JP7511810B2 - Cooking container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cooking container.

Conventionally, a cooking container for cooking in a microwave oven that is made of a soft material such as silicone is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1. The cooking container disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a pair of handles that are disposed on opposite sides of the container body.

JP 2014-140434 A

However, the cooking containers described in the above patent documents have a problem in that the handles are easily deformed because they are made of a soft material, making them difficult to hold. Also, when the cooking container is lifted by the handle with cooked food or the like contained inside, the handle may deform due to the weight, causing the hand to come into contact with the hot container body.
An object of the present invention is to provide a cooking vessel having a handle that is less prone to deformation and is easy to handle.

To achieve the above object, the cooking container of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a container portion capable of storing cooking ingredients therein and a handle attached to the outer periphery of the container portion, the handle having a protruding portion that protrudes from the outer periphery of the container portion in a substantially horizontal direction and an extension portion that extends from the protruding portion in a substantially vertical direction and connects to the outer periphery of the container portion.

In the present invention configured in this manner, the handle has an extension that extends from the protrusion in a substantially vertical direction and connects to the outer periphery of the container, so the protrusion is reinforced by the extension and is less likely to bend. Therefore, when the cooking container is lifted by holding the handle, the handle is less likely to deform, making the cooking container easier to handle. Also, because the extension extends from the protrusion in a substantially vertical direction, for example, if the extension extends downward beyond the protrusion, the extension protrudes upward from the protrusion when the cooking container is turned upside down. This makes it possible to lift the cooking container by holding the extension. Also, for example, if the extension extends upward beyond the protrusion, the cooking container can be lifted by holding the extension, making the cooking container easier to handle.

In the present invention, the extension is preferably provided around the entire outer edge of the protrusion.
In the present invention thus configured, the extension is provided around the entire outer edge of the protrusion, so that the handle is further reinforced and deformation of the handle is prevented.

In the present invention, the outer edge of the protrusion is preferably arc-shaped in plan view.
In the present invention configured in this way, the outer edge of the protrusion is arc-shaped in a plan view, making it easy to hold the handle. Also, when the extension is provided around the entire outer edge of the protrusion, the extension is arranged in an arc-shaped wall shape, preventing the extension from bending at a specific point and providing a stronger reinforcement to the handle.

In the present invention, it is preferable that a portion of the extension that is connected to the outer periphery of the container has a dimension that extends substantially vertically from the protruding portion greater than a portion other than the connected portion.
In the present invention configured in this manner, the dimension extending approximately vertically from the protruding portion of the extension is greater at the connection portion to the outer periphery of the container portion than at the other portions, so that the connection portion is reinforced in a focused manner without using an excessive amount of material for the cooking container.

In the present invention, the protrusion preferably protrudes in a substantially horizontal direction from an upper edge of the container portion.
In the present invention configured in this manner, the protrusion protrudes substantially horizontally from the upper edge of the container body, so the handle is located at the upper end of the container, making it easy to hold. Even if the height of the container is small, it is easy to ensure space between the extension of the handle and the installation surface of the cooking container, making it easy to grip the handle.

In the present invention, preferably, a rib is formed on the outer surface of the bottom of the container portion.
In the present invention configured as described above, the ribs are formed on the bottom surface of the container, and the thick bottom surface ensures strength and makes it difficult for heat to be transmitted to the outer surface of the container. Also, since the ribs are provided, the amount of material used to form the container can be reduced while still allowing the bottom surface to be made thick, thereby making the cooking container lighter.

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a cooking vessel according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of a cooking vessel according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cooking vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view of a cooking vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view of a cooking vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 5 .

