초록 ▼

A kitchen appliance includes a housing with a base, a side wall and a cavity. The housing has a housing rim defining an opening to the cavity. A hinge base is mounted to the side wall. A container has a generally hollow interior and a container rim defining an opening. The container fits within the

A kitchen appliance includes a housing with a base, a side wall and a cavity. The housing has a housing rim defining an opening to the cavity. A hinge base is mounted to the side wall. A container has a generally hollow interior and a container rim defining an opening. The container fits within the cavity of the housing. A lid at least partially covers the opening of the container when placed on the container rim. The lid has an exterior surface, and an opposing interior surface facing the interior of the container when the lid is placed on the container rim. A bracket is mounted to the exterior surface of the lid. At least a portion of the bracket is rotatably and selectively removably received within at least a portion of the hinge base to rotatably and selectively removable mount to the lid of the housing.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A kitchen appliance comprising: a housing having a base and a side wall extending therefrom, the side wall having an exterior surface and an opposing interior surface defining, with the base, a cavity within the housing, the housing having a housing rim at a first, free edge of the side wall defi

1. A kitchen appliance comprising: a housing having a base and a side wall extending therefrom, the side wall having an exterior surface and an opposing interior surface defining, with the base, a cavity within the housing, the housing having a housing rim at a first, free edge of the side wall defining an opening to the cavity;a container having a generally hollow interior and a container rim defining an opening for accessing the interior thereof, the interior of the container being capable of retaining foodstuffs therein, the container being sized and shaped to fit within the cavity of the housing;a lid sized and shaped to at least partially cover the opening of the container when placed on the container rim, the lid having an exterior surface and an opposing interior surface facing the interior of the container when the lid is placed on the container rim;a hinge base, mounted to one of the exterior surface of the side wall of the housing and the exterior surface of the lid and, a first end of the hinge base extending above the housing rim and including two spaced-apart channels on opposing exterior side walls thereof; anda bracket mounted to one of the exterior surface of the lid and the exterior surface of the sidewall of the housing, the bracket having two laterally spaced-apart extensions extending outwardly from a first end of the bracket, each of the two extensions including a respective projection on an interior side wall thereof and each projection being sized and shaped to be rotatably and selectively removably insertable within a respective channel of the two channels of the hinge base to rotatably and selectively removably mount the lid to the housing. 2. The kitchen appliance of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the hinge base extends outwardly beyond the exterior surface of the side wall of the housing, and wherein at least a portion of the bracket extends outwardly beyond an outer periphery of the lid. 3. The kitchen appliance of claim 1, wherein the first end of the bracket extends outwardly beyond an outer periphery of the lid at a first location and an opposing second end of the bracket extends outwardly beyond the outer periphery of the lid at a second location diametrically opposed to the first location. 4. The kitchen appliance of claim 3, wherein the second end of the bracket includes a handle and a groove is located on the handle. 5. The kitchen appliance of claim 4, further comprising: at least one latching mechanism mounted to the side wall of the housing, the at least one latching mechanism being an over-the-center clip having at least a hook and a lever, wherein at least a portion of the hook is sized and shaped to fit within the groove and the lever is rotatable to create a retaining force exerted by the latching mechanism on the handle to retain the lid on the container rim. 6. The kitchen appliance of claim 1, further comprising: a handle on one of an end of the bracket opposite the hinge base and the side wall of the housing;a latching mechanism mounted to one of the side wall of the housing opposite the hinge base and the end of the bracket opposite the hinge base, the latching mechanism selectively retaining at least a portion of the handle;at least one slot in the exterior surface of the side wall of the housing, andat least one mounting hole extending through the hinge base, the slot and the mounting hole being sized and shaped to receive a fastener therethrough, the slot being vertically-elongated to allow for vertical adjustment of the hinge base with respect to the side wall of the housing. 7. The kitchen appliance of claim 1, further comprising: at least two laterally spaced-apart and vertically-elongated slots in the exterior surface of the side wall of the housing, wherein at least two laterally spaced-apart mounting holes extend through the hinge base, each slot corresponding to one of the mounting holes and each corresponding slot and mounting hole being sized and shaped to receive a fastener therethrough to securely attach the hinge base to the side wall of the housing. 8. A kitchen appliance comprising: a housing having a base and a side wall extending therefrom, the side wall having an exterior surface and an opposing interior surface defining, with the base, a cavity within the housing, the housing having a housing rim at a first, free edge of the side wall defining an opening to the cavity, the side wall including at least two circumferentially spaced-apart and vertically-elongated slots in the exterior surface thereof;a container having a generally hollow interior and a container rim defining an opening for accessing the interior thereof, the interior of the container being capable of retaining foodstuffs therein, the container being sized and the hinge base further shaped to fit within the cavity of the housing, a first end of the hinge base extending above the housing rim and including two spaced-apart channels on opposing exterior side walls thereof;a hinge base mounted to the exterior surface of the side wall of the housing and having at least two circumferentially spaced-apart mounting holes extending therethrough, each mounting hole corresponding to one of the slots in the side wall of the housing;a lid sized and shaped to at least partially cover the opening of the container when placed on the container rim, the lid having an exterior surface and an opposing interior surface facing the interior of the container when the lid is placed on the container rim;a bracket mounted to the exterior surface of the lid, the bracket having two laterally spaced-apart extensions extending outwardly from a first end of the bracket, each of the two extensions including a respective projection on an interior side wall thereof and each projection being sized and shaped to be rotatably and selectively removably insertable within a respective channel of the two channels of the hinge base to rotatably and selectively removably mount the lid to the container rim; anda fastener extending through each corresponding mounting hole and slot to secure the hinge base to the side wall of the housing, the vertically-elongated slots being sized and shaped to permit vertical adjustment of the hinge base with respect to the side wall of the housing. 