GB2321177A - Combined basket handle and lid latch for deep fryer - Google Patents

Abstract

A handle arrangement for a domestic cooking appliance, such as a deep fryer, is described. The appliance has a tank 1 in which a cooking medium can be heated and which is housed in a casing 2 and covered by a lid 5 hinged to the casing and sprung towards an opened condition. Food to be cooked is placed in a container 3 and lowered into and raised out of the cooking medium in the tank by means of a handle 4. The handle includes a manually releasable latch 6 engaging the lid 5 and a restraining arrangement 9,26 acting between the handle 4 and the casing 2 intended to resist upward motion of the handle under the influence of the lid spring and to enable a user to withdraw partially or fully container 3 from the tank 1 in a controlled manner after the lid has been opened by releasing the latch 6.

Description

DOMESTIC COOKING APPLIANCE This invention relates to domestic cooking appliances, and it relates especially, though not exclusively, to deep frying appliances.

Deep fryers utilise an electrically heated tank for the cooking oil or fat, and the food to be cooked is suspended in the tank whilst contained in a basket. Clearly, the basket needs to be removable in order that the food can be placed into the tank, cooked and then withdrawn therefrom.

It is important from the point of view of safety, bearing in mind that hot food will be contained in the basket and that hot cooking oil or fat will be dripping therefrom, and from the standpoint of user convenience, that the basket be manageable as it is removed from the tank, and that an intermediate resting point be provided so that the basket can be rested with the food clear of the fat or oil, so that excess fat or oil can be allowed to drip back into the tank before the basket containing the cooked food is fully withdrawn from the appliance.

It is also significant that the appliance is provided with a lid which normally remains closed during the cooking operation and which needs to be opened prior to withdrawal of the basket.

From the standpoint of user convenience and economy of manufacture, it is convenient if the three functions of basket control on withdrawal, intermediate basket retention and lid control can be effected by means of a single mechanism, and it is an object of this invention to provide such a mechanism.

According to the invention there is provided a domestic cooking appliance comprising a tank for a cooking medium, a heater for the tank, a casing to house the container, a lid covering the tank and hinged to the casing; the lid being urged towards its opened position, and a removable container for introducing food to be cooked into the tank, wherein the container is provided with a handle assembly having manually operable latching means for latching and releasing the lid and restraint means operative between the handle assembly and the casing to resist the force associated with the urging of the lid towards its opened position whilst the lid is latched in its closed position.

Preferably the restraint means includes a second latching means operatively connected with the first-mentioned latching means, and the restraint means preferably also includes resiliently controlled means, linked to the latching means, to provide controlled movement of the handle and container relative to the casing and the tank.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, two embodiments thereof will now be described (by way of example only) with reference to the accompanying drawings which show cross-sectional views through the relevant components of a deep fryer to illustrate the operation of a mechanism for basket and lid control in accordance with examples of the invention, and in which: Figure 1 shows handle and lid assemblies in the closed position of the fryer; Figure 2 shows the lid released and in the process of opening; Figure 3 shows the handle lifted to raise the basket clear of the cooking oil or fat; Figure 4 shows, in similar view to Figure 1, a second embodiment of the invention; and Figure 5 shows the second embodiment in view similar to that of Figure 2.

In all Figures, corresponding features and components have the same reference numbers.

Referring now to Figure 1, the tank of the deep fryer is shown in part at 1, and part of an outer casing formed of plastics material is shown at 2.

The basket is shown at 3, and the other principal components are a handle 4, attached to the basket, and a lid assembly 5.

The handle 4 incorporates a latch 6, movable by a user via a thumb depression 7, through a small arc of rotation about a pivot 8, and a latch slide 9 which is urged against the outside of the casing 2 to create frictional resistance to linear movement for a reason which will become clear hereinafter.

The latch 6 and the slide 9 are linked by a spring 10 which is secured to both and which is initially, as shown in Figure 1, urged under light tension against the side of casing 2. This tension can be increased, as will be described later, by means of a tensioner pad 11 which is integrally formed with the latch 6 and initially rests in light contact with the spring 10, causing the aforementioned light tension.

The lid assembly 5 is hinged, at its opposite side to the latch 6, and is resiliently urged towards its open position, in known manner.

In the position shown in Figure 1, the nose 12 of latch 6 is located in a co-operative aperture 13 in the lid assembly 5 and the light tension applied to slider 9 via the spring 10, together with the weight of the various components of the handle 4 and the basket assembly 3, is sufficient to keep the lid closed and the basket 3 in place within the tank 1.

Turning now to Figure 2, it can be seen that the thumb depression 7 has been used to move the latch 6 to its extreme leftwards position, thereby releasing the nose 12 from the aperture 13 in the lid assembly 5, allowing the lid assembly to spring open whilst at the same time increasing the tension in the spring 10 by movement of the tensioner pad 11, forcing the slider 9 much more firmly against the side of the casing 2 to avoid the risk that upward movement of the lid assembly 5 might cause the basket 3 and the handle 4 to jump upwards.

When it is desired to raise the basket 3, as shown in Figure 3, this is done by raising the handle 4, allowing the slider 9 to run under light pressure against the casing 2 to ensure controllable movement. When the slider 9 nears the top of its travel, it encounters an inwardly sloping portion 14 of the casing 2 which progressively releases the tension from the spring by allowing the slider to move farther to its right, so that, by the time the slider has reached the position shown, the tension has been removed and, in any event, the right-wards movement of the slider 9 is arrested by contact of its shoulders 15 with the inside of the wall 16 of the handle upright so that the user can lift the basket free and hang it, using the conventional hooked portion 17 on the lip 18 of the tank 1, so that the hot fat or oil can drain from the food in the basket back into the tank prior to complete withdrawal of the basket and its contents from the appliance.

