WO1999021463A2

WO1999021463A2 - Lid and utensil holder

Info

Publication number: WO1999021463A2
Application number: PCT/US1998/022674
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dong Jin Hong
Original assignee: S. Michael Nostrant & Associates, Inc.
Priority date: 1997-10-24
Filing date: 1998-10-23
Publication date: 1999-05-06
Also published as: KR19990016276U; WO1999021463A3; AU1279299A

Abstract

A holding apparatus (10) for kitchen and other utensils which provides a sanitary surface upon which to place the utensils is disclosed. The holding apparatus (10) of the present invention provides a holder member (13) having a holding portion for retaining utensils therein that is attached to a body member having a utensil receiving portion for utensils thereon. In the desired configuration, kitchen utensils and cooking lids may be placed upon the holding apparatus (10) in distinct positions, keeping the utensils and lids clean and also preventing harmful contact with hot lids. The holding apparatus (10) may also include a prop device to elevate the apparatus above a given surface or to attach the apparatus to a wall. The holder member (13) of the holding apparatus (10) of the present invention may also be hingeably attached to the body member so as to be foldable when not in use.

Description

LID AND UTENSIL HOLDER

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to improvements in the kitchen utensil arts, particularly, to improvements in holders for holding utensils such as soup dippers and pot lids, keeping such utensils free from contamination and away from children who could get injured.

Background and Objects of the Present Invention

Rice is an important staple of Oriental society and is even part of Oriental culture since families typically cook and eat rice and soup together. The cooking and eating utensils used, e.g., dippers and lids, are placed on separate dishes or sometimes upon the dining table or other surfaces where the respective utensils may contact dirt or other foreign contaminants, thereby becoming unsanitary. Furthermore, by laying the utensils upon the eating surface near family members there is the possibility of young children getting burned by touching hot cooking utensils.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved lid and utensil holder for preventing contamination of the lids and utensils, e.g., dippers for seaweed soup, during use, thereby maintaining a sanitary eating environment.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved lid and utensil holder for preventing harmful contact with hot lids and utensils .

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved lid and utensil holder that reduces the amount of dishwashing by providing an alternative and improving utensil holding surface, thereby eliminating or minimizing the number of dishes previously used to hold the aforementioned lids and utensils. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved holder apparatus for holding a variety of lids and utensils, and which is readily adaptable for the various usages.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved holding apparatus which, through use of a wall mount, may be attached to a wall, thereby creating more table space for dining which is particularly useful in smaller homes and apartments .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a holding apparatus for kitchen and other utensils which provides a sanitary surface upon which to place the utensils. The holding apparatus of the present invention provides a holder member having a holding portion for retaining utensils therein that is attached to a body member having a utensil receiving portion for receiving utensils thereon. In the desired configuration, kitchen utensils and cooking lids may be placed upon the holding apparatus in distinct positions, keeping the utensils and lids clean and also preventing harmful contact with hot lids. The holding apparatus may also include a prop device to elevate the apparatus above a given surface or to attach the apparatus to a wall . The holder member of the holding apparatus of the present invention may also be hingeably attached to the body member so as to be foldable when not in use. A more complete appreciation of the present invention and the scope thereof can be obtained from the accompanying drawings which are briefly summarized below, the following detailed description of the presently-preferred embodiments of the invention, and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the method and apparatus of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the following Detailed Description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the holder apparatus of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective, partial underside view of the holder apparatus illustrated in FIGURE 1; FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the holder apparatus of FIGURE 1 with a dipper placed thereon, illustrating an advantage of the present invention in holding kitchen utensils;

FIGURE 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the holder apparatus of FIGURE 1 with a lid placed thereon, illustrating an alternative advantage of the present invention in holding kitchen utensils or cooking appliances;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the holder apparatus of FIGURE 1 with a first prop support device elevating the holder apparatus from a support surface;

FIGURE 6 is a side cross-sectional view of the holder apparatus of FIGURES 1 and 4 with a second prop support device suspending the holder apparatus from a wall surface;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the holder apparatus of FIGURE 1 in another configuration;

FIGURE 8 is an exploded, perspective view of the holder apparatus of FIGURE 1 ; and

