GB2234426A - Improvements in or relating to heating vessels - Google Patents

Abstract

An electric kettle has a moulded plastics overlay 13 which provides front and rear mounting portions 30 and 31 apertured for passage of the handle fixings 22 and 23 into the body, via small fixing apertures 34, to be engaged by fasteners for securing the handle to the body so as to clamp the mounting portions 30 and 31 between the body and the parts 20 and 21 to locate the overlay 13. A socket opening 32 registers with the aperture 11 and a steam aperture or recess 33 registers with the steam passage 24 and a steam vent 19 in the body. The overlay 13 further provides a downwardly extending cylindrical part 35 having a lower edge which serves as a visual indicator of the maximum filling level. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO HEATING VESSELS This invention concerns electric kettles and like vessels for heating or holding heated liquids.

In recent times, vessels having moulded plastics bodies and lids have become popular, replacing, to some extent, vessels having bodies formed from sheet metal, e.g. stainless steel or aluminium. In some circumstances such plastics bodies can easily have some sundry formations, e.g. lid mountings, spouts, handles and sockets for fasteners, formed integrally therein during moulding of the bodies; whereas in other circumstances such formations are difficult or even impossible to form integrally in plastics bodies. Many such formations cannot be formed in bodies formed from sheet metal. The provision of some formations presents technical and cost problems when attempting to improve vessels having such plastics bodies or, more especially, metal bodies.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a vessel comprising a body, a handle and a Yid; wherein at least an upper part of the body is formed to provide small apertures to receive fixings for the handle, and a large aperture to receive part of the lid; and characterised in that the vessel includes an overlay which is arranged to overlie said upper part, and is formed, e.g. moulded or cast, to define a socket opening in which the lid is engageable, and to provide apertured mounting portions which are clamped between the handle and the upper part by the handle fixings.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a vessel comprising a body, a handle and a lid; wherein at least an upper part of the body is formed to provide small apertures to receive fixings for the handle, and a large aperture to receive part of the lid; and characterised in that the vessel includes an overlay which is arranged to overlie said upper part, and is formed to define a socket opening in which the lid is engageable, and to provide a dependant portion which extends into the body to a predetermined depth to serve as or carry an indicator indicating the maximum safe or working level to which the vessel may be filled with liquid.

The overlay may provide recesses around the socket opening to admit lugs on the lid into the vessel, so that the lugs can be moved to locking positions by arcuate movement of the lid, whereby to retain the lid in the socket opening.

The -overlay may provide mounting portions clamped between the handle and the body.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: FIGURE 1 is an exploded and unscaled perspective view of some parts of a first embodiment an electric kettle of the invention; FIGURE 2 is a sectional diagram of a front part of the kettle, shown in FIGURE 1; FIGURE 3 shows a second embodiment of electric kettle of the invention in vertical cross-section; FIGURE 4 shows the underside of an overlay employed in the second embodiment; FIGURE 5 shows a section on the line V-V in FIGURE 4; FIGURE 6 shows an enlarged sectional detail of the kettle on a line positioned as indicated by the line VI-VI in FIGURE 4; FIGURE 7 is sectional diagram showing details of a front upper portion of the kettle, and FIGURE 8 shows, in section, a modification applicable to said upper portion.

In both embodiments, the kettle has a metal body, an upper portion 10 of which provides a large aperture 11; a handle 12 of bridge form; an overlay 13; a lid 14; and further parts including a spout 15, an electrical immersion heater 16, a steam responsive heater switch control 17 and a cover 18 for the latter, which cover may extend upwards to, and may be connected to, a rear part 20 of the handle. Such further parts may be generally of known kinds.

The handle 12 is formed to bridge the aperture 11 and to provide a passage for a fixing 22 in a front portion 21, passages for one or two further fixings 23 in the rear part 20, a steam passage 24 in the rear part 20, and formations (not shown) on and in the rear part to engage the cover and the control. The fixings 22 and 23 may be threaded fasteners.

The overlay 13 is a plastics moulding and provides front and rear mounting portions 30 and 31 apertured for passage of the fixings 22 and 23 into the body, via small fixing apertures 34, to be engaged by fasteners 22A and 23A for securing the handle to the body so as to clamp the mounting portions 30 and 31 between the body and the parts 20 and 21 to locate the overlay 13 so that a socket opening 32 registers with the aperture 11 and a steam aperture or recess 33 registers with the steam passage 24 and a steam vent 19 in the body.The overlay 13 further provides a downwardly extending cylindrical part 35 which extends through the aperture 11, and which has an extension 36, may be cylindrical (FIGURE 1) or of tongue form (FIGURE 8), which extends further downwards to a predetermined level 37 so that its lower edge serves as a visual indicator of the maximum filling level 38 to which the vessel should be filled with water 50, as shown in FIGURE 2.

