Abstract:
A kitchen helping hand is provided to assist the user in holding and tilting pots, pans or bowls for easier transfer of the contents. More specifically, a container holding stand comprising: two support sides each having a horizontal base leg attached to a side arm extending upwardly from the horizontal base leg, said side arm forming an acute angle with the base leg; and a container-holding ring pivotably attached to the side arm is provided. The container holding stand may be collapsible and different sized pots, pans or bowls may be accommodated using different sized rings, or rings that change size.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates generally to a device for tiltably holding a container above a surface.  
           [0002]    Lifting and tilting pots, pans or bowls (“containers”) is often desired or required when preparing food in the kitchen. For example, when using a mixing bowl, the contents of the mixing bowl must be scraped into another pan or serving dish. Conventionally, the user holds, lifts and tilts the container with one hand, while scraping the contents of the container with the other hand. This requires a great deal of hand and arm strength because containers used in the kitchen are large, heavy, and often hot.  
           [0003]    There are several patents directed to holding and tilting large water bottles or crocks including U.S. Pat. No. 3,150,852 (Larkin; Sep. 29, 1964); U.S. Pat. No. 2,554,875 (Okunami; May 29, 1951); U.S. Pat. No. 1,609,207 (Schlabaugh; Nov. 30, 1926); U.S. Pat. No. 1,562,484 (Wright; May 29, 1924); U.S. Pat. No. 1,580,098 (Berger; Apr. 6, 1926); U.S. Pat. No. 2,605,071 (Trepte; Jul. 29, 1952); U.S. Pat. No. 1,627,490 (Disibio; May 3, 1927). All these patents describe structures having a cage surrounding the bottle and supporting the bottom of the bottle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,386 (Eranosian; Jul. 14, 1981) describes a structure having a ratchet mechanism for supporting a large cooking pot and holding the pot in a tilted position for ladling of food into a smaller container. The pot support in U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,386 is a cage-like structure having support at the bottom of the pot. None of the listed patents describes a device for household kitchen use and none of the listed patents describes a ring supporting a container.  
           [0004]    There is a need in the art for an improved kitchen device for tiltably supporting a container above a surface.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    This invention provides a kitchen stand for holding a container above the counter surface. The stand also allows tilting of the container.  
           [0006]    More specifically, provided is a container holding stand comprising two support sides each having a horizontal base leg attached to a side arm extending upwardly from the horizontal base leg, said side arm forming an acute angle with the base leg; and a means for supporting the container (preferably a container-holding ring) pivotably attached to the side arm and positioned between the support sides.  
           [0007]    Also provided is a container holding stand, comprising: a base comprising two support sides each having a horizontal base leg attached to one or more side arms extending upwardly at an angle from the horizontal base leg; and a container-holding ring pivotably attached to the side arms. In this embodiment, the angle between each side arm and the horizontal base leg of each support side may be any angle, including a right angle, an acute angle and an obtuse angle. In this embodiment, there may be two side arms attached to each base leg with a top arm connecting the side arms, so that the support side forms a square, or there may be two side arms attached at the top to form a triangle, or any other geometric shape may be used that allows the desired function, as described herein. In another embodiment, there is only one side arm attached to the middle of the horizontal base leg, so that a right angle is formed. For any configuration of the container holding stand, support structures such as cross braces may be used, as required.  
           [0008]    Also provided is a container holding stand, consisting essentially of two support sides each having a horizontal base leg attached to a side arm extending upwardly from the horizontal base leg, said side arm forming an acute angle with the base leg; a container-holding ring pivotably attached to the side arm and positioned between the support sides.  
           [0009]    Also provided is a method of holding a container above a surface, comprising: placing a container in a container holding stand as described herein. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 shows a side view of the container holding stand.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 shows a front view of the container holding stand.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 shows a top view of the container holding stand.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the container-holding ring (ring).  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the ring.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the ring having an inner ring of compressible material. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0016]    Turning to the figures, where like numbers indicate like features, FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of one embodiment of the invention. Ring  10  is pivotably attached to side arm  5  through connector  25 . Side arm  5  is attached to horizontal base leg  20  through connector  30 . Connector  30  may be fixable or pivotable. Optional non-skid surfaces  15  are attached to horizontal base leg  20 .  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 illustrates a front view of one embodiment of the invention showing one form of connection between ring  10  and side arm  5 . In FIG. 2, horizontal base leg  20  is not separately shown to indicate an embodiment of the invention where side arm  5  and horizontal base leg  20  are fabricated as one piece and form support side  40 .  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 illustrates a top view of one embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, horizontal base leg  20  and side arm  5  (not shown) are fabricated as one piece and comprise support side  40 . Ring  10  with diameter d is pivotably attached to support side  40  through connector  25 . Optional stop  60  (described below) is attached to ring  10 .  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of the means of supporting the container. In FIG. 4, ring  10  fits below a lip on container  1 . Container  1  is supported by this lip. To support different sized containers, ring  10  may be different sizes. For example, a series of rings sized to fit standard sized containers may be used. To change sizes, connector  25  can be detached and rings interchanged.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the means of supporting the container. In FIG. 5, ring  10  has opening  35  for securing bolt  45  and securing nut  50 , forming one means for adjustably sizing the ring. In operation, the container is held in place by tightening ring  10  through securing bolt  45  and securing nut  50  around the container.  
