WO2014101960A1

WO2014101960A1 - A cooking appliance comprising a handling means

Info

Publication number: WO2014101960A1
Application number: PCT/EP2012/077097
Authority: WO
Inventors: Serdar Turkoz; Mehmet Murat MAMATOGLU
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2012-12-28
Filing date: 2012-12-28
Publication date: 2014-07-03

Abstract

The present invention pertains to a gas cooker having a polymer-based sheet metal plate handling means. Said sheet metal plate handling means comprises an elementary linearly extending edge handling means (2) having a first side wall (6) and a second side wall (8) bridged by a base portion (7) for longitudinally receiving a sharp edge portion of a sheet metal plate. Said elementary edge handling means further comprises at least one fixing means (4,5) disposed on said first or second side walls.

Description

A COOKING APPLIANCE COMPRISING A HANDLING MEANS

The present invention pertains to a cooking appliance comprising a handling means more particularly to a plastics-based means for handling, i.e. holding and carrying the same by said plastics-based means designed as U-shaped holding means covering sharp edges of said cooking appliance.

Sheet metal plates are processed to obtain a variety of constructional elements, depending on the specific industry and good to be manufactured. Among others, white goods such as refrigerators, freezers, dehumidifiers, air conditioners, washing machines etc, require industrial processing of such sheet metals by various manufacturing techniques known to the persons skilled in the art.

It is a very common occurrence that such metal sheet plates may be needed to be handled in a manufacturing plant, for instance for carrying those to a specific production station or to a warehouse for storing. In sum, such sheets are needed to be hold by hand at some point of production processes. Such plates being generally heavy and occupying large volumes to the extent that they can only be carried by at least a couple of workers, this may pose a risk of injury for workers grasping sharp edges thereof, said sharp edges generally extending from one end to the other, not leaving a more convenient part by which one can hold it up.

To that end, the present invention provides a solution to the aforementioned problem, namely in the form of a sheet metal plate handling means which enables safe handling of sharp edge sheet metals, i.e. enabling handling of such sheets without incurring occupational accidents with physical harm, as defined in the characterizing portion of Claim 1.

Further, the present invention provides a cooking appliance particularly gas burner having such handling means. Handling means normally used in manufacturing plants are preserved on the final products, i.e. cooking appliance equipped with such handling means and marketed and sold as such.

Primary object of the present invention is to provide a cooking appliance comprising a handling means providing safer handling while holding the same by sharp edges thereof.

The present invention proposes a cooking appliance comprising polymer-based handling means for covering edges of such appliance during transport by hand. The handling means comprises an elementary edge handling means which is designed as a U-profile in the transverse direction. The open side of the cavity can therefore accommodate an edge portion of a cooking appliance produced by a sheet metal plate such that said edge portion is not directly touchable from the outside. It is therefore ensured that occupational accidents in relation with manual transporting razor sharp edge of the cooking appliance can be eliminated to a substantial extent.

The elementary edge handling means has a first side wall and a second side wall integrally connected by a base portion, the latter longitudinally receiving the very edge portions of said cooking appliances. Said elementary edge handling means further comprises a plurality of fixing means oppositely disposed on said first or second side walls for fixing said elementary edge handling means on a sharp edge portion of the cooking appliance.

Said fixing means can provide fixing with or without a bolt. A sheet metal plate having suitable screw holes such as those including but not limited to a cooking appliance flat sheet can be used to this effect. Further, fixing can also be implemented by means of a snap-fit fixing means having a snap-fit extension bent portion in the form of a flexible tongue which can displaceably be positioned relative to the position of said edge portion of the cooking appliance against which the same bears.

A sheet metal plate as a cooking appliance flat sheet having peripheral skirt portions in the form of right angled bent parts around a large flat part in the center can be handled by the handling means of the invention. This is due to the fact that, in the event that the cooking appliance to be handled has bent skirt portions instead of a fully planar surface sheet, said snap-fit fixing means can provide additional fixation effect while the head portion of said fixing means bears up against the central surface of said cooking appliance.

Further said flexible tongue of said snap-fit fixing means can be bent to fit in through an opening whereby said flexible tongue exerts a greater squeezing force on an edge portion of a cooking appliance.

Said handling means may also be designed to be integrated with a corner portion which covers a corner such that a cooking appliance can be handled thereby. A plurality of handling means can be connected to each other to have longer edge portions covered.

Accompanying drawings are given solely for the purpose of exemplifying a cooking appliance handling means whose advantages over prior art were outlined above and will be explained in brief hereinafter. The drawings are not meant to delimit the scope of protection as identified in the claims nor should they be referred to alone in an effort to interpret the scope identified in said claims without recourse to the technical disclosure in the description of the present invention.

Fig. 1 demonstrates a perspective view of a cooking appliance flat sheet with handling means in the periphery thereof according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 demonstrates the cooking appliance flat sheet of Fig. 1 with handling means being mounted according to the present invention.

Fig. 3 demonstrates another perspective view of a cooking appliance flat sheet in a reversed orientation with handling means being mounted.

Fig. 4 demonstrates a perspective view of an elementary edge handling means with a corner extension according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 demonstrates a perspective view of an elementary edge handling means intermediary member according to the present invention.

