HK1078245B - Removable grip handle device adaptable to containers of different thickness - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a removable container grip, including a removable pan handle, and is adaptable to different container thicknesses.

A removable container gripper, consisting of two gripper-forming organs mounted on a gripper body, one of the gripper-forming organs being mobile in translation relative to the gripper body, in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the gripper body, between an open and a closed position in which the gripper-forming organs are adapted to grip a rim of the container, the removable gripper device comprising means of movement which are adapted to move the gripper-forming organs relative to each other, which include a lever mounted in motion in rotation relative to the gripper, between a position deployed and a position placed in which the pin is positioned in a closed position when a transverse rotator is used, and the distance between the two gripper-forming organs which are adapted to the moving organ, is adjusted to the distance between the transverse rotor and the transverse rotor.

Such removable gripping devices are described in patent applications FR 2 739 772 and FR 2 768 914.

In document FR 2 739 772 the removable gripper includes a means of locking designed to prevent the clamp-forming mobile organ from moving away when the clamp-forming mobile organ is in the closed position, consisting of two rails on the lever and on the clamp-forming mobile organ, which are designed to be coupled to each other in order to keep the clamp-forming mobile organ in its position.

However, the effectiveness of this means of locking is limited for spacing of the clamp-forming organs in the closed position where the two racks are perfectly located in relation to each other so as to achieve perfect cooperation by gear, i.e. when the vertices of one rack are exactly in the bottoms of the other rack.

Thus, the removable grip devices of the preceding art allowing the distance between the two clamp-forming organs to be adjusted in a closed position to the thickness of the clamped container cannot prevent a strong load on the clamped container from having a leverage effect on the two clamp-forming organs and, as a result, from moving them away from each other (up to the distance corresponding to the maximum thickness of the containers which can be clamped), thus separating the container from the grip device (especially if the container has a low-thickness rim), which therefore poses a risk for the user to receive the contents of the container he is lifting and to burn himself if he were on a hot plate.

A problem is to make a removable gripper in which the clamp-forming organs in the closed position cannot be moved to a closed position suitable for clamping a vessel with a thicker rim, even if the means of movement are adapted to adjust the distance between the clamp-forming organs in the closed position to the thickness of the rim.

The proposed solution to this problem is a removable grip device of the type described above, the means of which includes a locking device mounted on the means of transport and suitable for penetration into a dwelling when the lever is in the recessed position.

Thus, although the gripper is so designed that the distance between the two clamp-forming organs in the closed position varies to enable the clamp to be used on the edges of a vessel of varying thickness, once the edge of the vessel has been clamped, the locking pawn is arranged in a housing which ensures effective locking of the two clamp-forming organs.

Depending on the particular embodiment, the gripper consists of a shaft around which the lever and the transmission are articulated, which is located near the end of the lever opposite to the end by which the lever is connected to the gripper body, and which is mobile in translation in a slot made in the transmission near the end of the transmission opposite to the end by which the transmission is connected to the moving organ forming the gripper.

This particular arrangement of the means of movement enables the gripper to safely pinch the edges of containers, the thickness of which may vary over a relatively wide range of 0.5 to 3.5 mm (which corresponds to the range of movement of the shaft in the slot).

In another embodiment, the lever and the transmission medium are of reduced length, which allows the user to always have a grip on the grip body by his ring finger and earpiece, only the index and major fingers being arranged at the level of the lever, and this decreases the range of movement of the lever.

Another particular arrangement is that a ball spring, housed in the transmission, is used as an elastic means of the knee mechanism, so that, unlike the previous technology with a spring with a blade forming a bead, there is no risk of deterioration when the rim of the clamped container is very thick.

The low range of motion of the lever allows the lever and the transmission to be fitted with vertical walls arranged so that, even when the lever is in the deployed position, the whole mechanism is hidden and protected from fouling.

The presence of the locking devices according to the present invention is particularly well suited to a device whose elastic medium of the knee mechanism is a spring with a bolt which, unlike the spring with a blade, is more elastic and, in return, less resistant to the pressure exerted by the container pinched by the clamp-forming organs and which, consequently, is less suited to preventing, by itself, any spacing of these clamp-forming organs.

