, and then, the automatically opening an closing member 9 is moved upwardly and the cover plate 11 sealing the through-holes 2a is opened, so that steam inside the container 34 is rapidly discharged through the steam outlet 6 formed on the grip 3 so as to prevent overbrimming of the foods (see FIG. 12).

The technical structure applied to the fifth preferred embodiment can be applied to the first to fourth preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the operation time of the automatically opening and closing member 9 can be simply controlled according to kinds of the foods.

That is, the automatically opening and closing member 9 formed integrally with the cover plate 11 having the annular packing 11a for sealing the through-holes 2a of the lid body 2 is fit into the elevation hole 7 of the grip 3. At this time, the auxiliary spring 10 seated on a supporting portion 23 formed on the lower end of the elevation hole 7 is located outside the automatically opening and closing member 9. The automatically opening and closing member 9 has the threaded portion 29 formed on the outer circumference of the upper end portion thereof, and the threaded portion 29 is screwed with the spring adjustor 25 having the holding protrusion 33 formed on the lower end thereof. The fixing cover 31, which includes the fixing protrusion 30 corresponding to the holding protrusion 33 and the indicating portion 32 formed on the upper circumference thereof for allowing the user to check a spring-compressed level with naked eyes, is connected to the upper portion of the grip 3. When the user rotates the spring adjustor 25 while seeing the indicating portion 32 of the fixing cover 31 to control the operation time of the automatically opening and closing member 9, the spring adjustor 25 screwed with the threaded portion 29 of the automatically opening and closing member 9 is elevated so that the elasticity of the auxiliary spring 10 can be controlled.

As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention can be applied to one of containers such as pots, kettles, frying pans, steamers or other cookers.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, according to the container lid 2 for preventing overbrimming of the present invention, the automatically opening and closing member 9 is mounted inside the grip 3 fixed to the lid body 2 in an elevation manner, and the elevation means 12 for elevating the automatically opening and closing member 9 is fixed under the lid body 2 by the fixing plate 4. The elevation of automatically opening and closing member 9 is automatically controlled by the sensing piece 14 made with the plate spring bimetal which is bended to a side according to the temperature change, or by the permanent magnet 26 mounted on the automatically opening and closing member 9 and the magnetic substance 27 mounted on the lid body 2 or the fixing plate 4 when temperature rises. Therefore, the present invention can prevent overbrimming of the contents contained inside the container 34 by controlling discharge of steam of the container 34, prevent uncleanness or damage of the heating means due to the overbrimming of the contents, and prevent accidents due to gas leakage or explosion.

Furthermore, the present invention can simply control the operation time of the automatically opening and closing member which is automatically operated by the elevation means 12, and be applied to various cookers.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A container lid for preventing overbrimming, comprising: a lid body (2) of a heating container, the lid body having through-holes (2a) formed therein; a grip (3) disposed on the lid body (2) and having an elevation hole (7) formed centrally therein and steam outlets (6) formed at opposite sides thereof; a fixing plate (4) disposed beneath the lid body (2) and having through-holes drilled therein to communicate with the through-holes (2a); fixing means (5) for fixing the grip (3) and the fixing plate (4) to the lid body (2); an automatically opening and closing member (9) disposed between the grip and the lid body and formed integrally with a cover plate (11) having an annular packing (11a) formed at the outer rim of the cover plate, for sealing the through holes (2a) of the lid body (2); the automatically opening closing member (9) being elevated in the elevation hole (7) of the grip (3), and elevation means (12) mounted beneath the fixing plate (4) in such a manner as to be connected to the lid body (2) or the fixing plate (4) and the automatically opening and closing member (9), for opening the through-holes (2a) of the lid body (2) by elevating the automatically opening and closing member (9) according to a temperature change.

2. The container lid according to claim 1, wherein the automatically opening and closing member (9) has a slide groove (9b), and a slide protrusion (7a) is formed on the inner wall of the elevation hole (7) of the grip (3) to correspond to the slide groove (9b).

3. The container lid according to claim 1, wherein the automatically opening and closing member (9) has an insertion portion (9a), the fixing plate (4) has a hollow bar (8) formed integrally with the center thereof, to fit into the insertion portion (9a) while passing through the center of the lid body (2).

4. The container lid according to claim 3, further comprising an auxiliary spring (10) disposed on the upper portion of the hollow bar (8) for elastically supporting the automatically opening and closing member (9).

5. The container lid according to claim 1, wherein the grip (3) has a slide stopper (17) mounted in a slide groove (18) formed on the upper portion thereof, and the automatically opening and closing member (9) has a slot groove (19) formed on the upper portion thereof to fit the stopper (17) therein.

