Technical Field

The present invention relates to manufacturing of cookware. In particular, the present invention relates to a cookware fixture, and to a method for arranging cookware in a fixture.

Manufacturing of cookware is well-known and industrial processes have been developed in order to provide high quality products in a time and cost- effective manner. While different stages in the production process will have their unique challenges, certain considerations must be taken into account when developing techniques for applying surface coatings, such as functional coatings, such as coatings for scratch resistance, safe food contact and non-stick properties, and decorative coatings.

During manufacturing the cookware is produced from a suitable material, such as metal, being formed to the desired shape. The exterior side of the cookware is subsequently surface treated to exhibit the desired appearance, whereafter a suitable surface coating is applied to the interior surface, i.e., the surface intended to be in contact with food during cooking. As a last step the cookware may be provided with handles or other means for facilitating handling of the cookware.

Recent improvements relating to the interior surface have suggested applying the coating by vacuum metalizing technology, spraying coating or other coating technologies. For such process the cookware is mounted on a fixture before entering the deposition chamber. While the fixture maintains the position of the cookware during the deposition process, it must also provide a shield for preventing the exterior surface of the cookware to be treated. Undesired exposure of the exterior side of the cookware typically causes partial discoloration which is very difficult to remove without damaging the exterior surface. In particular, removal of partial discoloration of the exterior surface requires mechanical abrasion techniques, which could also create damages on the interior surface.

Hence, there is a need to find a fixture that is efficient for holding cookware during treatment thereof, and which reduces the amount of coating material that ends up in incorrect positions.

Summary In view of the above drawbacks of prior art techniques there is a need for improvements relating to cookware manufacturing. The inventors have realized that in order to prevent the coating process from contaminating the exterior surface of the cookware, the peripheral edge of the cookware must be positioned in close contact with the fixture. This is of particular importance when the coating process involves the use of a plasma. At the same time is it necessary to provide some fixation of the cookware relative the fixture, which is normally achieved by means arranged remote from the peripheral edge of the cookware.

These two objectives may be solved in a straightforward manner when the dimensions of the cookware are the same, but today cookware is manufactured with quite significant tolerances which means that so far, a practical trade-off is required between efficient shielding of the exterior surface and rigid fixation of the cookware.

According to a first aspect, a cookware fixture for holding a piece of cookware during a step of manufacturing the same is provided. The fixture comprises a cavity dimensioned to receive at least parts of an associated cookware, and a circumferential support surface surrounding said cavity and dimensioned to support a peripheral rim of the associated cookware received in the cavity. The fixture further comprises at least one fixation device comprising a housing arranged at the bottom of the cavity. The housing is accommodating a magnet which is axially displaceable in said housing. The magnet is moveable relative the housing against the force of a springy element to interact with the bottom of the cookware to hold the cookware in position relative the cavity.

It is thus possible to ensure rigid positioning as well as efficient shielding even when the dimensions of the cookware deviate from the desired dimensions.

According to another aspect, a cookware fixture is provided for holding a piece of cookware during a step of manufacturing the same. The cookware fixture comprises a cavity dimensioned to receive at least parts of an associated cookware. The fixture further comprises at least one fixation device arranged at the bottom of the cavity of the fixture, said fixation device comprising a magnet which is displaceable against the force of a springy element to interact with a bottom of the cookware to hold the cookware in position relative the cavity.

The cookware fixture may further comprise a circumferential support surface surrounding said cavity.

The circumferential support surface may be dimensioned to support a peripheral rim of the associated cookware received in the cavity. The circumferential support surface may extend in a plane perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of said cavity.

The at least one fixation device may comprise a housing which at least partly accommodates the magnet.

The housing may be arranged at the bottom of the cavity.

The magnet may be axially displaceable in said housing.

The magnet may be moveable relative the housing against the force of the springy element.

Said magnet may protrude axially at least to some extent outside the housing. The cookware can then magnetically attach to the fixation device by coming into contact with the magnet only, which thereby provides a distinct connection area.

The housing may have an axial direction being perpendicular to at least a portion of a bottom of a cookware to which the fixture is adapted.

The housing may comprise a stop member arranged to delimit the axial movement of the magnet. This ensures that the magnet will stay within the housing even if strong pulling or pushing forces are applied to the cookware when it is attached to the magnet, and also to keep the magnet in place when the cookware is removed from the fixture and the magnet has to release its holding force. The stop member may also define how much the magnet can protrude from the housing.