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a top perspective view of a cooking vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the cooking vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a top view of the cooking vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 4 is a bottom view of the cooking vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 5 is a side view of the cooking vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that in this embodiment, the direction parallel to the paper surface in Fig. 3 is the horizontal direction of the cooking vessel, and the direction perpendicular to the paper surface is the up-down direction (vertical direction) of the cooking vessel.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 , a cooking container 1 according to this embodiment has a container body 2 and a lid 4 .
The container body 2 is formed entirely from a soft material such as silicone, and has a container portion 6 which is approximately rectangular and concave and capable of containing cooking ingredients such as food inside, and a handle 8 attached to the outer periphery of the container portion 6.
The container 6 has a substantially rectangular bottom surface 10 and side surfaces 12 extending substantially vertically from the four sides of the bottom surface 10. The bottom surface 10 has a structure in which a layer having a heat generating function is inserted between upper and lower silicone layers, so that when food is placed on the inner surface (upper surface) of the bottom surface 10 and heated in a microwave oven, the food can be heated efficiently. The layer having a heat generating function is not particularly limited, but an example of the layer is a silicone layer containing a magnetic material.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of Figure 5. As shown in Figure 6 and Figures 1 to 5, the bottom surface 10 is thicker than the side surface 12, and a thin, generally rectangular outer frame 14 is formed on the outer surface (lower surface) of the bottom surface 10 along the outer edge. In addition, a number of ribs 16 are formed in the inner region of the outer frame 14. The rib 16 is formed of an X-shaped rib 16A extending from the center of the bottom surface 10 toward the four corners, and a number of V-shaped ribs 16B arranged parallel to the rib 16A. The distance between the ribs 16A and 16B is set to a dimension such that the user's fingers are not pinched between the ribs, for example, within 8 mm, preferably within 5 mm. As shown in Figure 6, the lower surface of the rib 16 is located above the lower surface of the outer frame 14, and therefore, when the cooking vessel 1 is placed on a placement surface, the outer frame 14 comes into contact with the placement surface, but the rib 16 does not come into contact with the placement surface.

In the center of each of the four sides of the outer frame 14, a recess 18 having an arc-shaped cross section is formed, which extends from the outside to the inside of the outer frame 14. When the cooking vessel 1 is placed on a placement surface, the recess 18 allows communication between the space inside the outer frame 14 and the space outside the outer frame 14.
The side surface 12 widens outwardly in an upward direction, and a flange 20 is formed around the entire upper edge thereof, protruding horizontally outwardly.

The handle 8 has a protruding portion 22 that protrudes in a substantially horizontal direction from the outer periphery of the container portion 6, and an extension portion 24 that extends substantially vertically downward from the outer edge of the protruding portion.
The protrusion 22 protrudes outward from the upper edge of the short side of the substantially rectangular container part 6, and the outer edge thereof is arc-shaped in a plan view. Since the protrusion 22 is located at the upper edge of the container part 6, the upper surface of the protrusion 22 coincides with the upper surface of the flange 20 and is continuous with the flange 20. As shown in Fig. 6, the thickness of the protrusion 22 is formed to be thicker than the thickness of the side surface 12. In addition, two anti-slip pads 26 are formed on the upper surface of the protrusion 22 and protrude upward from the upper surface. The anti-slip pads 26 are formed in an arc shape along the outer edge of the protrusion 22.

The extension 24 extends along the entire circumference of the arc-shaped outer edge of the protrusion 22, and therefore constitutes an arc-shaped wall. Both ends of the extension 24 form connection parts 28 that connect to the outer periphery (outer surface) of the container 6. As shown in FIG. 5, the connection parts 28 connect to the container 6 so as to spread outward toward the bottom of the cooking container 1. As shown in FIG. 6, the thickness of the extension 24 is formed to be thicker than the thickness of the side surface 12 and is formed to be approximately the same as the thickness of the protrusion 22. Due to this shape, a recess 29 that is surrounded by the extension 24 and the side surface 12 and opens downward is formed below the protrusion 22.
5, the connection portion 28 of the extension portion 24 extends to near the lower end of the container portion 6. Moreover, the dimension (vertical dimension) L1 of the connection portion 28 extending downward from the outer edge of the container portion 6 is larger than the dimension L2 of the portion other than the connection portion 28, i.e., the central portion 30 disposed between the connection portions 28 of the extension portion 24 extending downward. For this reason, the lower end of the central portion 30 is located higher than the lower ends of the connection portions 28, and a recess 32 is formed by the central portion 30.

