WO2013030704A1

WO2013030704A1 - A lid for a pan

Info

Publication number: WO2013030704A1
Application number: PCT/IB2012/054127
Authority: WO
Inventors: Willem Adrian Johannes ENGELBRECHT
Original assignee: Engelbrecht Willem Adrian Johannes
Priority date: 2011-08-26
Filing date: 2012-08-14
Publication date: 2013-03-07
Also published as: ZA201106282B

Abstract

A lid (8) for a wide concave pan (24) is provided. The lid includes a body (10) with a domed shape and an inner and an outer surface (14). A raised structure (50) is fixed to the outer surface, the raised structure including at least one rod (18) extending at a generally perpendicular angle from the outer surface and terminating in a base (52) comprising a part-circular ring and having a gap through which a person can insert their hand to reach a handle (22) fixed to the outer surface of the body. The lid can be placed on the pan in a first position with the inner surface facing downwards to cover a part of the pan, and the lid can be inverted into a second position in which the inner surface faces upwards and the raised structure provides a pedestal to stably support the lid.

Description

A LID FOR A PAN

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a lid for a pan, and more particularly to a lid for a wide concave pan such as the pans used in conjunction with portable gas cookers.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

The use of portable gas cookers is a popular way of preparing food, especially when camping or enjoying the outdoors. Wide concave woks or pans are also commonly used in conjunction with portable gas cookers, especially for stir frying purposes.

When preparing food in these wide concave pans, it is sometimes necessary to close an upper surface of the pan with a lid in order to prepare the foods and ingredients as desired. The applicant is not aware of any lids specifically designed for this purpose, and although any pan lid could generally be used, such lids may not be shaped appropriately or be sufficiently large.

When preparing food, it is often necessary to lift the lid from the pan for various reasons such as adding ingredients, regulating the cooking process or stirring the ingredients. When removing the lid from the pan, it is hard and uncomfortable to keep the lid in one hand while adding ingredients or stirring the ingredients with the other. While preparing the ingredients, due to condensation, water builds up on the inner surface of the lid. When placing the lid on a work surface such as a kitchen bench top, this water can cause the work surface to get wet and may be unhygienic.

Most lids known in the prior art have handles generally in the centre of their outer surfaces. When placing such a lid on a work surface upside down, it might be difficult to grab hold of the handle in order to replace the lid on the pan. Due to the shape of the handle, the lid is sometimes unstable and difficult to handle.

When preparing food outdoors, as is often the case with gas cookers, there is generally no surface on which to place the lid, and placing the lid on the ground is undesirable as it is unhygienic and often the surface is rough and uneven and could cause damage to the lid.

A further disadvantage relating to the use of gas cookers is that no means is provided for supporting the pan when dishing up. Usually the pan is left on the gas cooker and the gas cooker must either be moved to where people are eating, which may be awkward especially for larger gas cookers, or people must walk to the gas cooker for dishing up.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention there is provided a lid for a pan, the lid comprising a body with a domed shape and having an inner surface and an outer surface, wherein a raised structure is fixed to the outer surface of the body, and wherein the lid can be placed on the pan in a first position with the inner surface facing downwards to cover a part of the pan, and wherein the lid can be inverted into a second position in which the inner surface faces upwards and the raised structure provides a pedestal to stably support the lid on a generally flat surface, the lid providing a stand for the pan when in the second position.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the lid is for use in conjunction with a wide concave pan such as a wok or pan used with a gas cooker. The domed shaped body of the lid may be more concave than the pan and the invention may provide for a handle to be fixed to the outer surface of the body. The handle can be fixed in generally the centre of the outer surface of the body, but it is appreciated that the location of the handle may be anywhere on the outer surface of the body of the lid. It will also be appreciated that more than one handle can be fixed to the outer surface of the body of the lid.

The body of the lid may be manufactured from aluminium, but various other materials may be used for manufacturing the body of the lid.

The raised structure may include one or more rods extending at a generally perpendicular angle from the outer surface of the body, terminating in a base comprising a strip of stiff material generally perpendicular to the at least one rod. In one embodiment the base may be a ring. In an alternative embodiment the base may be part-circular to provide an opening through which a person can reach the lid without touching the raised structure. The raised structure may be manufactured from a wide range of materials, such as stainless steel.

In one embodiment of the invention the space between the base of the raised structure and the body of the lid is sufficient for a person to handle the lid without touching the outer surface of the body of the lid.

The inner surface of the body of the lid may be smoothed by various smoothing methods and the body of the lid may be polished by buffing it with a rotating wheel that has been loaded with a buffing compound.

These and other features, objectives and advantages of the invention will be better understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of an embodiment of the present invention and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described, by way of example only with reference to the accompanying representations in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a lid according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the lid of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the lid of Figure 1 in use in conjunction with a pan and a gas cooker, the lid being in a first position;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the lid of Figure 1 in an inverted, second position in which it provides a stand for the pan ;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a lid according to an alternative embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 6 is a side elevation of the lid of Figure 5 in an inverted, second position in which it provides a stand for the pan.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 to 4, a lid (8) for a pan (24) includes a body (10) with a domed shape, the body (10) having an inner surface (not shown) and an outer surface (14). The lid also has a raised structure (1 6) fixed to the outer surface (14) of the body (10) of the lid (8).