Each fixation device may further comprise a springy element in the form of at least one spring arranged inside the housing and configured to apply a spring force to the magnet in the axial direction. A spring makes it possible to provide a distinct resting position of the magnet, and also a well-defined spring force which assists in correct positioning of the cookware.

The springy element, such as the spring, may have a spring constant in the range of 0,3 to 5 N/mm, preferably between 0,4 to 1 N/mm, even more preferably between 0,4 to 0,8 N/mm. This allows for very simple and cost-effective components of the fixation device, while the spring still is strong enough to provide the desired functionality of allowing the magnet to be displaced and for applying a sufficient axial force to the magnet.

Said magnet may be axially moveable between an idle position and a biased position. The motion of the magnet can thereby accommodate for tolerances of the cookware, while still keeping the cookware fixated. The magnet may be axially displaceable by a total amount of 10 mm or less, preferably by 5 mm or less, or even by 3 mm or less. This available motion will efficiently compensate for any dimension deviations of the cookware, within normal tolerances.

The housing may have an axial direction being perpendicular to at least a portion of a bottom of a cookware to which the fixture is adapted.

The at least one fixation device may be arranged at a centre portion of said cavity. This has proven to be beneficial in that it facilitates contact between the cookware and the fixture along the entire peripheral rim of the cookware. In other embodiments the at least one fixation device is arranged at an off-centre position of the cavity.

The cookware fixture may comprise at least two fixation devices, preferably a plurality of fixation devices, such as three to six fixation devices. The strength of each magnet can then be reduced.

The springy element may be arranged to be compressed when mounting a cookware to the fixture.

The springy element may be arranged to be extended when mounting a cookware to the fixture.

According to a second aspect, a rack is provided. The rack comprises a plurality of cookware fixtures according to the first aspect.

Each fixture may be arranged to hold the cookware in a vertical position.

The rack may comprise a first side carrying a plurality of cookware fixtures, and/or a second side carrying a plurality of cookware fixtures. This further increases the capability and throughput.

According to a third aspect, a method for fixating a cookware is provided. The method comprises a step of aligning the cookware to a fixture having a cavity dimensioned to receive at least parts of an associated cookware, and a circumferential support surface surrounding said cavity and dimensioned to support a peripheral rim of the associated cookware received in the cavity, a step of attaching the cookware to a magnet arranged in the cavity, and a step of pushing the cookware further into the cavity by displacing the magnet, said magnet being movable relative the housing against the force of a springy element.

Preferably, pushing the cookware further into the cavity is performed until the peripheral rim of the cookware comes into contact with the circumferential support surface of the fixture. According to a further aspect, a method for fixating a cookware is provided. The method comprises aligning the cookware to a fixture having a cavity dimensioned to receive at least parts of an associated cookware, attaching the cookware to a magnet arranged in the cavity, and pushing the cookware further into the cavity by displacing the magnet, said magnet being movable against the force of a springy element.

The magnet may be displaced relative a housing which at least partly accommodates the magnet.

The method may further comprise supporting a peripheral rim of the cookware by a circumferential support surface surrounding the cavity.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Further objects, features and advantages will appear from the following detailed description, with reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a process for manufacturing a cookware;

Figs. 2a-c are front views of a rack according to different embodiments;

Figs. 3a-d are top views of a fixture according to different embodiments;

Figs. 4a-d are cross-sectional side views of a fixture according to an embodiment, during a process of attaching a cookware to it;

Figs. 5a-d are cross-sectional side views of a fixture according to another embodiment, during a process of attaching a cookware to it;

Figs. 6a-c are cross-sectional views of a fixture according to another embodiment, during a process of attaching a cookware to it;

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a fixture according to an embodiment, including enlarged sections; and

Fig. 8 is a schematic view of a method for manufacturing a cookware according to an embodiment.