The following detailed description will give further details of the invention.

The drawings annexed by way of example but not limited to: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a removable grip device conforming to the present invention;Figure 2 is a longitudinal view of a removable grip device, the grippers being in the closed position;Figure 3 is a longitudinal view of a removable grip device, the grippers being in the open position; andFigure 4 is a longitudinal view of a locking pawn according to the present invention.

As shown in Figure 1, a removable gripper 1 per vessel (e.g. a removable handle for a pan) comprises a gripper 2 body to which two gripper 3.4 organs are mounted.

A first organ forming gripper 3 is attached to one end of the gripper body 2 and the second organ forming gripper 4 is mounted translated to the gripper body 2 between an open position (Figure 3) and a closed position (Figure 2).

The movable organ forming clamp 4 shall include a clamp end 5 which is suitable, together with the fixed organ forming clamp 3, to pinch a rim of the container when the movable organ forming clamp 4 is in the closed position.

In this embodiment, the fixed clamp 3 and the clamping end 5 of the movable clamp 4 are so shaped as to be able to clamp containers with the upper end of the rim curved outwards, forming a short curved collar.

An aperture spring 10 shall be supported against the grip body 2 and against a support end 11 of the movable organ forming clamp 4 opposite the clamp end 5 and shall continuously apply pressure to the movable organ forming clamp 4 to its open position.

In this example, when lever 7 is in its recessed position, it is completely located in grip 2 so that it cannot be operated by the user.

The removable grip 1 comprises means of movement 6 which are adapted to move the movable organ forming grip 4 in relation to the grip body 2.

These means of movement 6 include a lever 7 which is mounted mobile rotating around a rotation axis 8 relative to the gripper 2 between a deployed position (Figure 3) and a recessed positon (Figure 2). The rotation axis 8 is normal to the longitudinal direction of the gripper 2 and is located near the fixed organ forming gripper 3 and near a first end of the lever 7.

When the lever 7 is in the deployed position, the movable organ forming grip 4 is in the open position, and when it is in the recessed position, the movable organ forming grip 4 is in the closed position.

The means of transport 6 also include a transmission 9 which extends between the lever 7 and the movable organ forming clamp 4 and which is suitable for moving the movable organ forming clamp 4 in translation when the lever 7 is pivoted.

In the example shown in Figures 1 to 3, the transmission 9 is a 9 lever and the means of displacement 6 are arranged in a knee-relationship: the means of displacement 6 are so arranged that the lever 7 is in a stable equilibrium position when in the deployed position and when in the recumbent position and it passes through an unstable equilibrium position (defined by the balance line of the means of displacement 6) when it passes from one of its two stable equilibrium positions to the other.

In relation to the movable organ forming clamp 4, the bearing 9 is movable in rotation around a pivot axis 12 which is adjacent to the support end 11 of the movable organ forming clamp 4 and to a first end of the bearing 9.

In relation to the lever 7, the shaft 9 is mobile in rotation around a shaft 13 to allow the knee-relation, the shaft 13 is mounted mobile in translation in a slot 14 which is made in the shaft 9 and extends in the longitudinal direction of it. The shaft 13 is mobile between an unstable equilibrium position in which the shaft 13 is located on the balance line of the knee mechanism which is defined by the axis of rotation 8 and the pivot axis 12 and a stable balance position in which the lever 7 is either in its deployed position (shaft 13 being located on the side of the opening of the so-called balance line), or in its so-called balance position (the shaft 13 being located on the balance line of the iron rib).

A spring 15 constantly pushes the shaft 13 towards its stable balance position.

When the shaft 13 is on the opening side of the balance line, the spring 10 shall pull the movable organ forming gripper 4 to its open position on the one hand and the lever 7 to its position deployed by means of the lever 9 on the other.

When the shaft 13 is on the closing side of the balance line, the opening spring 10 pulls the lever 7 to its recumbent position and places the lever 7 against the grip body 2 on the one hand and the handle 9 against the movable organ forming grip 4, the knee spring 15 being oriented in a direction very close to that of the opening spring 10.

