Patent Application
20160262559
The present invention relates to a kitchen vessel which is easy to open and close and has a metering function, and more particularly, to a kitchen vessel which is easy to open and close and has a metering function to allow seasonings such as salt, sugar and condiments to be used conveniently while cooking.
The present invention relates to a kitchen vessel which accommodates various seasonings for raising food taste, and has a metering function to allow only a necessary amount of seasoning to be used conveniently while cooking or eating, or to allow a required amount of coffee, creamer and sugar to be metered without a spoon.
Generally, there are various kinds of seasonings used to raise food taste, such as salt, sugar, dried red pepper powder and condiments. For classification of the seasonings and ease of use, the seasonings are separately stored using seasoning vessels.
In a “rotary support for a seasoning vessel” disclosed in Korean U.M. Publication No. 1999-014300, there has been proposed a technique in which a user may easily find a desired seasoning, and may also easily install the rotary support at any desired position such as a table, a sink, a shelf and a wall, and thus may store the seasoning vessel in which a seasoning is accommodated. Also, due to a beautiful shape of the invention, an exterior of a kitchen may be decorated more decorously.
However, in the prior art, it is difficult to take out the seasoning from the seasoning vessel while cooking. For example, when the user seasons vegetables with condiments while wearing vinyl gloves, or is holding a pot lid with his/her hand, the user may not easily add the seasoning.
Also, in a mount for a kitchen vessel which is easy to open and close and has a metering function according to a related art, there is a problem that an installation type thereof is designated only one, and thus it is difficult to adjust a position of the seasoning vessel according to user convenience.
And while food is cooked, various kinds of seasonings are used, and a required amount of each of the seasonings is different from each other. Therefore, it is inconvenient for cookers to meter the required amount of each of the seasonings using metering spoons whenever the seasonings are added.
In this connection, an “amount controllable seasoning vessel” disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2008-0010248 relates to adjusting of an output amount of the seasoning vessel in which salt or sugar is accommodated, and proposes a technique in which the output amount is adjusted while two upper and lower plates in the seasoning vessel are overlapped with each other. In this technique, the two plates are located in a lid of the seasoning vessel, and an overlapping degree thereof is changed according to movement of a switch, and thus the output amount is adjusted.
However, this prior art does not provide a metering function which precisely meters an amount of the seasoning, like the metering spoons.
The present invention is directed to providing a new type of a kitchen vessel which is easy to open and close, has a metering function, and is installed in various types to store a seasoning vessel.
Also, the present invention is directed to providing a new type of a kitchen vessel which is easy to open and close, and has a metering function like a metering spoon to allow seasoning to be accurately metered while a structural change of a seasoning vessel having a normal bottle shape is minimized.
Also, the present invention is directed to providing a new type of an apparatus having a metering function in which, when creamer or sugar is added to coffee, a desired amount thereof is adjusted and then directly added into a coffee cup, and thus it is possible to solve a conventional sanitary problem in which a spoon adhered with coffee is put in a sugar or creamer vessel when the sugar or the creamer is added using the spoon, and a solidification phenomenon occurs due to liquid, and ingredients are mixed, and thus lumps are generated.
Therefore, the present invention is directed to providing a new type of a kitchen vessel which is easy to open and close, has a metering function, and is installed in various types to store a seasoning vessel.
Also, the present invention is directed to providing a new type of a kitchen vessel which is easy to open and close, has a metering function, and enables a seasoning vessel to be hooked to a mount in a direction of a lid and thus to be separated downward.
Also, the present invention is directed to providing a new type of a kitchen vessel which is easy to open and close, and has a metering function like a metering spoon to allow seasoning to be accurately metered while a structural change of a seasoning vessel having a normal shape is minimized.
