BACKGROUND

Technical Field This invention relates to oven doors, and in particular to an oven door shield.

Background

During cooking or roasting oil and fat often splash onto the inside of an oven door. This results in carbon deposits and fat sticking onto the inside of the oven door.

In some ovens the door is insulated and a door liner is used to cover the insulation. The door liner is also exposed to oil and fat in the same way.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To overcome this problem the invention proposes to shield the oven door by securing a sheet of non-stick coating onto the inside surface of the oven door.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided an oven door shield comprising a non-stick, heat-resistant, washable cover, the cover being arranged in shape and size so as to cover, substantially, an inside surface of an oven door in use.

The application of the oven door shield will ensure that the inside surface of the door, including a door liner where appropriate will not get contaminated with fat or oil.

Preferably, the oven door shield is removably attachable to the inside surface of the oven door in use.

Preferably, the oven door shield comprises at least one of a magnet, a suction means, and adhesive or elastic corners so that the oven door shield is removably attachable to an oven door in use.

Preferably, the oven door shield comprises a handle for ease of use. Preferably, the handle is arranged to remain outside the oven in use. Preferably, the handle is arranged to wrap over the oven door in use so that a part of the handle is substantially parallel to the oven door. Preferably, the handle comprises at least one of a magnet, a suction means or an adhesive. Preferably, the handle comprises a suction part which is removable from the handle in use. Preferably, the oven door shield comprises a viewing window. Preferably, the viewing window comprises one or more elongate slots which are wide enough to see through, but which are narrow enough to prevent food or fat from sticking to the inside surface of the oven door in use. Preferably, the viewing window comprises two or more perforations which are wide enough to see through, but which are narrow enough to prevent food or fat from sticking to the inside surface of the oven door in use. Preferably, the perforations are arranged in a matrix.

Preferably, the cover is a mesh. Preferably, the mesh comprises silicone. More preferably, the mesh comprises woven glass coated with silicone. The oven door shield may be fitted with a handle to ensure safe removal of the product.

Preferably the product will be shaped to correspond to the inside surface of the oven door.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-

Figure 1 shows an inside of an oven door with an oven door shield according to a first embodiment of the invention in place.

Figure 2 shows a side view of the oven door of Figure 1 with the oven door shield wrapping around the door liner and onto the front of the oven door. Figure 3 shows the front of the oven door of Figure 1 with the handle of the oven door shield attached to the door.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a second oven door shield in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention.

Figure 5 is a side view of the oven door shield of Figure 4. Figure 6 is a perspective view of the oven door shield of Figure 4 showing an exploded holder assembly.

Figure 7 is a close up perspective exploded view of the holder assembly of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a partial close up view of the holder assembly of Figure 6 showing a slidable sucker. Figure 9 is an exploded perspective view of a third oven door shield in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention.

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the oven door shield of Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a side view of the oven door shield of Figure 9. Figure 12 is a perspective view of a fourth oven door shield in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the invention.

Figure 13 is a perspective view of a fifth oven door shield in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the invention is described with reference to Figures 1 to 3.

In Figure 1 an oven door 1 can be seen from the inside with an oven door shield 2 attached. If the oven door shield is fitted it will prevent food and fat from spitting and sticking to the liner of the door.

Figure 2 shows a side view of the oven door 1. The oven door 1 has a door liner 3 which is clearly visible. The oven door shield 2 protects the door liner 3 from fat deposits.

The oven door shield 2 has a handle 4 which folds over the door and fixes to the front of the oven door 1.

The handle 4 is attached to the front of the oven door 1 by using a magnet 5, which in this example is moulded into the handle 4 of the oven door shield 2. The oven door shield handle 4 also has a flap 6 protruding past the magnet 5 to allow the user safe and easy removal of the oven door shield 2.

Referring now to Figure 3, the front of the oven door 1 is visible as is the handle 4. The oven door shield 2 is attached to the inside of the oven door 1. The safe removal flap 6 is shown incorporated in the handle 4. The handle 4 also serves to the user as a reminder that food is in the oven.

