EP1755983A1

EP1755983A1 - Kitchen appliance

Info

Publication number: EP1755983A1
Application number: EP05759302A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Mischa Ohler
Original assignee: Cook-World GmbH
Current assignee: Cook-World GmbH
Priority date: 2005-07-01
Filing date: 2005-07-01
Publication date: 2007-02-28
Anticipated expiration: 2025-07-01
Also published as: CN1980839A; DE502005002353D1; WO2007003210A1; CA2544767A1; ATE382022T1; US20070007299A1; EP1755983B1

Abstract

A kitchen utensil ( 10 ) is provided with a disk-shaped body ( 12 ) being configured as a tense elastic foil ( 14 ) in its central area ( 13 ) and reinforced at its rim ( 16 ). The kitchen utensil may be used as a keep-fresh lid for keep-fresh containers, as a microwave lid for microwave trays, as well as a mat for pots and the like (FIG. 2 ).

Description

Kitchen utensil

The invention relates to a kitchen appliance, in particular one which can be used as a fresh-food lid, as a microwave lid and as a coaster.

In the field of food containers, food containers are known, which consist of a container part and a lid, wherein in the container part with the lid, a negative pressure can be generated, which helps to keep fresh food contained in the food container longer. DE 82 27 597 U1, for example, describes a vacuum storage container for easily perishable goods. In this known container, a manually operable air pump is integrated in the lid. When the lid is attached, the user can create a negative pressure in the container by repeatedly pressing the lid.

This known container has the disadvantage that on the one hand a structurally complicated lid is required, which can only be produced with correspondingly high costs. This lid is also difficult to clean, which is particularly detrimental to kitchen utensils that come into contact with perishable foods. Finally, both hands must be used to operate the pump mechanism because one hand must hold the container and the other hand must depress the lid ,

In DE 17 79 293 B2 a food storage box is described. In this known box a convex-shaped cover in the rest state of an elastic material with a tight-fitting edge is placed on a container part. The lid is then pushed in by hand and pushed down until it assumes a convex shape penetrating into the container part. In this case, air escapes from the container part, because corresponding ribs are attached to the underside of the lid in the seating area on the edge of the container part. The lid is then grasped by means of a ring located on its upper side and pulled back up, ie turned up, which has the consequence that forms a negative pressure in the container part. This known fresh food can has the disadvantage that it is quite cumbersome to use. Furthermore, the lid can be used only with a container part adapted exactly to its shape. Furthermore, the construction of the lid is difficult, because its deformation behavior must be exactly the same, that even when the lid is turned up its convex shape remains stable, although there is a negative pressure in the interior. Finally, the everting in the edge region of the lid represents a considerable mechanical alternating load, so that it can not be ruled out that the lid breaks there after a relatively short period of use.

In the field of microwave lids, lids are known, which are placed as a hood on a vessel in which a food is to be heated in a microwave oven. Since this warming takes place very quickly and the food can splash it, the lid is required to protect the interior of the microwave oven against such splashes, such as fat splashes. On the other hand, the lid must not close the container tightly, because the lid could be blown off as a result of the rapid warming, if quickly set in the vessel overpressure. Known microwave lid therefore have holes in the upper region, which cause a pressure equalization. Through these holes but can leak fat splashes. Arrangements of various kinds are known in the field of coasters, which serve to protect this, a sensitive surface, for example a wooden surface of a kitchen or dining table against contamination, especially against Sengschäden when a hot pot or a hot pan on this surface is discontinued. Known coasters therefore consist of a heat-insulating material (wood, plastic, fabric) and are plate-like.

The known devices have in common that they are only usable for their own purpose. In the field of fresh food containers, for example, the lid used in each case can only be used as a lid for a particular container part. Especially in the kitchen, however, it is already desirable for reasons of space, to provide equipment that can be used for several different uses.

The invention is therefore the object of developing a kitchen appliance of the type mentioned in such a way that a versatile equipment is provided, which is also superior in their respective field of application conventional equipment this application area.

