Locking stove control knob shield and safety apparatus

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a locking stove control knob shield and safety apparatus which provides a combination of easy attachment with complete “childproof” protection usable on a variety of types and brands of stoves without damage to the stove through attachment and removal.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

None.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

This invention was not federally sponsored.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

The idea of a stove originated in numerous cultures several thousand years ago, with several Chinese stoves dating back to the Han Dynasty. The first historical record of a stove in Europe dates from a brick and tile stove built during the 1400's in France. The 1700's saw Benjamin Franklin invent the Franklin stove, which was an iron furnace stove. There were further improvements during the 1800's, which saw emergence of coal, electric, and gas stoves.

By the early 1900's the gas stove was the most popular stove in the United States. As with any apparatus combining fire and gas, the gas stove presented an inherent danger of creating house fires. This danger remains today. For example, as of the date of this application, an average of three children die every day from house fires, a residential fire is started once every 78 seconds, and cooking fires are the #1 cause of home fires and home fire injuries. Many of these fires are caused by children who unknowingly or carelessly turn on or off the stove control knobs.

In an effort to prevent such accidents, there have been a number of prior devices and methods invented. Since the current invention focuses on a method of preventing children from carelessly turning on or off a burner, this discussion will emphasize prior inventions directed at solving this problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,105 B1 to Merritt teaches a stove burner shield with folding splashguards and a protective cover with a locking knob to cover the control knobs. While this invention appears to provide a locking cover for the control knobs, it requires fasteners (reference number 34 on the '105 patent) to attach the invention to the stove. Obviously the drilling of any holes into a stove to attach a safety device not only damages the stove and makes removal of the device likely to leave an unsightly appearance, but may void any warranty and perhaps even damage the stove if the holes were drilled in the wrong locations. The invention of this patent solves this problem by hooking on under the stove top and does so without requiring any holes to be drilled or fasteners of any type being used.

The prior art also references several devices invented to make control knobs safer for use in an environment where occasionally unsupervised children live. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,878 to Lewis et al. teaches a safety knob with a releasable lock assembly and U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,525 issued to Delgado et al. teaches a control knob with a built-in spur which impedes the ability of a child to easily turn the gas on. Such devices serve to make it more difficult for a child to turn a burner on and off, but do not completely eliminate that possibility and do not have the ability to use a key or padlock to truly secure.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,524 to Elasser teaches a mechanical device which is included in the manufacture of a stove which has an intricate series of metal bars attached to a switch located toward the back of the stove, whereby an adult can turn the knob and the metal bars then lock the control knobs such that the burners cannot be turned on without first “unlocking” the switch. While this device would serve to prevent a child from turning on a burner (unless the child was tall enough to reach the switch or industrious enough to haul a chair or other device next to the stove to allow access to the switch), it must be built into the stove during its assembly and cannot be added on later as an accessory feature. It does also not have a padlock or key feature which would secure the control knobs from a creative child who figures out a way to climb on the stove. The current invention provides a childproof feature but is less complicated, does not have to be manufactured as part of the stove, and should it break, can be fixed without opening the main internal compartment of the stove.

In summary, while there are attempts in the prior art to “childproof” stoves, none provide the combination of easy attachment with complete “childproof” protection in a stove safety device usable on a variety of types and brands of stoves without damage to the stove through attachment. Accordingly, there is a long felt need for such a device.

This invention solves the problems mentioned above by providing a shield which can be easily and safely attached to a wide variety of stoves. Attaching the invention does not damage the stoves, and can be used with stoves which have the control knobs on the front, and on the top, of the stove. Among the devices which can be used to “childproof” the stoves are rack and pinion gears, locking and double locking pin assemblies, padlocks and combination locks, and locking pin/cotter pin assemblies.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a childproof device for gas and electric stoves.

It is a further object of this invention that it can be attached to the stoves (and removed from them) in a non-destructive and simple manner, and does not have to be built into the stoves during their manufacture.

It is a further object of this invention that the invention is usable in a variety of different types and brands of stoves with no modifications of the device prior to use.

