GB2444714A

GB2444714A - Appliance with decorative inserts

Info

Publication number: GB2444714A
Application number: GB0624898A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Collinson
Original assignee: Otter Controls Ltd
Current assignee: Otter Controls Ltd
Priority date: 2006-12-13
Filing date: 2006-12-13
Publication date: 2008-06-18
Also published as: GB0624898D0

Abstract

A water heating appliance or kettle 10 has means to releasably engage with one or more moulded plastic inserts 26 prior to sealing of the base. The base may have apertures through which the insert(s) may be viewed. The colour of the insert(s) differs from that of the body. The base may include illumination means. Coloured inserts may be provided around the window 16 and in the handle 14 and switch 20. The inserts may be sold separately so that the user may customize or decorate the appliance.

Description

Appliance

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an appliance, and particularly, although not exclusively to a water heating appliance. The invention also relates to a kit of parts including an appliance.

BackEround For many people it is desirable to keep pace with changing fashions. Other people enjoy purchasing and displaying new items. However, such exploits are expensive, and hence it is not always possible for many people to follow fashions and new trends as closely as they would like. As a skilled reader will appreciate, fashions are followed in many areas, including kitchen appliances.

It is therefore desirable to provide an appliance that will satisfy consumer need for following current trends, whilst also seeking to be cost effective.

A further problem in ihe field of appliances is that manufacturers are generally required to use different moulds to provide appliances with differing appearances. This is accepted because it is acknowledged as being important to provide consumers with a choice of appearance for any given appliance, such as a kettle or a toaster and so on. Such considerations generally mean that wholesale and retail prices of the appliance may be higher than desired.

The present invention seeks to address the above problems.

Disclosure of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a kit of parts comprising: an appliance and at least one insert operable to be releasably engaged with said appliance.

Such an arrangement has the advantage that an appliance may be customized by a user so as to appeal to the individual user. This arrangement also has advantage in the manufacturing stage, in that a manufacturer is able to mould one body shape and include different inserts therein to alter the final appearance of the appliance.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a appliance comprising means to releasably engage with one or more inserts.

Similar advantages to those describes above apply also to this arrangement.

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According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provide an appliance comprising a body moulding, said body moulding including a shaped recess operable to be filled by a correspondingly shaped member.

Additional aspects of the present invention are set out in the appended claims, with preferred features being set out in the dependent claims.

In order that the present invention be more readily understood, specific embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawin2s

Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of a water heating appliance with a base insert engaged therewith.

Figure 2 shows the water heating appliance of figure 1, with the insert partially removed there from.

Figure 3 shows a variant of the water heating appliance of figure 1.

Figure 4 shows a second embodiment of a water heating appliance.

Figure 5 shows a magnified view of a portion of figure 4.

Figure 6 shows a third embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 shows an embodiment of a bottom perspective view of a water heating appliance.

Figure 8 shows the water heating vessel of figure 7 with several members disengaged therefrom.

Description of specific embodiments.

The following description describes the present invention in relation to a water heating appliance. However, it will be appreciated that the invention may be used in relation to many other household appliances such as coffee makers, toasters and the like. I0

Figure 1 shows a water heating appliance 10, comprising a body 12. The appliance further comprises a handle 14, a window 16, a spout 18, an activation switch 20 and a base portion 22. In the figures the water heating appliance shown i of the cordless 360 type, which is preferred, but should not be taken as limiting to the present invention. In this arrangement a power unit 24 can be engaged with a power connector (not shown) in the base unit of the water heating appliance to supply power thereto.

The base portion 22 typically houses additional functionality, such as a boil control and the like, and is usually sealed by the manufacturer. It is desirable, for safety reasons, for the current carrying components to be sealed within the appliance.

The base portion comprises a recess into which an appropriately shaped insert 26 may be inserted prior to the base portion being sealed. The insert 26 will ideally be moulded from plastic, and will be of a different colour to the body of thewater heating appliance. For greater effect the base portion of the water heating appliance may comprises one or more apertures 28 through which the insert 26 may be viewed.

The insert 26 may comprise a lip or rim 30 at one end thereof. Said lip 30 is arranged to abut the base portion 22 of the water heating appliance 10 when it is engaged therewith. The effect is that a ring of colour is shown at the bottom of the base portion 22. However, in an equally preferred arrangement the insert 26 may not comprise the lip 30. This arrangement is shown in figure 3.

The insert may be retained in the recess of the base portion using fixing means described in GB 2330064. This fomi of fixing means is known to those skilled in the art as easyfix. However, it will be appreciated that many methods of releasably fixing the insert into the recess may be used. For example a snap-fit arrangement would be appropriate.

The insert 26 may be manufactured from a transparent or translucent material, such as plastic. In a preferred arrangement illumination means (not shown) may be disposed in the base portion. When the water heating appliance 10 is activated the illumination means may be configured to activate, and hence light will be seen through the transparent or translucent insert 26. Certain water heating appliances are operable to function in a plurality of modes, such as a boil mode or a keep warm mode. In one arrangement the colour of the illumination may be dependent upon the selected mode.

In further embodiments, one or more illumination means may be provided elsewhere in the water heating appliance body such that one or more inserts may be illuminated. In preferred embodiments the inserts may be translucent, and, depending upon the colour of the insert, the light visible to the user may be varied.

In usual arrangements the insert 26 will be slidably mounted into the recess in the base portion. The base portion may then be sealed with a further sub-base member 50 to ensure that the switch control, power connector and boil connector are safely retained. This arrangement is shown in figures 7 and 8.

