POT HANDLE WITH ADAPTABLE CONNECTION AND POT INCLUDING THIS HANDLE

Description

c< ir THE "Handle for pots with adaptable attachment and pot including such handle owner: ANGELO CAMPANA SRL with headquarters in: MISINTO (MILAN) The present invention refers both to a handle with an attachment adaptable to different types of pans and, more generally, to a pan comprising such a handle. The problems associated with attaching the handle to the side of the pan during assembly have long been known in the cookware manufacturing industry. Among the various types of attachment, one of the most commonly used is created by fitting one end of the handle onto an arm or pin that extends from the side of the pan. Typically, the mounting arm has a threaded hole designed to receive a handle fastening screw. The handle itself must have a connection end that receives the pin, suitable for resting against the side of the pan, to ensure a stable connection between the handle and the pan when the fastening screw is tightened. Pots, however, can have various shapes and diameters, and in particular, the side of the pot can have different inclinations with respect to the mounting arm that extends from the wall of the pot. This fact requires various types of handles, each with a different attachment point suitable for engaging the sides of a corresponding pot. In particular, the attachment points must have surfaces that engage with the side of the pot that are inclined in various ways with respect to the axis of the handle, so as to be able to engage appropriately with the side of the pot as its shape varies. It is clear that the need for different types of handles is quite inconvenient with regard to inventory management. cookware manufacturers, in addition to being uneconomical as it prevents them from achieving significant economies of scale. The general purpose of this invention is to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks by providing a handle with an attachment that can be used in the assembly of pots and pans of various shapes, while maintaining a simple and economical structure. In view of this purpose, it was decided to create, according to the invention, a handle for pots and pans comprising an elongated grippable portion and an end portion engaging with the side of the pot, with means for fixing the handle to the side of the pot being present, characterised in that said engaging portion has a part resting on the pot which has an adjustable inclination with respect to an axis of the handle, to allow the handle to be attached to the pot as the inclination of the wall of the pot at the attachment point varies. To clarify the explanation of the innovative principles of this invention and its advantages over the prior art, a possible exemplary embodiment applying these principles will be described below, with the aid of the attached drawings. In the drawings: - figure 1 represents a lateral sectional view of the attachment of a handle according to the invention, fixed to the side of a pot, -figure 2 represents a side view in section of the attachment of figure 1 fixed to the side of a pot shaped differently from the pot of figure 1, -figure 3 represents a perspective view of a part of the handle attachment of figure 1, -figure 4 represents a perspective view of another part of the handle attachment, -figure 5 represents a perspective view of the two parts of figures 3 and 4 mounted together, -figure 6 represents a front view of the part of figure 4 of the handle attachment, -figure 7 represents a side view of the handle attachment to the pot according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, - figure 8 represents a side view of the attachment of the handle to the pot according to a further alternative embodiment of the invention, - figure 9 shows another cross-sectional embodiment of a handle according to the invention. With reference to the figures, Figure 1 shows the attachment of a handle 11 to the side of a generic pot 12. According to one embodiment of the invention, the handle 11 comprises a grip 15 (partially shown in the figure) and an adaptable attachment 13,14 to allow the handle to be attached to the side of the pot as the inclination of the side wall of the pot varies. The handle attachment, in turn, is made up of two pieces fixed to each other: a first part or attachment element 13, designed to terminate the end of the handle and a second part or adapter element 14 designed to rest on the side of the pot. Note that the grip 15 and the attachment element 13 can be made of one piece or fixed to each other in various ways according to the prior art. The attachment element 13 is fixed to the side of a pot 12 through known fastening means with the interposition of the adapter element 14, as will be described in detail below.Advantageously, the handle 15 could be made of heat-insulating material (e.g. plastic), while the attachment element 13 could be, for example, made of metal. The adapter element 14, as shown in Figure 3 and Figure 5, comprises a support portion 17 for resting against the side of the pan and a portion 16, opposite to the first, intended to engage with an attachment end 33 of the attachment element 13. The portion 16 of the adapter element 14 can be advantageously shaped like a semi-cylinder (with the axis of the semi-cylinder horizontal), to engage with a corresponding concave semi-cylindrical surface 21 of the attachment end 33. The adapter element 14 can be engaged in a plurality of positions with the attachment element 13, to allow the support portion 17 to be inclined as needed with respect to the axis of the handle. This allows the same handle to be correctly fixed to the side of different pots. In this regard, see figures 1 and 2 which show the attachment of the same handle to two differently shaped pots; note that, in particular, the two pots have different inclinations of their side walls at the handle attachment. Advantageously, the support portion 17 of the adapter element comprises four spaced support points 30 on the side of the pan. The support points 30 are formed at the four corners of a rectangle of the engagement portion 17. In particular, the surface between the four points 30 can be a concave surface of an almost rectangular shape. Note that the curvature of the portion 17 is chosen to be greater than, or at most equal to, the maximum curvature that the side of a pan can assume. This ensures stable support of the handle with pans of all expected sizes. As shown in Figure 3, the portion 16 of the adapter element 14 is advantageously provided with a pair of recesses 19, designed to accommodate two corresponding projections 20 obtained on the end 33 of the attachment element 13. The engagement of the projections 20 in the recesses 19 allows for the provision of a guide to the vertical positioning movement of the adapter 14 with respect to the attachment 13, while allowing the adapter to engage with the attachment in a plurality of different angular positions in the vertical direction with respect to the attachment 13. In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the means for attaching the handle to the pot comprise a known mounting arm (or pin) 40 which typically extends laterally from the side of the pot. This arm 40 (schematically shown in Figures 1 and 2) passes through a through hole 18 made in the adapter element 14 and its