The present invention relates in general to a handgrip for cooking vessels and, more specifically, to a system for fixing the handgrip to the respective cooking vessel.
As is known, the most common vessels for cooking foods in general, such as, for example, frying pans and saucepans, are provided with handgrips or handles which allow an easy gripping, even when the vessel is full and it is hot. More specifically, frying pan are normally provided with a single handle with an elongated shape, which may be manufactured with a thermosetting and/or thermoplastic material and/or with silicone and which extends radially in a cantilever fashion from the side wall of the frying pan. The handgrip is usually constrained to a fixing element in the form of a bridge, sometimes called “goujon”, which is in turn permanently fixed to the side wall of the pan by welding or rivets.
The irreversible connection between the handgrip and the respective fixing element is usually carried out in the factory and typically requires the use of screws or rivets. According to the prior art, there are also systems for connecting the handgrip with the relative fixing element which comprise elastic connecting elements. These elastic elements can be designed for use on cooking vessels with removable/extractable handgrips and are therefore configured for making a removable connection between the handgrip and the respective fixing element. The elastic force exerted by these connecting elements is therefore not particularly high, as it must be contrasted by a user every time the handgrip is to mounted on/removed from the cooking vessel.
Vice versa, the elastic elements can also be configured for making an irreversible connection between the handgrip and the respective fixing element. This connection therefore requires particularly high elastic forces to prevent the accidental detachment of the handgrip from the respective cooking vessel and it must be necessarily carried out in the factory, since it would not be physically possible for a normal user to contrast the above-mentioned elastic forces.
On some markets and for certain types of cooking vessels the possibility is requested for the end user to mount the handgrip on the cooking vessel, in an irreversible fashion, after the cooking vessel has been purchased. This allows a considerable saving in space during transport and storage of the dismantled cooking vessels, that is to say, free of a protruding and cumbersome protrusion constituted by the handgrip, with consequent advantages in economic terms.
The possibility of mounting the handgrip at home is clearly excluded for the connection using rivets, whilst the use of at least a suitable screwdriver is required for the connection using screws, as well as the application of a correct tightening torque. The use of elastic connecting elements involves, on the other hand, the above-mentioned problems. Basically, if the elastic force exerted by the connecting elements is too low, the user is able to easily attach the handgrip on the cooking vessel, but the accidental detachment of the handgrip may easily occur after a few cycles of use of the vessel. Vice versa, if the elastic force exerted by the connecting elements is too high, the user may not even be able, with the means normally available for him, to carry out the first attachment of the handgrip on the cooking vessel.
Lastly, another drawback of the connection using screws consists in the fact that the screw, following a prolonged use of the cooking vessel and the respective handgrip, as well as following frequent washes, loosens and makes the handgrip unstable. A periodic tightening of the screw is therefore necessary, which in time may adversely affect the functionality of the handgrip.
The main object of the present invention is therefore to provide a handgrip for cooking vessels, more specifically a system for fixing the handgrip to the respective cocking vessel, which is capable of overcoming the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art in an extremely simple, economic and particularly functional manner.
In detail, an object of the present invention is to provide a system for fixing a handgrip to a cooking vessel which allows an end user to carry out, with the minimum possible force, the irreversible fixing of the handgrip to the respective cooking vessel.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for fixing a handgrip to a cooking vessel which allows an end user to carry out the irreversible fixing of the handgrip to the respective cooking vessel without the use of any tool and with the same safety and reliability as a product preassembled in the factory.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for fixing a handgrip to a cooking vessel which allows a stable and long-lasting fixing with a minimum number of components.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system for fixing a handgrip to a cooking vessel wherein the stability of the handgrip is improved with respect to the traditional connecting systems using screws.
These objects according to the present invention are achieved by a system for fixing a handgrip to a cooking vessel according to claim 1.
Further features of the invention are highlighted in the dependent claims, which form an integral part of this description.
The features and the advantages of a system for fixing a handgrip to a cooking vessel according to the present invention will be more evident from the following explanatory and non-limiting description referred to the accompanying schematic drawings in which:
It should be noted that, in the accompanying drawings and in the following description, equal reference numbers indicate equal elements or elements equivalent to each other.
The drawings illustrate some preferred embodiments of the system for fixing a handgrip 10 to a cooking vessel (not shown) according to the present invention. The handgrip 10 may be shaped in any way, but it most frequently comprises a handle having a curved and elongated shape to allow an easy gripping of the cooking vessel, especially when the latter consists of frying pan with a large diameter and when the handgrip 10 is its only means of gripping. In another embodiment, not shown in the drawings, the handgrip may however consist of a handle which is mounted in pairs on specific cooking vessels, consisting in turn of saucepans. The handgrip 10 is conveniently made of a thermosetting and/or thermoplastic material, or from silicone, suitable for use inside any dishwasher.
The system comprises a fixing element 12 in the form of a bridge, or “goujon”, configured for being irremovably constrained, at a respective first distal end thereof, to a wall of the cooking vessel and, at a respective second proximal end thereof, to the handgrip 10. The fixing element 12 is conveniently made with a metallic material and may consist of a single component, or a plurality of separate components.