In an alternative arrangement the sub-base member 50 may be made integrally with the insert 26, and hence sealing the base portion of the water heating appliance causes the insert 26 to be engaged with the appliance 10.

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In either arrangement the sub-base member 50 has large side areas which step up inside cut contours on the inside of the base portion. Fixing methods as described in GB 2330064 may also be used.

A variant embodiment is shown in figure 6. In this arrangement the apertures in the body 12 of the water heating appliance may be filled by one or more inserts 44. Said inserts may be fixed into the apertures be any appropriate means, although it is preferred that the inserts 44 and the apertures are sized such that the inserts 44 are retained without additional means. The inserts may be coloured the same or differently, and may be transparenl, translucent or opaque.

The activation switch 20 is operable to receive a sleeve member 32. Said sleeve member 32 is operable to push fit over the switch 20. In certain arrangement the sleeve 32 may be colour coded to match other inserts, such as the insert 26 for the base portion.

Figures 4 and 5 show a further insert 36 for around the window of the water heating appliance. The window insert comprises a plastic moulding that is shaped to fit within a corresponding recess 42 on the body 12 of the water heating appliance. Male and female connectors 38, 40 may also be provided to ensure that the insert is retained in the recess 42.

The handle 14 comprises means to retain a further appropriately shaped insert 34. Said handle insert 34 is adapted to push-fit into an appropriately shaped recess in the handle 14. hi preferred embodiments the handle is coloured differently to the body 12 of the water heating appliance 10, and is preferably coloured the same as other inserts. This arrangement is shown in figure 4. As with the window insert, additional retaining means, such as complimentary male and female connectors, may be provided.

Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the appearance of a water heating appliance according to the present arrangement may be customized according to the preference of a user. For example the handle, base and switch inserts may be coloured blue in a first arrangement and may be interchanged for red inserts to provide the same water heating appliance with a different appearance. Such arrangement has the advantage that an appliance may be modified without the need and expense of purchasing a further appliance. It is envisaged that the inserts would be made available for sale separately to an appliance such that a user has a choice of how to customize or decorate their appliance.

It will be appreciated that some level of customisation may be performed by a manufacturer. Creating one body shape with appropriate recesses formed therein allows for different inserts to be integrated with the appliance to create appliances with differing appearances.

In the interests of safety it is preferred that the choice and integration of the base portion insert is performed by the manufacturer prior to sealing the current carrying components into the appliance. However, it is envisaged that one or more appropriate recesses could be formed in the appliance such that inserts could be releasably engaged in the base portion after sealing the current carrying components into the appliance.

In all of the embodiments, a preferred option is for the inserts to be manufactured from a heat-responsive material, such as heat-responsive plastic. In this arrangement, as the water heating appliance is activated and warms, the insert will change colour.

In a further preferred embodiment, one or each of the inserts may take the form of a lens. In the arrangement shown in figure 6, each of inserts 44 may be a lens. Each lens may be the same, or different.

It will be appreciated that the above describe specific embodiments are described by way of example only and that many modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

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Claims I. A kit of parts comprising: an appliance; and at least one insert operable to releasably engage with said appliance.
2. A kit of parts according to claim 1, wherein said appliance comprises a body, said body comprising one or more locations operable to engage with an insert.
3. A kit of parts according to claim 2, wherein said one or more locations comprises one or more of a base section, a handle, an activation switch, or a viewing window.
4. A kit of parts according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein said body comprises one or more recesses operable to receive an insert.
5. A kit of parts according to any preceding claim, wherein the body of said appliance comprises a base portion that is adapted to receive an insert.
6. A kit of parts according to claim 5, wherein said insert is slidably engagable with an aperture in the base portion.
7. A kit of parts according to any of claims 2 to 6, wherein the body has one or more apertures through which in insert may be seen when said insert is engaged with the appliance.
8. An appliance comprising means to releasably engage with one or more inserts.
9. An appliance according to claim 8, said appliance comprising a body portion with a base section, wherein the insert comprises a moulding operable to engage in said base section.
10. An appliance according to claim 9, wherein said body portion comprises one or more apertures through which the insert is visible.
11. An appliance according to any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the appliance comprises a handle operable to engage with an insert.
12. An appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein the appliance comprises a switch to activate the appliance, said switch operable to engage with an insert.
13. An appliance according to any of claims 8 to 12, wherein said body comprises means to allow the contents therein to be viewed, said appliance

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further comprising means to allow an insert to be engaged about said viewing means.
14. An appliance according to any of claims 8 to 13, further comprising a S handle, said handle being adapted to receive an insert.
15. A plurality of inserts operable to be releasably engaged with an adapted appliance.
16. A plurality of inserts operable to be releasably engaged with an appliance according to any of claims 8 to 14.
17. An appliance comprising a body moulding, said body moulding including a shaped recess operable to be filled by a correspondingly shaped member.
18. An appliance according to claim 17, wherein the body moulding includes one or more apertures through which the insert is visible when engaged with said body moulding.
19. A method of assembling an appliance comprising: moulding an appliance body with a recess; fitting a correspondingly shaped insert into the recess; and sealing the appliance body with said insert retained thereon.
20. A kit of parts comprising: an appliance with a body moulding including a shaped recess;& a plurality of inserts, each operable to fit within said recess.
21. A kit of parts according to claim 20, wherein the body moulding comprises one or more apertures through which said insert is visible when engaged therewith.
22. An appliance as substantially as substantially described with reference to the accompanying drawings.