According to the kitchen vessel which is easy to open and close, and has the metering function, a seasoning vessel 14 is fixed to a mount 12 by fixing means 16 such as magnets 60 and 62 which are connected to each other, and thus an installation position of the mount 12 may be freely located, and various positions such as a wall surface of a kitchen, a front wall surface of a sink, a top or front surface of the sink, or a top of a table can be used as the installation surface, and the mount 12 can be fixed thereto, and can be used conveniently. Also, the seasoning vessel 14 can be attached in a downward direction of the mount 12, and then can be caught by the mount 12. Therefore, the seasoning vessel 14 can be used in a pulling-down method, thereby enhancing convenience. Particularly, in the present invention, while a head 50 which is applied as a lid is fixed to the mount 12 by a stop recess 28 formed at the mount 12 and a latching protrusion 54 formed at the seasoning vessel 14, a barrel 40 of the seasoning vessel 14 can be pulled out, and thus a user can easily use the seasoning with one hand while cooking.
Also, since metering grooves 41 having various sizes can be formed at a metering member 40, the seasoning can be accurately metered, like metering spoons. Also, since various seasonings can be used without opening of a cover member 50, it is possible to provide convenience to the user while cooking.
Referring to
In the present invention, the fixing means 16 include a first magnet 60 and a second magnet 62, and the seasoning vessel 14 may be fixed to the mount 12 in the downward direction of the mount 12 by attaching the first magnet 60 and the second magnet 62 to each other, and thus the seasoning vessel 14 may be attached in the downward direction of the mount 12, and may be located to be caught in the mount 12, and then may be pulled and used, and thus use convenience is enhanced. Here, the first magnet 60 is installed at the mount 12, and the second magnet 62 is installed at the seasoning vessel 14, and the first magnet 60 and the second magnet 62 are attached to each other.
In the kitchen vessel 10 which is easy to open and close and has the metering function according to the present invention, the fixing means 16 may have a mechanical fixing mechanism or an electric/electronic fixing mechanism, instead of the magnet. For example, the preferable embodiment of the present invention has used the magnets to simplify a structure and to easily manufacture, but a coupling structure which is provided variously may be applied, and thus various types of fixing means 16 may be provided. And the present invention includes not only the magnets but also a metallic material which is attached to the magnets. That is, the first magnet 60 may be used as the fixing means 16, and the second magnet 62 may be the magnet which is attached to the first magnet 60 or the metallic material which is attached to the first magnet 60. Accordingly, in the preferable embodiment of the present invention, a metallic lid may be used as the second magnet 62.
Also, in the kitchen vessel 10 which is easy to open and close and has the metering function according to the present invention, like the preferable embodiment of the present invention, the mount 12 has a main recess 22, and a stop recess 28, and the seasoning vessel 14 has a head 50 which is formed to be inserted into the main recess 22 and the stop recess 28, and thus the seasoning vessel 14 is prevented from being undesirably rotated while being located at the mount 12. Here, the main recess 22 is formed by a bottom surface 24 and a circumferential surface 26 to have a predetermined depth, such that one end of the seasoning vessel 14 is inserted, and the stop recess 28 is formed to protrude outside from the circumferential surface 26 of the main recess 22. And the head 50 is one end which is inserted into the main recess 22.
Also, in the kitchen vessel 10 which is easy to open and close and has the metering function according to the present invention, like the preferable embodiment of the present invention, the seasoning vessel 14 has a barrel 40 in which the seasoning is accommodated. And the head 50 of the seasoning vessel 14 has a latching protrusion 54 which is inserted into the stop recess 28, and is used as a lid of the seasoning vessel 14 which is locked on or released from the barrel 40 by rotation with respect to the barrel 40. In the kitchen vessel 10 which is easy to open and close and has the metering function according to the present invention, by such a configuration, when a user grips and rotates the barrel 40 in a circumferential direction, and then pulls down the barrel 40, the head 50 is maintained in an attached state to the mount 12, and thus the lid is separated, and only the opened barrel 40 is pulled out. Accordingly, the user may easily use the seasoning with one hand.
