Abstract:
A removable holding device for manipulating a cooking utensils has a shell having an internal cavity that opens laterally on a front face thereof via an oblong orifice. The internal cavity is adapted to receive a lug of the cooking utensil when the lug is inserted through the oblong orifice. A locking mechanism is received within a clearance chamber in the shell that is at least partially closed. The locking mechanism cooperates with an opening in the lug when the lug is received in the internal cavity. The shell is a single piece.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     NAMES OF PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     REFERENCE TO AN APPENDIX SUBMITTED ON COMPACT DISC 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention concerns a removable holding device for manipulating cooking utensils having at least one holding lug in which is provided an opening substantially parallel to an internal edge of said lug, the device including a shell comprising an internal cavity that opens laterally onto a front face of the shell via an oblong orifice, said internal cavity being adapted to receive the lug when the lug is inserted via the oblong orifice, the device also comprising locking means received inside a clearance chamber provided, in the shell and adapted to cooperate with the opening in the lug when said lug is received in the internal cavity. 
     2. Description of Related Art including Information Disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98 
     Such devices, also known as handles, are generally used in pairs, or with a facing saucepan-type handle for grasping, lifting, manipulating and pouring from hollow cooking utensils, such as saucepans or frying pans, having two diametrically opposite lugs curved outwards. Such devices enable cooking utensils, even hot ones, to be manipulated safely, notably without risk of burns. 
     One such holding device is known in particular from patent application FR. 2 813 516. A locking device is provided to prevent unintentional separation of the holding device from the lug and thus to prevent all risk of burns. The locking device is positioned in a clearance chamber inside a shell consisting of two half-shells assembled by screws. The locking device comprises a plate mounted to pivot about a pivot the ends of which form pivot bearings and are retained in position in cylindrical grooves formed by the two half-shells assembled on either side of the clearance chamber. 
     However, a device of the above kind is complex to produce. The device comprises a large number of parts, and a tool such as a screwdriver is necessary to assemble the various pans of the shell after fitting the locking device. The production of such a device on an industrial scale is therefore costly. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention proposes a new bolding device comprising a particularly small number of elements and the assembly of which is facilitated. 
     To be more precise, the invention proposes a removable holding device (also known as a handle) for manipulating cooking utensils having at least one holding lug in winch is provided an opening, substantially parallel to an internal edge of said lug. The device includes a shell comprising an internal cavity that opens laterally onto a front face of the shell via an oblong orifice; said internal cavity is adapted to receive the lug when the lug is inserted via the oblong orifice. The holding device also comprises locking means received inside a clearance chamber provided in the shell; the locking means are adapted to cooperate with the opening in the lug when said lug is received in the internal cavity. The clearance chamber is at least partially closed at the top, which limits the risk of accidentally pressing on the locking means when the holding device is held. The risk of unintended detachment of the holding device from the cooking utensil is thus reduced. Also, the shell of the holding device according to the present invention is in one piece. No screws and no tools are therefore necessary for assembling the elements forming the shell. The assembly of the parts of the holding device is thus greatly facilitated and the manufacturing time particularly short. 
     In one embodiment, the locking means comprise a plate mounted to pivot inside the clearance chamber between a locking position and an unlocked position, said plate comprising at a front edge a nose adapted to be received in the opening in the lug in the locked position of the locking means and when the lug is received in the internal cavity, said plate also comprising a pivot positioned on a bottom face of the plate and in the vicinity of a rear edge of the plate, said pivot extending substantially parallel to the oblong orifice, a length of the pivot being less than or equal to a width of the plate. Since the pivot does not project on either side of the plate, the locking means may be positioned without difficulty inside the one-piece shell, as will emerge more clearly hereinafter. Moreover, the pivot o f the plate being positioned in the vicinity of the rear end of the plate, the length of the plate is limited and the width of the shell is consequently limited. 
     The locking means also comprise elastic return means tending to move the plate to or retain it in the locking position. The elastic return means consist, for example, of a spring positioned between a top face of the plate and an upper wall of the shell. Alternatively, the spring may be positioned between a bottom face of the plate and a lower wall of the shell if the spring is as tension spring rather than a compression spring. 
     In this embodiment, the number of pans necessary to produce a handle of the invention is limited to three: a one-piece shell, a pivoting plate, and elastic return means such as a spring. This number is particularly small and consequently has obvious technical and economic advantages: ease of assembly, short assembly time, minimum time to manufacture the parts of the handle, etc. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be better understood. and other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the light of the following description of a removable holding device conforming to embodiments of the invention. These embodiments are provided byway of nonlimiting examples. The description is to be read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a longitudinal section in a vertical plane of symmetry of a removable device of the invention locked to a lug of a cooking utensil, 