With reference to the first embodiment of
With reference to the second embodiment of
Lastly, with reference to the third, fourth, fifth and sixth embodiments of
As well as the fixing element 12, the system comprises a shaped elastic element 16, configured for being housed and retained inside a corresponding blind hole 18 made at one end of the handgrip 10, that is to say, the end of the handgrip 10 designed for coupling with the proximal end of the fixing element 12. The shaped elastic element 16 consists of a metallic bending spring with a constant circular cross section, substantially U-shaped, wherein the two arms of the U are provided with shaped intermediate portions configured for engaging with the corresponding notches 30, openings 26 and/or inclined walls 38 made on the lateral surfaces of the fixing element 12. This thereby achieves the irreversible coupling between the handgrip 10 and the cooking vessel by the insertion of the fixing element 12 in the blind hole 18 and by the mutual locking between the fixing element 12 and the spring 16. The fixing system may lastly comprise, in a per se known manner, a ring nut 36, preferably metallic and having the function of a flame plate, designed to cover the end of the handgrip 10 inside which the blind hole 18 is made.
The particular shape of the arms of the spring 16 allows the application of a modest elastic force, of approximately 15 kgf, in the step of attaching the spring 16, and therefore the handgrip 10, to the corresponding fixing element 12 integral with the cooking vessel, thereby facilitating the assembly of the fixing system even at home. Vice versa, the same shape of the arms of the spring 16 requires the application of a high elastic force, of approximately 80 kgf, during any attempt to release the spring 16, and therefore the handgrip 10, from the corresponding fixing element 12 integral with the cooking vessel, thereby ensuring an excellent fatigue resistance of the fixing system.
On the basis of experimental tests, if the above-mentioned elastic force of approximately 80 kgf is applied to carry out any attempt to release the spring 16, the handgrip 10 breaks rather than being pulled out from the corresponding fixing element 12. This is proof of the fact that, with the fixing system according to the invention, the force required to attempt to pull out the handgrip 10 from the corresponding fixing element 12 is so high as to exceed the average breaking load of the most common handles manufactured with thermosetting and/or thermoplastic materials and/or with silicone.
With reference to the first and second embodiments of
Each shaped intermediate portion of the spring 16 comprises, starting from the respective free ends 20 and with reference to the position of these free ends 20, a first diverging portion 22, configured for facilitating the sliding of the spring 16 on its respective lying plane and around the lateral surfaces of the fixing element 12 (
Operatively, in the step of assembling the handgrip 10 on the fixing element 12, an axial movement of the handgrip 10 towards the respective fixing element 12 causes firstly a widening of the spring 16, due to the effect of its sliding around the lateral surfaces of the fixing element 12 or of the first sleeve-shaped fixing component 12A. When the second converging portion 24 of the spring 16 engages with the corresponding openings 26 made on the lateral surfaces of the fixing element 12 or of the first sleeve-shaped fixing component 12A, the spring 16 relaxes and any new axial movement of the handgrip 10 with respect to the fixing element 12 is prevented.
With reference to the third embodiment of
Each shaped intermediate portion of the spring 16 comprises a central throttled or tapered portion 28, configured for engaging with the corresponding notches 30 made on the lateral surfaces of the fixing element 12. These notches 30 form fastening seats which keep the spring 16, and therefore the handgrip 10, blocked with respect to the fixing element 12 integral with the cooking vessel.
The fixing element 12 is provided with a rounded entrance portion 32, obtained on its respective second proximal end and configured for widening the central throttled or tapered portion 28 of the spring 16 in the step of assembling the handgrip 10 on the fixing element 12. Preferably, each notch 30 is internally provided with one or more walls 38 inclined with an acute angle p with respect to a vertical centerline plane of the fixing element 12. With these inclined walls 38 each notch 30 has a wedge shape in a horizontal cross section, as shown in
The fourth embodiment of
With reference to the fifth and sixth embodiments of
In the fifth embodiment each notch 30 of the fixing element 12, as well as the respective internal inclined walls 38, extend along a substantially vertical direction (with reference to the position of the cooking vessel when in use), that is to say, a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane on which the spring 16 lies. In the sixth embodiment, however, the only difference with respect to the fifth embodiment consists in the fact that each notch 30 of the fixing element 12, and the respective internal inclined walls 38, extend along a substantially horizontal direction (with reference to the position of the cooking vessel when in use), that is to say, a direction substantially parallel to the plane on which the spring 16 lies.
It is thus seen that the system for fixing a handgrip to a cooking vessel according to the present invention achieves the above-mentioned objects.
The system for fixing a handgrip to a cooking vessel as described above can be modified and adapted in several ways without thereby departing from the scope of the inventive concept. Moreover, all the details may be substituted for technically equivalent elements. In practice, the embodiments of the invention may be made from any material, and in any size, depending on the technical requirements.
The scope of protection of the invention is therefore defined by the accompanying claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202016000003539 | Jan 2016 | IT | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2016/054206 | 7/14/2016 | WO | 00 |