In a structure of the present invention in which the head 50 of the seasoning vessel 14 is caught when the seasoning vessel 14 is rotated, the main recess 22 and the stop recess 28 may have various structures. That is, in the preferable embodiment of the present invention, each of corners of the main recess 22 is formed to have a function of the stop recess 28 through various structures such as a hexagonal or dodecagonal shape, a flower shape, a protruding shape, an embedding shape and an elliptical shape, and thus a burden which should separately form the stop recess 28 and the latching protrusion 54 may be removed. However, the basic spirit of the present invention may also allow a structure having an irregular shape, as illustrated in
Meanwhile, in the present invention, the head 50 applied to the seasoning vessel 14 may be the lid 50 of the seasoning vessel 14, as described in the preferable embodiment of the present invention, or may be a dummy head 48 which is integrally formed with the barrel 40 at a side opposite to a portion to which the lid 50 is coupled, and may be a term which includes all elements which is rotatable separately from the barrel 40, like the lid 50, and which is rotatable integrally with the barrel 40. In this case, the head 50 which is rotatable separately from the barrel 40 is an element, like the lid 50, which opens and closes, or may be an element which is required to be rotated (i.e., which does not open and close, like the lid 50, but which is allowed to be rotated for setting a rotational direction or the like when being rotated by the user). The head 50 in this case may be usefully applied to a method in which the seasoning vessel 14 is attached in a direction toward a lower side of the mount 12. And unlike the lid 50, the dummy head 48 which is the head 50 integrally rotated with the barrel 40 may be usefully applied to the case in which the mount 14 is used without rotation while being put on the table or the sink.
Also, in the present invention, methods which are variously applied in the art, other than the structure described in the preferable embodiment of the present invention, may be used as a method of fixing the mount 14 to the installation surface.
Meanwhile,
Referring to
At this time, the barrel 20 has a middle body 22 forming an internal space 21 in which the seasoning is accommodated, and also has a discharge tube 30 which forms a discharge path 31 isolated from the internal space 21 in the middle body 22. It is preferable that the barrel 20 be formed by injection-molding a transparent synthetic resin so that the middle body 22 and the discharge tube 30 are integrally formed. However, in the barrel 20, the middle body 22 and the discharge tube 30 may be separately formed of a material such as glass, and then may be coupled to each other. And the embodiment has described an example in which the barrel 20 has a circular cross section with respect to a central axis, but the cross section of the barrel 20 may have various shapes.
The metering member 40 has a bottom body 42 which is rotatably coupled to a lower side of the barrel 20, and also has a metering groove 41 in which a predetermined amount of seasoning is accommodated and which is aligned with a location of the discharge path 31 through rotation of the bottom body 42. As illustrated in
The cover member 50 has a top body 52 which is rotatably coupled to an upper side of the barrel 20, and also has a discharge hole 51 which is aligned with the location of the discharge path 31 through rotation of the top body 52. As illustrated in
Hereinafter, the preferable embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to
First, referring to
The mount 12 is fixed to the installation surface, and as illustrated in
The first magnet 60 of the fixing means 16 (referring to
Referring to
The seasoning vessel 14 includes the barrel 40 and the head 50. At this time, an opening 42 is formed at the barrel 40 in an upward direction of the bottom surface 44, and a space 41 which accommodates the seasoning is formed therein, and a screw thread 46 is formed at an upper outer circumference thereof. And the dummy head 48 is installed at a lower end of the barrel 40. Like the upper head 50 serving as the lid, the dummy head 48 has a latching protrusion 54′, and allows the seasoning vessel 14 to be easily positioned when the seasoning vessel 14 is located at the mount 12, and prevents the seasoning vessel 14 from being undesirably in disorder.
In addition to the above-described dummy head 48, the head 50 of the seasoning vessel 14 is rotatably coupled to the barrel 40, and is formed to be inserted into the main recess 22 of the mount 12 and also to have the latching protrusion 54 which is inserted into the stop recess 28. In the embodiment, the head 50 is the lid of the seasoning vessel 14 in which a screw thread 52 fastened to the screw thread 46 of the barrel 40 is formed at a lower side thereof. When the barrel 40 is rotated while the lid 50 is located at the mount 12, the lid 50 is maintained in a stopped state by the mount 12, and thus separated from the barrel 40. Accordingly, the user may grip and rotate the barrel 40 with one hand, and thus may pull out the barrel 40 from the mount 12 while the lid 50 is opened, and may use the seasoning.