When a user wants to pinch the rim of a vessel, he places the rim between the fixed organ forming clamp 3 and the clamping end 5 of the mobile organ forming clamp 4 in the open position, and he rotates the lever 7 from its deployed position to its recumbent position.

The mobility of the shaft 13 in slot 14 allows the distance between the clamping end 5 of the movable clamp 4 in the closed position and the fixed clamp 3 at the thickness of the tank rim to be adjusted.

The range of distances between the clamping end 5 of the movable organ forming clamp 4 in the closed position and the fixed organ forming clamp 3 is significantly less than the range of motion of shaft 13 in slot 14 so as to allow shaft 13 to pass the balance line and have a stable grip.

In the manner shown in Figures 1 to 4, shaft 13 is located near the second end of lever 7 which is opposite to the first end near the axis of rotation 8. slot 14 is located near the second end of beam 9 which is opposite to the first end near the axis of pivot 12, the shaft 13 being applied by the spring 15 to the longitudinal end of slot 14 which is closest to the second end of beam 9.

This particular arrangement of the means of transport 6 enables the first gripper to secure the edges of containers, the thickness of which may vary according to a relatively large range (between 0.5 and 3.5 mm).

In addition, the use of a pudding spring housed in the beam 9 as a spring 15 kneecap avoids any risk of deterioration of the kneecap mechanism, although the range of thicknesses of the container rim that can be pinched is large.

In addition, to facilitate the grip of the grip 1 even when lever 7 is in the deployed position, lever 7 has a reduced length such that a user holding the grip 1 has his index and middle finger placed against lever 7 and his ring finger and earpiece against the grip body. As a result, the user can release lever 7 from grip by index and middle finger while retaining ring finger and earpiece to hold the grip body 2. Typically, the length of the lever body is the width of three fingers pressed against each other (or about 7 from the axis of rotation, or about 8 cm, for the forward portion of the rotation of the propeller 2.

In addition, the use of a reduced length of the 9 lever allows a 7 lever with a small range of motion, making it even easier to hold the 1 grip even when the 7 lever is in the deployed position.

Thus, the user does not have to change the grip when the lever 7 moves from its deployed to its hidden position, and vice versa.

The advantage of the lever 7 and the lever 9 is that they have vertical walls arranged so that even when the lever 7 is in the deployed position, the whole mechanism is hidden and protected from fouling.

According to the invention, the removable grip 1 includes a locking device 26 which is designed to prevent any deviation of the movable organ forming grip 4 in the closed position.

In the example shown in Figures 1 to 3, the locking device 26 consists of a locking device 27 mounted on lever 7 and suitable for penetration, when lever 7 is in the open position, into a housing whose passage section depends on the position of the movable organ forming clamp 4 in the closed position and therefore on the thickness of the rim of the clamped vessel.

The housing consists of a cavity 29 which is made in the gripper body 2 and a light 30 which is made through the mobile organ forming clamp 4. This light 30 is located substantially in front of the cavity 29 when the mobile organ forming clamp 4 is in the closed position.

The passing section of the housing therefore corresponds to the part of the passing section of the light 30 which is opposite the passing section of the cavity 29.

The block pawn 27 is mounted mobile in translation with respect to lever 7 and is continuously being actuated in the direction of the housing by a block spring 31. The block pawn 27 escapes from its head 32 to its base 33 by which it is connected to lever 7 via the block spring 31.

When the user grips the rim of the vessel by pulling lever 7 to its recessed position, the locking pawn 27, which is in solidarity with lever 7, is pulled towards the movable organ forming grip 4.

When the lever 7 is in the open position, the movable organ forming the clamp 4 is in a closed position adapted to the thickness of the edge of the pinched container. Under the action of the locking spring 31, the locking pawn 27 partially penetrates the housing from the head 32 to the area of the locking pawn 27 whose section corresponds to that of the housing: the locking pawn 27 is placed against the contour of the passage section of the housing by the locking spring 31, thus preventing any slide of the movable organ forming the clamp 4 in the closed position in the direction of a housing with a larger passage section, i.e. a closed position adapted to pinching a container with a thicker passage section.