Detailed Description

In Fig. 1 a process for manufacturing a cookware is schematically shown by means of required equipment. It should be noted that Fig. 1 is made very simple and is used only for providing a general understanding of the manufacturing process for cookware. In this conjunction “cookware” should have a broad meaning and include various items that are used for making food ready to eat, including but not limited to frying pans, pots, casseroles, cooking trays, roasting trays, and baking tins. A loading station 1 is shown to the left, which is configured to allow a plurality of semi-finished cookware, such as pans etc., to be loaded to a rack. The rack, including the loaded cookware, is then transported to a surface coating chamber, in this embodiment a coating chamber or booth 3 where the cookware is exposed to a surface coating process, e g. a plasma for depositing, or coating, a suitable surface material to the interior side (i.e. the side being in contact with food during cooking) of the cookware. The rack is then transported to an unloading station 5 in which the cookware is unloaded from the rack, and thereafter the cookware enters a finishing station 7 where optional parts, such as handles etc., are added to each cookware. After this the cookware is transported to a packaging station 9, where the cookware is provided with suitable packaging for further transport and distribution. After unloading at station 5, if the exterior surface of the cookware has been inadvertently coated, there would be a step added of cleaning, for example polishing, the exterior surface, followed by a need to remove any residues of such polishing, a step which is unwanted and the need for which is reduced, or even dispensed of, by the below described arrangement and method.

Before entering the loading station 1 the cookware, typically in the shape of some kind of bowl-like receptacle, is normally provided with the desired exterior finish. Such surface finish may appear as glossy metal, or any other desired appearance. Hence, it is important that the coating process is not creating any undesired visual characteristics to the exterior surface, as such may be extremely difficult to remove without causing scratches or other types of defects to the exterior and interior surface.

To allow for the desired coating of the interior surface of the cookware without effecting the exterior surface, a fixture is provided.

A rack 10 is shown in Fig. 2a. As can be seen the rack 10 forms an upright structure, thereby defining two oppositely facing vertical sides 12 (only one is being shown in Fig. 2a). Preferably, each side 12 is provided with cookware fixtures 20. In the shown example, the cookware fixtures 20 are arranged in horizontal rows and vertical columns. In order to increase the throughput of the coating process, it is desired to fit as many fixtures 20 on the rack 10 as possible while still ensuring that no fixture 20 is shadowing another fixture 20. Hence, depending on the size of the coating chamber 3, as well as the size of the cookware, the rack 10 can be designed to carry a maximum number of cookware fixtures 20. It should however be noted that in some embodiments, only one side of the rack 10 is configured to hold cookware fixtures 20. Another example of a rack 10 is shown in Fig. 2b. Here the rack 10 is in the form of a horizontal table, being provided with a plurality of cookware fixtures 20. While only one row of fixtures 20 is shown, it should be mentioned that the rack 10 may be provided with fixtures 20 arranged in rows and columns, depending on the exact number of fixtures 20.

A yet further example of a rack 10 is shown in Fig. 2c. Here the rack 10 is in the form of a vertical column. A plurality of fixtures 20 are distributed across the lateral surface area of the column, i.e. the fixtures 20 are arranged in a vertical position similarly to the orientation of the fixtures 20 shown in Fig. 2a. In order to improve the coating process, the vertical column 10 may be rotatable around its longitudinal axis.

Each fixture 20 comprises at least one fixation device 30. As shown in Figs. 3a-d, the fixture 20 has a circular shape to correspond to the, in this embodiment, circular shape of the associated cookware. It should thus be understood that if the cookware has another shape, such as rectangular or elliptical, the shape of the fixture 20 should be adapted accordingly. Although not shown in Figs. 3a-d the fixture 20 is bowl-shaped, thereby forming a cavity 22 dimensioned to receive at least parts of an associated cookware. Especially, and as further shown in Figs. 4-5, the cavity 22 is dimensioned to receive a bowl-part of the cookware. A circumferential support surface 24 surrounds the cavity 22 such that it will support a peripheral rim of the associated cookware received in the cavity 22. The fixture 20 is further provided with the at least one fixation device 30, arranged at the centre of the cavity 22 or off-set from the centre of the cavity 22. The purpose of the fixation device 30 is to keep the cookware in position during the coating process, as will be explained further with reference to Figs. 4a-d and 5a-d.

In Fig. 3a the fixture 20 is provided with four identical fixation devices 30, arranged symmetrically at the centre of the cavity 22. In Fig. 3b, the fixture 20 is provided with three identical fixation devices 30, arranged symmetrically at the centre of the cavity 22. In Fig. 3c, the fixture 20 is provided with two identical fixation devices 30, arranged symmetrically at the centre of the cavity 22. In Fig. 3d, the fixture 20 is provided with only one fixation device 30 arranged at the centre of the cavity 22. However, it should be noted that other positions of the fixation device(s) 30 are equally possible, as long as they operate to fixate an associated cookware to the fixture 20.