The lid 4, like the container body 2, is entirely made of a soft material such as silicone, and is formed in a generally rectangular shape corresponding to the container portion 6, with its outer and inner surfaces protruding upward. Therefore, when the lid 4 is engaged with the container portion 6 and the lid 4 of the cooking container 1 is closed, a space is formed inside the cooking container 1 below and above the upper edge of the container portion 6.
A flange 34 that protrudes horizontally outward is formed around the entire circumference (outer surface) of the lid 4. This flange 34 is formed to be thinner than the flange 20 of the container part 6, and the outer edge of the flange 34 approximately coincides with the outer edge of the flange 20 of the container part 6 when the lid 4 is closed.

In addition, the lower end portion of the lid 4 extends downwardly beyond the flange 34, and as shown in Figure 6, when the lid 4 is closed, the lower end portion of the lid 4 is inserted into the inside of the container portion 6, and the outer surface of the lower end portion contacts or faces the inner surface of the side surface 12 of the container portion 6.
A plurality of holes 38 (three in this embodiment) are provided on each of the two long side surfaces 36 of the lid 4. A knob 42 extending along the long side is provided in the center of an upper surface 40 of the lid 4.

The cooking container 1 according to this embodiment having such a structure is used as follows: In this embodiment, a case where it is used to cook dumplings by heating in a microwave oven will be described.
First, the gyoza are placed in the container section 6 of the container body 2 with the grilled side facing down. The lid 4 is closed, the container is placed in a microwave oven, and heated for a predetermined time at a predetermined output. When removing the cooked gyoza, the user inserts his/her hand through the recess 32 of the handle 8 and grasps the central portion 30 and the protruding portion 22 of the extension 24 to remove the cooking container 1 from the microwave oven. The user opens the lid 4 by holding the knob 42, grasps the handles 8 on both sides, and turns the container body 2 upside down, whereby the gyoza are removed from the container body 2 with the grilled side facing up. When lifting the container body 2 upside down, the user holds the extension 24 and lifts the container body 2.

According to the present embodiment configured as above, the following excellent effects can be obtained.
Because extension 24 of handle 8 extends vertically downward from the arc-shaped outer edge of protrusion 22 and connection portion 28 is connected to the outer periphery of container part 6, handle 8 is less likely to bend when a user grasps protrusion 22, making it easier to hold handle 8. In particular, when lifting cooking container 1 after cooking, food is contained inside and cooking container 1 is heavy, so preventing handle 8 from bending can prevent the user's hand from touching container body 1.

In addition, since the handle 8 is provided with an extension 24, even if the cooking vessel 1 is held with one handle 8, the handle 8 does not bend and the cooking vessel 1 can be held firmly.
Since the extension 24 is provided around the entire outer edge of the protrusion 22, the extension 24 can more firmly reinforce the handle 8. Therefore, the cooking vessel 1 can be held more stably.

Since the extension 24 extends downward from the outer edge of the protruding portion 22, when the cooking container 1 is turned upside down, such as when removing food from the cooking container 1, the extension 24 protrudes upward from the outer edge of the protruding portion 22. Therefore, a user can lift the cooking container 1 by grasping the extension 24 from above, making it easy to handle the cooking container 1.

Since the dimension L1 by which the connecting portion 28 extends downward is greater than the dimension L2 by which the central portion 30 extends downward, the amount of silicone material used in the central portion 30 can be reduced while still ensuring the necessary strength for the connecting portion 28.
In addition, a recess 32 is formed below the central portion 30, so that when a user grasps the handle 8, the user can insert his/her hand into the handle 8 through the recess 32, making handling easier. In particular, when the thickness of the container body 2 is small (thin), the distance between the lower end of the extension 24 and the placement surface of the cooking container 1 becomes small, making it difficult for the user to grasp the extension 24 and the protrusion 22, so it is useful to form the recess 32.