end is received in the recess 23 made in the attachment element 13 of the handle. As shown in Figure 6 (which represents a front view of the attachment element 13), on the bottom of the recess 23 there is a hole 24, designed to accommodate the shank of a screw 41 for fixing the attachment 13 to the mounting arm 40. This arm 40, in fact, is provided axially with a threaded hole (not shown in the figure) suitable for receiving the fixing screw 41 for the final assembly of the pot. Note that the through hole 18 and recess 23 accommodate the mounting arm 40 with some vertical play. For example, the cross-section of the arm could be square, while that of the hole 18 and recess 23 could be rectangular. The vertical play of the passage 18 must be such as to allow rotation of the part 14 to adapt to the various inclinations expected for the wall, while the vertical play permitted by recess 23 must be such as to allow a small parallel-axis adjustment movement of the pin 40 in recess 23. This device allows, on the one hand, the possibility of rotating the adapter 14 with respect to the axis of the handle and, on the other hand, it allows for a minimum degree of freedom in the positioning of the handle attachment with respect to the mounting arm 40 (which, generally, are almost coaxial). Note that, in most cases, the inclination of the handle with respect to the side of the pan is dictated by the inclination with which the mounting arm 40 extends from the wall of the pan. Mounting the handle to the pot is very simple using the handle with attachment according to the invention. In fact, by tightening the fixing screw 41 with the adapter and the attachment end applied to the mounting arm 40, the adapter remains firmly clamped between the side of the pot and the body of the handle, naturally positioning itself at the correct angle with respect to the axis of the handle. The handle has only a small vertical movement to compensate for the shifting of the center of curvature of the cylindrical surface 16 of the adapter 14. Figures 7 and 8 show two alternative embodiments of the present invention. In particular, Figure 7 shows an adapter element 114 suitable for engaging in a plurality of different positions with an attachment end 113, similarly to the preferred embodiment described previously. This time, however, the portion of the adapter 114 engaging with the attachment end 113 has a prismatic shape, and no longer a semi-cylindrical one. Note that the number of lateral faces of the prismatic shape may vary with respect to that shown in the figure, in order to allow a greater number of possible inclinations of the adapter with respect to the attachment end. Figure 7 also shows a possible alternative for attaching the handle to the adaptable attachment.This alternative provides a known handle that can be disengaged by means of a cam mechanism 60 which engages in the part 13, 113 of the attachment equipped with a special engagement opening 22. The engagement surfaces between the adapter element and the attachment element could also be shaped in a different way, for example they could be hemispherical. Figure 8 instead shows an embodiment of the invention which provides for the insertion of a thickness 50 of heat-insulating material between the adapter element 214 (completely analogous, in shape, to the adapter element of the previous embodiments) and the attachment element 213 (also similar to those previously described). This shim 50 is designed to stop the heat transfer from the pan to the handle portion 15, preventing any burns to the user of the pan. Thanks to this measure, it is no longer necessary to make other parts of the handle from heat-insulating material, allowing for greater freedom in choosing the materials during the handle design phase (for example, the handle grip could be made of metal or, in any case, of a non-heat-insulating material). As an alternative to the shim 50, one of the two attachment parts (preferably the adapter portion) can be made entirely from heat-insulating material. Figure 9 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the handle 15 is fixed directly to the side of the pot 12 by means of a fixing screw 41 with the interposition of the attachment element 313 and the adapter element 14. By tightening the screw 41, the attachment and the adapter remain clamped between the handle and the pot, using a single fixing screw. The attachment element and the adapter element engage each other similarly to previous embodiments, making the handle adaptable to the various inclinations of the pot walls. In this case too, the screw 41 is housed in a threaded hole made on a mounting arm 40. At this point, it is clear that the objectives of the invention stated above have been achieved. In particular, a handle has been created that can be attached to various types of pots with different shapes and inclinations of their side walls. In fact, by being able to adjust the inclination of the portion that engages the handle with the side of the pot, it is possible to create a stable attachment of the handle as the inclination of the handle varies with respect to the wall surface side of the pot. This allows for considerable economies of scale and greatly simplifies the management of handle stock before assembling the pots. Furthermore, the handle has a very simple structure and is already relatively inexpensive. Naturally, the above description of an embodiment applying the innovative principles of the present invention is provided by way of example and should therefore not be construed as limiting the scope of the patent claimed herein. For example, the body of the handle could be made of a single piece and not, as previously described, with an attachment element separate from the handle grip. The shape of the engagement surfaces between the adapter element and the attachment element could also be different. For example, the engagement surface of the adapter could be concave, while that of the attachment end could be convex.Furthermore, the handle can be attached to the pan in various ways; for example, the adapter element could be attached directly to the side of the pan (through welding or riveting), and the handle attachment could be attached, with an adjustable angle, to the adapter element. This type of solution could be useful, for example, in the absence of a mounting arm that protrudes from the side of the pan, as described above. Furthermore, the portion engaging with the side of the pot does not necessarily have to be formed in a single piece as described in the previous embodiments, but could be formed, for example, in two parts with adjustable relative positions to vary the inclination of the engagement with respect to the axis of the handle. The surface supporting the pot can also have only three support points, and not four as described previously.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Handle for pots and pans comprising an elongated grippable portion (15) and an end portion for engagement with the side of the pot (12), with means for fixing the handle to the side of the pot being present, characterised in that said engagement portion has a support part (17) for the pot which has an adjustable inclination with respect to an axis of the handle, to allow the handle to be attached to the pot as the inclination of the wall of the pot at the attachment point varies.

