GB2363056A

GB2363056A - Kettle with retractable handle

Info

Publication number: GB2363056A
Application number: GB0013868A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Andrew O'neill; Antonio Martin Gaeta
Original assignee: Otter Controls Ltd
Current assignee: Otter Controls Ltd
Priority date: 2000-06-07
Filing date: 2000-06-07
Publication date: 2001-12-12
Anticipated expiration: 2020-06-07
Also published as: GB2363056B; CN1454067A; WO2001093730A3; GB0013868D0; CN1243501C; AU2002213577A1; WO2001093730A2

Abstract

A liquid heating appliance, a kettle for example, has a retractably mounted, movable handle 4 which is in retracted condition during heating operation of the appliance and in extended condition when the liquid has been heated to a predetermined level, for example has been boiled. The invention proposes that the act of retracting the handle switches on the appliance and that when the liquid reaches the predetermined temperature, the handle is ejected into extended condition in the act of switching off the appliance. The pivotal movement of the handle co-operates with various other features of the appliance, such as a releasable handle latch arrangement, a locking arrangement associated with the closure lid 5 of the appliance and flaps 7 associated with the pouring spout 6 of the appliance. Advantageously, the appliance provides safety and has a new and aesthetically pleasing appearance. The handle may be transparent and contain a lamp illuminated during heating.

Description

2363056 IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO LIQUID HEATING APPLIANCES

Field of the Invention

5 The present invention concerns improvements relating to liquid heating appliances such as kettles and hot water jugs for example.

Background of the Invention

It is commonplace to provide handles on all manner of domestic and 10 other liquid heating appliances to allow the appliance in question to be picked up without the user burning his hand. One problem that has arisen, however, has been that such appliances are seen as aesthetically unpleasing because the handle projects in an untidy manner from the appliance body. Another problem has been encountered as a result of the projecting handle design, 15 namely that it is possible to catch the handle accidentally and tip over the appliance in use. This means that a householder or more particularly a child, for example, may be exposed to considerable danger in a situation where an appliance containing hot liquid is accidentally tipped over. In this connection, it is to be appreciated that small children are at greater risk because they are 20 prone to grab hold of the handle deliberately, when the appliance is energised, without recognising the danger of the situation.

2 Objects and Summary of the Invention

It is accordingly the principal object of the present invention to overcome or at least substantially reduce the aforementioned problems.

In broad ten-ns, the present invention resides in the provision of a 5 movable handle designed to be retractably-mounted to the appliance so that the handle is in retracted condition when the appliance is in heating operation and in extended condition, by virtue of standing proud relative to the appliance body, when the liquid in the appliance has been heated to a predetermined level, for example has been boiled.

10 According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a liquid heating appliance having movable handle means adapted and arranged to move from a retracted position to an extended position in response to the heating of liquid in the appliance to a predetermined temperature, for example to boiling.

15 According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a liquid heating appliance comprising a vessel with a heating element and a retractably-mounted handle associated with said vessel, said handle being arranged to be in a retracted position in relation to the body of said vessel at a liquid temperature below a predetermined temperature and said handle being 20 responsive in use of the appliance to the liquid temperature reaching said predetermined temperature so as to be caused to move to an extended position in relation to the body of said vessel.

3 In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention which will be described hereafter in detail, the handle is provided as a cantilever which is hingedly-supported at the upper part of the appliance and has a downwardly depending part which is spring biassed outwards away from the 5 vessel body. In use of such an arrangement, a user has only to push the bottom end of the handle in a direction towards the vessel body against the biasing force to cause the handle to pivot inwards so as to be received in a recess formed in the vessel body. As the handle adopts a retracted position by virtue of being moved into the recess, the outer surface of the handle becomes 10 flush in relation to the profile of the vessel body and that, advantageously, provides a new and aesthetically pleasing, clean appearance to the appliance in use.

Preferably, means are coupled to the handle to switch on or increase the power supply to the heater of the appliance when the handle is moved into 15 the recess of the appliance body such as to be in retracted condition. Further, means may be provided to disable or reduce the power supply to the heater when the liquid in the appliance, upon being heated, reaches a predetermined temperature, for example boiling temperature, and the handle moves from retracted position to extended position automatically, or when the handle is 20 extended manually.

Advantageously, the movement of the handle between its retracted and extended positions can be utilised to operate various other features of the 4 appliance. For example, securing means may be provided to lock a closure lid in position on the vessel body when the handle is in retracted condition, so as to prevent accidental spillage of hot liquid out of the appliance during the heating operation. The lock may also be arranged to be released to permit the 5 closure lid to be opened when the handle has moved to its extended position.