9. The kitchen appliance of claim 8, further comprising: four laterally spaced-apart and vertically-elongated slots in the exterior surface of the side wall of the housing, a pair of the slots being located closer to the housing rim on the side wall of the housing than the remaining two slots. 10. The kitchen appliance of claim 9, further comprising: a handle on one of an end of the bracket opposite the hinge base and the side wall of the housing;a latching mechanism mounted to one of the side wall of the housing opposite the hinge base and the end of the bracket opposite the hinge base, the latching mechanism selectively retaining at least a portion of the handle. 11. The kitchen appliance of claim 8, wherein a first end of the bracket extends outwardly beyond an outer periphery of the lid at a first location and an opposing second end of the bracket extends outwardly beyond the outer periphery of the lid at a second location diametrically opposed to the first location. 12. A kitchen appliance comprising: a housing having a base and a side wall extending therefrom, the side wall having an exterior surface and an opposing interior surface defining, with the base, a cavity within the housing, the housing having a housing rim at a first, free edge of the side wall defining an opening to the cavity;a container having a generally hollow interior and a container rim defining an opening for accessing the interior thereof, the interior of the container being capable of retaining foodstuffs therein, the container being sized and shaped to fit within the cavity of the housing;a lid sized and shaped to at least partially cover the opening of the container when placed on the container rim, the lid having an exterior surface and an opposing interior surface facing the interior of the container when the lid is placed on the container rim;a gasket extending around one of an outer edge of the lid and the container rim;a hinge base mounted to one of the exterior surface of the side wall of the housing and the exterior surface of the lid, a first end of the hinge base extending above the housing rim and including two spaced-apart channels on opposing exterior side walls thereof;a bracket mounted to one of the exterior surface of the lid and the exterior surface of the side wall of the housing, the bracket having two laterally spaced-apart extensions extending outwardly from a first end of the bracket, each of the two extensions including a respective projection on an interior side wall thereof and each projection being sized and shaped to be rotatably and selectively removably insertable within a respective channel of the two channels of the hinge base to rotatably and selectively removably mount the lid to the housing; anda latching mechanism mounted to one of the side wall of the housing opposite to the hinge base and a portion of the bracket opposing the hinge base, the latching mechanism being an over-the-center clip having at least a hook and a lever, the latching mechanism having an engaged position in which the gasket is in sealing engagement with at least one of the lid and the container rim to inhibit leakage of the foodstuffs from the interior of the container and a disengaged position in which the latching mechanism permits the lid to be removed from the container rim. 13. The kitchen appliance of claim 12, further comprising: a handle on the portion of the bracket opposite the hinge base, the latching mechanism including a groove located on the handle, the groove being sized and shaped to receive at least a portion of the hook therein. 14. The kitchen appliance of claim 12, wherein the kitchen appliance is a slow cooker having a heating element disposed within the housing sufficiently proximate the cavity to heat the cavity. 15. A method of assembling a kitchen appliance comprising: inserting a container of the kitchen appliance into a cavity of a housing of the kitchen appliance, the kitchen appliance comprising: the housing having a base and a side wall extending therefrom, the side wall having an exterior surface and an opposing interior surface defining, with the base, the cavity of the housing, at least one vertically-elongated slot located in the exterior surface of the side wall of the housing, the container having a generally hollow interior and a container rim defining an opening for accessing the interior thereof, the interior of the container being capable of retaining foodstuffs therein, a lid sized and shaped to at least partially cover the opening of the container when placed on the container rim, the lid having an exterior surface and an opposing interior surface facing the interior of the container when the lid is placed on the container rim, a bracket mounted to the exterior surface of the lid, the bracket having two laterally spaced-apart extensions extending outwardly from a first end of the bracket, each of the two extensions including a respective projection on an interior side wall thereof, a handle located on one of an end of the bracket and the side wall of the housing, a hinge base mounted to one of the exterior surface of the side wall of the housing for pivotally mounting the lid to the housing, a first end of the hinge base extending above a rim of the housing and including two spaced-apart channels on opposing exterior side walls thereof, and a latching mechanism mounted to one of the side wall of the housing and an end of the bracket opposite the hinge base;removably inserting the respective projection of each of the two extensions of the bracket into each of the respective corresponding channels of the hinge base;placing the lid on the container rim;adjusting the vertical position, of the hinge base with respect to the side wall of the housing so the lid fully engages the container rim; andinserting at least one fastener through the hinge base and into the at least one vertically-elongated slot in the side wall of the housing to properly align the handle with the latching mechanism. 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: inserting at least a portion of a hook of the latching mechanism into a groove of the latching mechanism; androtating a lever of the latching mechanism with respect to the hook to selectively retain the lid on the container rim.