Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims benefit from Chinese utility model application no. 201120410661.3 filed on Oct. 25, 2011 by Midea Group Co., Ltd. The entire disclosure of the application is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a slow cooker and, in particular, to a portable slow cooker having a multi-functional handle and capable of preventing spillage of cooking content such as soup. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Conventional slow cooker comprises a liner container and a lid disposed on the top rim of the container. The lid is typically not securely engaged with the container. The user is likely to move the cooker or the liner container containing food after the food is well cooked. The lid tends to slide off during movement because there is no secure connection between the liner container and the lid. Furthermore, the shaking caused by the movement can possibly cause spillage of the liquid content in the container, and thus may burn the user. 
     Chinese patent no. CN 200920198406.X discloses a slow cooker having a touch control panel, which comprises a working pot covered by a lid. A handle comprised of an upper part and a lower part is symmetrically fixed near the top edge of working pot. A spring hole is arranged in the middle of the lower part for accommodating a spring and a steel bead. A latch is slidably arranged between the upper and lower parts, and the movement of the latch is limited by the steel bead. A closed sealing ring, made of silicon gel, is arranged below the periphery of the lid to achieve seal connection between the lid and the working pot. The latch provided between the working pot and the lid is used to seal the working pot. However, this design has too many parts, resulting in high cost and difficulty of assembly. Moreover, the latch is subject to large area of friction, causing non-smooth operation. Further, the steel bead is positioned by the elastic force of the spring which may deteriorate during long term use, resulting in high possibility of latch release. 
     Chinese patent no. CN 200710005602 discloses a slow cooker comprising a housing, a container and a lid. The lid includes a gasket around an outer edge thereof and is shaped and sized to cover the opening of the container. At least one over-the-center clip is mounted to the side all of the housing, the clip being selectively engageable with the lid to retain the lid in sealing engagement with the container, in order to inhibit leakage of the food stuffs from the interior of the container. The clip includes a hook and a lever, the hook being selectively engageable with the lid to selectively retain the lid in sealing engagement with the container. A catch has to be provided to the lid in order to engage the hook of the clip. This will lead to additional cost and more complicated manufacturing process for mounting such a catch, particularly on a glass lid as predominately used in slow cookers. 
     Additionally, typical slow cooker available on the market, including the slow cookers disclosed in the above patents, are provided with ear-like grips on the two side walls of the housing for moving the slow cooker. Slow cooker with this structure requires to be operated with two hands simultaneously, and is not able to be moved with a single hand. 
     SUMMARY OUT THE INVENTION 
     The objective of the present invention is to provide a portable slow cooker capable of engaging a lid and a liner container to inhibit leakage of soup. 
     The second objective of the present invention is to provide a slow cooker that can be moved with a single hand. 
     The third objective of the present invention is to provide a slow cooker with a multi-functional handle. 
     The fourth objective of the present invention is to provide a slow cooker having a handle capable of engage a lid and a liner container. 
     To achieve the above objective, the below technical solution is adopted in the present invention. 
     A portable slow cooker, including a cooking body, a liner container, a lid and a handle, is provided in the present invention, wherein the liner container is disposed within the cooking body, and the lid is disposed on the opening of the liner container. The handle is spaned over the lid and has, lower ends in vertically slidable cooperation with handle boxed disposed at a side surface of the cooking body. The handle is locked by the handle boxes when slides to an, so as to press the said lid to form a scaling engagement with the liner container. When using the product of the present invention, the lid and the liner container can be locked by pushing and locking the handle to the lowest position, preventing the soup form spilling out. When the handle is pulled to the highest position, the slow cooker can be easily moved by hand. By delicate designing, the lock device of the lid and the handle are integrated together, simplifying the structures and bringing convenience for users. The lid is locked by the handle in the present invention. Therefore, no further manufacturing is needed for the lid. This is much more easily to manufacture with existing glass lids. 
     For easy opening of the lid or moving out of the liner container, the handle is rotatable with respect to the handle boxes when it is moved to the highest position by sliding. Therefore, when the handle is pulled to the highest position, it is able to rotate to one side, leaving no disturbance above the lid, making it easy to open the lid and remove the liner container. 