If desired, the outer surface of the casing 2, especially in the region where it is contacted by the slider 9 in the position shown in Figure 1, i.e.

with the handle pressed completely down, can be roughened or otherwise surface treated, or formed with a depression so as to provide a detent against, andíor enhance the resistance to, upward pressure exerted by the spring-loaded lid assembly. If roughening is used for this purpose, it can be gradually reduced over part of the distance tracked by the slider 9 when the handle is raised, so as to avoid a sudden change in the movement characteristic of the handle. The nose of the slider 9 may also, or alternatively, be roughened or grooved or otherwise embellished to enhance friction if desired. In any event, the construction described herein enables the user to effect controlled basket withdrawal and good tactile feel through the handle. The degree of frictional resistance between the slider 9 and its running surface on the outside of the casing 2 can of course be adjusted by the user, utilising the thumb depression 7.

Typically, the lids used with appliances of this kind are quite strongly sprung towards the open condition and thus a reasonable amount of retentive force is needed in order to prevent the handle being drawn upwards by the lid, and/or to prevent a user from accidentally opening the lid by pushing the handle upwards. With reference to Figures 4 and 5, there will now be described another embodiment of the invention, in which this aspect is particularly addressed.

Referring now to Figure 4, the tank of the deep fryer is shown in part at 1 and part of an outer casing formed of plastics material is shown at 2.

The basket is shown in part at 3, and the other principal components are a handle 4 attached to the basket, and a lid assembly 5.

The handle 4 incorporates an upper latch 6, movable by a user via a thumb actuated member 7, through a small arc of rotation about a pivot 25, and a lower latch 26 which moves with the upper latch 6. The upper and lower latches 6 and 26, together with the thumb actuated member 7, form part of a common moulding 20 which pivots at 25 and is urged by means of a spring 21 to the right as shown in the drawing (ie with the latches protruding through respective apertures 22,23 in the handle moulding) as shown in Figure 4.

In that condition, the upper latch 6 protrudes into an aperture 13 in the wall of the lid assembly 5 and the lower latch 26 protrudes into an aperture 24 in the outer casing 2 of the fryer. The lid assembly is, in this condition, securely latched to the casing 5 despite the relatively strong spring loading which urges the lid assembly toward its open condition. It is to be noted that, with the appliance latched as described, the lid will not open even if a user should inadvertently apply upward pressure to the handle 4.

Referring now to Figure 5, the lid assembly 5 has been opened by movement of the member 7 to the left as shown in the drawing, against the pressure exerted by the spring 21 and by an amount sufficient to delatch the upper latch 6 from the aperture 13 in the lid wall. As shown, with the moulding 20 in its fully withdrawn (leftwards in the Figure) position, the lower latch 26 is also withdrawn from the aperture 24 in the casing 2.

It will thus be appreciated that, at this stage, the user has the option of allowing the moulding 20 to return to the right, under the pressure of spring 21, thus permitting lower latch 26 to re-engage in aperture 24, or to hold the moulding in its leftward position, by means of thumb pressure applied to member 7, enabling the handle 4 and basket 3 to be raised for inspection of and/or removal from the fryer of the contents of the basket 3. As before, the basket can be temporarily secured in a raised position, allowing the cooking medium to drain from the cooked food, by means of a spur 17 which can be hooked over the rim 18 of the fryer.

If the user elects to raise the handle 4 and basket 3, it is only necessary that the member 7 be depressed until the lower latch 26 has cleared the aperture 24. After that it is possible and, indeed, preferable that the moulding 20 be allowed to move to the right under the pressure of spring 21 so that the lower latch 26 runs in tension against the outer surface of the casing 2. This provides for well controlled motion of the handle 4 and basket 3. If desired, the area of casing 2 tracked by the lower latch 9, as well as or instead of that face of the latch which runs thereon can be treated to provide a desired amount of friction or other retentive force as described above

Claims (8)

1. CLAIMS 1. A domestic cooking appliance comprising a tank for a cooking medium, a heater for the tank, a casing to house the container, a lid covering the tank and hinged to the casing; the lid being urged towards its opened position, and a removable container for introducing food to be cooked into the tank, wherein the container is provided with a handle assembly having manually operable latching means for latching and releasing the lid and restraint means operative between the handle assembly and the casing to resist the force associated with the urging of the lid towards its opened position whilst the lid is latched in its closed position.
2. 2. An appliance according to Claim 1 wherein the restraint means includes a further latching means releasably latching the handle to the casing; the operation of the further latching means being interlinked with that of the first-mentioned latching means.
3. 3. An appliance according to either of claims 1 and 2 wherein the restraint means includes resiliently biassed means permitting the application of controllable force between the handle and the casing.
4. 4. An appliance according to Claim 3 wherein the resiliently biassed means comprises a slide member arranged to follow a predetermined track along an external surface of said casing.
5. 5. An appliance according to Claim 4 wherein at least one of the engaging surfaces of said slider member and said track is provided with frictionenhancing treatment.
6. 6. An appliance according to Claim 5 wherein the extent of said frictionenhancing treatment is varied along said track.
7. 7. An appliance according to any preceding claim wherein the latching means is coupled to a thumb-operable member resiliently biassed to the latched position.
8. 8. A domestic cooking appliance substantially as herein described.