FIGURE 9 is a side view of the holder apparatus of FIGURE 1 in a folded configuration. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. With reference now to FIGURE 1, there is shown a perspective view of the holder apparatus of the present invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 10, which includes a body 11 and a holder 13. A dipper A with a spoon portion B and a handle portion C may be placed upon the holder apparatus 10 in the manner shown in FIGURE 3 so that the handle portion C leans against a "V" or holding portion 14 of the holder 13, safely cradling the dipper A or other such utensil therebetween. As also shown in FIGURE 3, the spoon portion B rests upon a rest portion 12 of the body 11. An underside portion of the holder apparatus 10 is shown in FIGURE 2 and described in more detail hereinafter.

With reference now to FIGURE 4, there is illustrated the usage of the holder apparatus 10 of the present invention for different kitchen utensils, e.g., pot or pan lids, which must also be kept clean and offer potential hazards if hot. As illustrated in FIGURE 4, a cover or lid D (shown in outline) leans against the included holder 13 and a handle portion E of the lid D rests within the V holding portion 14 of the holder. A stop member 19 formed along the body 11 also acts to prevent the lid D from slipping out of a grooved portion 20 of the holder apparatus 10, as illustrated in FIGURE 4.

As shown in FIGURES 1-4, the holder apparatus 10 is in a particular configuration well-suited for handling ordinary culinary duties, e.g., safely cradling a dipper A or a hot pot lid D. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the holder 13 is hingeably attached to the body 11 and rotates about a pin 23, as shown in FIGURE 8. When in use, however, it is clearly desired that the holder apparatus 10 maintain its configuration. In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the holder 13 is fixedly attached to the body 11 and holds utensils in alternative positions. With reference now to FIGURE 7, the holder apparatus 10 is shown partially rotated from the configuration illustrated in FIGURES 1-4. As shown in FIGURE 7, a first projection 16 is revealed which, when in the configuration shown in FIGURES 1-4, engages a fixing hole 17, providing a first measure of protection in maintaining the preferred configuration illustrated in FIGURE 1. With reference again to FIGURE 2, i.e., the underside view of a portion of the holding apparatus 10 in FIGURE 1, the holder 13 is shown joined with the body 11. In particular, the holder 13 engages slots or grooves 15 and abuts a second projection 18. By combination of these two engagement mechanisms, the holder apparatus 10 of the present invention can maintain the practical configuration shown in FIGURE 3 indefinitely, e.g., for the duration of a meal, and until manually disengaged, which although relatively easy for the user is prevented by the engagement mechanisms . With reference again to FIGURE 8, the pin 23, which acts as a hinge or rotation point about which the holder 13 rotates, preferably has an elastic spring 22 or other urging member to cause the holder 13 to tend to a particular configuration, e.g., the one shown in FIGURE 1, providing even further assurance that the holder apparatus 10 will retain the desired configuration.

With further reference to FIGURE 1 (and other figures) , a number of grooves 21 may be formed along an edge of the rest portion 12 of the body 11, e.g., for holding chopsticks or other eating utensils. In operation, after using the dipper A for seaweed or other soup, as illustrated and described hereinabove in connection with FIGURE 3, the spoon portion B is placed upon the rest portion 12 of the holding apparatus 10. The handle portion C is placed within the aforementioned "V" holding portion 14 configuration at a particular angle. It should be understood that the holder 13 is preferably secured in this particular configuration to support the dipper A or other utensil by affixing the holder 13 onto the aforedescribed second projection 18, described in connection with FIGURE 2, thereby providing a safe and clean surface upon which to deposit the dipper A and other utensils. Similarly, when placing a lid D upon the holding apparatus 10 of the present invention, as illustrated and described hereinabove in connection with FIGURE 4, the lid D is safely held in place by the holding portion 14, within which the handle portion E rests, and the stop member 19 acts to retain the lid D onto the holding apparatus 10. Through utilization of the above configurations of the holding apparatus 10, the desired level of cleanliness, sanitization and safety is achieved.