     To prevent the handle from sliding down to the lowest position to be locked under the gravity force, a restoring mechanism for supporting the handle is provided within the handle box. When the handle is unlocked at the lowest position, it can automatically leave the lowest position, with no need of manual operation, thus it is more easily to operate. 
     For easy movement with a single hand, the said handle has an inverted U shape, with two lower ends inserted into the handle boxes, to slide upward and downward. The crossbar of the handle is pressed against the lid when the handle is placed at the lowest position. The inverted-U shaped handle is not only convenient for movement with a single hand, but also connected to the two sides of the cooking body, and therefore is uniformly forced to move smoothly to prevent the soup from spilling out. 
     Typically the lid of the slow cooker is provided with a grip, and preferably, the crossbar of the handle is pressed against the grip of the lid when the handle is at the lowest position. In this way, the grip is pressed by the crossbar, with no direct connection to the lid, so that heat will rarely be transferred to the handle during cooking to prevent high temperature of the handle, and thus is convenient for users. 
     The handle can be locked at the lowest position via various ways. Two types of structure are provided in the present invention. The first type provides a handle with a lock catch at each of the lower ends, and each of the handle boxes is provided with a flexible pressing buckle, which is match with the said lack catch to lock the handle at the lowest position. Specifically, the said handle box includes a box base, a box lid, a positioning buckle and a trigger, wherein the restoring mechanism is a spring installed within the handle box, which is disposed on the box base. The trigger is rotatably connected to the box lid, and the positioning buckle is rotatably connected to the trigger. A slider that slides within the box base is rotatably connected to the lower end of the handle. This kind of structure is simplified and convenient for users, with strengthened locking force. 
     Another type provides a handle box with a two-stage positioning mechanism, in correspondence with the highest position and lowest position of the handle respectively. Specifically, each of the handle box includes a box base, a box lid, a positioning buckle, a resetting spring sheet and a trigger. The positioning buckle, the resetting spring sheet and the trigger are installed between the box lid and the box base. The restoring mechanism is a spring installed within the handle box. At one side of the positioning buckle is provided with a two-stage latching position, i.e., a higher one and a lower one. At the other side of the positioning buckle is provided with the resetting spring sheet supporting the positioning buckle. The positioning buckle is pushed by the trigger to press against the resetting spring sheet. A projecting rotate shaft, of which the end is provided with a position-limiting projection, is provided to the lower end of the handle to match with the two stage latching positions. For this kind of structure, the locking force is strengthened. It can be unlocked by pushing the trigger, and thus is convenient for users. Besides, no metal components as what is used in the previous type are required, therefore the temperature during operation can be lowered and make it more safe to operate. 
     In a word, the handle and the locking device of the lid are delicately integrated as a whole, with simplified structure and strengthened locking force to prevent the soup from spilling out during operation. It is convenient to remove the lid and the liner container and move with a single hand. It requires no further manufacture of the locking component on the lid, and thus is more easily to manufacture, suitable for lid made of any kind of materials, e.g., glass or ceramics. The locking mechanism and the unlocking mechanism are both disposed on the cooking body of the slow cooker, with little heat transferring, protecting the users from being burned during operation, owning to the high efficiency in decreasing the temperatures of these mechanisms. Compared with the prior arts, it is creative with substantive characteristics and obvious progress. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a structural installation diagram of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a structural exploded view of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged view of A in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the first embodiment, wherein the lid is unlocked and the handle is displayed vertically; 
         FIG. 5  is a cutaway view of the first embodiment, wherein the lid is unlocked and the handle is displayed vertically; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of the handle box, wherein the lid is unlocked and the handle is displayed vertically; 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of the first embodiment, wherein the lid is unlocked and the handle is tilted; 
         FIG. 8  is a cutaway view of the first embodiment in the transient state; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic diagram of the handle box in the transient state; 
         FIG. 10  is a cutaway view of the first embodiment in the locked state; 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic diagram of the handle box in the locked state; 
         FIG. 12  is a structural exploded view of the handle box of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 13  is a structural exploded view in another angle of the handle box of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 14  is a transforming structural diagram of the handle box of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 15  is a structural installation diagram of the second embodiment; 
         FIG. 16  is a structure exploded view of the second embodiment; 
         FIG. 17  is a schematic diagram of the second embodiment, wherein the lid is unlocked and the handle is displayed vertically; 
         FIG. 18  is a cutaway view of the second embodiment, wherein the lid is unlocked and the handle is displayed vertically; 
         FIG. 19  is a side view of the second embodiment, wherein the lid is unlocked and the handle is leaning; 
         FIG. 20  is a cutaway view of the second embodiment in the transient state; 
         FIG. 21  is a schematic diagram of the second embodiment in the locked state; 
         FIG. 22  is a cutaway view of the second embodiment in the locked state; 
         FIG. 23  is a structure exploded view of the handle box of the second embodiment; 
         FIG. 24  is a structure exploded view in another angle of the handle box of the second embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention is explained in further detail as below with reference to the drawings. 