Now turning to Figs. 4a-d the fixture 20 will be described in further details, and in particular with regards to its co-operation with an associated cookware 100. The cookware 100 has a peripheral rim 102 which surrounds a cookware cavity 104, thereby providing the cookware 100 with a bowl shape for containing the food during use. This cavity 104 is typically delimited by a bottom surface 106, and sidewalls 108 extending between the bottom surface 106 and the peripheral rim 102. In many cases the shape of the cookware 100 is round, i.e. the peripheral rim 102 is circular, however other shapes are of course also possible. Typically, the bottom surface 106 has the same general shape (e.g. circular) as the peripheral rim 102, however it is possible for the peripheral rim 102 to have a larger diameter than the bottom surface 106, as shown in Figs. 4a- d. This means that the sidewalls 108 are slanted slightly radially outwards.

The peripheral rim 102 extends radially out from the upper edge 102a of the sidewalls 108. This radial extension may be very small, such as in the range of only a few millimetres. In alternative embodiments the peripheral rim 102 could just be an integrated and upper portion of the sidewall 108, having no particular horizontal portion of the type illustrated in Fig. 4a.

The cookware 100 has a height Hl, indicated as the normal distance between the bottom surface 106 and the peripheral rim 102. During manufacturing of cookware, this height Hl is normally defined with a tolerance of ±1 mm from the basic size.

When loading the cookware 100 to the rack 10 the cookware 100 is kept in a vertical position by means of a robotic arm 120, or any other suitable mounting means. In the shown embodiment the robotic arm 120 is provided with a suction member 122 which is configured to engage with the bottom surface 106 of the cookware 100.

In this vertical position the cookware 100 is vertically aligned with a fixture 20 of the rack 10.

As is further shown the fixture 20 is provided with at least one fixation device 30, and a circumferential support surface 24 arranged at a normal distance H2 from the edge of the fixation device 30. In practice, H2 is preferably designed to be equal to the minimum possible height Hl within the pre-set tolerance, although in Figs. 4a-d H2 is illustrated as being significantly smaller than Hl in order to more easily explain the operation of the fixation device 30.

The fixation device 30 comprises a magnet 32 at its distal end, said magnet 32 facing the cookware 100. The magnet 32 may be at least partly accommodated in a housing 34, however at least a distal end 32a of the magnet 32 protrudes outside the housing 34. The magnet 32 is mounted on a plate-like member 35 that is fully arranged inside the housing 34, but free to move therein at least in a horizontal direction, i.e. towards and away from the rack 10 in a normal direction ND. To prevent the plate-like member 35 to move outside the housing 34, the distal end of the housing 34 is provided with a narrowing, typically formed by peripheral rim 34a to some extent closing the distal end of the housing 34, but still allowing the magnet 32 to protrude therefrom. This narrowing 34a forms a stop member for the plate-like member 35, and hence also for the magnet 32.

A spring 36 is further arranged inside the housing 34, arranged between a inner surface 34b of the housing 34 and the plate-like member 35 forming the magnet support. The spring 36 may be attached at one end to the bottom surface 34b of the housing, and at the opposite end to the plate-like member 35.

The spring 36 is kept in an idle position, or slightly compressed position, when the plate-like member 35 is arranged at its end position where it is held against the narrowing 34a of the housing.

From the position shown in Fig. 4a the cookware 100 is moved towards the fixation device 30 in a purely horizontal motion. As is shown in Fig. 4b, when the cookware 100 reaches the edge of the fixation device 30 the magnet 32, arranged at the distal end of the fixation device 30, attracts to the cookware 100 such that the cookware 100 is secured to the fixture 20 via the fixation device 30. It will be understood that the cookware 100 may have inherent magnetic properties, for example by the cookware 100 being made of magnetic material, such as steel, or the cookware 100 containing a magnetic part, such as an aluminium frying pan comprising a layer of steel to be operable with an induction stove. The cookware may also be temporarily connected to a magnetic holder, such as a steel outer rim, to make it temporarily magnetic during surface treatment thereof.

If the height Hl of the cookware 100 is not made with a perfect fit with the basic size, there will be a gap G between the circumferential support surface 24 of the fixture 20 and the peripheral rim 102 of the cookware 100. This is clearly shown in Fig. 4b. If the coating process would start when the cookware 100 is held in this position, the coating would be allowed to pass through the gap G to also deposit on the exterior surface of the cookware 100, in particular on the external side of the sidewalls 108. This is, as explained in the background section, highly undesired.

