Stove Knob Cover

Abstract

A stove knob cover includes a front housing, a fastener tab, a rear housing, and a hinge mechanism. The front housing includes a front lateral wall, a rim, a first squeeze-tab section, and a second squeeze-tab section. The first squeeze-tab section and the second squeeze-tab section are integrated onto the front lateral wall and diametrically opposed of each other. The fastener tab is perpendicularly connected to the rim of the front housing. The fastener tab is circumferentially positioned in between the first squeeze-tab section and the second squeeze-tab section. The front housing and the rear housing are hingedly connected to each other by the hinge mechanism as the hinge mechanism and the fastener tab are diametrically opposed of each other. The front housing and rear housing are selectively engaged with each other by the fastener tab, wherein the front housing moves between an open position and a closed position.

Description

The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 62/570,738 filed on Oct. 11, 2017.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to a children's safety device. More specifically, the present invention is stove knob cover that prevents young children from engaging and operating the knobs of a kitchen stove or oven.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As young children start walking for the first time, explore the world around them, and grow throughout their first few years of life, there are myriad opportunities to injure themselves in a modern home. As a result, a category of household safety products has emerged to prevent these injuries. Typically, parents purchase a variety of safety products that generally apply to furniture, cabinets, faucets, toilets, various appliances, and other permanent or temporary household items. One of the most dangerous areas of the home is the kitchen. There are many aspects of the kitchen that pose a threat to a young child; however, one of the most pronounced threat for both the child and whole family is the kitchen stove or oven. Commonly, the knobs that operate the stove or oven are placed at an ideal height for a child to reach. When children are learning to stand, they may even use stove or oven knobs as an aid to stay standing, or to pull themselves upright. As a result, there is a high risk of inadvertently turning on the stove or oven thus creating many different hazardous scenarios and risks. For example, when the stove or oven is gas powered, unburned gas could slowly fill the home, creating a potentially deadly situation for the whole family, not just the child. To prevent these hazardous scenarios, safety stove knob covers have been conceived and are readily available for purchase. Existing safety stove knob covers are typically transparent plastic so that stove knob settings can be viewed through. Many of the existing stove knob covers are manufactured in to two different parts with a hinged opening mechanism and a fastening mechanism. To install them, the user must remove the stove knob, open and insert the stove knob cover, re-install the stove knob, and then close the stove knob cover over the stove knob. There are several deficiencies to the design of the commercially available existing safety knob covers, rendering them easily defeated by a young child, whether inquisitive or not. Furthermore, existing safety knob covers easily opens through the fastening mechanism due to the flexibility of the safety knob covers, poor structural integrity, and poorly engineered fastening mechanisms that can be easily opened. Hence, there is a need for an improved safety stove knob cover that is not easily and inadvertently opened by a child and is vastly more durable than the fragile existing safety knob covers.

It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a stove knob cover that is not inadvertently opened by a child, durable, less expensive to manufacture, and assembled with fewer parts. The present invention utilizes a hingedly connected front housing and rear housing that are attached to each other by a two snap-fit fasteners. More specifically, the present invention includes a mostly transparent front and rear housing that are configured to open in a clam shell arrangement via a tangentially positioned hinge mechanism, and held closed by the two snap-fit fasteners, The two-snap-fit fasteners engage between the front and rear housing and configured so as to mechanically limit the front housing from opening unless a pair of squeeze-tab sections of the front housing are squeezed simultaneously, causing inward radial deflection of the front housing, and disengagement of the two snap-fit latches.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the present invention, shown in the closed position.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the present invention, shown in the closed position.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the present invention, shown in the open position.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the front housing of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the rear housing of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the present invention in the closed position, showing the plane upon which a cross sectional view is taken shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 is a cross section view of the present invention taken along line A-A of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a rear view of the present invention in the open position, showing the plane upon which a cross sectional view is taken shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 is a cross section view of the present invention taken along line A-A of FIG. 8.

DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION

All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

The present invention is a stove knob cover that prevents inadvertently operation of a stove knob by a child. More specifically, the present invention is a pair of housing that is hingedly connected in a clam shell arrangement via a hinge and held closed by a fasteners that can only be operated by an adult. The present invention comprises a front housing 1, a fastener tab 7, a rear housing 10, and a hinge mechanism 16 as shown in FIG. 1-2. The front housing 1 that encloses the stove knob comprises a rim 4, a first squeeze-tab section 5, and a second squeeze-tab section 6. In reference to the general configuration of the present invention, the fastener tab 7 is perpendicularly connected to the rim 4 of the front housing 1 and outwardly extends from the front hosing. The hinge mechanism 16 hingedly connected to each other by the hinge mechanism 16 so that the hinge mechanism 16 can enable the clam shell arrangement and function as a hinge, opposite of the of the fastener tab 7. The front housing 1 is selectively engaged with the rear housing 10 through the fastener tab 7, wherein the front housing 1 moves between an open position and a closed position as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3. The first squeeze-tab section 5 and the second squeeze-tab section 6 are integrated onto the front housing 1 to mechanically limit the front housing 1 from opening unless the first squeeze-tab section 5 and the second squeeze-tab section 6 are squeezed simultaneously. More specifically, when a user simultaneously squeezes the first squeeze-tab section 5 and the second squeeze-tab section 6, the fastener tab 7 disengaged from the rear housing 10 due to the inward radial deflection of the front housing 1.

The front housing 1 generally placed in front of the stove knob and covers the stove knob so that the stove knob cannot be operated, unless the present invention is in the open configuration. In reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 4, and FIG. 8, the front housing 1 further comprises a front lateral wall 3 and a front wall 2. The front housing 1 is preferably made from transparent materials so that setting or markings of the stove knob can be shown through the front housing 1. The front lateral wall 3 is perimetrically connected around the front wall 2 thus delineating an opened ended cylindrical shape around the front wall 2. As a result, the rim 4 is circumferentially positioned along the front lateral wall 3, opposite of the front wall 2. The fastener tab 7 is perpendicularly connected to the rim 4 of the front housing 1 and circumferentially positioned in between the first squeeze-tab section 5 and the second squeeze-tab section 6. As a result, when the present invention is in closed configuration, the fastener tab 7 fully engages with the rear housing 10 in such a way that the front housing 1 and the rear housing 10 are positioned flush against each other. To maximize the efficiency and the functionality of the present invention, the first squeeze-tab section 5 and the second squeeze-tab section 6 are integrated onto the front lateral wall 3 and positioned diametrically opposed of each other. Resultantly, the positioning of the first squeeze-tab section 5 and the second squeeze-tab section 6 improves the safety aspect of the present invention. For examples, a child's hand is not big enough to have a thumb and finger opposed around the front wall 2 thus enabling the child to simultaneously squeezes the first squeeze-tab section 5 and the second squeeze-tab section 6 from one hand. A child would not be strong enough to squeeze the first squeeze-tab section 5 and the second squeeze-tab section 6 to release the fastener tab 7 due to the amount of force that need to be applied. Due to the positioning of the first squeeze-tab section 5, the second squeeze-tab section 6, and fastener tab 7, the hinge mechanism 16 is diametrically opposed of the fastener tab 7. As a result, the user is only required to apply equal amount of force for the first squeeze-tab section 5 and the second squeeze-tab section 6 so that the front housing 1 can be easily opened.

The fastener tab 7, which engages the front housing 1 to the rear housing 10 when the present invention is in the closed position, comprises a tab body 8 and at least one ratchet 9. In reference to FIG. 3-4, the tab body 8 is an elongated and tapered body. The tab body 8 is terminally connected to the rim 4 of the front housing 1. As a result, the tab body 8 can be oriented away from the rim 4 of the front housing 1. The at least one ratchet 9 that engages and locks the tab body 8 to the rear housing 10 is terminally connected to the tab body 8 and positioned opposite of the rim 4 of the front housing 1. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the at least one ratchet 9 is a pair of ratchet 9s so that each ratchet 9 from the pair of ratchet 9 can correspond with the first squeeze-tab section 5 and the second squeeze-tab section 6.