In this embodiment, the raised structure (1 6) comprises four rods (18) extending at a generally perpendicular angle from the outer surface (14) of the body (10), the rods (18) terminating in a base (20) comprising a strip of stiff material (in this embodiment a ring) generally perpendicular to the rods (18). The space between the base (20) of the raised structure (16) and the body (10) of the lid (8) is sufficient for a person handling the lid to handle the lid without touching the body (10) of the lid (8). In this preferred embodiment the raised structure (16) is manufactured from stainless steel. A handle (22) is also fixed to the outer surface (14) of the body (10) of the lid (8).

As illustrated in Figure 3, the lid (8) can be used in conjunction with a pan, such as a wide concave pan (24) used in conjunction with a gas cooker, the gas cooker supporting the wide concave pan (24) on a skirt (26) which also acts as a wind barrier for a burner, which is connected to a gas cylinder (28) by a pipe (30). The lid (8) can be placed on the wide concave pan (24) in a first position with the inner surface of the body (10) of the lid (8) facing downwards to cover a part of the wide concave pan (24). In this embodiment, the body (10) is manufactured from aluminium.

Figure 4 shows the lid (8) inverted into a second position in which the inner surface faces upwards. In this position, the raised structure (16) provides a pedestal to stably support the lid (8) on a generally flat surface in order for the lid (8) to provide a stand for the pan (24). The pan (24) can then be placed on the inner surface of the body (10) of the lid (8). In this embodiment, the domed shaped body (10) of the lid (8) is more concave than that of the wide concave pan (24) so that the actual points of support are along the rim of the lid.

Figure 5 and 6 show an alternative embodiment of the invention which is similar to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 and like reference numerals refer to like features or elements. In this embodiment, the raised structure (50) comprises one rod (18) extending at a generally perpendicular angle from the outer surface (14) of the body (10), the rod (18) terminating in a base (52) comprising a part-circular strip. The ends (54) of the part-circular strip are bent downward at a generally perpendicular angle to the part- circular strip and terminate at the outer surface of the body, thereby providing two additional supports (56) for the part-circular strip. The opening in the part-circular strip between the two supports (56) is of a sufficient size so that a person can easily reach the lid without touching the raised structure.

The invention as described with reference to the drawings provides an effective way of covering foods and ingredients on a pan while preparing the foods and ingredients and further provides a supporting surface and stand for a pan when dishing up.

It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but may vary without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed. For example, the raised structure may comprise two or three rods, or even one rod, terminating in a base. Alternatively, the raised structure could have no base at all, in which case the raised structure could simply be a number of legs or pins projecting from the outer surface of the lid. It will also be appreciated that other materials may be used for manufacturing the body or the raised structure. More than one handle may be provided, or no handle at all in which case the raised structure could be used for lifting the lid.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1 . A lid (8) for a pan (24) comprising a body (10) with a domed shape and having an inner surface and an outer surface (14), characterized in that a raised structure (1 6, 50) is fixed to the outer surface of the body, and wherein the lid can be placed on the pan in a first position in which inner surface faces downwards to cover a part of the pan, and wherein the lid can be inverted into a second position in which the inner surface faces upwards and the raised structure provides a pedestal to stably support the lid on a generally flat surface, the inner surface of the lid providing a stand for the pan when the lid is in the second position.

2. A lid as claimed in claim 1 in which the pan is a wide concave pan used in conjunction with a gas cooker.

3. A lid as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the pan has less concavity than the domed shape of the body of the lid, so that when the lid is in the second position with the raised structure resting on the generally flat surface and the inner surface facing upwards, the lid provides a stand for the pan by means of the pan resting along a rim of the inner surface of the lid.

4. A lid as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which a handle (22) is fixed to the outer surface (14) of the body and the raised structure (1 6, 50) extends beyond the height of the handle.

5. A lid as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the raised structure (1 6, 50) includes at least one rod (18) extending at a generally perpendicular angle from the outer surface of the body (14), the at least one rod terminating in a base (20, 52) comprising an elongate of stiff material generally perpendicular to the at least one rod.

6. A lid as claimed in claim 5 in which the raised structure includes at least three rods (18) and the base is a ring (20) fixed to all of the rods.

7. A lid as claimed in claim 5 in which the base is a part-circular ring (52) with a gap through which a person can insert their hand to reach a handle (22) fixed to the outer surface (14) of the body of the lid.

8. A lid as claimed in claim 7 in which the part-circular ring has its free ends (54) bent towards the outer surface (14) of the body and connected to the body.

9. A lid as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the raised structure (1 6, 50) is of sufficient height so that, with the lid in the second position in which the raised structure rests on the generally flat surface, a person's hand can reach a handle (22) fixed to the outer surface (14) of the body of the lid without touching the possibly hot outer surface of the body of the lid.

10. A lid as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the raised structure (16, 50) is manufactured from stainless steel.

1 1 . A lid as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the body (10) of the lid is manufactured from aluminium.