To prevent this from occurring, the robotic arm 120 is controlled to move the cookware 100 further towards the rack 10 before releasing the cookware 100. This will create a pushing force on the magnet 32, which in turn will force the spring 36 to compress in order to allow the magnet 32 to move. This movement of the cookware 100 will terminate when the peripheral rim 102 of the cookware 100 comes into contact with the circumferential support surface 24 of the fixture 20, which thus acts as a mechanical stop for the moving cookware 100. This end position of the cookware 100 is shown in Fig. 4c.

In this position it is no longer possible for the coating material to inadvertently coat also the exterior side of the cookware 100, as the circumferential support surface 24 of the fixture 20 seals this side of the cookware 100.

The robotic arm 120 is then released from the cookware 100, and returns to its idle position where it can be re-arranged to start loading another cookware 100 to a different fixture 20 of the rack 10, or for awaiting an unloading operation after the coating process is finished. During this phase, shown in Fig. 4d, the desired surface coating process (e.g. vacuum metalizing) may be performed, inside the coating chamber 3 illustrated in Fig. 1.

While the spring 36 will be urged to return to its idle position shown in Fig. 4a, the spring characteristics are selected so that this is not possible when the cookware 100 is attached to the magnet 32. The inventors have realized that if the spring constant of the spring 36 is selected such that the spring 36 is only strong enough to return the magnet 32, without any substantial load, to its idle position shown in Fig. 4a, the added load provided by the attached cookware 100 will create forces that counteract this return force such that the spring 36 is kept in the compressed position shown in Fig. 4c also after the robotic arm 120 has been released from the cookware 100, thereby ending up in the situation of Fig. 4d. Especially, there will be a certain static friction within the housing 34, as well as between the fixture 20 and the cookware 100 at the area of the circumferential support surface 102 and the peripheral rim 24 which overcomes the return force of the spring 36 even when the gravitational force of the cookware 100 is oriented in a direction being perpendicular to the spring force. Yet further, there may also be a relatively small magnetic attraction force between the fixture 20 and the cookware 100 at the area of the circumferential support surface 102 and the peripheral rim 24 which also will overcome the return force of the spring 36. In some cases there may also be a small vacuum between the circumferential support surface 102 and the peripheral rim 24 which will counteract the return force of the spring 36. To give a practical example, the spring constant may be in the range of 0,3 to 1 N/mm, such as between 0,5 and 0,6 N/mm. For unloading the cookware 100 from the fixture 20 a reverse process is performed, i.e. the robotic arm 120 attaches to the cookware 100 and starts a return motion which will cause a pulling action of the cookware 100. This pulling action will force the magnet 32 outwards, thereby allowing the spring 36 to decompress until the magnet 32 reaches its end position (seen in Fig. 4a). Here, the robotic arm 120 will continue to move away from the fixture 20 thereby forcing the cookware 100 to be released from the magnet 32.

Another embodiment of the fixation device 30’ is shown in Figs. 5a-d. For this embodiment the cookware 100, the rack 10 and the fixture 20 are similar to what already have been described with reference to Figs. 4a-d, and the respective features of these parts will not be repeated. The fixation device 30’ is configured differently and its structure will be described in the following.

Similar to the previous embodiment, the fixation device 30’ comprises a magnet 32 at its distal end, said magnet 32 facing the cookware 100. The magnet 32 may be at least partly accommodated in a housing 34, however at least a distal end 32a of the magnet 32 protrudes outside the housing 34. The magnet 32 is mounted on a plate-like member 35 that is at least partly, direct or indirect, arranged inside the housing 34, but free to move therein at least in a horizontal direction, i.e. towards and away from the rack 10 in a normal direction ND. To prevent the plate-like member 35 to move outside the housing 34, the distal end of the housing 34 is provided with a stop member 34a preferably in the form of a narrowing, typically formed by peripheral rim 34a to some extent closing the upper end of the housing 34, but still allowing the magnet 32 to protrude therefrom.

A spring 36’ is further arranged inside the housing 34, arranged between a bottom surface 34b of the housing 34 and the plate-like member 35 forming the magnet support. Importantly for this embodiment, one end of the spring 36’ is fixedly attached to the bottom surface 34b of the housing while the opposite end is fixedly attached to the plate-like member 35.