In addition, to prevent the locking pawn 27 from tilting due to the pressure exerted by the spring of opening 10 on the movable organ forming clamp 4, when the lever 7 is in the recessed position, whatever the gap between the two organs forming clamp 3,4, the locking pawn 27 is supported against the wall 50 which delimits the cavity 29 towards the organs forming clamp 3,4. Thus, the locking pawn 27 remains straight which reinforces the immobilization of the movable organ forming clamp 4.

In the pattern shown in Figures 2 and 3, the clearance of the block pivot 27 is formed by a straight wall 51 connecting the head 32 to the base 33 and the passage section of the housing can be fixed in any way.

In the manner shown in Figure 4, the evaporation of the locking pawn 27 is effected by a wall 52 in the form of a staircase 53 consisting of several steps 53 connecting the head 32 to the base 33. In this manner, the steps 53 are oriented perpendicular to the direction of translation of the movable organ forming clamp 4 and, as a result, the locking pawn 27 is not damaged by this organ.

This means of locking 26 thus prevents any movement of the clamp-forming organs in the closed position, particularly that which may occur due to the lever effect caused by the weight of the loaded vessel (especially if the vessel has a low-thickness rim).

In addition, the removable gripper 1 has actuators 16 mounted in a mobile translational manner on the gripper 2 in a direction which is substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the gripper 2.

The actuators 16 are mobile between a rest position and an actuator position in which the actuators 16 move the lever 7 from its recessed position to its deployed position.

The actuators 16 are continuously actuated to their resting position by a spring 17 supporting against the restraint 2 and the actuators 16.

As can be seen from Figures 1 and 2, lever 7 comprises a support surface 19 and actuators 16 comprise a component forming an inclined plane 18 which is adapted to come into contact with support surface 19 when lever 7 is in the unfolded position and actuators 16 are in the actuating position.

In addition, the means of actuation 16 shall include an activation button 20 protruding on the surface of the removable grip 1 opposite to that to which the lever 7 is attached and suitable for use by the user.

The movable organ forming clamp 4 _has a groove 21 through which the activation button 20 is solidarised to the inclined plane 18 (the activation button 20 and the inclined plane 18 are located on either side of the movable organ forming clamp 4) so that the movement of the movable organ forming clamp 4 is not impeded by the means of actuation 16, and vice versa.

When the user wishes to move the lever 7 from its concealed position to its deployed position in order to release the container of the organs forming the clamp 3,4, he shall force the actuating means 16 to translate to their actuating position by means of the actuating button 20; the actuating button 20 enables the user to operate the actuating means 16 without having to change handles and with the aid of the thumb alone.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the method described in detail above.

For example, it would be possible to make a removable grip device with a transmission medium other than a bead.

It is also possible that the locking pawn is mounted on the handle (or any other means of transmission) and not on the lever.

It would also be possible to have a removable gripper, comprising two gripper-forming organs mounted on a gripper body, one of the gripper-forming organs being mobile in translation relative to the gripper body, in a direction appreciably parallel to the longitudinal direction of the gripper body, between an open and a closed position in which the gripper-forming organs are adapted to grip a rim of the vessel, the device also comprising means of movement which are adapted to move the gripper-forming organs relative to each other, which include a lever mounted moving in rotation relative to the gripper-body between a deployed position and a sling in the gripper-forming position in which the gripper is mounted in a closed position,and a transmission medium extending between the lever and the mobile organ forming the clamp and suitable for moving the mobile organ forming the clamp in translation when the lever is pivoted, characterised by the fact that the lever has a short length (as described above, i.e. allowing the grip of the grip body behind the lever by at least the ear and ring finger), which avoids having to change grip whether the lever is in its deployed or in its recessed position.Such a restraint could obviously have the various specific characteristics set out in this application.

