MXPA01001601A - Indexed sealing ring for pressure cooker, and pressure cooker equipped therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns a safety sealing ring (1) designed to be mounted in a pressure cooker lid to ensure tightness between the lid and the vat. The invention is characterised in that it comprises at least an external slot (25) at its periphery and relative fixing means between the sealing ring (1) and the lid for indexing the rotation of the sealing ring (1) with that of the lid. The invention is applicable to pressure cooker sealing rings.

Description

SEALED AND GRADUATED RING FOR EXPRESS POT AND EXPRESS POT EQUIPPED WITH THE SAME The invention relates to the field of espresso pans comprising a container and a lid equipped with a package in order to provide sealing between the lid and the container when the espresso pot is under pressure. The present invention relates to a safety gasket with graduation that is designed to be installed in the lid of an express pot in order to provide pressure sealing between the lid and the pot of the espresso pot and also, to an espresso pot whose lid It is suitable for receiving a safety package with graduation. It is already known how to adjust express pans, for example of the bayonet type, with an annular sealing gasket made of a deformable elastomer material in order to provide sealing between the container and the lid when the espresso pot is placed under pressure. The safety aspects of the operation of the espresso pot are also well known given the high pressure that may exist inside the appliance during cooking and the potential danger in case of excessive pressure. Therefore, to improve the safety systems in the express pots, there are several safety devices suitable to be activated simultaneously or in succession in the event that a limit operating pressure is exceeded. It is well known therefore that it must be ensured that the express pots have one or more safety devices that coexist with a safety device that relies on the deformation of the sealing pack.

Therefore, it is well known that sealing packaging which is extruded through an opening provided in the side wall of the lid can be used to allow the packing to be removed outwardly as it is extruded through the opening in the case of an excess of pressure. The extrusion of the package is accompanied by the lower edge of the package moving downward beyond its sealing position, thereby causing the fluid to escape suddenly downward along the walls of the container of the express pot. Although said device indisputably performs the function of providing the espresso pot with additional safety, it has disadvantages in that it requires additional industrial operation during the manufacture of the lid, associated with the making of an opening therein. In addition, the sudden escape of the fluid outwards and downwards by the sides of the apparatus may first have the consequence of extinguishing the heating element with the secondary consequences of being dangerous in terms of safety, and secondly the risk of sudden expulsion of a boiling fluid under pressure to the outside and perhaps, on the user. In order to improve such a device and, in particular, to reduce the violent effects of the packaging that is extruded, it has been considered that packages with special shapes could be developed. Therefore, proposals have already been made to eliminate the packing extrusion window usually provided in the lid, and to form a series of notches around the entire inner and outer periphery of the annular gasket, the notches that are associated in pairs with series. of internal slots. In the operation, in case of occasional excess pressure, the package deforms radially in one or more notch / groove pairs, thereby causing the fluid to progressively escape to the bottom of the apparatus. Such a device ensures that the fluid spills relatively progressively outwards, although it complicates the manufacture of the annular packaging due to the multiplicity of shapes that are provided and, in fact, can give rise to spills in normal operation. In addition, such a safety device makes it necessary to have numerous notch / groove pairs around the periphery of the package to ensure that there is at least one notch / groove pair that is in operation when the package is in place between the container ramps. and the lid. The presence of such ramps in the container opposes the displacement of the packing lids on certain annular sectors. Finally, proposals have already been made to solve the aforementioned problems by preparing a safety package graduated on the lid. To this end, the package is provided at its periphery with two radial tabs designed to be inserted into an opening formed in the peripheral side edge of the edge for graduated rotation of the package with the rotation of the edge. In that embodiment, the gasket has a notch at its internal periphery geometrically associated with the grading grooves to ensure that the gasket is extruded through the opening. However, this safety device has the disadvantage of requiring the production of an extrusion opening in the lid. In addition, the aforementioned disadvantage with respect to extrusion is maintained, that is, the fluid escapes suddenly and downward in the case of excess pressure. Also, said device does not prevent a package being mounted on the lid of the espresso pot, that is, a package that is not specially designed to fit said espresso pot, a package that does not have graduation slots. The possibility of mounting the wrong type of packaging can naturally be considered as a potential source of erroneous operation of the appliance and, in general, degrades its safety in use. Another example of a graduated package is described in detail in DE-C-1076922 which proposes to adjust the position of the package by forming two lugs in the lid for insertion into two openings in the package. In association with these two graduation means, a window on the drip edge of the lid for local extrusion of the package through said opening in the case of excess pressure is provided as in all known modes of packing graduation. . The disadvantages of this solution are the same as those mentioned for the previous modality that implements a graduated package.