In a kitchen appliance of the type mentioned, this object is achieved in that the kitchen appliance has a disc-shaped body, which is formed reinforced in the middle region as a stretched, elastic film and the edge. The object underlying the invention is completely solved in this surprisingly simple manner.

Namely, when the kitchen utensil is placed on the edge of a container part of a fresh food container, it is sufficient to slightly depress the kitchen equipment in the middle region in order to effect a long-term effective closure of the container part. The stretched film acts as a membrane which displaces air from the container part when pressed in and generates a negative pressure in the container part during the elastic retraction. This negative pressure holds, as experiments have shown, over several days and is also mechanically strong. The handling of the kitchen utensils is extremely simple, because the user of the kitchen equipment with one hand on the container part hang up and then with the same hand can depress the foil. The container part needs, unlike the above-discussed prior art, while not being held with the other hand.

The kitchen utensil according to the invention can be used for food containers, bowls and the like in order to prevent premature spoiling, in particular of sensitive foods such as salads, sauces, ice cream and the like.

However, the kitchen utensil can also be used as a protective cover to prevent inadvertent spillage of, for example, liquid contents of food containers prevent. Thus, it has been found in experiments that kitchen equipment according to the invention can be used advantageously as a cover on a beer mug when it is brought from the bar to a table in a restaurant, which are in the case of a beer garden or a marquee at a considerable distance can. If a waiter carries several beer steins at the same time, it can come in particular in the scrum that beer is spilled on the clothes of guests. With the kitchen appliance according to the invention, this can be reliably prevented. In this case of use, the kitchen utensil adheres so firmly to the filled beer mug that, as stated in the aforementioned experiments, it can even be turned upside down without beer running out.

The kitchen appliance according to the invention can also be used as a microwave lid. Then it is advantageous that the loosely placed microwave lid on the one hand allows pressure equalization between the interior of the microwave vessel and its outer space, on the other hand, no ejection is possible by the closed surface of the film. This is especially true when the kitchen equipment is provided with certain other preferred features. The same applies to their use as coasters. These other uses will be discussed below

The kitchen appliance according to the invention can be designed differently. It is preferred if they are in the floor plan is formed circular disk-shaped or oval-shaped or rectangular.

This measure has the advantage that the kitchen utensil can be optimally designed depending on the case of use.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the edge is integral with the film.

This measure has the advantage that the kitchen appliance can be produced in a simple manner by casting, in particular by injection molding.

A particularly good effect is achieved in that the film is smooth on a surface.

This measure has the advantage that, when used as a freshness-keeping lid, the negative pressure in the container part can be maintained long-term, when the smooth surface fits snugly against the edge of the container part.

This is especially true when the film is made of silicone.

This measure initially has the advantage that with the silicone a material is available that is food safe. Furthermore, silicone equipment with smooth, almost tacky surfaces can be made. Finally, silicone is temperature resistant to about 25O ⁰ C. temperature resistant and heat insulating, which is in the use case as a coaster of importance.

It is further preferred if the film has a thickness of 0.5 to 2 mm, preferably from 1 to 1.5 mm.

This dimensioning has proven to be optimal in experiments, especially when using silicone.

In embodiments of the invention, the film is provided with a reinforcement at the center of the central region.

This measure has the advantage in the use case as Frischhaltedeckεl that the mechanically stressed point when pressing down is reinforced, so there is no need to fear the occurrence of damage due to breakage of the film due to continuous forming.

Conveniently, the gain is designed as a thickening of the film.

This too has the advantage that the kitchen utensil as a whole can be manufactured in an injection molding process.

In further embodiments of the invention, the edge is reinforced by an injected metallic reinforcing element, in particular by a ring. This measure has the advantage that the reinforcement can be effected by a relatively small element, which in turn is embedded in the context of an injection process.

In a further development of the invention, the edge has a height which is substantially 2 to 6 times, preferably 4 to 5 times as large as the thickness of the film.