Claims (17)

1. Removable gripping device (1) for a container, comprising:

   - two gripper-forming members (3, 4) which are mounted on a gripping body (2), one of the gripper-forming members (4) being able to move in translation with respect to the gripping body (2) in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the gripping body (2), between an open position and a closed position in which the gripper-forming members (3, 4) are able to grip an edge of the container,

   - displacement means (6) which are able to displace the gripper-forming members (3, 4) with respect to one another, which displacement means comprise a lever (7) which is mounted to move in rotation with respect to the gripping body (2) between an extended position and a retracted position in which the movable gripper-forming member (4) is in the closed position, and a transmission means (9) which extends between the lever (7) and the movable gripper-forming member (4) and is able to displace the movable gripper-forming member (4) in translation when the lever (7) is pivoted, and said displacement means being able to adjust the distance separating the two gripper-forming members (3, 4) in the closed position to the thickness of the gripped container when the lever (7) is in its retracted position, and

   - a locking means (26) which is able to prevent any movement of the movable gripper-forming member (4) when the movable gripper-forming member (4) is in the closed position,

   characterised in that the locking means (26) comprises a locking pin (27) which is mounted on the displacement means (6) and is able to penetrate into a housing (29, 30) when the lever (7) is in the retracted position.
2. Removable gripping device (1) according to Claim 1, characterised in that the housing (29, 30) has a passage cross section which depends on the position of the movable gripper-forming member (4) in the closed position.
3. Removable gripping device (1) according to Claim 2, characterised in that the housing (29, 30) comprises a cavity (29) formed in the gripping body (2) and a slot (30) formed through the movable gripper-forming member (4).
4. Removable gripping device (1) according to Claim 3, characterised in that the slot (30) is located essentially facing the cavity (29) when the movable gripper-forming member (4) is in a closed position.
5. Removable gripping device (1) according to any of Claims 2 to 4, characterised in that the passage cross section of the housing (29, 30) is all the larger, the closer the two gripper-forming members (3, 4) are to one another when they are in the closed position.
6. Removable gripping device (1) according to any of Claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the locking pin (27) is mounted on the lever (7).
7. Removable gripping device (1) according to Claim 6, characterised in that the locking pin (27) is able to move in translation with respect to the lever (7) and is biased in the direction of the housing (29, 30) by a locking spring (31).
8. Removable gripping device (1) according to Claims 3 and 7, characterised in that, when the lever (7) is in the retracted position, regardless of the distance separating the two gripper-forming members (3, 4), the locking pin (27) bears against the wall delimiting the cavity (29) in the direction of the gripper-forming members (3, 4).
9. Removable gripping device (1) according to any of Claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the locking pin (27) is flared from its head (32) to its base (33), by which it is connected to the displacement means (6).
10. Removable gripping device (1) according to Claim 9, characterised in that the flaring of the locking pin (27) is formed by a straight wall connecting the head (32) to the base (33).
11. Removable gripping device (1) according to Claim 9, characterised in that the flaring of the locking pin (27) is formed by a wall having the shape of a staircase formed of several steps and connecting the head (32) to the base (33).
12. Removable gripping device (1) according to any of Claims 1 to 11, characterised in that the displacement means (6) are shaped such that the lever (7) is in a stable equilibrium position both in the retracted position and in the extended position, and passes through an intermediate unstable equilibrium position as it pivots from one to the other of its two stable equilibrium positions.
13. Removable gripping device (1) according to any of Claims 1 to 12, characterised in that a spring (15) which is able to act on the movable member (4) so as to allow the adjustment of the distance separating the two gripper-forming members (3, 4) is housed in the transmission means (9).
14. Removable gripping device (1) according to any of Claims 1 to 13, characterised in that the transmission means (9) are formed by a connecting rod (9) which is mounted to move in rotation with respect to the lever (7) and with respect to the movable gripper-forming member (4).
15. Removable gripping device (1) according to Claim 14, characterised in that the connecting rod (9) is mounted to rotate on the lever (7) via a shaft (13) which is located close to that end of the lever (7) which is opposite the end by which the lever (7) is connected to the gripping body (2).
16. Removable gripping device (1) according to any of Claims 1 to 15, characterised in that the length of the lever (7) corresponds to the width of three fingers held next to one another.
17. Removable gripping device (1) according to any of Claims 1 to 16, characterised in that the lengths of the lever (7) and of the gripping body (2) are such that a user holding the gripping device (1) in his hand has his index finger and middle finger against the lever (7) and his ring finger and little finger against the gripping body (2).