The lid 14 has a peripheral lip 40, extending radially outwards from the upper end of a downwardly dependent flange 41 from which four lugs 42 project outwardly. The overlay 13 provides four recesses 43 at intervals around the socket opening 32 to admit the lugs 40 into the vessel until the lip 40 rests on the overlay.

The opening 32 and flange 41 are substantially circular and are dimensioned to permit the lid to be moved arcuately until the lugs about stops 44 provided on the underside of the overlay, i.e. to a locking position in which portions 45 of the overlay are trapped between the lugs and the lip to lock the lid in the socket aperture.

In the first embodiment the kettle body comprises a main part pressed from sheet metal and a separately pressed sheet metal bottom (not shown) secured to the main part in known manner. This two-part body construction enables the upper portion 10 to be formed from a relatively non-ductile metal such as stainless steel, which is simply cut to provide the opening 11 or shaped to include a downturned inwardly directed flange 60 around the opening 11. In the second embodiment, the body is spun as a single item from a ductile sheet metal such as copper or aluminium, so as to include an upturned outwardly extending flange 61 around the opening 11.The overlay 13 in the second embodiment is formed to provide a downwardly open annular recess 62 around the cylindrical part 35 to accommodate either of the flanges 60 and 61, and can therefore be substituted for the overlay 13 in the first embodiment. The overlay 13 in the second embodiment incorporates secondary locating means comprising locating pegs 63, shown in FIGURES 4, 5 and 6, which extends downwards adjacent to the periphery 65 of the overlay through apertures in the upper portion 10, and fasteners 64, of push-on ferrule form, which are engaged on the pegs 63 inside the body to engage the portion 10 and thereby hold down the periphery 65 onto the portion 10.

It will be readily appreciated that the overlay obviates the need to "finish", e.g. polish or smooth, the edges of the apertures in the body; is simple and inexpensive to form and fit; provides a decorative finish for the upper portion; and enables a locking lid to be employed.

The invention is not confined to details of the foregoing example and many variations are possible within the scope of the invention. For example, the overlay 13 is shown as being of ring form, but may be split especially at the rear and/or may be extended downwards to cover more or substantially all of the upper and peripheral surfaces of the body. A side opening for the spout may be provided, in the overlay; and formations may be provided in or on the overlay to cooperate with the cover and/or the control and/or the immersion heater.

The optional extension 36 may be of lug or leg form as shown in FIGURE 8, and may carry a visual indicator of a contrasting colour or easily visible shape.

Claims (9)

1. A vessel comprising a body, a handle and a lid; wherein at least an upper part of the body is formed to provide small apertures to receive fixings for the handle, and a large aperture to receive part of the lid; and characterised in that the vessel includes an overlay which is arranged to overlie said upper part, and is formed to extend into the large aperture and define a socket opening in which the lid is engageable, and to provide apertured mounting portions which are clamped between the handle and the upper part by the handle fixings.

2. A vessel as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the overlay is formed to provide a dependent portion which extends downwards into the body to a predetermined depth.

3. A vessel comprising a body, a handle and a lid; wherein at least an upper part of the body is formed to provide small apertures to receive fixings for the handle, and a large aperture to receive part of the lid; and characterised in that the vessel includes an overlay which is arranged to overlie said upper part, and is formed to extend into the large aperture and define a socket opening in which the lid is engageable, and to provide a dependent portion which extends downwards into the body to a predetermined depth to serve as or carry an indicator indicating the maximum safe or working level to which the vessel may be filled with liquid.

4. A vessel as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the overlay provides mounting portions clamped between the handle and the body.

5. A vessel as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein the overlay provides recesses around the socket opening to admit lugs on the lid into the vessel, so that the lugs can be moved to locking positions by arcuate movement of the lid, whereby to retain the lid in the socket opening.

6. A vessel as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the upper part of the body is apertured at intervals around the large aperture to receive locating pegs provided on the overlay.

7. A vessel as claimed in Claim 6 wherein fasteners are secured to the pegs inside the body to hold down the overlay against the upper portion.

8. A vessel as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the upper part of the body defines an upturned lip around the large opening which lip extends into a downwardly open recess in the overlay.

9. A vessel substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to FIGURES 1 and 2 or FIGURES 3 to 7 or these FIGURES as modified by FIGURE 8 of the accompanying drawings.