US20090095754A1

US20090095754A1 - Stackable cover for container

Info

Publication number: US20090095754A1
Application number: US11/870,656
Authority: US
Inventors: Jin-Fung Ralph Liu
Original assignee: Thunder Group Inc
Current assignee: Thunder Group Inc
Priority date: 2007-10-11
Filing date: 2007-10-11
Publication date: 2009-04-16

Abstract

A stackable cover for a container includes a central portion, a peripheral portion, at two recesses, and an opening. The peripheral portion is formed on a peripheral of the central portion. Each of the recess is formed on a top surface of the central portion with a corresponding protruding part formed on a bottom surface of the central portion. At least one protrusion is formed on a side wall of the recess. The opening is formed on a side edge of the peripheral portion and the central portion. The bottom surface of a stackable cover matches the top surface of another stackable cover, wherein the protruding part of the former stackable cover is engaged into the recess of the later the stackable cover, two or more stackable are capable of being stacked and conveniently stored.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cover of a container. More particularly, the present invention relates to a stackable cover capable of being stacked and being conveniently stored.
2. Related Art
Cookware is indispensable in people's daily life. As many cooking methods appeared, for example, pan-frying, boiling, roasting/baking, and deep-frying, various cookware are also brought into the kitchen, and as a result, the kitchen is in disorder and it is difficult to clean up.
Generally, a cooking pot set has two parts, namely, a pot and a cover, in which the cover enables the pot to have better heating efficiency and provides desirable shielding property for the pot as well, so as to prevent foreign objects from falling into the pot during cooking. However, the cover is usually inconvenient for being stored. Particularly, it is difficult for various covers to match with each other, and furthermore, most of the conventional pot covers have protruded handles, so that the covers are difficult for being stacked.
Even if the user uses the same type of covers, the covers have handles, so that the same type of covers still cannot be stacked together. Therefore, the pot covers are difficult for being stored, and a large storage space is occupied. What's worse, the covers may be lost due to the improper storage, and thereby affecting the cooking time of the food, and food sanitation, etc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a stackable cover to solve the problem in the prior art that the cover of a container is difficult to be stored and a large storage space is occupied.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a stackable cover, which includes a central portion, a peripheral portion, at least one recess, and an opening. The peripheral portion is formed around the central portion. The recess is formed on a surface of the central portion corresponding to a protruding part formed on a bottom surface of the central portion. At least one protrusion is formed on a side wall of the recess. The opening is formed on a side edge of the central portion and cuts off the peripheral portion. The bottom surface of a stackable cover matches the top surface of another stackable cover, wherein the protruding part of the former stackable cover is engaged into the recess of the later the stackable cover, two or more stackable are capable of being stacked and conveniently stored.
The stackable cover of the present invention employs two or more recesses to replace the protruded handles on the conventional cover. Therefore, a plurality of stackable covers of the present invention can be stacked together in sequence, so as to eliminate the disadvantages that the protruded handle occupies a large space and the cover cannot be stacked due to the protruded handle. Furthermore, the protrusions in the recess of the present invention provide supporting and anti-slipping effects when the user holds the cover. Therefore, the cover of the present invention has the advantages of being conveniently stored, saving the stacking space, and being tidy and clean.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below for illustration only, which thus is not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a cover according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a side view of the cover according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1C is a perspective view of the stackable cover covering a container according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1D is a cross-sectional view a plurality of stackable cover stacked in sequence according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cover according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cover according to a third embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cover according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order to make the objective, construction, feature, and function of the present invention be more comprehensible, the present invention is described below in detail through embodiments.
Referring to FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, a stackable cover 100 of a first embodiment of the present invention is used to cover a container 150, such as pot, boiler, or steam pan, for cooking and boiling food. Although the container 150 of the present invention takes a cooking pot as an example, the stackable cover 100 of the present invention is not limited to being applied on the cooking pot. The stackable cover 100 of the first embodiment of the present invention includes a central portion 110, a peripheral portion 120, two recesses 130, and an opening 140. The stackable cover 100 is monolithically formed, for example, through die casting process or stamping.
