WO2000025647A1

WO2000025647A1 - A pan for preparing a food product

Info

Publication number: WO2000025647A1
Application number: PCT/NL1999/000660
Authority: WO
Inventors: Marc Spits
Original assignee: Marc Spits
Priority date: 1998-10-30
Filing date: 1999-10-26
Publication date: 2000-05-11
Also published as: AU1188200A

Abstract

A pan for preparing a food product, comprising a bottom (11) and side walls as well as a lid (14) which in use is connected to a member which is connected to and which reaches over the pan, said pan being such that, when placing the product to be prepared on the bottom of the pan, the lid rests on the product, said pan furthermore comprising means (30) connected to said member for, in use, applying a downwardly directed force on the lid so as to apply a similar force on the product. The member comprises a bracket (20) which reaches over the pan, and the means for, in use, applying a downwardly directed force on the lid, comprise a first spring member (31) which is placed between the upper side of the lid (14) and the bracket (20). The side of the first spring member (31) which is directed away from the lid (14) is vertically displaceable by means of an excentrically rotatable adjusting member (33) which couples to the bracket (20) and the said side of the first spring member (31).

Description

A pan for preparing a food product

The present invention relates to a pan for preparing a food product, comprising a bottom and side walls as well as a lid which, in use, is attached to the pan by a member which reaches over the pan, said pan being such that when the product to be pepared is placed on the bottom of the pan the lid rests on top of the product, said pan further comprising means connected to said member for, in use, applying a downwardly directed force on the lid so as to apply a similar force on the product . Such a pan is known from GB-A-2.109.222. The member which reaches over the pan consists of a lever mechanism to be connected to the handle of said pan. At the end of said lever mechanism which reaches over the pan, means for exerting a force on the lid in use are connected. Said means should be adjusted to the product to be prepared before using the pan, after which the lid is placed on the product by means of the lever mechanism and a force is exerted on the said product. However, said known pan is bulky and extremely clumsy to use. Furthermore, adjustment of the means for exerting a force on the product to be prepared very difficult and there is a fair chance that no or too high a force is exerted on the product .

The present invention aims at overcoming the disadvantages of the known pan as mentioned above. To this end, the present invention relates to a pan, which is characterized in that the member comprises a bracket which reaches over the pan, and that the means for, in use, exerting a downwardly directed force on the lid, comprise a first spring member which is placed between the upper side of the lid and the bracket. So as to be able to adjust the force exerted on the product to be prepared, according to a preferred embodiment the length of the first spring member is adjustable in use for adjusting the magnitude of the downwardly directed force. This can easily be obtained if the side of the first spring member which is directed away from the lid, is adjustable vertically, which can easily be attained when the said side of the first spring member is displacable vertically by means of an excentrically rotatable adjusting member coupled to the bracket and the said side of the first spring member. Preferably, the adjusting member comprises a lever for yielding good handling properties .

The lid can be moved downwardly with respect to the bracket by means of the excentrically rotatable adjusting element. So as to make sure that the lid moves upward upon rotating the adjusting member back, a second spring member is coupled to the bracket and the said side of the first spring member for securing a constant coupling of the adjusting member with the bracket and the said side of the first spring member . According to an efficient embodiment of the pan, the first and/or the second spring member consist of a spiral spring.

According to a preferred embodiment of the pan, wherein the member which reaches over the pan is removably attached to the pan, the bracket possesses at least ends which can be connected to the pan. This enables a stable connection of the bracket to the pan, while at the same time a relatively lightweight bracket can be used.

According to other possible embodiments of the pan comprising such bracket, at least one end of the bracket can be connected to the pan by means of a hok connection (a fastener) , connectable by means of a locking mechanism, or wherein at least one end of the bracket is connectable to the pan by clasping around the edge of the pan.

The invention will now be described by means of the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like or similar components.

Fig. 1 shows a cross section of the frying pan according to the present invention,

Fig. 2 shows means for exerting an adjustable downwardly directed force on the lid of a pan, and

Fig. 3 shows another way for connecting the bracket to the pan. The frying pan 10 as shown in Fig. 1 comprises a bottom 12 and a handle 13. Furthermore, the frying pan 10 comprises a lid 14. At the bottom 11 of the pan 10, a product 1 is placed on which the lid 14 rests. Said product 1 may be e.g. a fish or a piece of meat, such as poultry, however, other kinds of food products are possible as well. Because of the downwardly directed force which is exerted on the lid 14, a downwardly directed force is exerted on the product 1 as well. Said force is obtained by means of the means 30 which are connected to the lid 14 and a bracket 20 which reaches over the pan.