Accordingly, the objects of the invention are to solve the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art and propose a novel safety and graduation pack for an express pot that allows to improve the overall safety of the express pot while being particularly simple in its design. and manufacturing. Another object of the invention proposes a novel safety and graduation pack for an express pot that allows the package and lid of the express pan to be made in a particularly simple form, and also facilitate the placement of the package in its place. A further object of the invention seeks to provide an express pot that has improved safety and a simplified design. The objects of the invention are achieved through a safety and graduation package designed to be mounted on the lid of an express pot in order to provide a pressure seal between the lid and the pot of the espresso pot, the packaging that includes relative clamping means between the package and the lid for graduated rotation of the package with the rotation of the lid, the package being characterized in that it includes at least one cutting notch on its periphery to allow the package to deform radially in the external notch in case the pressure inside the express pot becomes excessive. The objects of the invention are also achieved through an express pot comprising a container and a lid for receiving a safety and graduation pack.

The advantages and details of the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, given only by way of non-limiting exemplification and, in which: Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of one embodiment of a security pack of the invention; Figure 2 is a fragmentary cross section through a first installation variant of a package of the invention in the lid of an express pot; Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view through a second installation variant of a safety gasket of the invention in the lid of an express pot; Figure 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view through a third installation variant of a safety gasket of the invention in a lid of an express pan; Figure 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view through a fourth installation variant of a security pack of the invention in a lid of an express pan; Figure 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view on line VI-VI of Figure 1 showing a security pack of the invention in the rest position; Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view identical to Figure 6, showing a package of the invention in its active decoupling position during excess pressure; and Figure 8 is a plan view showing a variant embodiment of a package of the invention installed in an espresso pot, and shown in its position when the lid is closed. Figures 1 to 7 show a safety device of the invention comprising in association a safety and graduation pack 1 together with an express pot 2. Figures 1 to 7 show the express pot of the conventional bayonet type, made by stamping of a metal and comprising a container 3, for example a substantially circular container having a bottom (not shown in the figures) and side walls 4. The express pot 2 is of the bayonet type and for this purpose has a flange top 6 projecting radially outward from the top of the side wall 4. The top flange 6 is provided around its circumference with a set of ramps 7 (Figure 1) that are evenly distributed around the periphery of the top flange 6. The ramps 7 are designed to form a bayonet locking system with a series of counter-ramps formed in the lid 10 of the express pot. In its peripheral external portion, the lid 10 is designed to serve as a seat for receiving the package 1, as shown in Figures 1 to 7. Conventionally, the lid 10 has a peripheral drip edge 12 extending the top face 11 of the lid. The gasket 1 is in the form of an annular gasket made of a deformable elastomer material, such as silicone. Conventionally, the gasket 1 has a flange 21 (Figures 4 and 5) which forms the central portion of the gasket 1 with the peripherally outer face thereof forming an anterior edge 22 for pressing against the inner face of the drip edge 12 , or only a portion of it. In an equally conventional manner, the gasket 1 has two end edges 23A and 23B, projecting from the rim 21 and away from the front edge 22 and forming an upper edge and a lower edge. According to the invention, the security packaging 1 is suitable for grading and includes at least one external notch 25 (Figures 1 and 6) formed on the periphery of the package 1 in the mass of its flange 21 which is recessed from the edge previous 22. In an advantageous version of the invention as shown in Figure 1, the outer notch 25 is in the form of a curved and regular cut extending substantially