On the one hand, this measure has the advantage that there is enough space in the edge to accommodate a reinforcing element there. On the other hand, in the case of use as a coaster, there is the advantage that the hot pot with its bottom is at a distance from the sensitive surface, e.g. the dining table is held, wherein the air cushion between the bottom and the surface in addition to the film has a heat insulating effect.

In this context, it is also preferable if the margin is as high as the gain.

This measure has the advantage in the case of use as a coaster, that the bottom of the pot is supported in the center, so that the weight load not only rests on the edge.

Another group of embodiments of the invention is characterized in that the film is provided on a surface with a plurality of ribs extending from the edge towards a center of the kitchen utensil. This measure has the advantage, in particular in the case of use as a microwave lid, that an even more effective pressure equalization between the interior of the microwave vessel and its outer space is possible through the interstices between the ribs, without the covering effect of the film suffering as a result of the pressure equalization on the underside the lid takes place.

In embodiments of this embodiment, the ribs have a length that is substantially half the distance of the rim from the center. Furthermore, the ribs preferably have a height that is smaller than a height of the rim.

Further advantages will become apparent from the description and the accompanying drawings.

It is understood that the features explained above and those yet to be explained below can be used not only in the respectively specified combination but also in other combinations or in isolation, without departing from the scope of the invention.

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and are explained in more detail in the following description.

Show it: Figure 1: a plan view of an embodiment of a kitchen appliance according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a side view, in section, of the kitchen utensil of FIG. 1 on a somewhat enlarged scale;

Figure 3A and B: a schematic side view of a first use of a kitchen appliance according to the invention as Frischhaltedeckel, in two operational states;

Figure 4 is a schematic side view of a second use of a kitchen appliance according to the invention as a microwave lid;

Figure 5: a schematic side view of a third use of a kitchen appliance according to the invention as a coaster.

In Figures 1 and 2, 10 designates as a whole an embodiment of a erfindungemäßen kitchen equipment. The kitchen appliance 10 has a disk-shaped body 12. The body 12 is circular disk-shaped in the example shown, but it may also be oval-shaped, rectangular or otherwise formed, as far as this is technically possible and useful in the present context.

The body 12 consists internally of a flat film 14 and on the outside of a reinforced edge 16. Its reinforcement is by a reinforcing element 18, for example, a me- tallish ring, formed. The reinforcing element is preferably cast in the edge 16.

The film 14 is preferably made of silicone and integral with the edge 16. By the thermal manufacturing process of casting or spraying the film 14 is stretched when cooling within the reinforcement of the edge 16 and acts like a membrane or an eardrum.

On a first, in Figure 2 upper surface ribs 20 are attached. The ribs 20 extend with a length 1 in the radial direction from the edge 16 to a center 23 of the body 12, and only over a part of the distance between the edge 16 and the center 23, namely preferably over about half of this distance.

In the center 23, a reinforcement 22 is further provided, which is preferably formed as a thickening of the film 14. The ribs 20 and the reinforcement 22 are also preferably made in one piece and together with the film 14.

A second lower surface 24 in FIG. 2 is preferably smooth.

The body 12 may in practical embodiments have a diameter D which is in the range of the diameter of conventional trays, pots and pans, ie between 10 and 40 cm. Diameters of 20, 24, 28 and 32 cm would be useful as a sentence, for example. Depending on the material and size of the body 12, the thickness d of the film 14 can be in the range between 0.5 and 2 mm, preferably 1 to 1.5 mm in the case of the use of silicone and at the above-mentioned diameters D.

The height H of the edge 16 is 2 to 6 times, preferably 4 to 5 times as large as the thickness d of the film 14. The edge 16 is also the same height as the reinforcement 23, while the ribs 20 made slightly flatter are.

In FIGS. 3 to 5, three different uses of the kitchen utensil 10 are shown.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a first use of the household appliance 10 as a freshness-keeping lid 10a of a fresh-food container 34.

It can be seen that the freshness-retaining lid 10a has been placed with an edge region 30 of the smooth, lower surface 24 on an edge 32 of a can 34 or tray, beer mug or the like. Thus, an interior 36 of the can 34 is closed.

