Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
  • F24C—DOMESTIC STOVES OR RANGES ; DETAILS OF DOMESTIC STOVES OR RANGES, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
  • F24C15/00—Details
  • F24C15/10—Tops, e.g. hot plates; Rings
  • F24C15/107—Pan supports or grates therefor

Definitions

• the present invention relates to cooking vessel support structure particularly though not solely for use with gas cookers.
• Such structures are commonly known as trivets, grates or pan supports, and the terms may be used interchangeably.
• the support structure which supports cooking vessels the correct distance above the gas flames, but which minimises any quelching or impairment of the flames before they heat the cooking vessel. Accordingly the support structure, or trivets as they are more commonly known, often comprise a small number of narrow prongs on which the cooking vessel may rest. These prongs may be for example be constructed of cast iron or enamel coated steel.
• trivets Two types are used. Firstly, a flat trivet would be used in case of normal flat bottomed cooking pots or frying pans. However, in the case of abnormally shaped pots, such as Chinese woks a different configuration needs to be provided. To overcome this often gas cookers will be sold with at least one extra trivet which may be interchanged to support a wok. This may for example have a inner ring on which the wok is supported, or a number of vertical upstands for which support the wok. Alternatively an additional upstand may be supplied which is stored separately. The upstand is installed over top of the normal trivet whenever a Wok is used.
• a trivet for a gas range capable of supporting a flat bottom of or a large and round bottom of a pan, etc., in a stable state, is described.
• a plurality of hooks supporting a bottom of a pan, etc. are pivotably connected to a plurality of legs standing on a table frame by using pins and these hooks are fixed inside the table frame surrounding flames from a burner 1 at a position where the hooks extend in a substantially horizontal direction, or are fixed outside the table frame at a position where the hooks extend in a slant direction.
• an object of the present invention is to provide a support structure which overcomes the abovementioned disadvantages in the prior art or which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.
• the present invention consists in a structure for supporting a cooking vessel above a gas burner comprising: a plurality of interconnected supporting members forming on one side thereof a first supporting side, and at least three vertical supports having promixal ends attached to said plurality of supporting members and having distal ends extending substantially perpendicularly away from said first supporting side, wherein said first supporting side adapted to accommodate a flat bottomed cooking vessel and said distal ends adapted to accommodate an at least partially curved bottom cooking vessel.
• said structure includes an aperture formed in between said supporting members, said aperature adapted to support an at least partially curved bottom cooking vessel.
• said structure includes at least one, at least part, annular member attached to at least one of said distal ends and adapted to support an at least partially curved bottom cooking vessel.
• At least three of said supporting member terminating in said aperture having terminal ends, said te ⁇ ninal ends adapted to support an at least partially curved bottom cooking vessel.
• said structure includes at least one, at least part annular, restraining member attached to at least one of said terminal ends and adapted to support and at least partially curved bottom cooking vessel.
• Figure 1 is a perspective view of the present invention showing the flat side of the trivet facing upwards
• Figure 2 is a perspective view of the present invention with the wok side facing upwards.
• the present invention provides a simple and cheap support structure which can be easily used to support either a flat bottomed cooking vessel or a round bottomed wok when used with a gas cooker. Simply by flipping the structure over the operator can choose between the desired supporting configurations.
• the trivet 104 includes an outer edge 106 which fits securely within a lip 108 running around the edge of the gas cooker 100. Under normal use a cooking vessel 110 with a flat bottom would then be placed on top of the trivet 104 and supported thereby the support members 105 which run between the area between the edge 106, and above the gas burner 102. In this fashion the trivet 104 can be easily removed for cleaning and maintenance of the gas burner 102.
• FIG 2 we see the present invention in use with the trivet 104 now inverted in the wok support configuration.
• a number of vertical upstands 112 are shown attached perpendicularly to the support members 105 and extending vertically upwards. While in Figure 2 there are shown four such vertical upstands, it will be appreciated that any number greater than three will be adequate to support a round bottomed cooking vessel 114 such as a wok.
• these prongs must be positioned wide enough and high enough so as to provide stable support to a wok 114, but also such that when the trivet 104 is inverted in the flat bottom pot configuration, that the vertical upstands 112 do not interfere with the gas burner 105 or the flames heating the cooking vessel.
• the present invention could also be achieved with upstanding prongs with an aperture in the trivet, an upstanding ring with an aperture in the trivet, supported within an aperture in the trivet by the horizontal members, supported within an aperture in the trivet on a ring, or high upstanding prongs with no aperture in the trivet
• the present invention as described in the foregoing is a simple and easy method for providing a trivet which can be used to support either a flat bottom cooking vessel or a wok-style cooking vessel above a gas cooker. In so doing it dispenses with the need for extra trivets or less efficient configurations as were known previously in the prior art.
• the stability and therefore safety is improved. Further the supports are unobtrusive and far removed from the flames, thereby minimising any loss of heating and maximising efficiency.
• the trivet is supported and confined by the lip, it is very stable. Such stability is important for wok cooking which can be quite vigourous and safety is paramount.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Cookers (AREA)
• Baking, Grill, Roasting (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=19928362

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Cited By (5)

Families Citing this family (4)

Citations (3)

Family Cites Families (19)

• 2001
  • 2001-02-23 NZ NZ510135A patent/NZ510135A/xx unknown
• 2002
  • 2002-02-08 JP JP2002566178A patent/JP2004522123A/ja not_active Abandoned
  • 2002-02-08 US US10/467,707 patent/US20040089288A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2002-02-08 EP EP02701821A patent/EP1362207A1/en active Pending
  • 2002-02-08 WO PCT/NZ2002/000015 patent/WO2002066899A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (3)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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