         [0021]    In another embodiment, the ring may contain an inner lining of compressible material so that different sized containers may fit and be held within the ring. This embodiment allows the use of one ring for different sized containers, without changing the ring. In this embodiment, the container is held in place by friction. This embodiment is shown in FIG. 6. In FIG. 6, inner structure  40  may be attached to ring  10  using any suitable means of attachment, such as heat-resistant glue. Inner structure  40  may consist of a material with a high coefficient of friction, such as neoprene, silicone rubber or any other suitable material, or a compressible material such as foam. In this embodiment, a larger ring may be used with a variety of container sizes. Any other means for holding the container in the ring may be used.  
         [0022]    The inner surface or outer surface of ring  10 , or both, or any portion of the container holding stand may be coated with a non-skid substance if desired, or required for operation. This may assist in handling wet containers, and may assist in holding the container in the ring.  
         [0023]    In all embodiments, each base leg may be fixably attached to each side arm, using means known in the art such as rivets, glue, pins, and other means for fixably attaching materials. Each base leg may also be pivotably attached to each side arm, using means known in the art such as nuts and bolts, or removable connectors, or other means known in the art for pivotably connecting materials. Pivotably attaching each base leg to each side arm provides means for collapsing the holder. Collapsing the holder provides the holder with certain advantages, including easier storage of the holder. The ring may be attached to each side arm at any convenient point, for example at the top of each side arm or at a place other than the top of each side arm, provided sufficient clearance exists for the ring to pivot to the desired angle.  
         [0024]    The pivotable connection between the ring and side arm may be constructed of a variety of different materials, as known in the art. In addition, there may be a fixed “stop” on the ring at an suitable angle to prevent the ring from tilting beyond a certain angle. This stop ( 60 ) is shown in FIG. 3. In this embodiment, stop  60  is designed to contact side arm  5  to prevent further tilting of ring  10 . If stop  60  is used, the angle between side arm  5  and horizontal base leg  20  may be adjusted for the desired tilting angle of ring  10 . Alternatively, connector  25  may be adjustable, using any suitable means, including mechanical (a wing nut and bolt, for example). Also, a connector that adjusts when sufficient force is applied and stops when the force is removed may be used. Such a connector is known in the art.  
         [0025]    The present invention does not require any support structure at the bottom of the container or along the sides of the container. The container is held using the ring.  
         [0026]    The base legs and side arms may have any cross-section shape, such as square, rectangular, triangular, circular, or circular having a flat side. The base legs and side arms do not have to be the same shape, as long as the pieces are attachable together as described herein. If circular base legs are used, appropriate end pieces should be used that are flat, such as rubber ends, to permit the container holding stand to stand flat upon a surface. The ring may be a hollow ring, or may be solid.  
         [0027]    The container holding stand may be collapsible, if connector  30  is pivotable. This may be accomplished by a variety of methods known in the art, including the use of a screw and nut. When the nut is tightened, the connection is fixed, and when the nut is loosened, the connection is pivotable.  
         [0028]    The container holding stand may be made from any suitable material, including stainless steel or heat resistant plastic. All portions of the container holding stand may be fabricated from the same material, and the support sides may be one piece, as in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Alternatively, all portions of the container holding stand may be fabricated from different materials.  
         [0029]    The ring defines a central opening so that a standard-sized container fits within the opening. The ring preferably defines a central opening with a diameter of between 6 and 18 inches, including all individual values and ranges therein. In one embodiment, different sized rings corresponding to different sized containers are interchangeable.  
         [0030]    One preferred embodiment of the container holding stand is a 8″ or  10 ″ ring supported by semi-triangular base sides on opposite sides of the ring (see FIG. 1). The ring is approximately 9″ high in this embodiment, but that distance is not critical, as long as the object may be rotated to the desired angle without hitting the surface on which the holder stands. Preferably, the container holding stand has non-skid surfaces on at least some bottom surfaces of the base leg to contact the surface on which the holder stands. The ring tilts freely in the horizontal plane. In a preferred embodiment, the container holding stand is sized to fit into a standard kitchen sink.  
         [0031]    The container holding stand may be equipped with a variety of attachments, including a strainer. In this embodiment, the strainer may be hooked to the container holding stand via any convenient means, including hooks placed on the ring to attach the strainer.  
         [0032]    This invention has many uses and benefits. In kitchen use, the container holding stand allows hot liquids to be drained safely. The container holding stand also allows safer handling of hot pans. The container holding stand protects countertops from the burning or scorching caused by having hot pans placed upon them. The container holding stand also assists the elderly, handicapped, children, and those of small stature in a variety of cooking operations, as described herein.  
         [0033]    Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, but rather as providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention. All references cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the extent not inconsistent with the disclosure herewith.