CERAMIC BURNER COVER FOR STOVETOPS APPARATUS AND METHOD

Abstract

This present invention provides a ceramic burner cover for gas stovetops. The ceramic burner cover is a solid ceramic cover that is able to removably rest above and cover a gas burner assembly on a stovetop. The ceramic burner cover has a planar ceramic plate and a support member for supporting the plate above the burner assembly. The support member can be formed as a perforated continuous peripheral flange or as a pair of protruding handles secured to outer peripheral edge of the ceramic plate. The burner cover is sized and shaped to cover one or more burner assemblies, while supporting cooking vessels. A metallic insert is incorporated in the burner cover to reduce weight and to more efficiently distribute heat from the burner assembly to a cooking vessel.

Claims

1. A burner cover for stovetops having at least one burner assembly, the apparatus comprising: a substantially planar ceramic plate shaped and sized to cover and detachably rest above the at least one burner assembly; and a support member supporting the ceramic plate on the stovetop.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the support member comprises a ceramic downwardly extending peripheral flange integrally secured to an outer peripheral edge of the ceramic plate.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein a plurality of spaced-apart heat vents is formed in the peripheral flange.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the peripheral flange is configured for resting on the stovetop and for supporting the ceramic plate in an elevated position above the at least one burner assembly.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the burner cover is shaped and sized to operationally fit over more than one burner assembly.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the burner cover comprises a metallic insert in the ceramic plate, said metallic insert providing additional heat transfer, while reducing weight of the burner cover.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the ceramic flange comprises a metallic insert.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the support member comprises a pair of protrusions secured to an outer edge of the ceramic plate, said ceramic plate having a plate bottom surface and each of the protrusions having a protrusion bottom surface, and wherein an upwardly facing shoulder is formed between the plate bottom surface and the protrusion bottom surface.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the protrusion bottom surface of each of the protrusions is configured to rest on the stovetop and support the ceramic plate above the burner assembly.

10. A method for providing a burner cover for stovetops having at least one burner assembly, the method comprising the steps of: providing a substantially planar ceramic plate shaped and sized to cover and rest above the at least one burner assembly; providing a support member for supporting the ceramic plate on the stovetop; removably positioning the burner cover in a covering relationship above the at least one burner assembly, while the support member rests on the stovetop; positioning a cooking vessel on the burner cover; turning on the at least one burner assembly and efficiently transferring evenly distributed heat from the burner assembly to the cooking vessel via the burner cover.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the support member comprises a ceramic downwardly extending peripheral flange integrally secured to an outer peripheral edge of the ceramic plate.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein a plurality of spaced-apart heat vents is formed in the peripheral flange.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein in use, the peripheral flange rests on the stovetop and supports the ceramic plate in an elevated position above the at least one burner assembly.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the burner cover is sized and shaped to operationally fit over more than one burner assembly.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the burner cover comprises a metallic insert in the ceramic plate, said metallic insert providing additional heat transfer, while reducing weight of the burner cover.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the ceramic flange comprises a metallic insert.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the support member comprises a pair of protrusions secured to an outer edge of the ceramic plate, said ceramic plate having a plate bottom surface and each of the protrusions having a protrusion bottom surface, and wherein an upwardly facing shoulder is formed between the plate bottom surface and the protrusion bottom surface.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein in use, the protrusion bottom surface of each of the protrusions rests on the stovetop and supports the ceramic plate above the burner assembly.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the pair of protrusions function as handles for positioning and removing the burner cover.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Reference will now be made to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals, and wherein:

[0031] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of individual burner size ceramic gas burner covers each sitting over a burner on a gas stovetop;

[0032] FIG. 2 shows a perspective, partially cutaway, view of individual burner size ceramic gas burner covers each sitting over a burner on a gas stovetop;

[0033] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a large stove size ceramic gas burner cover for recessed cooktops wherein the entire cooktop is recessed, and the ceramic gas burner cover sits over the entire recessed portion of the stovetop covering all burners;

