Stoves and furnaces – Stoves – Cooking
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-29
2001-10-16
Clarke, Sara (Department: 3743)
Stoves and furnaces
Stoves
Cooking
C126S042000, C126S201000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06302095
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for shielding the outer surface of a hot cooking grill against direct contact and burning of a person or object that unintentionally engages the grill.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many households use an outdoor charcoal or gas powered cooking grill. The grill is easily placed on and around the leisure areas of the yard, most commonly the deck or the patio area. The outdoor grill, while providing an alternative to cooking in the kitchen, presents a burn hazard for those persons working or playing in the vicinity of the grill, particularly children. The temperature of the grill surface is great enough to severely burn human skin in a matter of seconds.
Grill manufacturers have attempted to minimize exposed hot surfaces by adding handles, trays or working areas around the grill. These features have minimized the adult user's exposure to hot surfaces arising as a result of normal usage, however these features provide little protection to small children. The problem lies in the fact that a child's height is often below that of the handles or trays on a grill, leaving room for a child to accidentally, or at least unknowingly, come into contact with the hot surfaces of the grill.
Most grills have exterior surface temperatures that reach or exceed 450° F., and can reach temperatures as high as 700° F. Constructing an insulated surface for these grills is prohibitively expensive, would dramatically increase the cost to the consumer, and would most likely impact the performance of the grill.
Therefore, there is a need to reduce or eliminate accidental contact with the lower portion of a hot cooking grill. It would be desirable to have a screen or cover that was easy to install as an after-market screen. It would be further desirable if the design of the screen or cover was easily customizable to fit a significant number of commercial brands and types of grills.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a burn screen for use with an outdoor cooking grill, which typically has exposed surfaces that are subjected to temperatures ranging from 400-800° F. The burn screen consists of a piece of high temperature tolerant insulative material having a top edge and a bottom edge, and a fastener to secure the burn screen to the external grill surface. The fastener holds the insulative material in position adjacent to or around the external surfaces of the grill so that the material remains between the external surfaces and an object or person coming into contact with it. The fasteners should not interfere with the lid of the grill or prevent proper sealing of the lid to the body of the grill. The insulative material is preferably high-temperature tolerant and weather resistant.
A method for shielding small children from the external surfaces of an outdoor cooking grill is also provided. The method includes providing a piece of hightemperature tolerant insulative material of sufficient length to drape around and cover the external surfaces of the grill. The insulative material is positioned adjacent to the external surface of the grill and a fastener secures the material to the external surface.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2645776 (1953-07-01), Kiler
patent: 5117807 (1992-06-01), Graulich
patent: 5590640 (1997-01-01), Kollias et al.
patent: 298858-A1 (1989-01-01), None
Hooper Michael
Leary Blake
Tolley Alan
Clarke Sara
Streets Jeffrey L.
Streets & Steele
TIBS, Inc.
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