Nestable cookware
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cookware handles with existing rotatable designs often lack a rigid locking mechanism, leading to perceived looseness and making it difficult to nest and store efficiently due to manufacturing tolerance variations.
Innovation Solution
A vertically rotatable handle with a locking assembly featuring an acute angled upper surface and recess configuration, which ensures rigid engagement even with varying manufacturing tolerances, allowing for improved nesting and storage by reducing the overall footprint when in the stowed position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a rotatable handle with locking assembly is provided to enable nesting and storage, then the storage efficiency is improved, but the handle appears loose and perceived quality deteriorates due to manufacturing tolerance variations
Solution Approach 1:
The locking member is pre-configured with an acute angled upper surface that is designed to engage with the recess at a specific angle. This preliminary geometric configuration ensures that when the handle is rotated to the stowed position, the locking surfaces automatically engage at the optimal angle for rigid locking, compensating for manufacturing tolerances before the final locking action occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the locking surfaces by introducing acute angles instead of conventional right angles or curved surfaces. This parameter change allows the locking surfaces to maintain contact over a larger area and at an optimal angle, transforming the locking mechanism from one sensitive to dimensional variations to one that is tolerant of manufacturing variations while maintaining rigidity.
2Reliability
If manufacturing tolerances are reduced to achieve rigid locking, then the locking rigidity is improved, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
By changing the geometric parameters to acute angles, the patent creates a locking mechanism that is inherently more tolerant of dimensional variations. The acute angled surfaces provide a larger effective contact area and self-aligning geometry, which maintains locking rigidity even when component dimensions vary within standard manufacturing tolerances, eliminating the need for tight tolerance specifications.
Solution Approach 2:
The use of acute angled surfaces introduces asymmetry into the locking interface, where the specific angle configuration provides mechanical advantage and ensures reliable engagement. This asymmetric geometry is easier to manufacture with standard tolerances compared to symmetric designs that require precise alignment and tight tolerances to function correctly.
3Ease of operation
If the handle is fixed to extend away from the body, then the handling comfort is improved, but the nesting capability and storage space efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is designed with rotational capability, transforming it from a static fixed structure to a dynamic component that can change position. The handle can rotate between a working position (extending away from the body for comfortable handling) and a stowed position (lying along the circumference for compact storage), allowing the same structure to fulfill multiple functional requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle is designed to nest along the circumference of the cookware body when in the stowed position, similar to how nested dolls store within each other. This nesting configuration allows multiple pieces of cookware to be stacked efficiently in storage, with the handles of inner pots fitting within the circumference of outer pots, maximizing space utilization.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to an item of cookware (1) comprising a handle (4), the handle (4) being vertically rotatable between a first working position and a second stowed position, wherein the handle (4) comprises a cavity located therein having a locking assembly comprising a locking member (9), wherein the proximal end of the locking member (9) comprises an acute angled upper surface relative to the plane of the handle (4) and the connecting portion comprises a recess (10) having an acute angled upper surface relative to the plane of the handle (4), wherein in the first locked position the angled upper surface of the proximal end of the locking member (9) engages a first contact point (11) on the angled upper surface of the connecting portion. The present invention also relates to a nest of cookware items according to the above invention and a method of nesting items of cookware according to the above invention.