[0034] FIG. 4 shows a perspective, partially cutaway, view of a large stove size ceramic gas burner cover for recessed cooktops wherein the entire cooktop is recessed, and the ceramic gas burner cover sits over the entire recessed portion of the stovetop;

[0035] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of individual lay flat ceramic burner covers for individual recessed spiral burners; and

[0036] FIG. 6 shows a perspective, partially cutaway, view of individual flat ceramic burner covers lying flat over recessed spiral burners.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0037] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 generally, the figures depict a perspective of the view of the ceramic burner cover for gas stovetop 100 of the present invention on a gas stovetop with individual gas burner grills 116. The ceramic burner cover 10 of the present invention comprises a substantially planar ceramic plate 102 and a downwardly extending circumferential flange or plate skirt 104 integrally connected to outer edge of the plate 102. The flange 104 defines a support surface for the plate 102 when the burner cover 10 rests on the stovetop 100 above the gas burner.

[0038] A plurality of spaced apart heat vents 106 is formed in the plate skirt 104 to allow heated gas to escape the burner cover. In an alternate embodiment, not shown in the drawings, the heat vents are formed in the plate 102. The ceramic cover is configured for placement over a gas burner, which has a burner grill 116, gas burner pit 114, a burner base 118 positioned in the pit 114, and burner cap 112 resting on the burner base 118.

[0039] The ceramic plate 102 is sized to fit over the burner grill 116 so that the flange 104 comes down vertically from the ceramic plate 102 and rests adjacent to and around the burner grill 116 as shown in FIG. 2. The flange 104 is of a height to hold ceramic plate 102 over the burner grill 116 within about 40 millimeters of burner grill 116 surfaces. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the flange 104 comes down at a ninety-degree angle from ceramic plate 102 until it meets the stovetop 110. This angle works to prevent debris from falling through the heat vents 106.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 1, the heat vents 106 are small hole cut-outs dotting the circumference of the flange 104 and spaced equidistantly from each other. A simple small hole based or small grated heat vent system helps to deny debris from entering under the ceramic cover 10 of the present invention while also providing protection against a build-up of hot air under the ceramic cover 10. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ceramic plate 102 and the ceramic skirt 104 with the heat vents 106 are manufactured as one unit. However, in alternate embodiments of the present invention the ceramic plate 102 and ceramic skirt 104 may have metal inserts to change thermal conductivity properties or may be a metal such as aluminum with a ceramic coating applied, which may further lower the weight and cost of the ceramic burner cover 10. Likewise, in further alternate embodiments of the present invention, the ceramic burner cover 10 may comprise entirely of a metal, such as aluminum, copper, steel, or other metal or like material so long as it is of high thermal conductivity, as an alternative to ceramic.

[0041] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 generally, the figures depict a perspective of the view of the ceramic burner cover 20 for a gas stovetop 200 of the present invention configured to cover more than one burner on the stove 200. In this embodiment, the burner cover 20 is configured as a parallelepiped with a planar plate 202 and downwardly extending peripheral flange 204 integrally secured to an outer peripheral edge of the plate 202. The flange 204 is configured to rest on the top surface 210 of the stovetop 200 in a surrounding relationship over more than one burner. Heat vents 206 are formed in the flange 204 similar to the vents 104 described above. In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the heat vents are formed in the plate 202. In still another embodiment, the rectangular-shaped cover 20 can be configured to fit in a covering relationship over an individual burner. As shown in FIG. 4, the cover 20 overlaps the burner assembly, which includes a burner grill 216, a burner base 218 resting in a burner pit 214, and burner cap 212 covering the burner base 218.