Between the side walls 12 and the lid 14 an opening 15 is provided, so as to render it possible that vapour and gases which are yielded during the preparation of the product 1 can escape from the pan 10. Preferably, the side walls 12 are higher than the product 1, and the lid is replacable whithin the space between the side walls 12. Vapours which are yielded during the preparation can escape from the frying pan, whereas the size of the opening 15 can de made small enough so as to keep the heat and spluttering fat whithin the pan. The means 30 as shown in Fig. 1 for exerting a downwardly directed force on the lid 14, comprise a a spiral spring as a single first spring member 31 which is placed between the bracket 20 and the lid 14. If the lid 14 is placed on the product 1 which has been put in the pan and the bracket 20 is connected to the pan, the first spring member will be compressed, which leads to a force which aims at driving away from each other the bracket 20 and the lid, and which therefore leads to a downwardly directed force exerted on the lid 14 and, so, on the food product 1. A further elaborated embodiment of the means 30 for exerting a downwardly directed force is shown enlarged in Fig. 2, wherein the lid 14 and the bracket 20 are shown only partly. The embodiment as shown in this figure comprises a first spring member 31, the lowest end of which is connected to the lid by means of a part 37 which is placed inbetween the said components. The upper end of the first spring member 31 is connected to a part 36 which is movable between the lid 14 ans the bracket 20, and which can be moved downwardly by means of an excentrically rotatable adjusting member 33. Said adjusting member 33 is rotatable excentrically around an axis 34 which is coupled to a part 35, said part 35 being connected to the bracket 20. Furthermore, two second spring members 32 are providedwhich are connected to parts 35 and 36, such that part 36 is coupled to adjusting member 33 by a certain force. Said second spring members 32 exert a pushing force in the shown embodiments. This way, it is ascertained that part 35 does not only move downwardupon rotation of adjusting member 33, but will also move upward because of the pushing force of the second spring members 32 when said adjusting member 33 is rotated back.

In the embodiment shown, the first ans second spring member consist of spiral springs which are guided in caves which are provided in part 37. Said second spring members are guided along rods 38 as well. In Fig. 2 only a single first spring member 31 is shown. It should be understood that e.g. two first spring members 31 can be used, which are placed symmetrically alongside the centre of part 35, as shown with regard to the two second spring members 32.

The bracket 20 as shown in Fig. 1 hitches at one side to a part 21 which is connected to the pan and which comprises a matching opening. The other end of the bracket 20 can be connected to the handle 13 of the pan 10. Since two ends of the bracket 20 are connected to the pan 10, a relatively low- weight bracket suffices. It is also possible to use a bracket which is connected to the pan at only one end, however, in such an embodiment said bracket should be more rigid, and therefore heavier. Fig. 3 shows a further embodiment for connecting the bracket 20 to the pan. Since the side walls 12 of the pan 10 usually diverge towards their upper edges, the ends of the bracket can be formed such so as to grip beneath the edges of the side walls 12. When exerting the downwardly directed force on the lid 14, the ends of the bracket 20 will then press against (or clamp around) the side walls 12 of the pan 10. Furthermore, it is remarked that such an embodiment of the bracket 20 can be provided with more than two ends, e.g. three ends, for obtaining a more stable grip on the side walls 12. There are many different ways for connecting the bracket 20 to the pan 10.

The embodiments described above and as shown in the drawings are not limitative with regards to the scope of the invention. Within the scope of the invention and the appending claims, many alterations and modifications to the pan are possible, which all belong to the invention.

Claims

1. A pan for preparing a food product, comprising a bottom and side walls as well as a lid which, in use, is attached to a member which is connected to and reaches over the pan, said pan being such that when the product to be pepared is placed on the bottom of the pan the lid rests on top of said product, said pan further comprising means connected to said member for, in use, applying a downwardly directed force on the lid so as to apply a similar force on the product, characterized in that the member comprises a bracket (20) which reaches over the pan, and that the means for, in use, applying a downwardly directed force on the lid, comprise a first spring member (31) which is placed between the upper side of the lid (14) and the bracket (20) .

2. A pan according to claim 1, wherein said force is adjustable, characterized in that the length of the first spring member (31) is adjustable during use, for adjustment of the magnitude of the downwardly directed force .

3. A pan according to claim 2 , characterized in that the side of the first spring member (31) which is directed away from the lid (14) is vertically displacable.

4. A pan according to claim 3 , characterized in that the said side of the spring member (31) is vertically displacable by means of a excentrically rotatable adjusting member (33) which couples to the bracket (20) and the said side of the first spring member (31) .

5. A pan according to claim 4, characterized in that the adjusting member (33) comprises a handle.

6. A pan according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that a second spring member (32) is provided which is coupled to the bracket (20) and the said side of the first spring member (31) for maintaining the adjusting member (33) in continuous contact with the bracket (20) and with the said sides of the first spring member (31) .

7. A pan according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first spring member (31) is a spiral spring .

8. A pan according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the second spring member (32) is a spiral spring.

9. A pan according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the bracket which reaches over the pan is detachably connectable to the pan, characterized in that the bracket (20) comprises at least two ends which are connectable to the pan.

10. A pan according to claim 9, characterized in that at least one end of the bracket (20) is connectable to the pan by means of a hook-type mechanism.

11. A pan according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that at least one end of the bracket (20) is connectable to the pan by means of a locking mechanism.

12. A pan according to claim 9, 10 or 11, characterized in that at least one end of the bracket (20) can be connected to the circumference of the pan by means of a clamping mechanism.