Range Guard

This invention is in the field of guard devices for cooking ranges to prevent children from burning themselves by touching hot burners or by pulling hot utensils off the stove.

Many proposals have been made heretofore for attachments for cooking ranges for the purpose of preventing splashing or for preventing cooking utensils from sliding off the range and even for preventing inadvertent manipulation of the range controls. However, such devices have been bulky and unweildy or of complicated construction and generally incapable of easy removal or mounting in position of use. For example, see the following prior patents:

The present invention relates to a simple strip of plastic material bent to generally U-shape to define an upstanding front wall and short side walls or wings arranged to extend rearwardly along the stove top. Simple brackets may be secured to the range top and cooperate with the rearwardly extending walls of the guard to releasably retain the same on the range whereby it may be mounted or removed by a very simple manipulation. The guard walls are sufficiently high to prevent small children from reaching utensils on the stove or from placing their hands on heated burners.

FIG. 1 is a schematic top plan view of a range having the guard of the present invention applied thereon;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of the front portion of the range and guard;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary end view of FIG. 2, as seen from the right hand end thereof;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the guard; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a retaining bracket.

In FIG. 1, numeral 2 schematically indicates any conventional cooking range having a generally flat top 4 and burners 6 thereon. The burners 6 may be gas burners or electric heaters or any other heating means provided on a cooking range; Numeral 8 indicates the usual controls for the burners.

Fixed to the range top are opposed brackets 10 adjacent the side edges of the top 4 in the form of short lengths of rigid channels each having a base wall 12 (see FIG. 5) and upper and lower flanges 14 and 16. Obviously, the retaining means 10 could be cut from continuous lengths of extruded aluminum, for example, very inexpensively. Each of the brackets 10 is preferably secured to the range top 4 by adhesive means (not shown) adjacent the side edges of the range top with the channel openings facing outwardly as clearly shown in FIG. 2. Any suitable adhesive may be employed to secure the channels to the range top, for example, pressure sensitive adhesives.

The range guard 18 is preferably formed of a length of any suitable plastic material, preferably but not necessarily transparent. The strip is formed to a general U-shape to provide a front wall 20 and rearwardly extending side walls 22. The side walls 22 may be in the form of relatively short wings and the side walls 22 are each provided with a horizontal slot 24 spaced above its lower edge and a notch 26 in its lower edge. The material of the guard is resiliently flexible so that the wings or side walls 22 may be flexed outwardly away from each other sufficiently to clear the outer edges of the flanges 14 of retaining means 10 whereupon the entire guard may be placed on the range top and the side walls permitted to resiliently return to their normal position with the slots 24 embracing the upper flanges 14 of the retaining means 10 and with the notches 26 straddling the lower flange 16. Thus, the guard 18 is securely retained in position on the range top and the front wall 20 is sufficiently high, for example, 3"to 6", to prevent small children from reaching hot utensils on the range and pulling the same off, which could result in serious injury to the child. At the same time the guard prevents such children from reaching up and touching hot burners on the range which would likewise result in serious injury.

In the usual or customary installation of such ranges in a kitchen, cabinets are normally placed alongside the range, thus the side walls or wings 22 need extend rearwardly only a very short distance rather than the full length of the side edges of the range.

While a single specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is to be understood that the same is merely illustrative of the principles of the invention which is limited only by the scope of the appended claims.