     Embodiment 1 
     The portable slow cooker in this embodiment as show in  FIGS. 1 to 14  includes a cooking body  3 , a liner container  2  disposed within the cooking body  3 , a lid  1  disposed on the liner container  2  covering the opening end of the liner container  2 , a handle  4 , a handle box  5  fixed on the two end side surface of the cooking body  3 , and a sealing ring  6  disposed around the outer rim of the lid  1 , and Within the handle box  5  is provided with a handling position and a fixed position. The handle  4  has two lower ends that can remove upward and downward to be fixed in the handle box  5 , and selectively be fixed at the handling position or fixed position of the handle box  5 , has an inverted U shape, and is disposed over the lid  1 . When the two ends of the handle  4  are fixed at the fixed position of the handle box  5 , the handle press tightly on the grip of the lid  1 , making the lid  1 , the sealing ring  6  and the liner container  2  closely joint together, insuring food within the liner container not spill out or pour out. When the two ends of the handle  4  are at the handle position of the handle box  5 , the pressing force upon the lid  1  by the handle  4  is released, so that the lid  1  and the liner container  2  can be picked up or placed freely, and the handle  4  can also rotate freely. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 12 , the handle box  5  of the present embodiment comprises a box base  51 , a box lid  52 , a positioning buckle  53 , a resetting spring sheet  54  and a trigger  55 . The box base  51  was fixed to the cooking body  3  via fasteners, e.g., screws. The outside wall of the box base  51  is closely next to the side wall of the cooking body  3 . The inner side wall of the box base is provided with a horizontally projecting spindle  511  and  512 . The box lid  52  is fixed on the box base  51  via fasteners, e.g., screws, and a cavity is formed between the box lid  52  and the box base  51 . Along the vertical direction of the outsider of the box lid  52  is provided with a locating cylinder  522 , which has an upper end opened, for the upward and downward movement of the handle. A slide groove  521  is disposed on the box lid  52 , corresponding to the locating cylinder  522 , and the box lid  52  is provided with a hole  523  in the lower end. 
     The positioning buckle  53  of sheeting structure is provided with a axial-hole  531  and a fillister shaped higher latching position  532  in the upper end, and with a fillister shaped lower latching position in the lower end, wherein a cam shaped or inclined face transition is formed between the bottom of the higher latching position  532  and the top of lower latching position  533 . The higher latching position  532  is the handling position of the handle box, and the lower latching position  533  is the fixed position of the handle box. Via the matching of the axial-hole  531  and the spindle  511 , the positioning buckle  53  is assembled within the chamber between the box base  51  and the box lid  52 . 
     The arc shaped resetting spring sheet  54 , engaged at the side of the positioning buckle  53 , has a hook  541  in the end which is matched with the edge  512  to fix the resetting spring sheet  54  within the chamber between the box base  51  and the box lid  52 , The spring force formed by the resetting spring sheet  54  against the positioning buckle  53  enable the positioning buckle  53  to rotate around the spindle  511  in a certain angle. 