With reference now to FIGURE 5, there is illustrated the holding apparatus 10 of FIGURE 1 with the dipper A thereon (as illustrated in more detail in FIGURE 3) with a vertical prop device 24. It should be understood that the vertical prop device 24, illustrated as two legs in FIGURE 5, is preferably hingeably attached to the underside of body 11 and preferably folds substantially flush with the underside of body 11. As is apparent from the figure, the vertical prop device 24 elevates the holding apparatus of the present invention a particular height from the surface upon which the vertical prop device 24 rests, e.g., from the tabletop upon which the family is eating or any other kitchen or other surface. The advantage of using the vertical prop device 24 whether indoors or outdoors is clear: keeping the dipper A or other utensils away from dirt and other ground-based contaminates . With reference now to FIGURE 6, there is illustrated the holding apparatus 10 of FIGURE 1 with the lid D situated thereon (as illustrated in more detail in FIGURE 4) with a horizontal, wall-mounted prop device 25, which, as with the vertical prop device 24, attaches to the underside of body 11, e.g., under the rest portion 12. When utilized, the horizontal prop device 25 also elevates the holding apparatus of the present invention from a surface, e.g., the floor. In particular, the horizontal prop device 25 is preferably attached to a wall, via a conventional wall mounting, to create additional eating space on an otherwise crowded table. The holding apparatus 10 of the present invention when placed upon the horizontal prop device 25 then hangs from the wall. The dipper A, as described above, and the lid D can, therefore, be kept not only away from contaminated surfaces but from the hands of children who would otherwise be susceptible to burns and other injury from inadvertent or other contact with hot utensils.

It should be understood that although the particular configuration for the holder apparatus 10 in FIGURE 1 is preferred, additional configurations of the holder apparatus 10 are possible. For example, in FIGURE 7 there is illustrated another configuration of the holder 13 in relation to the body 11.

With reference now to FIGURE 9, there is illustrated a final configuration of the holder apparatus 10 of the present invention employed when it is not in use. As illustrated, the holder apparatus 10 preferably conveniently folds up or collapses for storage. To achieve this configuration, the holder 13 is preferably further rotated about the fixed pin 23 to the more compact position shown in FIGURE 9. As also illustrated, the body 11 preferably has an anti-slippage member affixed to the underside thereof, e.g., a piece of rubber, which prevents the holder apparatus from sliding upon a table surface and causing damage or harm. Although preferred embodiments of the system and method of the present invention have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing detailed description, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutions without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth and defined by the following claims .

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A holder apparatus comprising: a body member having a utensil receiving portion therein for receiving utensils thereon; and a holder member, attached to said body member, said holder member having a holding portion for retaining said utensils therein.

2. The holder apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said holder member is hingeably attached to said body member, said holder apparatus further comprising: engagement means for engaging said body member and said holder member in a first configuration.

3. The holder apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said body member further comprises a stop means for securing said utensils onto said holder apparatus .

4. The holder apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said engagement means comprises a first projection extending from said holder member and a receiving portion within said body member for engaging said first projection when said holder apparatus is in said first configuration.

5. The holder apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein said engagement means comprises a second projection extending from said body member, said holder member abutting said second projection when in said first configuration.

6. The holder apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein said body member has a plurality of grooves about said second projection for receiving said holder member therein.

7. The holder apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said receiving portion comprises a plurality of utensil receiving grooves therein.

8. The holder apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: prop means, attached to said body member, for propping said holder apparatus above a given surface.

9. The holder apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said prop means comprises a pair of foldable legs which when deployed elevate said holder apparatus above and atop said given surface .

10. The holder apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said prop means comprises a wall mount means which when deployed attaches said holder apparatus to a wall and above said given surface.

11 The holder apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a pin, attached to said body member and said holder member, said pin hingeably connecting said holding member to said body member.

12. The holder apparatus according to claim

11, further comprising: urging means, attached to said pin, for urging said holder member and said body member to said first configuration. lS . The holder apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein said body member and said holder member hingeably rotate to a folded configuration.

14. The holder apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said body member and said holder member engage in a second configuration.

15. The holder apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: anti-slip means, attached to an under surface of said body member, for preventing slippage of said holder apparatus upon a surface.

16. The holder apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said holding portion of said holder member comprises a V-shape for retaining at least one of said utensils positioned within said V-shape.