over the entire height of the package 1, ie from the edge anterior 22 and its concave face faces towards the outside of the package. Instead of having a regular concave cut, other shapes can be naturally considered, for example a U-shape, a V-shape, a W-shape, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention. Similarly, the security and graduation packaging 1 of the invention may have a plurality of external notches 25 distributed in optionally regular intervals around its periphery. However, the preferred embodiment of the invention has only a single notch 25. In the case of an excess pressure inside the express pot 2, the function of the outer notch 25 is to allow the package to deform radially in a specific location that is, in the notch 25, so as to allow the front edge 22 located in the outer groove 25 to come into contact, due to deformation, with the internal face of the drip edge 12 (Figures 6 and 7). According to the invention, the security packaging 1 is graduated by relative fastening means 30 between the package 1 and the cover 10 to adjust the rotation of the package 1 with the rotation of the cover. In this way, the security and graduation packaging 1 of the invention is installed in the lid 10 in a single position only, and any rotation of the lid 10 implies that the package 1 also rotates through the same angle with respect to the container 3. Advantageously, and as shown in Figures 2 to 5, the fastening means 30 comprise a male element and a female element designed to cooperate with each other in order to fix the package 1 in relation to the lid 10. In a first variant of the embodiment shown in Figures 2 and 3, the male element is supported by or integral with the lid 10 and is formed, for example, by a projection 31 such as a pin or a protrusion, which preferably is folded in said top. In this variant, the female element was formed in the body of the package 1, the male element which is designed to penetrate into the female element. In the variants shown in Figures 2 and 3, the female element was optionally formed by a through hole 32 formed in the rim 21 of the package 1. In the variant shown in Figure 2, the projection 31 is secured to the top face 11 of the lid 10 and extends from its inner face near the drip edge 12 and substantially parallel thereto, substantially vertical in the orientation of the figure. The projection 31 is preferably made of metal and is also preferably fixed to the cover 10 by folding. In this variant, the orifice 32 (Figure 1) was formed in the rim 21 on the shaft which is substantially perpendicular to the plane in which the package 1 extends so that the projection 31 can penetrate into the hole 32 when the package 1 is placed in its place in the lid 10, as shown in Figure 2. The variant shown in Figure 3 differs from that shown in Figure 2 only by the fastening means having a different geometrical orientation. In the version shown in Figure 3, this orientation is radial, the projection 31 is secured to the inner side of the drip edge 12 and extends radially therefrom towards the center of the express pot 2. In this variant, the orifice 32 is formed in the rim 21 of the package 1 starting from its front edge 20 on an axis which is substantially radial and which extends towards the edges 23A and 23B and the center of the express pot 2. In the variants shown in the Figures 4 and 5, the male element is no longer provided in the lid 10, but extends from the body of the package 1, and is preferably integral with the rim 21. Thus, in the variant shown in Figure 4, the element male is constituted by a projection 35 integral with the body of the rim 21 and preferably extends from its upper face towards the lid 10. The projection 35 advantageously extends from the central portion of the rim 21 in a direction that is its substantially normal to the median plane into which the lid 10 extends, the projection being designed to penetrate into an opening 32 formed within the top face 11 of the lid 10. Naturally, the position of the hole 32 is determined so that When the package 1 is put into place in the lid 10 by inserting the projection 35 into the opening 32, the package 1 can perform its main function of providing the seal between the lid 10 and the container 2, and this applies to all the variants. The variant shown in Figure 5 differs from that of Figure 4 only by the radial direction of the projection 35 and the hole 32 relative to the center of the pressure cooker 2 and / or its main axis of symmetry. In this variant, the projection 35 projects from the body of the flange 21 and extends radially from its front edge 22, the hole 32 that was formed in a complementary manner on the drip edge 12. The safety device of the invention operates as follow.