     The trigger  55  is utilized by users to overcome the spring force of the resetting spring sheet  54 , enable the positioning buckle  53  to rotate in the reverse direction to relieve the locked status, to switch the handle  4  from the fixed position of the handle box  5  to the handle position. The trigger  55  and the positioning buckle  53  are integrally designed in the present embodiment. The trigger  55 , horizontally projecting through the hole  523  in the lower end of the box lid  55 , is positioned at the bottom of the positioning buckle  53 . To obtain a similar effect, the trigger  55  may also be dependent from the positioning buckled, and then fixedly assembled together. 
     To increase the upward restoring force of the handle from the fixed position to the handle position, a spring  56 , which has one end abutting on the end of the handle  4 , and another end abutting on the bottom of the locating cylinder  522  of the box lid, can be further provided in the present embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , each of the ends of the handle  4  is provided with a projecting rotate shaft  41  in the horizontal direction and a groove  43  in the vertical direction, in the present embodiment. A position-limiting projection  42  of a rather big size is provided at the end of the rotate shaft  41 , to prevent the handle from sliding off the handle box. The groove  43  is use for engaging the spring  56 , to locate the telescopic position of the spring  56 . 
     Moving mechanism of the present embodiment is as follows: 
     As shown in  FIGS. 4 ,  5 ,  6 , and  7 , each of the ends of the handle is positioned at the opening of the locating cylinder  522 . The position-limiting projection  42  of the handle goes through the slide groove  521  and the higher latching position  532  of the positioning buckle, to engage the rotate shaft  41  in the slide groove  521  and the higher latching position  532  of the positioning buckle in this circumstance, the positioning buckle  53 , the resetting spring sheet  54  and the spring  56  are on the status of free resetting, where the handle  4  is fixed at the handle position of the handle box  5 , not stressed, and may rotate around the rotate shaft  41 , having not locked the lid  1  and the liner container  2 . When the handle  4  rotates to a vertical direction as shown in  FIG. 4 , the rotate shaft  41  of the handle is engaged at the top of the slide groove  521 , and the position-limiting projection  42  is engaged at the top of the higher latching position  532  of the positioning buckle, and therefore the handle is fixed within the handle box out any possibility of sliding off, and the slow cooker can be lifted by lifting the handle upward to move in a short distance. While the handle  4  rotates to an inclined direction as shown in  FIG. 7 , the liner container  2  and the lid  1  can be conveniently picked and placed. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9  when the handle is positioned in the vertical direction, unlocked, the handle  4  will overcome the force of the spring  56  to move along the locating cylinder  522  if a stress is forced on the handle  4  downward, then the rotate shaft  41  of the handle will move downward along the slide groove  521 , and press the cam shaped junction between the higher latching position  532  and the lower latching position  532 , making the positioning buckle press the resetting spring sheet  54  and rotate around the spindle  511 , until the rotate shaft  41  move to the lower latching position  533  of the positioning buckle. As shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 . The positioning buckle  53  rotates reversely under the reacting force of the resetting spring sheet  54 , engaging the rotate shaft  41  at the lower latching position  533 , and thus the handle  4  is fixed at the fixed position of the handle box. The handle  4  press tightly on the grip of the lid  1 , forming a tight fitness among the lid  1 , the sealing ring  6  and the liner container  2 , in this locked status, food within the liner container will not spill out or pour out, and thus the whole slow cooker can be lifted, or be suitable for long distance movement, or be placed on cars or other carriers that may slightly jounce. 
     When the slow cooker is under locked status as shown in  FIG. 10 , the positioning buckle  53  can be driven to press the resetting spring sheet  54  and rotate around the spindle  511  by applying a horizontal force on the trigger  55 . The rotate shaft  41  of the handle leave the lower latching position  533 , and simultaneously, under the upward force by the users or the restoring force by the spring  56 , the handle  4  drives the rotate shaft  41  to move upward along the locating cylinder  522 , engaging the rotate shaft  41  at the higher latching position  532 , and therefore, it returns to a free status, unlocked, as shown in  FIG. 4 , where the handle  4  can return from the fixed position of the handle box to the handle position. 