The rear housing 10 is generally placed behind the stove knob and secures the present invention to the stove. The rear housing 10 is preferably made from transparent materials so that setting or markings of the stove knob can be shown through the rear housing 10. In reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, the rear housing 10 comprises a rear wall 11, a rear lateral wall 12, a rim 4, and a track 13. More specifically, the rear lateral wall 12 is perimetrically connected around the rear wall 11 thus delineating the general shape of the rear housing 10. The rim 4 is circumferentially positioned along the rear lateral wall 12, opposite of the rear wall 11. In order to positioned flush with the front housing 1, the circumference the rear lateral wall 12 matches to the circumference of the front lateral wall 3. The track 13 externally traverses across the lateral wall, from the rim 4 of the rear housing 10. More specifically, the track 13 enables the fastener tab 7 to be aligned with the rear housing 10 when the present invention moves from the open position to the closed position. Due to the precise alignment of the fastener tab 7, the tab body 8 positions flush within the track 13 once the present invention is in the closed position.

In reference to FIG. 6-7, the present invention further comprises a first opening 14. The first opening 14 traverses through the rear wall 11 and concentrically positioned with the rear wall 11. The first opening 14 facilitates the rear housing 10 to be inserted around a burner switch shaft of the stove once the stove knob is removed. As a result, the surface area of the rear wall 11 between he first opening 14 and the rear lateral wall 12 is placed in between the stove and the stove knob once the present invention is installed to the stove.

In reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 9, the present invention further comprises a second opening 15. The second opening 15 traverses through the track 13 and positioned adjacent to the rear wall 11. Furthermore, the second opening 15 is diametrically opposed of the hinge mechanism 16 so that the second opening 15 can facilitate the engagement between the fastener tab 7 and the rear housing 10. More specifically, the at least one ratchet 9 engages within the second opening 15 when the tab body 8 is fully aligned within the track 13. The engagement between the at least one ratchet 9 and the second opening 15 provides an improved attachment between the front housing 1 and the rear housing 10. For example, when a child is hanging onto the front housing 1 or uses the front housing 1 as an aid to stand up instead of opening, the at least one ratchet 9 maintains the engagement within the second opening 15 thus protecting the structural integrity of the present invention. More specifically, the present invention is able to withstand the applied force to the front housing 1 while upholding the closed position as the at least one ratchet 9 compresses into the second opening 15 further resisting the inadvertently opening of the present invention.

In reference to FIG. 4-5, the hinge mechanism 16 comprises a first hinge body 17 and a second hinge body 18. More specifically, the first hinge body 17 is laterally connected to the front lateral wall 3 so that the hinge mechanism 16 can be connected to the front housing 1. Similarly, the second hinge body 18 is laterally connected to the rear lateral wall 12 so that the hinge mechanism 16 can be connected to the rear housing 10. As a result, the hinge mechanism 16 is able to depict the clam shell arrangement when the present invention moves from the closed position to the open position.

In first embodiment of the present invention, the first hinge body 17 is a pair of peg openings and the second hinge body 18 is a pair of peg bodies. When assembled, the pair of peg openings rotationally engaged around the pair of peg bodies thus enabling the front housing 1 to rotate about a rotational axis. In second embodiment of the present invention, the first hinge body 17 is the pair of peg bodies and the second hinge body 18 is the pair of peg openings. When assembled, the pair of peg bodies rotationally engaged within the pair of peg openings thus enabling the front housing 1 to rotate about the rotational axis. The combination between the pair of peg openings and the pair of peg bodies strengthens structural integrity of the hinge mechanism 16, provides an easy manufacturing process, and decreases both cost and manufacturing time due to elimination of an axle member that is commonly placed within existing hinges.

In reference to FIG. 2, the present invention further comprises an adhesive layer 19. The adhesive layer 19 is superimposed onto the rear wall 11 and positioned opposite of the rear lateral wall 12. The adhesive layer 19 allows the present invention to be conveniently mounted to a flat surface of the stove, behind the stove knob, so that the present invention does not freely rotate and move around the stove knob. The rear wall 11 may further comprises at least one fastener opening. The at least one fastener opening traverses through the rear wall 11 and enables the user to utilize a screw or a bolt fastener that further secures the present invention to the flat surface of the stove.