         FIG. 2  is an external view of the device from  FIG. 1 , 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the device from  FIG. 1 , a shell of the device having been cut away to show its internal construction, and 
         FIGS. 4 to 6  are respectively an external view, a longitudinal section and a top view of the plate of the device from  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  shows a lug  10  of a cooking utensil of which only a peripheral part of a vertical lateral wall  2  is shown. The cooking utensil is for example a hollow utensil such as saucepan, and may comprise a lug or two substantially diametrically opposite lugs. The lug  10  may be made of metal or any other appropriate material, for example a plastic material; the lug has a substantially plane shape and extends substantially horizontally toward the exterior of the utensil. The lug  10  comprises an internal edge  11  extended by a fixing bracket  12  fixed to the lateral wall  2  of the utensil, for example by welding, riveting, gluing, etc. The log  10  comprises an opening  13  substantially parallel to the internal edge  11 . 
     The holding device (or handle) of the invention comprises a shell  20  comprising an internal cavity  21  that opens laterally onto a front face  22  of the shell  20  via an oblong orifice  23 . The internal cavity  21  is similar to the internal cavity of the holding device that is the subject matter of the patent FR 2 813 516. The dimensions of the internal cavity  21  are such that when the lug  10  is inserted in the oblong orifice  23  it is received in the internal cavity  21  without significant play and over its greatest extent in order to protect the hands of a user effectively if the cooking utensil is hot. in this normal position of use, the opening  13  is also received almost entirely in the internal cavity  21 . 
     According to the invention, the shell  20  is in one piece, as clearly seen in  FIG. 2 . In  FIG. 3 , part of the upper wall of the shell  20  has been cut away and the handle is shown in an exploded view to highlight the various elements of the handle and the internal elements of the shell, as will become clearer hereinafter. 
     The shell  20  may be produced in a thermally insulative material or in a material that is a poor conductor of heat. It will nevertheless be noted that the holding handle of the invention is not intended to remain positioned on a utensil lug during, a utensil beating phase, but is rather intended to be installed on the lug of a utensil only during a phase of manipulating said utensil and then removed. Under these conditions, a thermally conductive material may also be used to produce the shell of the handle. 
     As a function of the material chosen, different manufacturing methods may be envisaged for producing the one-piece shell, for example a method of casting liquid metal, a method of injection moulding a plastic material, etc., the difficulty naturally being to produce the cavities and recesses inside the shell. 
     The handle also comprises locking means  60  received inside a clearance chamber  40  provided in the shell  20 . The locking means is adapted to cooperate with the opening  13  in the lug  10  when said lug  10  is received in the internal cavity  21 . The clearance chamber is at least partially closed at the top in order to limit the likelihood of unintended access to the locking means when the handle is locked on the lug of a utensil and is used for carrying said utensil. 
     In the example shown, the locking means  60  comprise a plate  61  mounted to pivot inside the clearance chamber  40  between a locking position and an unlocked position and elastic return means adapted to return the plate  2  to or retain it in a locking position. 
     The plate  61  is shown separately in  FIGS. 4 to 6 . It comprises a front end  62  terminating in a nose  63  and a pivot  64 . The means for retaining the pivot in the shell are described hereinafter. The nose  63  is adapted to be received in the opening  13  in the lug  10  in the locked position of the locking means with the lug received in the internal cavity  21 . In the example shown, the nose  63  is curved downward and has on its front face a bevel  63   a  forming a guide ramp for lifting the plate  61  by pushing the handle horizontally in the direction of the cooking utensil. 
     The pivot  64  is secured to the plate  61  and is positioned on a bottom face  65  of the plate  61  and in the vicinity of a rear edge  66  of the plate  61 . Thus no plate clearance area is necessary to rear of the handle. The pivot  64  extends substantially parallel to the oblong orifice  23  and the length of the pivot is less than or equal to a width of the plate  61 . The pivot does not project on either side of the plate; accordingly, insertion of the locking means in the shell is facilitated and it is not necessary to retain the ends of the pivot inside the shell. Since the clearance chamber is at least partially closed at the top, it is adapted to allow insertion of the plate into the clearance chamber in a substantially horizontal direction. 
     In the example shown, the elastic return means consist of a spring  81  and the plate  61  comprises on a top face  67 , between the front edge  62  of the plate  61  and the pivot  64  of the plate, a groove  68  for lateral retention of the spring a first end  82  of which is immobilized in the groove  68  in the plate  61 ; a second edge  83  bears on a lower face of an upper wall  41  of the clearance chamber  40 . Alternatively, the lower face of the upper wall  41  of the clearance chamber  40  comprises a groove for lateral retention of the spring the second end  83  of which is retained in the groove in the upper wall  41  of the clearance chamber  40 , the first end  82  of the spring simply bearing on the upper face  67  of the plate  61 , between the front edge of the plate  61  and the pivot  64  of the plate  61 . Experience shows that lateral retention of only one end of the spring is sufficient, given the low height of the spring. 
     In another variant two grooves are provided, one on the upper face of the plate, one on the lower face of the upper wall  41  and one on the upper face of the plate  61 . Thus, the two ends of the spring are retained laterally by a groove so that the spring is unable to move laterally. 
     In a further variant the spring is a tension spring and is positioned under the plate, between the bottom face  65  of the plate  61  and an upper face of the lower wall of the shell  20 , at least one groove being provided on the bottom face  65  of the plate  61  and/or on the top face of the lower wall of the shell  20  to retain at least one end of the spring laterally. 