     As shown in  FIG. 14 , the spring  56  in the present embodiment is substituted by a tension spring  56 ′. The tension spring  56 ′, which has one end fixed on the box base, and another end fixed on the rotate shaft  41  of the handle, can be equally effective. 
     The resetting spring sheet  54  can be substituted by a compression spring in the present embodiment. The compression spring, which has one end abutting on the side wall of the box base, and another end abutting on the side wall of the positioning buckle, can be equally effective. 
     In the locked status of the present embodiment, the handle box  4  presses tightly on the grip of the lid  1 , forming a tight fitness among the lid  1 , the scaling ring  6  and the liner container  2 . Of course, if the structure of the handle  4  is improved, it will still be within the protection scope of the present invention, e.g., the width of the handle  4  corresponding to the grip of the lid is broadened, and a hole is provided in the center, so that the handle  4  can avoid the grip of the lid  1 , press tightly on other elements of the lid  1 , forming a tight fitness among the lid  1 , the sealing ring  6 , and the liner container  2 . 
     Embodiment 2 
     As shown in  FIGS. 15 to 24 , the slow cooker in the present embodiment includes a cooking body  3 ′, an liner container  2 ′ disposed within the cooking body  3 ′, an lid  1 ′ disposed on the liner container  2 ′ covering the opening of the liner container  2 ′, a handle  4 ′, a handle box  5 ′ fixed on the two end side surface of the cooking body  3 ′, and a sealing ring  6 ′ disposed around the outer rim of the lid  1 ′. 
     Different from the embodiment  1 , the handle box  5 ′ in the present embodiment includes a box base  51 ′, a box lid  52 ′, a positioning buckle  53 ′, a trigger  55 ′, and a spring  56 ″. The box base  51 ′ is fixed to the cooking body  3 ′ via fasteners, e.g., screws. The outside wall of the box base  51 ′ is closely next to the side wall of the cooking body  3 ′. The inner side wall of the box base  51 ′ is provided with two parallel locating wings  513 ′ in the vertical direction. A skid  514 ′ for the upward and downward movement of the handle  4 ′ is formed between the two locating wings  513 ′. A fillister  515 ′ is provided at the top end of the skid  514 ′, forming the handle position of the handle box  5 ′ at the area of the fillister  515 ′. The fix position of the handle box  5 ′ is formed at the lower end of the skid  514 ′. 
     The box lid  52 ′ is fixed on the box base  51 ′ via fasteners, e.g., screws, and a cavity is formed between the box lid  52 ′ and the box base  51 ′. The upper part of the box lid  52 ′ corresponding to the skid  514 ′ of the box base is provided with a groove  524 ′ for the assembly and movement of the handle  4 ′. Each of the two side walls of the groove  524 ′ is provided with a horizontal extrusion facing toward the box base  51 ′ at the top, and with a parallel barrier walls  525 ′ in the vertical direction at the middle part, wherein the barrier walls  525 ′ is provided with horizontally projecting assembling shafts  526 ′, respectively, facing each other. The positioning buckle  53 ′ of which the top end forms a latching position  534 ′, and the lower end is provided with a snap-in hook  535 ′, has an inverted U shape. 
     The upper end of the trigger  55 ′ of the present embodiment is provided with two legs, each of which is provided with a sleeve  551 ′ at the end, respectively. The size of the sleeve  551 ′ is in correspondence with the assembling shaft  526 ′ of the box lid, and by matching with the assembling shaft  526 ′, the trigger  55 ′ are driven to rotate around the assembling shaft  526 ′. At the middle part of the legs are provided with a support shaft  552 ′ which forms a connection between the two legs. The size of the support shaft  552 ′ is in correspondence with the snap-in hook  535 ′ of the positioning buckle, and via the matching of the support shaft  552 ′ and the snap-in hook  535 ′, the positioning buckle  53 ′ is rotatably fixed to the support shaft  552 ′, forming a hinge structure with the trigger  55 ′. 
     To enhance the upward restoring force of the handle  4 ′, a spring  56 ″, which has one end abutting on the end of the handle  4 , and another end abutting on the bottom of the handle box  5 ′, is further provided in the present embodiment. 