The spring 36’ is kept in an idle, i.e. unbiased position when the plate-like member 35 is arranged at its end position where it is arranged at least partially inside the housing 34. At this end position, there is a gap GP between the platelike member 35 and the narrowing 34a of the housing 34. Hence, from this idle position of the spring 36’ the magnet 32 can be moved further out from the housing 34, in the direction towards the cookware 100.

From the position shown in Fig. 5a the cookware 100 is moved towards the fixation device 30’ in a purely horizontal motion. As is shown in Fig. 5b, when the cookware 100 approaches the fixation device 30’ the magnet 32, arranged at the distal end of the fixation device 30’, will be attracted to the cookware 100. This magnetic attraction force will overcome the spring force of the spring 36' and urge the magnet 32 to move towards the cookware 100, thus expanding the spring 36’ and causing the magnet 32 to attach to the cookware 100 when it is sufficiently close to the fixture 20 such that the cookware 100 is secured to the fixture 20 via the fixation device 30. At this position the spring 36’ will provide a pulling force on the magnet 32 and the attached cookware 100, but as explained below this spring force does not need to be strong enough to actually cause a movement of the magnet 32 and cookware 100.

If the height Hl of the cookware 100 is not made with a perfect fit with the basic size, there will also in this case be a gap G between the circumferential support surface 24 of the fixture 20 and the peripheral rim 102 of the cookware 100. This is clearly shown in Fig. 5b.

To overcome this gap G, the robotic arm 120 is controlled to move the cookware 100 further towards the rack 10. This will create a pushing force on the magnet 32, which with assistance by the spring force will allow the spring 36’ to compress towards its idle position. This movement of the cookware 100 will terminate when the peripheral rim 102 of the cookware 100 comes into contact with the circumferential support surface 24 of the fixture 20, which thus acts as a mechanical stop for the moving cookware 100. This position of the cookware 100 is shown in Fig. 5c.

In this position it is no longer possible for the coating process to coat also the exterior side of the cookware 100, as the circumferential support surface 24 of the fixture 20 seals this side of the cookware 100.

The robotic arm 120 is then released from the cookware 100, see fig. 5d, and returns to its idle position where it can be re-arranged to start loading another cookware 100 to a different fixture 20 of the rack 10, or for awaiting an unloading operation after the coating process is finished.

In this position the spring 36’ will assist in keeping the cookware 100 in position, as any movement of the cookware 100 outwards from the fixture 20 will be counteracted by the spring force. As for the previous embodiment of Figs. 4a- d there will also be a certain static friction within the housing 34, as well as between the fixture 20 and the cookware 100 at the area of the circumferential support surface 102 and the peripheral rim 24. Yet further, there may also be a relatively small magnetic attraction force or vacuum between the fixture 20 and the cookware 100 at the area of the circumferential support surface 102 and the peripheral rim 24 which also will prevent the cookware 100 from moving away from the fixture 20, especially in the area of the peripheral rim 102.

For this embodiment the spring 36’ characteristics should be selected such that the magnetic force between the cookware 100 and the magnet 32, at a distance of e.g. 5mm, is strong enough to expand the spring 36’ to allow the magnet 32 to move to contact the cookware 100. It will be appreciated that, depending on the length of the spring 36’, the tolerance of the cookware 100 etc. there may also be embodiments where the spring 36', in the situation of Fig. 5d, is completely idle, meaning it exerts neither pulling nor pushing force on the cookware 100, or the spring 36’ may exert a minor pushing force on the cookware 100, similar to the situation in Fig. 4d, but after the spring 36’ having initially expanded when turning from the situation of Fig. 5a to that of Fig. 5b.

For unloading the cookware 100 from the fixture 20 a reverse process is performed, i.e. the robotic arm 120 attaches to the cookware 100 and starts a return motion which will cause a pulling action of the cookware 100. This pulling action will overcome the spring force and force the magnet 32 outwards, thereby expanding the spring 36’ until the magnet 32 reaches its protruded end position (seen in Fig. 5b). Here, the robotic arm 120 will continue to move away from the fixture 20 thereby forcing the cookware 100 to be released from the magnet 32, and allowing the spring 36’ to pull back the magnet 32 into the housing 34, to the situation illustrated in Fig. 5a.

It will be appreciated that even if the embodiments of Figs. 4a-d and Figs. 5a-d illustrate a vertical arrangement of the cookware 100, these embodiments could equally well be used in a horizontal arrangement.