The second magnet 62 of the fixing means 16 is installed at the seasoning vessel 14. In the embodiment, the second magnet 62 may be the head 50 which is formed to contain iron content, or may be formed by inserting a magnet attached to the first magnet 60 into the head 50.
In the kitchen vessel 10 which is easy to open and close and has the metering function according to the preferable embodiment of the present invention, the seasoning vessel 14 is fixed to the mount 12 in a downward direction of the mount 12 by the first and second magnets 60 and 62 as the fixing means 16 formed in one pair to be installed at the seasoning vessel 14 and the mount 12, respectively, and to be connected to each other, as illustrated in
And as illustrated in
Referring to
In the embodiment, the cover member 50 includes the rotary cover 50a and the fixed cover 50b so that the metered amount of seasoning may be used, like the present invention, and the large or small amount of seasoning may also be used, like the general seasoning vessel, and thus convenience in separation and cleaning are enhanced together with the user convenience.
In the kitchen vessel 10 which is easy to open and close and has the metering function according to the preferable embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in
At this point, the barrel 20 is penetrated from an upper end 21a to a lower end 21b, and a screw thread 24 is formed at an upper outer circumferential surface thereof, and the cover member 50 is coupled and fixed thereto. And a latching flange 26 is formed at a lower outer circumferential surface of the barrel 20, and thus the fixing ring 70 which enables the metering member 40 to be rotatable while being in close contact with the barrel 20 is hooked thereto.
The discharge tube 30 which forms the discharge path 31 at the barrel 20 is penetrated from an upper end 31a to a lower end 31b, and has an enlarged portion 32 forming the discharge path 31 of which a lower side is wider than an upper side, and thus enables the metered seasoning to be stably moved.
In the kitchen vessel 10 which is easy to open and close and has the metering function according to the preferable embodiment of the present invention, the metering member 40 has the bottom body 42 which is rotatably coupled to the lower side of the barrel 20, and the metering groove 41 in which the predetermined amount of seasoning is accommodated and which is aligned with the location of the discharge path 31 through the rotation of the bottom body 42 is formed at the bottom surface 44 thereof. The metering member 40 is rotatably coupled to the barrel 20 by the fixing ring 70.
Here, the fixing ring 70 includes a body 72 in which a through-hole 71 is formed, a latching rim 72 which is formed at an upper end of the body 72 to be caught by the latching flange 26 formed at the lower outer circumferential surface of the barrel 20, and an internal screw thread 76 which is formed so that the metering member 40 is screwed in an inner surface of the body 72. By the fixing ring 70, the metering member 40 is rotatably coupled to and caught by the fixing ring 70 while being in close contact with the barrel 20.
As illustrated in
Also, the metering groove 41 of the metering member 40 includes a plurality of sub-metering grooves 41a, 41b, 41c and 41d which are sequentially arranged in a circumferential direction so that the same amount of seasoning is accommodated in every two of them. Each of the sub-metering grooves 41a, 41b, 41c and 41d has a capacity of 3.25 cc (¼ tablespoon; 41a and 41b) and 1.25 cc (¼ teaspoon; 41c and 41d), and thus the amount of seasoning may be accurately adjusted in every two grooves.
41
a (3.75 cc)+0 cc=3.75 cc (¼ tablespoon)
41
a (3.75 cc)+41b (3.75 cc)=7.5 cc (½ tablespoon)
41
b (3.75 cc)+41c (1.25 cc)=5 cc (1 teaspoon)
41
c (1.25 cc)+41d (1.25 cc)=2.5 cc (½ teaspoon)
41
d (1.25 cc)+0 cc=1.25 cc (¼ teaspoon)
Of course, if necessary, the number and the capacity of sub-metering grooves 41a, 41b, 41c and 41d may be set variously.