[0042] Ceramic plate 202 is sized to fit over the burner grill 216 so that ceramic skirt 204 comes down vertically from ceramic plate 202 and rests adjacent to and around the burner grill 216 as shown in FIG. 4. Ceramic skirt 204 is of a height to hold ceramic plate 202 over the burner grill 216 within about 40 millimeters of burner grill 216 surfaces. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the ceramic flange or skirt 204 comes down at a ninety-degree angle from ceramic plate 202 until it meets the stovetop 210. This angle works to prevent debris from falling through the heat vents 206. In some embodiments, the ceramic plate may only cover half of the stovetop and remaining portion be covered by another ceramic plate, with the ceramic skirt for both meeting on top of the stove between the burners.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 3, the heat vents 206 are small hole cut-outs dotting the circumference of the ceramic skirt 202. A simple small hole based or small grated heat vent system helps to deny debris from entering under the ceramic burner cover 20 of the present invention while also providing protection against a build-up of hot air under the ceramic cover 202. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ceramic plate 202, ceramic skirt 204, and heat vents 206 are manufactured as one unit. However, in alternate embodiments of the present invention the ceramic plate 202 and ceramic skirt 204 may have metal inserts to change thermal conductivity properties or may be a metal such as aluminum with a ceramic coating applied, which may further lower the weight and cost of the ceramic burner cover 20. Likewise, in further alternate embodiments of the present invention, the ceramic burner cover 20 may comprise entirely of a metal, such as aluminum, copper, steel, or other metal or like material so long as it is of high thermal conductivity, as an alternative to ceramic.

[0044] Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 generally, the figures depict a perspective of the view of the ceramic burner cover 30 for an electric stovetop 300. A heating coil 316 is positioned in a recessed burner pit 312. In this embodiment, the cover 30 comprises a substantially planar circular ceramic plate 302 configured to match the circumference of the recessed burner pit 312. A pair of protrusions 308 is integrally connected to the plate 302 and extend outwardly therefrom. In one aspect of the invention, the protrusions 308 are located on diametrically opposite locations of the cover 30.

[0045] An upwardly facing shoulder 320 is formed between a bottom surface 322 of the plate 302 and a bottom surface 324 of the protrusion 308. The shoulder 320 contacts the sidewall of the burner pit 312 and allows the bottom surface 324 of the protrusion 308 to lay flush on a top surface 326 of the stove 310. The protrusions 308 may be rectangular, as shown in the drawings, oval, square, or of a desired configuration. The protrusions 308 function to hold the ceramic cover 30 over the recessed pit 312. As can be seen in FIG. 6, the cover 30 is placed over a stovetop, which houses a coiled burner or surface element 316 positioned over a drip pan 314.

[0046] In the preferred embodiment of the ceramic burner cover 30 for the stovetops 30, the ceramic cover 30 is a one-piece unitary formed element. However, in alternate embodiments of the present invention, the ceramic cover 30 may have metal inserts to change thermal conductivity properties or may be a metal such as aluminum with a ceramic coating applied, which may further lower the weight and cost of the ceramic burner cover 30. Likewise, in further alternate embodiments of the present invention, the ceramic burner cover 30 may comprise entirely of a metal, such as aluminum, copper, steel, or other metal or like material so long as it is of high thermal conductivity, as an alternative to ceramic.

[0047] Because of the high degree in variability in stove-top ranges, the ceramic burner cover for a stovetop of the present invention may be manufactured in a wide range of sizes or shapes. It will be understood that the cover 30 can be also used for gas stovetops, if desired, and the covers 20 and 30 can be used for electric stovetops. It is preferred however, that the cover used for the gas stovetops be also provided with heat vents.

[0048] The ceramic material may be colorized, glossed, or otherwise treated to style the ceramic burner cover 10, ceramic burner cover 20, or ceramic burner cover 30 to be visually attractive to kitchen users, or to be made more durable, or both. Ceramic plate 102, ceramic plate 202, and ceramic plate 302 may have handles attached to the sides of the ceramic plate for easy lifting of the ceramic plate, preferably when cooled. Once the ceramic cover 10, 20, or 30 is properly positioned on the stovetop, the user may place any desired object on the burner for heating.

[0049] Many changes and modifications can be made in the ceramic burner cover for gas stovetops according to the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof. I, therefore, pray that my rights to the present invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.