2. Handle for pots according to claim 1, characterised in that the engagement portion comprises an adapter element (14) which forms the said support part (17) with the side of the pot and an element (13) for attaching the grippable portion (15), said adapter element (14) having a second portion (16), opposite the support part (17), which engages in an adjustable manner with the attachment element (13) which is fixed to the side of the pot, with the interposition of the adapter element (14), by means of said fixing means.

3. Handle according to claim 2, characterised in that said second portion (16) of the adapter element (14) comprises a nearly semi-cylindrical surface with a horizontal axis and shaped in a complementary manner to a part of the attachment element (13) which rests on it.

4. Handle according to claim 2, characterised in that said second portion comprises a prismatic surface horizontal to it, shaped in a complementary way to a part of the attachment element (13) which rests therein.

5. Handle according to claim 2, characterised in that said second portion (16) of the adapter element (14) is convex.

6. Handle according to claim 2, characterised in that said support portion (17) with the pan of the adapter element (14) comprises a generally concave surface having at least three engagement points (30) with the side of the pan.

7. Handle according to claim 6, characterised in that said generally concave surface has an almost rectangular shape and said engagement points (30) are four arranged at the four corners of the surface.

8. Handle according to claim 2, characterised in that said means for fixing the handle to the pot comprise a screw (41) housed in a hole made in an arm (40) which extends from the side of the pot, to secure the attachment element (13) to the side of the pot.

9. Handle according to claims 2 and 8, characterised in that said adapter element (14) is equipped with a through hole (18) to be passed through by said arm (40).

10. Handle according to claim 2, characterised in that the grippable portion (15) of the handle is formed as a single piece with said attachment element (13).

11. Handle according to claim 2, characterised in that the grippable portion (15) is disengageable from the attachment element (13).

12. Handle according to claim 2, characterised in that a thickness (50) made of heat-insulating material is placed between the adapter element (14) and the attachment element (13).

13. Handle according to claim 2 and 8, characterized in that the element of the attachment (13) has a cavity (23) designed to accommodate with play vertical the end part of the mounting arm (40).

14. Handle according to claim 2, characterised in that the attachment element (13) has two protrusions (20) intended to engage in corresponding recesses (19) obtained in said second engagement portion (16) of the adapter element (14), to stabilise the engagement between the attachment element and the adapter element.

15. Handle according to claim 2, characterised in that said second portion (16) of the adapter element (14) comprises an almost semi-spherical surface shaped in a complementary manner to a part of the attachment element (13) which rests on it.

16. Handle according to claim 2, characterised in that said second portion (16) of the adapter element (14) is concave.

17. Handle according to claim 8, characterised in that the grippable portion is fixed to the side of the pan by means of the said fixing screw (41) with the interposition of the attachment element (13) and the adapter element (14).

18. Handle according to claim 2, characterised in that the adapter element (14) is directly connected to the side of the pot (12), by welding or riveting.

19. A pot comprising a handle according to any of the preceding claims.