In the kitchen vessel 10 which is easy to open and close and has the metering function according to the embodiment, the cover member 50 has the top body 52 which is rotatably coupled to the upper side of the barrel 20, and also has the discharge hole 51 which is aligned with the location of the discharge path 31 through the rotation of the top body 52. Particularly, in the embodiment, the cover member 50 has the dual structure which includes the rotary cover 50a and the fixed cover 50b so that the metered amount of seasoning is used, like the present invention, or the large or small amount of seasoning is discharged, like a general seasoning vessel, thereby enhancing the user convenience.
As illustrated in
In the embodiment, as illustrated in
Meanwhile, in the kitchen vessel 10 which is easy to open and close and has the metering function according to the embodiment, when the mount (not shown) which allows the kitchen vessel 10 which is easy to open and close and has the metering function according to the present invention to be hung on a wall surface or the like is formed by an outer circumferential surface of the body 52a of the rotary cover 50a formed to have a corner, the metering member 40 or the rotary cover 50a may be rotated while the seasoning vessel 14 is located at the mount.
In the embodiment, the fixed cover 50b of the cover member 50 has a cover discharge tube 51′ which is disposed at a position aligned with the discharge tube 30 when the fixed cover 50b is coupled and fixed to the barrel 20, and also has the internal discharge hole 51b which is formed at an upper side of the cover discharge tube 51′ to be opened. A fixing plate accommodation groove 55a and a through-hole 55b are formed on a central axis of an upper surface of the fixed cover 50b to couple the fixing unit 60 for fixing with the rotary cover 50a. An internal screw thread 54 is formed at a lower inner surface of the body 52a, and fastened to the screw thread 24 formed at an upper side of the middle body 22 of the barrel 20.
In the embodiment, the fixed cover 50b has sub-discharge holes 51c and 51d which are spaced apart from the internal discharge hole 51b and sequentially arranged in a circumferential direction, and thus enables the seasoning metered by the metering groove 41 of the metering member 40 to be used when the external discharge hole 51a of the rotary cover 50a is aligned with the position of the internal discharge hole 51b of the fixed cover 50b, and also enables the seasoning accommodated in the internal space 21 of the barrel 20 to be used when the external discharge hole 51a of the rotary cover 50a is aligned with the sub-discharge holes 51c and 51d of the fixed cover 50b. At this point, in the embodiment, the sub-discharge holes 51c and 51d include an open hole-shaped first sub-discharge hole 51c, and a partially blocked second sub-discharge hole 51d. However, the number and shapes of the sub-discharge holes 51c and 51d may be variously changed according to a manufacturer or user's selection.
Also, in the kitchen vessel 10 which is easy to open and close and has the metering function according to the embodiment, the fixed cover 50b is associated with the rotary cover 50a, and has the lower stopper 58 corresponding to the upper stopper 26 of the rotary cover 50a so as to stop the rotation of the rotary cover 50a when the external discharge hole 51a of the rotary cover 50a is aligned with the position of the internal discharge hole 51b of the fixed cover 50b and when the external discharge hole 51a of the rotary cover 50a is in the blocked state. At this point, the lower stopper 58 needs two stopping positions, and thus includes a first lower stopper 58a and a second lower stopper 58b, and the rotary cover 50a and the fixed cover 50b are coupled to each other so that the upper stopper 26 of the rotary cover 50a is disposed between the first lower stopper 58a and the second lower stopper 58b, and thus the rotation of the rotary cover 50a may be blocked at each of the positions.
Referring to
Specifically,
Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2013-0148078 | Nov 2013 | KR | national |
| 10-2014-0000153 | Jan 2014 | KR | national |
This application is a Continuation Application of PCT International Application No. PCT/KR2014/005328 filed on Jun. 18, 2014, which claims priority to Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2013-0148078 filed on Nov. 30, 2013, and 10-2014-0000153 filed on Jan. 2, 2014 which are all hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/KR2014/005328 | Jun 2014 | US |
| Child | 15161296 | US |