Other and further objects and features of this invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the invention showing the basic components of the invention: two pieces of metal attached by a hinge, with the covering piece extending inside the stove under the stove top and hooking into place over the lip of the front section of the stove extending back in away from the front of the stove serving to affix the device to the stove, and the second piece rotably movable such that it can swing down and cover the control knobs.

FIG. 2 is a partial, side view of the means of attachment portion of the invention, showing how the hook portion of the covering piece of metal slides into the interior of the stove and hooks over the lip of the front section of the stove.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the invention showing the invention detached from a stove, with particular attention paid to the location of the various holes for hold down screws and locking bolts.

FIG. 4 is an elevational side view of another iteration of the invention where the invention is designed to cover control knobs mounted on the top, rather than they front, of the stove.

FIG. 5 is side view of the Locking Pin Assembly and the Cotter Pin.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the double locking pin used to childproof to stove control knobs.

FIG. 7 is a side view of another proposed means of childproofing the stove control knobs, namely, a pinion gear controlled by a square or other uniquely shaped key kept by the parents in a safe place.

FIG. 8 is a side view of a locking pin and cotter pin, which are used together in a manner that allows a user knowledgeable in the orientation of the cotter pin to insert or remove it only when a dot on the visible head of the locking pin is aligned with a similar dot on the surface of the control knob shield.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the invention showing the location of the swinging wing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a locking stove control knob shield and safety apparatus which provides a combination of easy attachment with complete “childproof” protection usable on a variety of types and brands of stoves without damage to the stove through attachment and removal.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, and, for a different iterations, FIG. 4, the invention consists of two pieces of molded metal, attached to each other by a hinge, the first piece of metal, called the attachment piece, sliding into the gap between the top panel of the stove and the front panel to secure the invention; the second piece of metal, called the covering piece, swinging down (or up, depending on the location of the burner control knobs) and preventing access to the stove control knobs by covering them up and locking securely in a variety of ways which are explained further below. The invention also contains a number of locking means and mechanisms, including padlocks and combination locks, locking pins and double locking pins, and cotter pin assemblies.

Referring specifically to FIG. 1, the invention (generally indicated by reference number 1) has four basic components. A covering piece (3) attached to an attachment piece (2) by means of a hinge (4). The invention also has a means to lock the device over the burner control knobs, the means here is a locking pin (5), but there are a number of different potential means. The attachment piece (2) slides in the insertion gap (10) between the stove top panel (6) and the stove front panel (7) and hooks over a lip on the front panel of the stove (7) (this method of attachment is more clearly detailed in FIG. 2). For purposes of illustration, the top panel of the stove (6) has burners (9). The covering piece (3) can be swung down using the hinge (4) to cover the stove burner control knobs (8), and is designed to be long enough to cover the stove control knobs (8), but no so long as to interfere with oven handle (10) which is used to open and close the oven (11).

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the invention, paying particular detail to the method by which the device is attached inside of the stove and the mechanism by which it is secured to prevent a child from turning the control knobs. In this iteration, the securing mechanism is a lock placed through a hole at the end of a pin, but there are numerous other securing mechanisms suggested in this application. The invention, generally indicated by reference number 20, has an attachment piece (21) attached by a hinge (23) to a covering piece (22). The attachment piece (21) swings down from the hinge (23) to cover the stove burner control knob (27) which projects out from the outer face of the stove front panel (24). There is a hole (29A) in the attachment piece (21) through which a bolt (28) can slide. There is a corresponding hold (29A) at the bottom of the covering piece (22) through which the bottom of the bolt (28) can protrude. To secure the invention, a lock (29) is placed through a hole (29B) in the bottom of the bolt (28). The stove front panel (24) has an upper portion or lip (25) which bends in to the interior of the stove, creating a resting place for the top panel of the stove (28), shown here with a burner (29). The covering piece of the invention (21) slips in between the top panel of the stove (28) and the front panel of the stove (24). The distal end of the attachment piece of the covering piece (21) is indicated by reference number 26. Note that the distal end of the covering piece (26) is bent in a hook shape such that it can easily hook over the lip of the front panel of the stove (25), thereby securing the invention to the stove in a manner which is not only easy to install and remove without damage to the stove, but also allows the invention to be used universally with a wide variety of types and brands of stoves which have lips similar to the lip (25) that is shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the invention showing the design which would be used with a safety bolt, which is described in FIG. 6. The invention, generally indicated by reference number 30, has a covering piece (32) and an attachment piece (31) attached by a hinge (33). The attachment piece (31) has a hook portion (37) by which the invention is attached to the lip of the front panel of the stove as illustrated in FIG. 2. The attachment piece (31) has a hole (34) through which a hold-down screw (not shown) can be inserted to secure the attachment piece (31) to the stove if a greater degree of attachment (as compared with the hook and lip assembly described in FIG. 2) is desired. FIG. 3 also shows the method of attachment for a safety bolt (shown and described in FIG. 6). The attachment piece of the invention (31) has a square bolt hole (35) which serves to prevent rotation of the safety bolt (shown and described in FIG. 6). The covering piece of the invention (32) also has a round hole in it (36) through which the safety bolt will fit. The safety bolt can then be secured with a lock or other means.