A yet further embodiment of a fixture 20 is shown in Figs. 6a-c. In this embodiment the fixation device 30 is identical to the fixation device 30 described with reference to Figs. 4a-d. It should however be noted that for this embodiment it would be possible to instead use the fixation device 30’ described with reference to Figs. 5a-d. Hence, the fixation device 30 will not be described further.

The fixture 20 is different from the fixtures 20 previously described in that the circumferential support surface 24 is in this embodiment realized as part of the circumferential sidewall 26 extending away from the inner surface 28 onto which the fixation device(s) 30 is attached. The cavity 22 is thus defined as the space delimited by the inner surface 28 and the sidewall 26. Although not required, the cookware 100 has no distinct peripheral rim 102 as previously described with reference to Figs. 4a-d and 5a-d, but instead the peripheral rim 102 forms part of the sidewalls 108.

Starting in Fig. 6a, prior to attachment of the cookware 100 to the fixture 20 there is a distance between the bottom surface 106 of the cookware 100 and the fixation device 30. As the cookware 100 comes into contact with the fixture 30, as shown in Fig. 6b, there is still a gap G between the sidewall 26 of the fixture 20 and the sidewall 108 of the cookware 100. Upon further movement of the cookware 100, shown in Fig. 6c, the magnet of the fixation device 30 will move until the sidewall 108 of the cookware 100 comes into contact with the sidewall 26 of the fixture 20 thereby closing the gap G. This circumferential contact area defines the circumferential support surface 24 of the fixture 20, as well as the peripheral rim 102 of the cookware 100. It will be appreciated that even if the embodiment of Figs 6a-c illustrates a horizontal arrangement of the cookware 100, this embodiment could equally well be used in a vertical arrangement, for example of the type illustrated in Figs. 4a-d and Figs. 5a-d.

Now turning to Fig. 7 another example of a fixture 20 is shown, having a cookware 100 arranged in a position before it will be attached to the fixture 20. Accordingly, the fixture 20 shown in Fig. 7 is arranged in a position where the fixation device 30 is in an idle mode, prior to a cookware 100 being attached to it. As the fixture 20 shows many similarities to the fixtures 20 previously explained, the features in common with previous examples will not be described further.

The cookware fixture 20 comprises a circumferential support surface 24 surrounding the cavity 22, which as in the previous examples is provided for allowing the cookware 100 to be inserted into the cavity 22. The circumferential support surface 24 is dimensioned to support a peripheral rim 102 of the associated cookware 100 received in the cavity 22.

As is clearly shown in Fig. 7, in particular by means of the upper enlarged section, the circumferential support surface 24 extends in a plane perpendicular to a longitudinal axis LA of the cavity 22 (the longitudinal axis LA being parallel to the normal direction ND previously mentioned). Especially, if the fixture 100 is arranged horizontally (as indicated in Fig. 7), the longitudinal axis LA coincides with the normal direction which means that the circumferential support surface 24 also is extending horizontally.

The circumferential support surface 24 is preferably formed entirely as a section in the plane being perpendicular to the longitudinal axis LA of the cavity 22. By omitting the outer upper edge seen in Figs. 4-6 a number of advantages are obtained. For example, manufacturing is made more simple since there is no need for an additional deep drawing step. Also, there is less risk for scratches on the cookware 100 as there is no longer an outer upper edge of the fixture 20 which could potentially hit the cookware 100, in particular at the side and/or periphery thereof.

Preferably, except for the fixation device 30 the circumferential support surface 24 provides the only contact with the cookware 100 by means of its peripheral rim 102.

The fixture 20 shown in Fig. 7 comprises at least two fixation devices 30. Each fixation device 30 comprises a magnet 32 at its distal end, said magnet 32 facing the cookware 100. Compared to the previously described embodiments, the principle of the fixation device 30 is somewhat similar to what has been described with reference to Figs. 5a-d.

For the embodiment of Fig. 7, the magnet 32 is arranged in a magnet holder 33. Preferably the magnet holder 33 is shaped as a cup surrounding the magnet on the bottom side, and at the sides leaving the upper side of the magnet 32 free to engage with the cookware 100. The magnet holder 33 is preferably made of metal in order to protect the magnet 32 from damage during use.

The magnet 32, including the magnet holder 33, is at least partly accommodated in a housing 34. However, the distal end 32a of the magnet 32 protrudes outside the housing 34.