The present invention may comprise a friction enhancing surface or layer that is superimposed onto the first squeeze-tab section 5 and the second squeeze-tab section 6. Resultantly, the first squeeze-tab section 5 and the second squeeze-tab section 6 can prevent any accidental slippage that can occur during the operation of the present invention.

In reference to FIG. 6-7, when the present invention is in the closed position, the rim 4 of the front housing 1 is concentrically positioned with the rim 4 of the rear housing 10 thus eliminating any empty space in between the front housing 1 and the rear housing 10. The fastener tab 7 is aligned within the track 13 of the rear housing 10, and the at least one ratchet 9 is engaged within the second opening 15 so that the stove knob can be fully covered.

In reference to FIG. 8-9, when the present invention is in the open position, the rim 4 of the front housing 1 is offset from the rim 4 of the rear housing 10 thus provide access to the stove knob in between the front housing 1 and the rear housing 10. The fastener tab 7 is angularly positioned the track 13 of the rear housing 10 due to the axial rotation of the hinge mechanism 16.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Claims

1. A stove knob cover comprises:

a front housing;

a fastener tab;

a rear housing;

a hinge mechanism;

the front housing comprises a front lateral wall, a rim, a first squeeze-tab section, and a second squeeze-tab section;

the first squeeze-tab section and the second squeeze-tab section being integrated onto the front lateral wall;

the first squeeze-tab section and the second squeeze-tab section being diametrically opposed of each other;

the fastener tab being perpendicularly connected to the rim of the front housing;

the fastener tab being circumferentially positioned in between the first squeeze-tab section and the second squeeze-tab section;

the front housing and the rear housing being hingedly connected to each other by the hinge mechanism;

the hinge mechanism and the fastener tab being diametrically opposed of each other; and

the front housing being selectively engaged with the rear housing through the fastener tab, wherein the front housing moves between an open position and a closed position.

2. The stove knob cover as claimed in claim 1 comprises:

the front housing further comprises a front wall;

the front lateral wall being perimetrically connected around the front wall; and

the rim being circumferentially positioned along the front lateral wall, opposite of the front wall.

3. The stove knob cover as claimed in claim 1 comprises:

the fastener tab comprises a tab body and at least one ratchet;

the tab body being terminally connected to the rim of the front housing; and

the at least one ratchet being terminally connected to the tab body, opposite of the rim of the front housing.

4. The stove knob cover as claimed in claim 1 comprises:

the rear housing comprises a rear wall, a rear lateral wall, a rim, and a track;

the rear lateral wall being perimetrically connected around the rear wall;

the rim being circumferentially positioned along the rear lateral wall, opposite of the rear wall; and

the track externally traversing across the lateral wall, from the rim of the rear housing.

5. The stove knob cover as claimed in claim 1 comprises:

a first opening;

the first opening traversing through a rear wall of the rear housing; and

the first opening being concentrically positioned with the rear wall.

6. The stove knob cover as claimed in claim 1 comprises:

a second opening;

the second opening traversing through a track of the rear housing; and

the second opening and the hinge mechanism being diametrically opposed of each other.

7. The stove knob cover as claimed in claim 1 comprises:

the hinge mechanism comprises a first hinge body and a second hinge body;

the first hinge body being laterally connected to the front lateral wall of the front housing; and

the second hinge body being laterally connected to a rear lateral wall of the rear housing.

8. The stove knob cover as claimed in claim 1 comprises:

an adhesive layer;

the adhesive layer being superimposed onto a rear wall of the rear housing; and

the adhesive layer being positioned opposite of a rear lateral wall of the rear housing.

9. The stove knob cover as claimed in claim 1 comprises:

the closed position;

the rim of the front housing being concentrically positioned with a rim of the rear housing;

the fastener tab being aligned within a track of the rear housing; and

at least one ratchet of the fastener tab being engaged within a second opening.

10. The stove knob cover as claimed in claim 1 comprises:

the open position;

the rim of the front housing being offset to a rim of the rear housing; and

the fastener tab being angularly positioned to a track of the rear housing.