Device For Opening Or Closing A Lid Of A Jar

Abstract

A device for opening or closing a lid of a jar in which the tail end of a handle fixed to the upper surface of the lid is hingedly supported on an attaching member at the upper rear portion of the jar main body and a locking member mounted at the front end of the handle is adapted to be engaged with or disengaged from a holding member at the upper front portion of the main body. After the locking member is fixed to the outer cover of the lid, the handle is mounted on the outer cover. The handle and the locking member are constructed independently of each other in their mechanical structures, whereby the load to be exerted on the handle due to its structure is reduced to make the device more durable and easier to assemble.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a device for opening or closing a lid of a jar by which the tail end of a handle fixed to the upper surface of the lid is hingedly supported on an attaching member at the upper rear portion of a casing of the jar main body and which is provided with a locking member for fastening the lid to the front end of the handle.

A jar is already known in which, as described above, the lid is pivotally supported on an attaching member at the upper rear portion of the casing by means of the handle and the lid is locked in closed position. However, a conventional device of this type is quite troublesome to assemble, because it comprises a number of parts and is complex in its structure. Furthermore with a locking device fixed to the handle of the lid, the handle gets cracked or the locking becomes ineffective while it is in use since the handle is generally made of a thermosetting synthetic resin such as Bakelite. The present invention contemplates eliminating these disadvantages of conventional devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to make improvements both in the structure for attaching the locking means and in the structure of the handle and to thereby provide a device for opening or closing the lid which is smaller in the number of the constituent parts and easier to assemble with high efficiency.

Another object of the present invention is to remarkably improve the durability of the locking means and the handle of the lid and to thereby provide a device for opening or closing the lid which is free from breakage or troubles over a long period of use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device whose locking means can be actuated by the hand gripping the handle, the locking means and the handle thus being adapted to be operated by one hand simultaneously.

In accordance with the present invention, a lock lever, instead of being attached to the handle made of Bakelite, is pivotally mounted on a metal member which is directly secured to the outer metal cover of the lid with screws. Under the resilient action of a plate spring whose one end is secured between the lid and the metal member, the lock lever is always so urged that the hook at its end may be brought into engagement with a holding member secured to an upper front portion of the main body casing. Accordingly, the attaching portion of the lock lever is entirely independent of the handle. This structure serves to provide more secure attachment in simplified arrangement, ensuring easier and more efficient assemblage. In addition, being free of excess load which would otherwise be exerted by the locking means, the handle made of Bakelite is protected against breakage.

After the rock lever has been attached to the outer cover of the lid, the handle is fixed to the upper surface of the lid with screws and the tail end of the handle is pivotally mounted on the attaching member screwed on the upper rear portion of the casing. When the handle is mounted on the lid, therefore, the lock lever and the metal member for supporting the lever are housed in the front end portion of the handle. The front end is further formed with a large opening for allowing the actuating portion of the lock lever to be exposed from the upper surface of the front end so that the actuating portion may be operated by the hand which is gripping the handle. In mounting the handle on the lid, the handle may be placed on the lid as if to cover the rock lever from above, with the result that the procedure can be carried out with extreme ease. Accordingly, this feature, along with the reduction in the number of the constituent parts of the locking member, makes it possible to assemble the device with high efficiency. Moreover, due to the arrangement that the actuating portion is exposed from the upper surface of the front end of the handle, the lock lever can be readily operated.

Other objects and features of the present invention will be understood from the detailed description below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a view showing the entire structure of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing the principal part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a lock lever as it is attached to the outer cover of a lid; and

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a metal member for attaching the lock lever.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the Drawings, designated at 1 is a casing in the form of a metal cylinder for the jar main body. The casing 1 houses therein a heat-insulating container 2 such as a double-walled vacuum bottle which is fixed in position by means of a packing 3 and an unillustrated support member. Designated at 4 is an outer lid cover made of a metal plate provided, in its interior, with a heat-insulating material 5 which is covered with an inner cover 6 made of plastics. These insulating material 5 and the inner cover 6 are secured to the inner face of the outer cover 4 after a locking member and a handle are attached to the outer cover 4. A metal member 7 for mounting a lock lever is fixed to the front of the outer cover 4. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 in detail, the metal member 7 has a pin 9 laterally disposed on bearings 8 in the upper front end portion thereof and is formed with a screw hole 10 for mounting the handle to be described later. The metal member 7 is fixed to the front of the outer cover 4 with screws 11. In fixing the metal member 7 to the outer cover 4, the base portion of a plate spring 12 is inserted between the outer cover 4 and the metal member 7 to secure the metal member 7 together with the plate spring 12. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 in detail, the plate spring 12 rests on the shoulder of the outer cover 4 by means of the metal member 7, with its free end bent in U-shaped form on the upper surface of the outer cover 4 into contact with the under surface of the stepped portion 14 of the lock lever 13 so as to act resiliently on the lock lever 13. The lock lever 13, formed in elongated shape, has a hook 15 inwardly formed at its lower end and an actuating portion 16 at its upper end which extends from the stepped portion 14. The lock lever 13 is pivotally supported on the pin 9 at bearing portions 17 at the middle position of its length. The hook 15 has such a length that when the lock lever 13 is fixed to the lid it extends below the lid so as to engage a holding member to be described later. On the other hand, the actuating portion 16 extends upward above the lid to a suitable level so as to ensure satisfactory locking operation. Furthermore, the lock lever 13 is provided with a vertically elongated opening 18 to make it possible to insert the screw for attaching the handle.