     The clearance chamber  40  opens at the rear of the handle laterally onto an upper part of the rear wall of the clearance chamber  40  via an insertion orifice  45  allowing insertion of the locking means  60  into the clearance chamber  40 . Thus the locking means are inserted into the clearance chamber from the rear of the handle, in a substantially horizontal direction. Since the clearance chamber is closed at the top, the locking means is not readily accessible. 
     In the example shown, the insertion orifice  45  extends over the upper part of the rear wall  43  of the clearance chamber  40  and over a rear part of the upper wall  41  of the clearance chamber  40 . The insertion orifice is thus particularly wide, which facilitates insertion of the locking means inside the clearance chamber. Moreover, producing the insertion orifice m this way enables limitation of the length of the locking plate because the increased thickness portion  69  and especially the bearing flange  70  (see below) are rendered accessible at the level of the upper wall of the shell; the rear face of the increased thickness portion  69  may thus be made flush with the rear face of the shell  20 . Limitation of the length of the locking plate also enables limitation of the width Lac of the shell  20 . Thus in the example shown the width Lac of the shell is limited to the distance between the opening and the external edge of the lug  10  plus the thickness of the two ribs  47 ,  48  plus the diameter of the pivot  64 . Thus in the example shown the shell of the handle is hardly wider and hardly longer than the lug of the cooking utensil. 
     In a variant that is not shown, the insertion orifice extends over only the upper part of the rear wall  43  of the clearance chamber  40 . In this case, the plate is made slightly longer than in the example shown, so as to render accessible at the rear of the handle the bearing flange  70  and possibly all or part of the increased thickness portion  69  for manipulating the locking means. 
     In the example shown, the plate  61  has at its rear edge  66  an increased thickness portion  69 . Once the plate  61  has been inserted into the clearance chamber, the increased thickness portion closes the insertion orifice. Manual pressure on an upper face of the increased thickness portion  69  does not readily allow the plate  61  to be pivoted to the unlocked position since said upper face is positioned just above the pivot  64 . 
     The increased thickness portion  69  of the plate is extended by a bearing flange  70 . By bearing on the flange  70  rather than directly on the upper face of the increased thickness portion  69  to unlock the handle, the force is not applied in a vertical direction, at a very small distance from the pivot  64 , but in an oblique direction, at a greater distance from the pivot. Thus the force to be applied to release the lug from the handle is reduced. The bearing flange  70  is preferably flush with the upper wall of the shell  20  ( FIGS. 1 ,  2 ) and does not project above the upper wall of the shell  20 . This eliminates the risk of accidentally bearing on the bearing flange  70 , which eliminates the risk of accidental unlocking of the handle. 
     The means for retaining the pivot are described hereinafter. 
     In the example shown, a lower part of the rear wall  43  of the clearance chamber, below the insertion orifice  45 , forms a first rib  47 . The shell moreover comprises a second rib  48  extending from a lower wall  49  of the clearance chamber. The first and second ribs extend in a direction substantially parallel to the oblong orifice  23 , at a distance from each other substantially equal to the diameter of the pivot of the plate. The two ribs together form a groove for retaining the pivot  64  of the plate  61  in the horizontal plane. The pivot is also retained in the groove, relative to a vertical axis, by the elastic return means of the locking means so that, once in place inside the groove, the pivot is not able to leave the groove and the locking means are not able to leave the clearance chamber without the intervention of a knowledgeable person. 
     When the lug of a utensil is inserted in the cavity  21  of the handle, an external edge of the lug conies to bear against the second rib, which thus delimits locally the internal cavity  21 . 
     A distance between an upper face  50  of the second rib and the upper wall  41  of the clearance chamber is chosen to be substantially equal to a thickness of the plate plus a thickness of the pivot of the plate of the locking means. Thus this distance is chosen to be as small as possible whilst being sufficient for inserting the locking means inside the clearance chamber, the thickness of the handle thus being made as small as possible. 
     However, if the height of the spring  81  in the compressed position is slightly greater than the height of the groove  68  for retaining the spring produced on the top face of the plate  61 , a distance could be chosen between the upper face  50  of the second rib and the upper wall  41  of the clearance chamber substantially equal to the thickness of the plate  61  plus the thickness of the pivot  64  plus the height of the spring  81  less the height of the groove  68 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the shell  20  of the handle is sufficiently large to be grasped in the hand for easy manipulation of a cooking utensil to which the handle is locked. 
     In the example shown in  FIG. 2 , the shell also comprises a substantially U-shaped holding part  25  the ends of the two branches  26 ,  27  of which extend from a rear face  29  (which is also the external face of the rear wall  43  of the clearance chamber) of the shell  20 , a bottom  28  of the U-shape forming a holding area of the holding device. The bottom of the U-shape, shown in the form of a rod with a diameter substantially equal to the thickness of the shell, may in some circumstances facilitate manipulation of the handle. Without departing from the scope of the invention, holding parts of different shapes may naturally be envisaged to facilitate further the manipulation of a utensil or for aesthetic reasons, for example parts with more rounded shapes, or plane parts in line with the shell  20 , as shown, in a similar manner to the handle that is the subject matter of the patent FR 2 813 516. 
     