If now pressed with a force illustrated by an arrow 38 in Figure 3B on the reinforcement 22 in the center 23 of the film 14, deforms due to their elasticity and bias as membrane acting film 14 with its central region 13 downwards, as with 13 ' and 14 'in Figure 3B indicated. The interior 36 reduces in size thereby to 36 '. When the force is removed again, the deformed film 14 'automatically returns to its starting position 14 according to FIG. 3A because of its elasticity and prestressing. In the interior 36 now there is a negative pressure. Because the preferably made of silicone film 14 rests with its smooth surface 24 close to the edge 32, the negative pressure is maintained over a long period.

FIG. 4 shows a second use of the household appliance 10 as a microwave lid 10b.

In this case, the domestic appliance 10 is turned over, as compared to the use according to FIGS. 3A and 3B, i. with the ribs down and then with the ribs 20 on a rim 40 a microwave vessel 42 is placed. An interior 42 of the microwave vessel 42 is now completely covered on the one hand upwards, because the film 14 covers the entire interior space 44. On the other hand, a pressure equalization is also possible on the outside, because air can flow through the gap between the ribs to the outside or inward, as indicated by an arrow 46.

Finally, FIG. 5 illustrates a third use of the household appliance 10 as a coaster 10c.

As you can see, the kitchen utensil 10 was again placed with the ribs 20 upwards as a coaster 10c on a pad 50, for example, a surface of a table. A pot 52 or a frying pan or the like is available with a Bottom 54 of its bottom 56 on the saucer 10 c, in the region of the edge 16 and, if the central reinforcement 22 is equally high, also on this. As a result, located between the bottom 56 and the pad 50, not only the film 14 as a heat-insulating element, but also an air cushion, which is present in the interior of the edge 16.

Claims

claims

1. kitchen equipment with a disc-shaped body (12) which is formed reinforced in the central region (13) as a stretched elastic film (14) and at the edge (16).

2. Kitchen appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the body (12) is formed circular disc-shaped.

3. Kitchen appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the body is oval-shaped.

4. kitchen appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the body is rectangular.

5. Kitchen appliance according to one or more of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the edge (16) with the film (14) is in one piece.

6. kitchen appliance according to one or more of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the film (14) on a surface (24) is formed smooth.

7. Kitchen appliance according to one or more of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the film (14) consists of silicone.

8. Kitchen appliance according to one or more of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the film (14) has a thickness (d) of 0.5 to 2 mm, preferably from 1 to 1.5 mm.

9. Kitchen appliance according to one or more of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the film (14) is provided in a center (23) of the central region (13) with a reinforcement (22).

10. Kitchen appliance according to claim 9, characterized in that the reinforcement (22) is designed as a thickening of the film (14).

11. Kitchen according to one or more of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the edge (16) by an injected metallic reinforcing element (18) is reinforced.

12. Kitchen appliance according to claim 11, characterized in that the reinforcing element (18) is a ring.

13. Kitchen appliance according to one or more of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that the edge (16) has a height (H) which is substantially 2 to 6 times, preferably 4 to 5 times as large as the thickness (d) of the film (14).

14. Kitchen equipment according to claim 9 and 13, characterized in that the edge (16) is just as high (H) as the reinforcement (22).

15. Kitchen according to one or more of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the film (14) on a surface (19) with a plurality of ribs (20) is provided extending from the edge (16) in the direction of a Center (23) of the kitchen utensil (10) to extend.

16. The kitchen appliance according to claim 15, characterized in that the ribs (20) have a length (1) which is substantially half as large as the distance of the edge (16) from the center (23).

17. Kitchen equipment according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that the ribs (20) have a height (h) which is smaller than a height (H) of the edge (16).

18. Use of a kitchen appliance according to one or more of claims 1 to 17 as a fresh-food lid (10a) for a fresh-food container (34).

19. Use of a kitchen appliance according to one or more of claims 1 to 17 as a microwave lid (10b) for a microwave vessel (42).

20. Use of a kitchen appliance according to one or more of claims 1 to 17 as a saucer (10c) for a pot (52) or the like.