In this manner, the lock lever 13 and the metal member 7 therefor are mounted on the outer cover 4. Since the metal member 7 is directly fixed to the outer metal cover 4 with the screws 11, secure attachment is effected to preclude troubles in the locking member, such arrangement further serving to minimize the number of constituent parts of the locking member and to thereby simplify the structure.

After the locking member has been mounted, the handle 19 is fixed. As the details are shown in FIG. 2, the handle 19, molded of a thermosetting synthetic resin such as Bakelite, has a front end which is provided with a large space 20 with its upper and lower ends left open so that the locking member may be disposed therein to allow the actuating portion 16 to be exposed from the upper surface of the front portion and the hook 15 to extend downward, the lock lever 13 thereby being adapted to be brought into or out of locking engagement. The tail end of the handle 19 is provided with a bearing portion 21 for receiving a pin which is laterally supported an attaching member to be described later. Thus the handle 19 is placed onto the upper surface of the outer cover 4 with the lock lever 13 positioned within the space 20, as if to cover the locking member from above and the handle 19 is fixed to the cover 4 with screws 22, 23, and 24. The screw 22 is driven into the screw hole 10 in the metal member 7, while the screw 23 is driven into a nut 25 disposed in the inner side surface of the outer cover 4. In this case, the screw 22 is inserted through the vertically elongated opening 18 formed in the lock lever 13.

After the locking member and the handle 19 are mounted on the outer cover 4, the heat-insulating material 5 and inner cover 6 are attached to the inner surface of the outer cover 4.

On the other hand, the attaching member 26 is fixed to the upper rear portion of the casing 1. The pin 28 disposed at the upper portion of the attaching member 26 is inserted into the bearing portion 21 at the rear end of the handle 19 so as to allow the lid to be opened or closed hingedly relative to the jar main body.

The holding member 29 is fixed to the upper front portion of the casing 1, namely to the position corresponding to the under face of the front end of handle 19. The hook 15 of the lock lever 13 is adapted to be brought into engagement with the holding member 29 under the action of the plate spring 12. To free this engagement, the actuating portion 16 of the lock lever 13 is pressed as indicated in an imaginary line in FIG. 2, whereby the lid can be opened. When the lid is closed and the pressure on the actuating portion 16 of the lock lever 13 is relieved, locking is automatically effected, since the hook 15 is always so urged as to engage with the holding member 29 by the plate spring 12. The holding member 29 is covered with a cover 31 which has a space to allow the hook 15 of the lock lever 13 to perform the engagement for the above-described operation. By means of a screw 32 the cover 31 is fixed to the casing 1. It is possible to form the cover 31 integrally with the holding member 29.

Thus, the actuating portion 16 of the lock lever 13 can be actuated by the hand which grips the handle 19. Since the locking member and the handle 19 are secured to the outer cover 4 independently of each other, the load to be exerted on the locking member is prevented from acting directly on the handle 19.

Claims

1. In a device for opening or closing a lid of a jar in which the tail end of a handle fixed to the upper surface of said lid is hingedly supported on an attaching member at the upper rear portion of the jar main body and a locking member mounted at the front end of said handle is adapted to be engaged with or disengaged from a holding member at the upper front portion of said main body, a structure characterized in that the front end of said handle is provided with a large space with its upper and lower ends left open to dispose a locking member therein so that locking operation can be effected, said locking member comprising an attaching metal member fixed to the front portion of an outer cover of said lid with screws, a pin laterally supported on bearings at the upper front portion of said attaching metal member, a lock lever pivotally mounted on said pin approximately at the middle portion along its length and having an actuating portion at the upper part and an inwardly formed hook at the lower end, and a plate spring having a base end fixed between said metal member and said outer cover and a free end held in resilient contact with said lock lever so as to always urge said hook into engagement with said holding member, said actuating portion being exposed from the upper face of the front end of said handle, said hook projecting from the under face of the front end of said handle, said handle being so adapted that it is fixed to said outer cover after said locking member has been mounted on the front portion of said outer cover.