Conveniently, the lock can be released manually by rotating the handle in a direction outward and away from the appliance body as, for example, in a situation where the appliance is lifted by means of the handle.

The handle may have associated therewith releasable latch means to 10 hold the handle in retracted condition during the heating operation. The latch means may rely on a manual "push on/push off' action, for example, so that in use, the act of pushing the handle in a first time engages the latch and switches on the appliance, and thereafter, a subsequent act of pressing the handle in, when it is in retracted condition, causes the latch to release and the handle to 15 deploy so that the appliance is switched off. The latch means may be releasable by manual operation when the liquid in the appliance is in "pre-boll" condition, thereby enabling the appliance to switch off in "pre-boil" condition. Alternatively, the latch means may be arranged to release automatically when the liquid in the appliance reaches boil and this can be 20 simply achieved by provision of an appliance boil control arranged to release the latch as it operates.

In application of the invention to a vessel adapted to be filled via its spout opening, the handle may co-operate with flap means arranged to close the spout opening of the appliance when in heating operation. There are two principal advantages associated with the provision of such flap means. First, 5 the time taken for the appliance to switch off after reaching boil condition (the "cut-off time") can be substantially predetermined thereby obviating the problem of considerable "cut-off time" variations which are commonplace in filter appliances, for example. Note, in this connection, that known filter appliances suffer from: (1) undesirably long "cut-off times", when the filter is 10 removed from the spout and the spout is thus left open, because only a low steam pressure can be generated within the appliance to drive steam to the boil control, and (2) undesirably short "cut-off times", when the filter is in place inside the spout and blocked with scale, on account of the high steam pressure in the appliance. The second advantage is that the outflow of hot liquid from 15 the appliance, in use, can be substantially restricted by the flap means in the event that the appliance is accidentally tipped over.

The arrangement in the abovementioned embodiment conveniently has further flap means which co-operate with the movement of the handle, the further flap means being arranged to close the steam duct of the appliance 20 when the handle is standing proud of the appliance body in extended condition. This arrangement has the advantage of preventing steam from continuing to reach the appliance boil control after the appliance has reached 6 boil condition and switched off which, in turn, permits the appliance boil control to have an improved reset-time response. Alternatively, the handle may be outwardly rotated in a direction away from the appliance body and that rotational movement may cause the steam duct to close, for example during 5 the act of pouring liquid out of the appliance.

The handle may conveniently be formed of transparent material, for example, heat-resistant glass material. Additionally, illumination means may be mounted in the appliance body to indicate the on/off operational status of the appliance. For example, a lamp could be positioned in the appliance body 10 so as to be aligned with an end portion of the handle when in retracted condition, thereby illuminating the handle when the appliance is switched on.

Further, the liquid heating appliance of the present invention is advantageous in that it provides a clear status indication to the user as to when the liquid has boiled. The handle position relative to the appliance body can 15 clearly be seen without need for the user to be close by and can be clearly seen in bright sunlight conditions where known neon light indicators fail.

Moreover, in the case of a cordless kettle, the user would be able to lift the kettle off its base only when the handle ejects into extended condition and the kettle has switched off, which prolongs the operational life of the kettle in that 20 wear and tear on the connector contacts is reduced.

The above and further features of the present invention are set forth in the appended claims and, together with the advantages thereof, will best be 7 appreciated from consideration of the following description of an embodiment which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings:

5 Figure la) shows a side view of a kettle embodying the present invention in its switched on operational state; Figure I b) shows the kettle of Figure 1 a) in enlarged perspective view; Figure 2a) shows the kettle of Figure I a) in its switched off state; and Figure 2b) shows the kettle of Figure 2a) in enlarged perspective view.

Detailed Descjption of an ExqmpIM Embodiment:

Referring to Figure I a) and the corresponding enlarged view of Figure lb), there is shown a kettle I of the invention when in its switched on, heating operational state. The kettle 1 comprises a heating vessel 2 and a base 3. The 15 kettle 1 has an associated movable push handle 4 which is mounted, in retracted condition, at a recess formed in the vessel body. The kettle 1 has a closure lid 5 and a pouring spout 6 for permitting the vessel 2 to be filled up with liquid (not shown) and for pouring out liquid therefrom. As shown in the Figures, the spout 6 has an associated flap 7 openable with movement of the 20 handle 4 which will be in closed condition as long as the handle 4 is in retracted condition and which will only open after the handle 4 moves from retracted condition to extended condition as described below.