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                  2 
                 vertical wall of the utensil 
               
               
                 10 
                 lug 
               
               
                 11 
                 internal edge of the lug 
               
               
                 12 
                 fixing bracket of the lug 
               
               
                 13 
                 opening in the lug 
               
               
                 14 
                 outside edge of lug 
               
               
                 20 
                 shell of the removable device 
               
               
                 21 
                 internal cavity of the shell 
               
               
                 22 
                 front face of the shell 
               
               
                 23 
                 oblong orifice 
               
               
                 25 
                 U-shaped holding part of the shell 
               
               
                 26, 27 
                 branches of the U-shape 
               
               
                 28 
                 bottom of the U-shape 
               
               
                 29 
                 rear face of the shell 
               
               
                 40 
                 clearance chamber 
               
               
                 41 
                 clearance chamber upper wall 
               
               
                   
                 groove (not visible in the FIGURES) on 
               
               
                   
                 the upper wall of the clearance 
               
               
                   
                 chamber 
               
               
                 43 
                 rear wall of the clearance chamber 
               
               
                   
                 upper part of the rear wall 43 
               
               
                 45 
                 clearance chamber insertion orifice 
               
               
                   
                 lower part of the rear wall 43 
               
               
                 47 
                 first rib 
               
               
                 48 
                 second rib 
               
               
                 49 
                 lower wall of chamber 40 
               
               
                 50 
                 upper face of second rib 
               
               
                   
                 rear part of upper wall 41 
               
               
                 60 
                 unlocking means 
               
               
                 61 
                 pivoting plate 
               
               
                 62 
                 front edge of the plate 61 
               
               
                 63 
                 nose of the plate 61 
               
               
                 64 
                 pivot of the plate 61 
               
               
                 65 
                 bottom face of the plate 61 
               
               
                 66 
                 rear edge of the plate 61 
               
               
                 67 
                 upper face of the plate 
               
               
                 68 
                 groove in the plate 
               
               
                 69 
                 increased thickness portion 
               
               
                 70 
                 flange of increased thickness portion 
               
               
                 81 
                 spring 
               
               
                 82 
                 first end of the spring 
               
               
                 83 
                 second end of the spring