With the package 1 in position in the lid so that the male element 31 is inserted in the female element 32, and with the lid 10 closed in a hermetically sealed manner on the container 3, the pressure inside the apparatus can be raised. When the cooking pressure exceeds a critical value, and assuming no other safety devices have been operated, the package 1 is subjected to radial pressure f (Figures 3, 6 and 7) so that the face of the outer notch 25 is it comes into contact with the drip edge 12. During this displacement, the lower edge 23B is caused to be moved progressively and radially by the applied force f. During this displacement, and at the end thereof, the lower edge 23B goes beyond the extreme edge of the flange 26 and escapes downwards on said edge, causing the fluid to escape progressively downwards. According to the invention, the escape of the lower edge 23B can be advantageously promoted and adjusted by reducing the size of the flange 6 locally, only by machining said edge of the container in an angular position that is in coincidence with the position occupied by the external notch 25. As a consequence, the invention makes it possible to mount a package of a profile that is specific to the lid and prevents a standard package from being mounted on the lid due to the presence of relative fastening means 30 packing and lid. The safety aspects of the espresso pot are reinforced in this way since it is possible to install only one package that fits precisely in the espresso pot and then operates with maximum effectiveness. Furthermore, the design of the package 1 of the invention was considerably simplified since, advantageously, to be formed only requires an external notch 25 and a hole 32 or a projection 35. For safety reasons, and in particular to prevent the Packaging is placed in place erroneously after it has been inverted, the package is provided with two notches 25 or in fact a series of five external notches 25, as shown in Figure 8. In this variant, the outer notches 25 are uniformly distributed around the periphery of the package 1 and each of them is associated with a pair of internal notches 26 formed in each of the edges 23A and 23B in coincidence with the center of the corresponding external notch 25. This This modality improves the security with which the packaging 1 is deformed, if it is necessary to do so. Finally, the graduated package of the invention is presented in such a way that it makes it possible to precisely control and locate the drip zone from the express pot since the position of the package is known precisely and is repeatable. Due to all this, the security aspects and the simplicity of the design are greatly improved. As a further variant, it is possible to associate the graduated package of the invention with an express pot whose lid 10 has a flow orifice 40 (figures 1, 6 and 7) formed through its upper face 11. The orifice is made through of the lid 10 so that when the package 1 is placed in place and graduated relative to the lid 10, the hole 40 is substantially in register with the outer notch 25, and is preferably centered relative to its axis of curvature. In this additional variant, the radial displacement of the gasket 1 allows the upper edge 23A to uncouple the opening 40 in a progressive manner (Figures 6 and 7) to allow the spill to progressively rise upwardly in the air of the radially moving packing. outward, thus gradually discovering the flow orifice 40. The area constituting the relative fastening means 30 between the package and the lid can be made in any of the possible angular positions of the express pot 2.

Claims (13)

1. A security and graduation pack (1) designed to be mounted on the lid (10) of an espresso pot (2) to provide sealing at a pressure between the lid (10) and the container (3) of the espresso pot, the package (1) including relative fastening means (30) between the package (1) and the lid (10) to adjust the rotation of the package (1) with the rotation of the lid (10), the package that is characterized because it includes at least one external notch (25) at its periphery to allow the package to deform radially in the outer notch (25) in case the pressure inside the express pot becomes excessive.

A package according to claim 1, characterized in that each outer notch (25) is in the form of a regular curved cut extending substantially over the total height of the package (1).

A package according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it includes at least two external notches (25), and preferably five external notches (25) evenly distributed around the periphery of the package (1).

A package according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the fastening means (30) comprises a male element (31, 35) and a female element (32) designed to cooperate with one another.

A package according to claim 4, characterized in that the male element (31) is supported by the lid (10), the female element (32) that is formed in the package (1).

6. A package according to claim 5, characterized in that the male element was formed by a projection (31), preferably folded to the lid (10) and designed to penetrate the female element that was formed by a hole (32) formed in the flange (21) of the package (1).

7. A package according to claim 6, characterized in that the projection (31) is secured to the upper face (11) of the lid (10), the hole (32) that formed in the rim (21) of the package (1) ) in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the plane in which the package (1) extends. A package according to claim 7, characterized in that the projection (31) is secured to the peripheral drip edge (12) of the lid (10), the hole (32) that formed in the rim (21) of the package (1) in a substantially radial direction. A package according to claim 4, characterized in that the male element (35) is supported by the package (1), and preferably is an integral portion of the package (1), the female element which is an opening (32) formed through the lid (10). A package according to claim 9, characterized in that the male element is formed by a projection (35) integral with the body of the rim (21) of the package (1), preferably in its upper portion, the projection that is designed to penetrate the opening (32) formed through the upper face (12) of the lid (10). A package according to claim 9, characterized in that the male element was formed by a projection (35) integral with the body of the rim (21) of the package (1) and extending radially from the front edge (22) of the rim (21), the projection that is designed to penetrate the opening (32) formed through the peripheral drip edge (12) of the lid (10). 12. A pressure cooker, preferably a bayonet express cooking pot, comprising a container (3) and a lid (10) for receiving a security and graduation pack (1) according to any of claims 1 to 11. An expresso pot according to claim 12, characterized in that it includes a lid (10) provided with a flow orifice (40) formed through its upper face (11) to allow the air to escape progressively in an upward direction when the package (1) moves radially outward, thus discovering in a progressive manner the flow orifice (40).