The following numerals are assigned to different parts demonstrated in the drawings:

(1) Cooking appliance

(2) Elementary edge handling means

(3) Intermediary member

(4) Bearing fixing means

(5) Snap-fit fixing means

(6) First side wall

(7) Base

(8) Second side wall

(9) Support extension

(10) Snap-fit extension bent portion

(11) Snap-fit extension opening

(12) Corner extension

(13) Snap-fit extension head portion

The present invention features a cooking appliance, for instance a gas cooker having a polymer-based sheet metal plate handling means for covering linearly extending sharp edges of said gas cooker during transport by hand as well as during use in installed form. Figures 1 to 3 demonstrate a cooking appliance flat sheet having a substantially planar large surface with bent skirt portions in the periphery thereof.

The cooking appliance (1) handling means of the invention comprises an elementary linearly extending U-profile edge handling means (2) having a first side wall (6) and a second side wall (8), said first and second side walls (6, 8) being bridged by a base (7) portion for longitudinally receiving a sharp edge portion of a cooking appliance (1). Therefore said transversely U-shaped structure ensures that a linearly extending sharp edge of a cooking appliance (1) is conveniently received into the longitudinal cavity of the U-shaped structure, whereby safer handling by workers is possible as direct contact with said sharp edges is eliminated.

Referring to the exemplary embodiments as in Figures 1 to 3, the cooking appliance (1) handling means of the invention is mounted on the bent skirt portions of a cooking appliance (1) flat sheet, with the U-shaped structure longitudinally covering the outermost sharp edge portions of said bent skirt portions.

The elementary edge handling means of the invention comprises at least one fixing means (4, 5) disposed on said first or second side walls (6, 8) for effecting fixing of said elementary edge handling means on said sharp edge portion of a sheet metal plate. Said fixing means (4, 5) may be in the form of a bearing type fixing means (4) with a bearing hole through which a bolt is screwed or in the form of a snap-fit fixing means (5) as explained below.

Said snap-fit fixing means (5) has a snap-fit extension bent portion (10) bearing against a sharp edge portion of a sheet metal plate such that the latter is squeezed in between one of said side walls (6, 8) and said snap-fit extension bent portion (10). Said snap-fit fixing means (5) provides an additional advantage when the elementary edge handling means of the invention is mounted on the bent skirt portions of a cooking appliance (1). Accordingly, a head portion (13) of said snap-fit extension bent portion (10) bear against the inner surface delimited by said bent skirt portions. As can be inferred from Fig. 3, said bent skirt portions surround on four sides the large substantially planar central plate, against which said head portions (13) bear to provide a better engagement.

Said snap-fit extension bent portion (10) is passable through a snap-fit extension opening (11) during leaning of a sharp edge portion of a cooking appliance (1) against said snap-fit extension bent portion (10). Therefore, said snap-fit extension bent portion (10) can preferentially be introduced to said snap-fit extension opening (11) such that the outermost portion of said bent portion (10) is squeezed in said opening (11) by said sharp edge portions. This positioning provides that said sharp edge portions are held more tightly.

Said elementary edge handling means (2) of the invention can also be designed to have a corner extension (12), said extension having a deviation from the longitudinal axis of said elementary edge handling means (2). This is simply aimed at providing a more comfortable handling in which cooking appliance (1) can directly be held by corner portions. Therefore elementary edge handling means (2) with no corner extension (12) can be combined with one another having a corner extension (12).

As cooking appliance (1) produced by sheet metal plates do have a pre-cut state with right angled corners, said corner extensions (12) are designed as having a right angled turn from the longitudinal axis of said elementary edge handling means (2).

Said handling means of the invention further comprises an intermediary member (3) having structural support extensions (9), which can simultaneously be connectible to two separate elementary edge handling means (2) at the same longitudinal axis therewith and at both sides thereof. Therefore a plurality of elementary edge handling means (2) with or without corner extensions (12) can be joined by said intermediary members (3) to cover a desired length of edge portion.

Claims

A cooking appliance (1) having a polymer-based sheet metal plate handling means for covering linearly extending sharp edges of said cooking appliance (1), said sheet metal plate handling means comprising an elementary edge handling means (2) which is linearly extending U-profile having a first side wall (6) and a second side wall (8), said first and second side walls (6, 8) being bridged by a base (7) portion for longitudinally receiving a sharp edge portion of said cooking appliance (1), said elementary edge handling means further comprising at least one fixing means (4, 5) disposed on said first or second side walls (6, 8) for effecting fixing of said elementary edge handling means on said sharp edge portion of said cooking appliance (1).
A cooking appliance (1) as set forth in Claim 1 wherein said elementary edge handling means (2) comprises a bearing fixing means (4) having a bearing fixing hole.
A cooking appliance (1) as set forth in Claim 1 wherein said elementary edge handling means (2) comprises a snap-fit fixing means (5) having a snap-fit extension bent portion (10) against which said sharp edge portion of said cooking appliance (1) bears.
A cooking appliance (1) as set forth in Claim 3 wherein said snap-fit extension bent portion (10) is passable through a snap-fit extension opening (11) during leaning of said sharp edge portion of said cooking appliance (1) against said snap-fit extension bent portion (10).
A cooking appliance (1) as set forth in Claim 1 wherein said elementary edge handling means (2) is designed to have a corner extension (12) deviating from the longitudinal axis of said elementary edge handling means (2).
A cooking appliance (1) as set forth in Claim 5 wherein said corner extension (12) is designed as having a right angled turn from the longitudinal axis of said elementary edge handling means (2).
A cooking appliance (1) as set forth in Claim 1 wherein said handling means comprises an intermediary member (3) simultaneously connectible to two separate elementary edge handling means (2) at the same longitudinal axis therewith and at both sides thereof.