In the shown example the magnet 32, including the magnet holder 33, protrudes outside the housing 34 and the magnet 32 also protrudes somewhat outside the magnet holder 33. It should however be realized that in other embodiments the magnet holder 33 may be flush with the distal end 32a of the magnet 32, or the magnet holder 33 may even protrude outside the magnet 32 such that the magnet holder 33, rather than the magnet 32, will come into contact with the cookware 100.

Within the context of the specification, the term “magnet” may refer to a solitary magnet 32 or an assembly including a magnet 32 and an associated magnet holder 33. Hence, the magnet holder 33 may be included when referring to a magnet.

The housing 34 is attached to the fixture 20 e.g. by means of screws. For this, the housing 34 may be provided with one or more holes or bores 340.

The housing 34 further comprises a support surface 342 onto which the magnet 32 and the magnet holder 33 rest. The support surface 342 is surrounded by side walls 344 at its periphery, whereby the side walls 344 surround the magnet 32 and the magnet holder 33. The height of the side walls 344 determines how far the magnet 32 and/or the magnet holder 33 protrude out from the housing 34.

The support surface 342 forms the upper closed end of a cavity 346 arranged between the fixture 20 and the support surface 342. Inside the cavity 346 a plate-like member 35 is arranged. The plate-like member 35 is biased inwards, i.e. towards the fixture 20 and away from the support surface 342, by means of a springy element 36, here in the form of a spring 36.

As can be further seen in Fig. 7 the magnet 32 and the magnet holder 33 are attached to the plate-like member 35 by means of a bolt 348. The bolt 348 is free to move, against the force of the spring 36, longitudinally, i.e. along longitudinal axis LA / normal direction ND, relative the housing 34. For this purpose the support surface 342 is provided with a through hole 352, and the bolt 348 runs through that through hole 352.

When a cookware 100 is positioned in the fixture 20, the magnet 32 and the magnet holder 33 will attract to the bottom of the cookware 100, thereby causing the magnet 32 and the magnet holder 33 to move longitudinally outwards from the housing 34. The longitudinal movement of the magnet 32 and magnet holder 33 will also cause the bolt 348 and the thereto attached plate-like member

35 to move longitudinally relative the housing 34, against the force of the spring 36.

This magnetic attraction force will overcome the spring force of the spring

36 and urge the magnet 32 to move towards the cookware 100, thus compressing the spring 36 and causing the magnet 32 to attach to the cookware 100 when it is sufficiently close to the fixture 20 such that the cookware 100 is secured to the fixture 20 via the fixation device 30. At this position the spring 36 will provide a pulling force on the magnet 32 and the attached cookware 100, but as explained above with reference to Figs. 5a-d this spring force does not need to be strong enough to actually cause a movement of the magnet 32 and the cookware 100.

With reference to Fig. 8 a method 200 for fixating a cookware 100 will be described. The method 200 is preferably performed when fixating magnetic cookware 100 to a rack 10 prior to coating of the internal surface of the cookware 100 in order to provide an anti-stick coating. The method 200 comprises a first step 202 of aligning the cookware 100 to a fixture 20; the fixture 20 has a cavity 22 dimensioned to receive at least parts of an associated cookware 100, and a circumferential support surface 24 surrounding the cavity 22. The circumferential support surface 24 is dimensioned to support a peripheral rim 102 of the associated cookware received in the cavity 22. In a subsequent step 204 the cookware 100 is attached to at least one spring 36 connected magnet 32 arranged in the cavity 22, and in a further step 206 the cookware 100 is pushed further into the cavity 22 by displacing the magnet 32 until the peripheral rim 102 of the cookware 100 comes into contact with the circumferential support surface 24 of the fixture 20, and thereby seals off the exterior side of the cookware 100 from the environment outside the fixture 20.

As explained above the displaceable magnet 32 allows the cookware 100 to be manufactured with tolerances with regards to its height, while still ensuring the required fixation and the desired sealing of the peripheral rim 102 against the fixture 20 in order to prevent undesired surface treatment of the exterior surface of the cookware 100.

While two different embodiments of fixation devices 30, 30’ have been described above it should be mentioned that other variants are also possible, as long as they comprise an axially displaceable magnet 32 and wherein the magnet 32 allows for a magnetic fixation of the cookware 100. Further, as has been explained above a fixture 20 may comprise one or more fixation devices 30, 30’. It should be noted that in some embodiments a fixture 20 comprises only one fixation device 30, 30’, or multiple fixation devices 30, 30’; in the latter case the fixture 20 may be provided with a mix of fixation devices 30, 30’.