Referring to FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, the peripheral portion 120 is formed around the central portion 110 for contacting and covering on the container 150. Each of the two recesses 130 is formed on a top surface of the central portion 110 corresponding protruding part 131 formed on a bottom surface of the central portion 110. The two recesses 130 are spaced apart by a proper distance, such that the user can simultaneously reach the two recesses 130 with one hand to hold the stackable cover 100. A plurality of protrusions 132 are formed on side walls of the two recesses 130 that are close to each other. In the first embodiment, the protrusions 132 are ribs to provide the supporting and anti-slipping functions when the user reaches the recesses 130 with fingers for holding the stackable cover 100. In addition, the opening 140 is formed on a peripheral edge of the central portion 110 and cuts the of the peripheral portion 120, so as to provide a position for holding filling utensils, for example, a soup spoon 160, while the stackable cover 100 covers the pot central portion 150. The position of the opening 140 is not limited to the above embodiment, and it can be formed at any position on the peripheral edge of the stackable cover 100.
Referring to FIGS. 1A, 1B to 1C, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the central portion 110 is a concave plane structure having a bottom plane 112 and an annular side wall 114, in which the annular side wall 114 is extended and formed on the edge of the bottom plane 112 for surrounding the bottom plane 112 of the central portion 110. In this embodiment, the peripheral portion 120 is extended and formed on the top end of the annular side wall 114, and an included angle which is a right angle is formed between the annular side wall 114 and the peripheral portion 120. In addition, in the first embodiment of the present invention, an outer edge of the peripheral portion 120 further has an edge fold 122, and the edge fold 122 is formed by an outer edge of the peripheral portion 120 folded downward and towards the direction of the container 150, so as to provide desirable covering effects of positioning and anti-leakage when the stackable cover 100 covers the container 150.
In addition, referring to FIG. 1D, when it intends to store more than two stackable covers 100 of the present invention, it merely requires to place an upper stackable cover 100 a on a lower stackable cover 100 b. The bottom surface of the upper stackable cover 100 a matches the top surface of lower stackable cover 100 b. In this way, a bottom plane 112 a of a central portion 110 a of the upper stackable cover 100 a bears against a top end of an annular side wall 114 b of the lower stackable cover 100 b, the protruding part 131 a of the upper stackable cover 100 a is engaged into the recess 130 b of the lower the stackable cover 130 b. The protrusion 132 b also presses against the surface of the recess 130 b of the lower stackable cover 100 b. Therefore, when a plurality of covers 100 a and 100 b is stacked together, they can be mutually fitted and stacked in sequence, so as to greatly reduce the space occupied by the stackable covers, and thus providing much conveniences and stabilities in storing the covers 100 a and 100 b.
Next, referring to FIG. 2, a stackable cover 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention is shown. The stackable cover 200 of the second embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the cover 200 similarly has a central portion 210, a peripheral portion 220, two recesses 230, and an opening 240. The difference there-between lies in that, in the second embodiment, the protrusions 232 on the recess 230 are not a ribs, but a plurality of bumps. The bumps similarly provide the supporting and anti-slipping functions when the user reaches the recess with fingers for holding the stackable cover 200.
Furthermore, referring to FIG. 3, a stackable cover 300 according to a third embodiment of the present invention is shown. The stackable cover 300 of the third embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment. In the third embodiment, the stackable cover 300 similarly has a central portion 310, a peripheral portion 320, recesses 330, and an opening 340. The difference there-between lies in that, the stackable cover 300 of the third embodiment has three recesses 330 spaced apart by a proper distance, and the three recesses 330 are fan-shaped formed on the surface of the central portion 310, and arranged in an annular configuration. Similarly, side walls of the three recesses 330 that are close to each other have protrusions 332 respectively. In this embodiment, the protrusions 332 can be ribs or bumps, so as to provide the supporting and anti-slipping functions when the user reaches the recesses with fingers for holding the stackable cover 300.
Furthermore, referring to FIG. 4, a stackable cover 400 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown. The stackable cover 400 of the fourth embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment. In the fourth embodiment, the stackable cover 400 can be changed into a rectangle-shaped structure so as to fit the shape of the pot central portion.
The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A stackable cover, comprising:

a central portion;

a peripheral portion, formed around the central portion;

two recesses, wherein each of the recess is formed on a top surface of the central portion, a corresponding protruding part is formed on a bottom surface of the central portion, and at least one protrusion is formed on a side wall of each of the recesses; and

an opening, formed on a peripheral edge of the central portion and cutting off the peripheral portion.

2. The stackable cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein the central portion is a concave plane structure having a bottom plane and an annular side wall, and the annular side wall is extended and formed on an edge of the bottom plane.

3. The stackable cover as claimed in claim 2, wherein the peripheral portion is extended and formed on a top end of the annular side wall of the concave plane structure.

4. The stackable cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein the protrusion is a rib.

5. The stackable cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein the protrusion is a bump.

6. The stackable cover as claimed in claim 3, wherein an included angle is formed between the side wall of the concave plane structure and the peripheral portion.

7. The stackable cover as claimed in claim 6, wherein the included angle is a right angle.

8. The stackable cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein an outer edge of the peripheral portion folded downward.

9. The stackable cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stackable cover is formed monolithically.