FIG. 4. is an elevational view of another iteration of the invention which provides a safety cover over stove burner control knobs which are mounted on the top of the stove rather than on the front panel of the stove as was illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. The invention, generally referenced as number 40, has a covering piece (41) and an attachment piece (42) attached to each other by a hinge (45). The covering piece (41) extends over the top panel of the stove (44) and covers the stove burner control knobs (47). The covering piece (41) also has a square hole (46) through which the safety bolt, later illustrated and described in FIG. 6, will fit. The attachment piece (42) slides into the gap between the top panel of the stove (44) and the front panel of the stove (43) by a method illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5. is an elevational view of the iteration of the invention shown in FIG. 4, showing in more detail the working parts. The invention, generally indicated by reference number 50, has an attachment piece (52) attached by a hinge (53) to a covering piece (51). In this iteration, the covering piece (51) extends up and over the top panel of the stove. The attachment piece (52) is molded such that it extends down from the hinge (53) and enters the interior cavity of the stove in the gap between the top panel and front panel.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the safety bolt assembly. The safety bolt assembly, consists of a safety bolt, generally referenced by reference number 60, a nut (65) and a cotter pin (68). The safety bolt (60) has a bolt head (61) with a dot (67) which is located on exactly the same aspect of the bolt as is the drill hole (66) described later in this figure, such that by viewing the location of the dot (67) a user knows the exact aspect and location of the hole (66) located at the distal end (64) of the safety bolt (60). Below the bolt head (61) is a square section (62) designed to fit into the square holes illustrated and described in FIG. 3, number 35, and FIG. 4, number 46. The square portion (62) allows the bolt to be locked in place through its fitting through the square holes (not shown in this figure). Below the square portion (62) is a shank (63) which is round to allow it to easily slide up and down and turn freely whenever the square portion (62) is not seated in the square hole (not shown). The shank (63) has a distal end furthest away from the bolt head (64) through which there is a hole (66), drilled exactly parallel to the dot (67) on the bolt head (61), through which a cotter pin (68) can be inserted, and threads (69) over which the nut (65) can be screwed on. The safety bolt is design to be used by an adult so that the adult locates the bottom of the pin (the portion with threads (69), and then pushes up to free to square portion (62) from the square hole (not shown). By aligning the dot (67) in the bolt head (61), a user can easily remove the cotter pin (68) from the hole (66) in the distal end (64) of the safety bolt (60). Once the cotter pin (68) is removed, a user can push the safety bolt (60) higher and easily open the covering piece (not shown in this figure).

