Pressure-cooker

Claim 2

A pressure cooker having pot and lid parts rotatable relative to each other and connectable with each other by a bayonet type joint, and pot and lid handles respectively connectable with each other, comprising: a pressure limiting valve mounted on said lid; cockable spring means for manually loading said pressure limiting valve to a desired pressure within a range of pressures within said pressure cooker; means for locking said pot and lid handles with each other; and means for cocking said spring only with said lid and pot handles locked together.

Claim 3

A pressure cooker in accordance with claim 1 further comprising a movable setting member for actuating said means for cocking and said means for locking.

Claim 4

A pressure cooker as in claim 1 wherein said means for locking is movable between locked and unlocked positions and said movable member actuates said means for cocking only with said means for locking in said locked position.

Claim 5

A pressure cooker as in claim 1 wherein said cocking spring means consists of a torsion spring rotatably mounted in said lid handle and being rotated by said movable member.

Claim 6

A pressure cooker as in claim 1 further comprising manually operable sliding means mounted in said lid handle for operating said movable member.

Claim 7

A pressure cooker as in claim 5 wherein said cockable spring means is a torsion spring mounted in said lid handle and said movable member is pivotally mounted in said lid handle and engageable with said torsion spring, whereby movement of said sliding means rotates said movable member to stress said torsion spring.

Claim 8

A pressure cooker as in claim 6 wherein said movable member includes a cam pin and said torsion spring includes a crank arm engageable therewith whereby increasing rotational movement of said movable setting member causes increasing tension in said torsion spring.

Claim 9

A pressure cooker as in claim 7 wherein said movable setting member is pivotally mounted in one of said handles and said means for locking and said means for cocking are part of said movable setting means, said other handle including means for engaging said means for locking.

Claim 10

A pressure cooker as in claim 6 wherein said sliding means includes an operating cam and said movable setting member includes cam follower means engageable therewith whereby movement of said sliding means causes rotation of said movable means.

Claim 11

A pressure cooker as in claim 8 wherein said movable member is rotatable about a longitudinal axis of said lid handle, said movable member further including a radially projecting tooth, said sliding means including a driving groove extending obliquely along said longitudinal axis and engageable with said projecting tooth, said movable member further including an arcuately shaped bolt, said pot handle including an arcuate recess for receiving said bolt, said movable member further including a notch between said bolt and said projecting tooth, said torsion spring further including a rear crank arm engageable with said notch whereby rotation of said movable element causes said torsion spring to exert increasing pressure on said pressure limiting valve.

Claim 12

A pressure cooker as in claim 10 wherein said movable member includes a cam surface oppositely disposed to said arcuately shaped bolt, said pot handle further includes a projection whereby upon superposition of said pot and lid handles said projection and said cam surface are engageable to rotate said movable member into an initial position whereby said projecting tooth is aligned with said driving groove.

Claim 13

A pressure cooker as in claim 1 wherein said means for cocking includes a stop member which is overridden by operation of said means for locking.

Claim 14

A pressure cooker as in claim 12 wherein said means for locking includes a presetting member mounted thereon for presetting the position of said movable member with operation of said means for locking.

Claim 15

A pressure cooker as in claim 13 further comprising an excess pressure valve including a valve body, a sealing piece consisting of an elastic material mounted between the lowest surface of said lid handle and the upper surface of said lid and including a thin wall having a notch with two lips, said valve body extending through an inner opening of said sealing piece whereby a pressure gap is created between said two lips with excess pressure within said pressure cooker.

Claim 16

A pressure cooker as in claim 13 wherein said lid handle further includes a cavity underneath said sliding means, said movable setting member is pivotally mounted within said cavity, said presetting member being slidably mounted within said pot handle such that with said pot and lid handles locked together said movable member is moved by said presetting member, said sliding means further including first teeth, said movable member further including second teeth, whereby said first and second teeth are engaged to permit further movement of said sliding means.

Claim 17

A pressure cooker as in claim 15 wherein said pot handle further includes a hole, said presetting member consists of a locking pin mounted within said hole and biased therein by a compression spring, the top free end of said locking pin having an operating ramp, the side wall of said lid handle including a shoulder and a step portion whereby rotation of said lid and pot handles into superposed positions with respect to one another causes said locking pin to snap into said step thereby locking said lid and pot handles and said operating ramp moves said movable member into said preset position.

Claim 18

A pressure cooker as in claim 16 wherein said lid handle further includes detent recesses positioned along said opening and said sliding means further includes a detent whereby displacement of said sliding means causes said detent to successively engage said detent recesses.

Claim 19

A pressure cooker as in claim 17 wherein with movement of said sliding means the reaction spring force of said torsion spring is exerted on said sliding means through said movable member and said first teeth whereby said detent is caused to engage said detent mechanism.

Claim 20

A pressure cooker as in claim 18 wherein said sliding means further includes a guide mounted obliquely to said longitudinal axis in front of said first teeth and said movable member further includes guide receiving means for slidingly contacting said guide.

Claim 21

A pressure cooker as in claim 2 wherein said movable setting member consists of a setting screw mounted in one of said handles and engageable with the other of said handles, whereby the closing of said setting screw simultaneously locks said lid handle and said pot handle together and cocks said spring.

Claim 22

A pressure cooker as in claim 2 wherein said cockable spring means consists of a partially elastic flexible arm of a double-armed lever which contacts said pressure limiting valve, the other arm of said double-armed lever being engaged by said setting screw.

Claim 23

A pressure cooker as in claim 21 wherein said double-armed lever is mounted to an aperture in said lid handle by a shaft passing through said aperture and an oppositely disposed recess in said pot handle with said lid and pot handles locked.

Claim 24

A pressure cooker as in claim 20 wherein said lid handle and pot handle each include apertures which are in aligned relationship with said pot and lid handles locked together, said setting screw passing through said aligned apertures for locking said lid and pot handles, said cockable spring means includes a rod-shaped spring extending from said pressure limiting valve to said setting screw, whereby tightening of said setting screw cocks said rod-shaped spring.

Claim 25

A pressure cooker as in claim 23 wherein said pot handle further includes a plunger sleeve mounted in the aperture therein and having an internal screw thread for axial displacement of said plunger sleeve, said setting screw including an external screw thread engageable with said internal screw thread, said setting screw including a rotary knob, said lid handle further including an indicating sleeve for receiving said setting screw and being displaceable in accordance with the closing of said setting screw, said cockable spring means engaging said indicating sleeve and being tensioned in accordance with the displacement thereof.

Claim 26

A pressure cooker as in claim 12 wherein said presetting member also constitutes said means for locking.

Claim 27

A pressure cooker as in claim 1 further comprising an excess pressure valve including a sliding pressure indicating pin, and a valve body for mounting said excess pressure valve and for attaching said lid handle to the lid cover of the pressure cooker.

Claim 28

A pressure cooker as in claim 26 wherein said excess pressure valve further includes a valve plate having a downwardly projecting neck including an annular groove, and further including an elastic protective cap having a beaded edge for mounting within said annular groove, said protective cap covering the end of said pressure indicating pin mounted within the pressure cooker.