8 In the embodiment shown, the handle 4 is hingedly-mounted about a hinge at the upper part of the vessel body. The handle is spring biased outwards away from the vessel body. In use, when the handle 4 is pushed towards the vessel body, at its bottom tip for example, and against the spring 5 biasing force, the handle 4 pivots inwards about the hinge and is received in the formed recess in the vessel body. Thus, the outer surface of the handle 4 becomes flush with the vessel body profile 2 and the handle 4 which extends downwards throughout the extent of the formed recess adopts a fully retracted position in relation to the vessel body 2.

10 As the handle 4 enters into the formed recess of the vessel body, a part of it engages with the trip lever of the kettle boil control (not shown), via a control actuator button for example (see actuator 10 in Figure 2 described hereinafter), which causes the kettle 1 to switch on. A latch (not shown) is further provided in the kettle 1, for example it may be mounted at the upper or 15 bottom part of the kettle dependent on design considerations, which serves to hold the handle 4 in retracted condition, against the respective biasing force, as the kettle switches on and heats up liquid inside. Note that the latch only releases the handle 4 after the liquid reaches the predetermined temperature, for example boiling, whereupon the handle is permitted to move from 20 retracted condition to extended condition. As also shown, affixed to the spout 6 is a spout flap 7 which is coupled to the displacement of the handle 4 so that when the handle 4 is pushed into the recess against the biasing force the spout 9 flap 7 is moved into engagement with the spout 6 so as to be in closed condition and when the handle is thereafter moved outward into extended position as the kettle switches off, the flap 7 is moved out of engagement with the spout 6 so as to permit it to be opened.

5 In heating operation of the thus described kettle 1, it will be understood that to guard against hot liquid spillage, a locking arrangement (not shown) co-operates with the closure lid 5 engaging the lid 5 into closed (locked) condition when the handle 4 is in retracted condition, and disengaging the lid 5 into open (unlocked) condition only after the liquid in 10 the kettle has heated to the predetermined level, for example has been boiled, and the handle 4 has correspondingly moved from retracted condition to extended condition.

To guard against hot liquid spillage when the kettle is switched off after use, the locking arrangement for the lid 5 can also be releasably operated 15 by rotating the handle 4 in an outward direction away from the vessel body 2.

Such a deliberate rotational action is, for example, produced by lifting the vessel body 2 by means of the handle 4.

The handle 4 of the kettle is formed, wholly or in part, of transparent material, for example heat resistant glass material. Additionally, in the 20 embodiment, illumination means (not shown) in the form of a lamp for example, is positioned in the vessel body and is aligned with the tip of the handle 4 when in retracted position, thereby enabling the handle to be illuminated during the heating operation. Thus, the user is provided with an indication of the operational status of the kettle.

When the kettle 1 is in switched off condition after use, shown in Figures 2a) and 2b), the handle 4 is in extended position with its upper end 5 hingedly-mounted and its downwardly depending part spaced apart from the recess 8 and the vessel body 2. The arrangement, therefore, permits a user to grasp the downwardly depending part of the handle 4 without being subject to the risk of touching the hot vessel body 2. Note that Figures 2a) and 2b) use the same reference numerals as were used to designate same/like parts in the 10 description of Figures 1 a) and 1 b).

The latch (not shown) as previously mentioned is provided to hold the handle in retracted position and is released as the kettle switches off, thereby permitting the handle to reach extended position as shown. In the embodiment, the latch is arranged to co-operate with the kettle boil control 15 (not shown) so that a change of state of the respective boil control causes the latch to release. More particularly, the latch is actuated by a control button 10 which has a "push on/off' action so that pushing the handle 4 in a first time into the recess 8 engages the latch by virtue of the button 10 being pushed down and that switches on the kettle, while the act of releasing the button 10 20 releases the latch and switches off the kettle. Note also that the latch can be manually released and that is achieved in its simplest form by pressing a separate button (not shown) or by pressing the handle in when in retracted 11 condition during the heating operation. Therefore, the latch can be manually released in liquid preboil condition or in liquid boil condition, depending on the operator's particular requirements.

As mentioned previously, the kettle 1 has closable flap means 7 and 5 that provides the advantage of (1) adjustably controlling the cut-off time of the kettle 1 after boiling and (2) substantially restricting the outflow of liquid from the kettle 1 during heating operation, for example in the event that the kettle 1 is accidentally tipped over.

Further, the kettle 1 has flap means (not shown) which co-operate with 10 the movement of the handle 4 so as to engage with the steam duct (not shown) of the kettle 1 when the liquid has boiled and the handle 4 is in extended condition. In this way the steam duct is closed and the passage of steam to the kettle boil control is interrupted only after the kettle 1 has switched off upon use. The advantage of such an arrangement is that the kettle boil control has 15 an improved (ie faster) reset-time response. Alternatively, the previously described outward rotational movement of the handle 4 could be simply utilised in place of flap means, during the act of pouring liquid out of the vessel for example, so as to cause the steam duct (not shown) to close.