FIG. 7 is a side view of another means by which a stove can be childproofed. The device, generally indicated by reference number 70, consists of two elongated rectangular or square pieces of metal or other hard, durable material, into which have been molded or cut matching grooves. A pinion gear (72) can be rotated by a user who has a special key (generally indicated by reference number 76) which fits over an upper end (75) of the pinion gear (72) such that a rack pinion (71) can be raised or lowered by a multiplicity of grooves of the pinion gear (74) turning the grooves of the rack pinion (73), thereby securing or unsecuring the invention (not shown) from a position where it is securing or making accessible the stove control knobs (not shown). The special key (76), has a handle portion (77), which is flat and convenient for a user to turn with his/her fingers and thumb, and a circular section (generally indicated by reference number 79), which has a cavity (78) which is the same size and shape as the upper end (75) of the pinion gear (72), and can be easily slipped over the upper end (75) of the pinion gear (72) or removed. The pinion gear (72) is designed to be only rotatable when the special key (76) is used, so that a child cannot detach the invention and turn on the stove control knobs without the special key (76).

FIG. 8 is a side view of a locking pin assembly, (generally indicated by reference number 80). There are two parts of this device, a locking pin, (generally indicated by reference number 89), and a cotter pin (82). The locking pin has a painted dot (81) on its head (83), which is the upper portion of the locking pin (89). The lower end (87) of the locking pin (89) is separated from its head (83) by a shaft (85). Directly beneath the head (83) is a rectangular section (84) which fits into a slightly larger rectangular section of the stove shield (not shown). Toward the lower end of the locking pin (83) is a hole (86) through which the cotter pin (82) can fit. The object here is that a user must turn and adjust the head (83) such that the painted dot (81) is in the proper alignment to insert or remove the cotter pin (82) from the hole (86) in the locking pin (89).

Claims

1. A safety apparatus designed to serve as a locking stove control knob shield, comprising:

an attachment piece which attaches to a stove;

a covering piece which can be rotated up or down depending on the location of stove burner control knobs to cover them; and

a hinge connecting the attachment piece to the covering piece.

2. The attachment piece of claim 1, where,

the attachment piece has an end section that fits in between the top panel and front panel of the stove and is bent into a hook shape such that the attachment piece can hook over the lip of said front panel of stove extending back into the interior of the stove.

3. The safety apparatus of claim 1, where,

the attachment piece is manufactured with a round hole in it capable of taking through it a hold down screw such that the hold down screw.

4. The safety apparatus of claim 3, where,

The attachment piece is manufactured with a square hold in it capable of taking through it a bolt with a square section located directly below the bolt head.

5. The safety apparatus of claim 4, where,

The covering piece is manufactured with a round hold in it capable of taking through it a bolt, said round hole located such that it lines up with the square hold in the attachment piece.

6. The safety apparatus of claim 5, where,

Extending through the square hole in the attachment piece and the round hole in the covering piece is a means to secure the covering piece such that said covering piece covers the stove control knobs and prevents said stove control knobs from being touched while said covering piece is in place.

7. The safety apparatus of claim 6, where,

The means of securing is a safety bolt, comprising,

a round bolt head of a diameter larger than the square hole in the attachment piece,

a square section directly below said round head, said square section of a size which fits exactly into said square hole in said attachment piece,

a round shank section below said square section,

a distal end at the other end of said safety bolt containing threads over which a nut could be screwed on, and

a hole in said distal end directly above said threads, said hole of suitable diameter to take through it a cotter pin.

8. The safety apparatus of claim 7, where,

the hole is the distal end of the safety bolt is large enough to take through it the bar of a padlock.

9. The safety apparatus of claim 5, where,

the means of securing is a rack and pinion gear apparatus.

10. The rack and pinion gear apparatus of claim 9, where,

the top of the pinion gear is of a square or other unique shape such that it can be turned only by a key of the same shape, said key being detachable from said pinion gear such that an adult using a stove could take the key with them to prevent children from opening the covering piece and accessing the stove control knobs.

11. The safety apparatus of claim 6, where,

The means of securing is a key lock built into the covering plate, consisting of, a key assembly extending out of said covering plate, and a safety bolt.

12. The safety apparatus of claim 6 where,

The means of securing is a “U”-shaped piece of metal extending out from the lip of the stove, protruding through a slot in the covering plate, through which the shackle of a lock, either a combination lock or a key lock, and be inserted, and the lock secured.