6. The container lid according to claim 1, further comprising: a supporting portion (23) formed on the lower end of the elevation hole (7) of the grip (3); an auxiliary spring (10) seated on the supporting portion (23); and a spring adjustor (25) mounted on the automatically opening and closing member (9) to which an adjustment screw (24) is fastened for compressing the auxiliary spring (10).

7. The container lid according to claim 1, further comprising: a supporting portion (23) formed on the lower end of the elevation hole (7) of the grip (3); an auxiliary spring (10) seated on the supporting portion (23); a spring adjustor (25) screwed to a threaded portion (29) formed on the outer circumference of the upper end of the automatically opening and closing member (9) in an elevated manner; a fixing cover (31) disposed on the upper portion of the grip (3) and having an indicating portion 32 formed on the upper circumference thereof for allowing the user to check a spring-compressed level with naked eyes; a holding protrusion (33) formed on the lower end of the spring adjustor (25); and a fixing protrusion (30) formed on the fixing cover (31) in such a way as to correspond to the holding protrusion (33) of the spring adjustor (25).

8. The container lid according to claim 1, wherein the elevation means (12) has a sensing piece (14) made with plate spring bimetal which is bended upwardly according to temperature change, the sensing piece (14) having an end rotatably fixed to the lower portion of the cover plate (11) by a pin (16) and the other end fixed to the lid body (2) by the fixing plate (4).

9. The container lid according to claim 1, wherein the elevation means (12) for elevating the automatically opening and closing member (9) includes: an actuating shaft (15) having the upper end fixed to the automatically opening and closing member (9) by a connection pin (13) in a state where it is inserted into the automatically opening and closing member (9); a sensing piece (14) fixed to the lower portion of the lid body (2) by the fixing plate (4); and a pin (16) rotatably connecting the lower end of the actuating shaft (15) and the sensing piece (14).

10. The container lid according to claim 8, wherein the sensing piece (14) is made with bimetal in which upper and lower thin sheets (14a)(14b) of different thermal expansive coefficients are bonded to each other, and wherein the upper thin sheet (14a) is low in thermal expansive coefficient and the lower thin sheet (14b) is high in thermal expansive coefficient, so that the sensing piece 914) is bended upwardly when temperature rises.

11. The container lid according to claim 1, wherein the elevation means (12) for elevating the automatically opening and closing member (9) includes: a sensing piece (14) fixed to the fixing plate (4) disposed on the lower portion of the lid body (2), the sensing piece (14) being bended downwardly when temperature rises; a lever (20) rotatably mounted at a side of the lower portion of the fixing plate (4) and compressed by the sensing piece (14); a pressure lever (21) downwardly protruding from the lower portion of the lever (20); a stopper (22) axially mounted on the lower portion of the fixing plate (4), operated by the pressure lever (21) and angularly moved; and an actuating shaft (15) having a holding jaw (15a) formed on the lower end portion thereof for holding the stopper (22).

12. The container lid according to claim 11, wherein the sensing piece (14) is made with bimetal in which upper and lower thin sheets (14a)(14b) of different thermal expansive coefficients are bonded to each other, and wherein the upper thin sheet (14a) is high in thermal expansive coefficient and the lower thin sheet (14b) is low in thermal expansive coefficient, so that the sensing piece 914) is bended downwardly when temperature rises.

13. The container lid according to claim 1, further comprising: a supporting portion (23) formed on the lower end of the elevation hole (7) of the grip (3); an auxiliary spring (10) seated on the supporting portion (23); and a spring adjustor (25) mounted on the upper end of the automatically opening and closing member (9) by an adjustment screw (24) for compressing the auxiliary spring (10), wherein the elevation means (12) for elevating the automatically opening and closing member (9) includes a permanent magnet (26) mounted on the lower portion of the cover plate (11) of the automatically opening and closing member (9) for sensing temperature, and a magnetic substance (27) mounted on the fixing plate (4) and corresponding to the permanent magnet (26).

14. The container lid according to claim 13, further comprising: a fixing cover (31) disposed on the upper portion of the grip (3) and having an indicating portion 32 formed on the upper circumference thereof for allowing the user to check a spring-compressed level with naked eyes; a holding protrusion (33) formed on the lower end of the spring adjustor (25); and a fixing protrusion (30) formed on the fixing cover (31) in such a way as to correspond to the holding protrusion (33) of the spring adjustor (25), wherein the spring adjustor (25) is screwed to a threaded portion (29) formed on the outer circumference of the upper end of the automatically opening and closing member (9) in an elevated manner.

15. The container lid according to claim 13, wherein a number of the permanent magnets (26) and the magnetic substances (27) are provided.

16. The container lid according to claim 13, wherein the magnetic substance (27) is mounted on the lid body (2).