An outer frame 14 is provided on the bottom surface 10, and its lower end is located below the lower ends of the ribs 16, so that when the cooking container 1 is placed on a placement surface, the outer frame 14 of the cooking container 1 comes into contact with the placement surface. This makes it difficult for heat from the cooking container 1 to be transferred to the placement surface, preventing the food inside from cooling and the placement surface from overheating.
In addition, since ribs 16 are provided on the inside of the outer frame 14, the bottom surface 10 can be made thicker to ensure strength and make it less susceptible to heat transfer, and at the same time, the amount of silicone used can be reduced, making the cooking vessel 1 lighter.

Since the protrusion 22 protrudes horizontally from the upper edge of the container portion 6, the handle 8 is located at the upper end of the container body 2, so that the user can easily grasp the handle 8. It is particularly useful for the protrusion 22 to be located at the upper end when the container body 2 has a thin structure.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be modified in the following manner, for example.
In the above embodiment, the extension portion is provided around the entire outer edge of the protrusion, but is not limited to this and may be provided around a part of the boundary between the protrusion and the outer periphery of the container. Also, the extension portion is not limited to being provided continuously, but may be provided intermittently.
The downward extension dimension of the extension portion can be set arbitrarily to ensure strength, and the dimensions of the portions other than the connection portion may be the same as those of the connection portion, or may be different dimensions as in the previously described embodiment.

In the above embodiment, the extension portion extends downward from the outer edge of the protrusion, but this is not limited thereto, and may extend upward from the outer edge of the protrusion. In this case, the cooking container can be lifted by holding the extension portion without being turned upside down, making it easier to handle the cooking container. In addition, the extension portion is not limited to a structure that extends downward or upward from the protrusion, and may extend both upward and downward, for example, as long as it extends from the protrusion in a substantially vertical direction.
Furthermore, the extension is not limited to extending from the outer edge of the protrusion, but may extend in a substantially vertical direction from the upper or lower surface of the protrusion.

In the above embodiment, the shape of the protrusion has an outer edge that is arc-shaped, but the shape is not limited to this and any shape, such as a rectangle, a semicircle, or a semi-ellipse, can be used.
Furthermore, the protrusion is not limited to one that protrudes from the upper edge of the container part, and may be structured to protrude from the center of the container part, for example, when the container body is sufficiently tall.

The pattern of the ribs 16 is not limited to that of the above embodiment, but can be any pattern, such as curved, wavy, circular, elliptical, radial, lattice, dot, or a combination of these. In this case, it is preferable to set the spacing between the ribs to a dimension that prevents the user's fingers from getting caught in between.

Reference Signs List 1 Cooking container 2 Container body 4 Lid 6 Container part 8 Handle 22 Protruding part 24 Extension part 28 Connection part

Claims (4)

A cooking container made entirely of silicone,
A container portion capable of containing cooking ingredients therein;
A handle attached to the outer periphery of the container portion,
The handle has a protruding portion protruding from an outer periphery of the container portion in a substantially horizontal direction;
an extension portion extending in a substantially vertical direction from the protruding portion and connected to an outer periphery of the container portion ;
The extension portion is provided around the entire outer edge of the protrusion,
The extension portion has a dimension that extends from the protruding portion in a substantially vertical direction larger than a central portion disposed between the connection portions other than the connection portion, and thus a recess is formed in the central portion.
A cooking vessel characterized by: The outer edge of the protrusion is arc-shaped in a plan view.
The cooking vessel of claim 1 . The protruding portion protrudes in a substantially horizontal direction from an upper edge of the container portion.
A cooking vessel according to claim 1 or 2 . A rib is formed on the outer surface of the bottom of the container portion.
A cooking vessel according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .

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