     Each of the two ends of the handle  4 ′ is provided with an outward projecting lock catch  44 ′ When the trigger  55 ′ rotate around the assembling shaft  526 ′, the lock catch  44 ′ can be engaged into the latching position  534 ′ of the positioning buckle  53 ′, enforcing the handle  4 ′. Slider  45 ′ is respectively movably fixed to each of the ends of the handle box  4 ′, via connecting elements  46 ′, which has end designed as spherical surface to match with the fillister  515 ′ of the skid. The slider  45 ′ has an inverted T shape, defined within the skid  541 ′ by the two side walls of the groove  524 ′, the horizontal extrusion of the side wall and the barrier wall  525 ′. 
     Moving mechanism of the present embodiment is as follows: 
     As shown in  FIGS. 17 and 18 , the slider  45 ′ of the handle is disposed at the upper end of the skid  514 ′, the spherical surface of the connecting element  46 ′ is matched with the fillister  515 ′ of the skid  514 ′. In this status, the handle  4 ′ is fixed in the handle position of the handle box  5 ′. The positioning buckle  53 ′, the trigger  55 ′ and the spring  56 ″ are on the status of free resetting, and the handle  4 ′ are unstressed, having not locked the lid  1 ′ and the liner container  2 ′, and may rotate around the connecting element  46 ′. When the handle  4 ′ rotates to the vertical direction as shown in  FIG. 17 , the slider  45 ′ of the handle is located by the two side walls of the groove  524 ′ and the horizontal extrusion at the top of the two said side walls: The handle  4 ′ is restricted within the handle box  5 ′. Thus, the slow cooker can be lifted by lifting the handle  4 ′ upward, and is suitable for picking and placing properly in a short distance. When the handle  4 ′ rotates to an inclined direction as shown in  FIG. 19 , the liner container  2 ′ and the lid  1 ′ can be conveniently picked and placed. 
     As shown in  FIG. 20 , when the handle is in the vertical direction as shown in  FIG. 17 , unlocked, the trigger  55 ′ will be driven to rotate upward around the assembling shaft  526 ′ if the trigger  55 ′ is forced, and thus the positioning buckle  53 ′ removes upward, rotatable around the trigger  552 ′. When the trigger  55 ′ and the positioning buckle  53 ′ rotate through the dot line from the free status to the solid line as shown in the figure, the lock catch  44 ′ can be engaged and interfered by the positioning buckle  53 ′, and thus, the force of the spring  56 ″ can be overcome by the handle  4 ′ by applying a reacting force on the trigger  55 ′, moving downward along the skid  514 ′, until the handle  4 ′ reaches the lower end of the skid  514 ′ of the handle box. As shown in  FIGS. 21 and 22 . Because of the self-locking characters of the trigger  55 ′, it will not release by itself, and thus the handle  4 ′ is fixed at the fixed position of the handle box  5 ′, pressing tightly on the lid  1 ′, forming a tight fitness among the lid  1 ′, the sealing ring  6 ′ and the liner container  2 ′. Therefore, it is on the locked status, preventing the food within the liner container  2 ′ from spilling out or pouring out. In this case, the whole slow cooker can be lifted, suitable for long distance movement, or for placing on cars or other carriers that may slightly jounce. 
     When the slow cooker is on the locked status, as shown in  FIG. 21 , the trigger can overcome the locking force of itself to rotate upward by applying a force on the trigger  55 ′. Thus the interference force on the handle by the positioning buckle  53 ′ is released, and the handle  4 ′ can make the slider  45 ′ to move upward along the skid  514 ′ of the box base, by the upward force applied by the users, or by the resetting force of the spring  56 ″. Then, the connecting element  46 ′ is matched with the fillister  516 ′ of the box base, and the handle  4 ′ returns to the higher latching position of the handle box  5 ′, returning to the free status as shown in  FIG. 17 , unlocked, and therefore the handle  4 ′ returns from the fixed position of the handle box  5 ′ to the handle position.

Technology Category: 1