The arrangement thus described meets the aforementioned object of 20 the invention by provision of a new, clean-looking and safe kettle, in use, with a movable handle which the operator can push into the formed recess of the vessel body to switch on the kettle, and which can be thereafter ejected into 12 extended condition, automatically, as the kettle switches off when the liquid therein reaches the predetermined temperature, for example boil. Of course, it is to be appreciated that the handle can also be manually moved from retracted condition to extended condition so that the kettle can switch off in preboil 5 condition or in boil condition. This is considered to be a considerable advantage for the kettle manufacturer.

The described embodiment is susceptible to modification and variation without departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention and is to be considered in all respects as exemplary only. For example, if the styling 10 allows, part of the handle, in use, could project as part of the general profile of the vessel body. Further, whilst the invention has been described in the foregoing with reference to a kettle, the appliance could alternatively be a hot water jug or another kind of liquid heating appliance.

13

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A liquid heating appliance having movable handle means adapted and arranged to move from a retracted position to an extended position in response to the heating of liquid in the appliance to a predetermined temperature.

2. A liquid heating appliance comprising a vessel with a heating element and a retractably-mounted handle associated with said vessel, said handle being arranged to be in a retracted position in relation to the body of said vessel at a liquid temperature below a predetermined temperature and said to handle being responsive in use of the appliance to the liquid temperature reaching said predetermined temperature so as to be caused to move to an extended position in relation to the body of said vessel.

3. An appliance as claimed in claim 2 including means coupled to said 15 handle for switching on or increasing the power supply to the heating element of the appliance when said handle is in retracted position.

4. An appliance as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3 including means coupled to said handle for switching off or reducing the power supply to the 20 heating element of the appliance when the liquid reaches said predetermined temperature and/or said handle is moved to extended position.

14 5. An appliance as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4 wherein said means has an associated actuator-switch arrangement comprising a bimetallic actuator and an associated trip lever, the bimetallic actuator being adapted to change state after the liquid reaches said predetermined temperature and the trip lever 5 being adapted to engage with said handle in dependence upon the position of the handle.

6. An appliance as claimed in claim 5 including releasable latch means arranged to co-operate with the actuator-switch arrangement and the handle so 10 as to permit the handle to be retained in said retracted position in heating operation of the appliance.

7. An appliance as claimed in claim 6 wherein said latch means is arranged to be released by manual operation, for example when the liquid is in 15 preboil condition.

8. An appliance as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7 wherein said latch means is arranged to be released in dependence upon the liquid reaching said predetermined temperature.

10. An appliance as claimed in claim 9 wherein said securing means is adapted to unlock the closure lid of said vessel after said handle is in said extended position.

11. An appliance as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10 wherein the locking/unlocking operation is effected by rotational movement of said handle.

10 12. An appliance as claimed in any of claims 2 to 11 including first flap means to enable the spout opening of said vessel to be controllably closed in heating operation of the appliance.

13. An appliance as claimed in any of claims 2 to 12 including second flap 15 means coupled to said handle, said second flap means being operable in liquid boil condition in response to the movement of said handle from said retracted position to said extended position so as to enable the amount of steam which is sensed by the appliance after said liquid boils to be selectively controlled.

20 14. An appliance as claimed in any of claims 2 to 13 wherein said handle is hingedly-mounted at an upper part of the vessel body of the appliance such as to provide a cantilever-type arrangement.

15. An appliance as claimed in any of claims 2 to 14 wherein said handle is adapted to be positioned at a recess fortned in the body of said vessel.

5 16. An appliance as claimed in any of claims 2 to 15 wherein said handle is arranged to be resiliently-biased away from the body of said vessel, the handle being movable against the biasing force.

17. An appliance as claimed in any of claims 2 to 16 wherein said handle is formed of transparent material.

18. An appliance as claimed in any of claims 2 to 17 including illumination means provided in the body of said vessel to enable said handle to be illuminated in heating operation of the appliance.

19. An appliance as claimed in claim 18 wherein said illumination means comprises a lamp which, in use, is positionally aligned with an end portion of said handle.

20 20. An appliance as claimed in any of claims 2 to 19 wherein said handle is movable by manual operation.

17 21. An appliance as claimed in any of claims 2 to 20 wherein the appliance is a kettle, for example a cordless kettle.

22. An appliance substantially as herein described with reference to 5 Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.