Additionally, a picture of a pan with text to say I'm cooking is printed on the handle 4. Sometimes, when the product is used on a solid door with no glass a user can forget food is in the oven and the invention helps to solve this problem also. The oven door shield handle 4 is to be square or rectangular in shape and have a thin magnet 5 moulded to it, the size of the handle 4 is to be roughly 70mm in length by 40mm in width.

The magnet 5 is to be strong enough to hold the oven door shield 2 in place when the user opens the oven door 1 to check on any food.

The oven door shield 2 is intended to be made in many different sizes so that at least one oven door shield 2 is suitable for every oven door, or at least several of the most commonly-sized oven doors.

Alternatively, a one-size oven door shield 2 could be used which can be cut to size by the end user.

In one example, the oven door shields are washable. In another example, the oven door shields are disposable.

The dimensions of the product will range anywhere from 500mm wide by 150mm high to 900mm wide by 600mm high, to fit different size oven doors on various different ovens. Figures 4 to 8 show a second oven door shield 10 in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention. Only the differences are described and like reference numbers are used for like components.

The oven door shield 10 has optional inwardly directed tabs 12 arranged around the periphery on three sides to protect the sides of the door liner 3 where necessary and especially when the oven door 1 is closed. The tabs 12 are on the three sides which do not have the handle 4 and extend substantially along the full length of each respective side. Of course some ovens may not have a door liner 3 and the tabs 12 are primarily for use with ovens which do have a door liner 3.

An attachment housing 14 is provided on the handle 4 to attach the door shield 10 to an outside surface of an oven door in use.

The attachment housing 14 is provided with magnets 16 (see Figure 6) and a sucker pad 18. However, any attachment means could be used, or any combination, as long as the door shield 10 may be securely but removably attached to an oven door in use. For example, a suitable adhesive may be used. Figure 5 shows the second oven door shield 10 from a side view. Here, it can be seen that the sucker pad 18 faces inwardly so that it contacts the outside of the oven door 1 in use. Figure 6 is a perspective view of the second oven door shield 10. Here, the attachment housing 14 is shown exploded and the magnet 16 and sucker pad 18 can be clearly seen. Corresponding apertures on the handle 4 which are used to receive and help attach the attachment housing 14 to the handle 4 are also shown in Figure 6. Figure 7 shows the exploded attachment housing 14 in even more detail. Here, there is a front housing 14a which connects into a rear housing 14b through the apertures in the handle 4. The rear housing 14b has apertures to receive the magnets 16 therein, and a slot 14c to receive a corresponding protrusion 18a of the sucker pad 18. Additionally, there is a rubber pad 14d disposed between the rear housing 14b and the sucker pad 18. The front housing 14a displays a logo to remind a user that food is cooking in the oven.

The front housing 14a also has snap fit bosses which engage with the rear housing 14b to sandwich the handle 4 there between as mentioned above.

The rear housing 14b is bonded to the rubber pad 14d once the magnets 16 are installed therein. The magnets 16 are able to secure the device to the front of the oven door 1 , if the oven door is made of a suitable material.

The rubber pad 14d prevents direct contact between the magnets 16 and the rear housing 14b with the front surface of the oven door 1 in use, thereby avoiding chipping and paint damage to the oven door 1.

In this embodiment, the sucker pad 18 is optional and need not be supplied by the manufacturer, or may be removed by an end user. The sucker pad 18 is especially useful when the oven door 1 has a glass front. However, the sucker pad 18 may also be used when the oven door is of any material to which the magnet 16 will not bond sufficiently. Of course, a user may even prefer to use a sucker pad 18 rather than the magnets 16 due to personal preference or to limit sliding of the attachment housing 14 on the oven door 1. Figure 8 shows the attachment housing 14 having the front cover 14a, the rear housing

14b and the rubber pad 14d and magnet 16 all assembled together. The sucker pad 18 is shown below the attachment housing 14, and the arrow indicates the direction of movement of the sucker pad to remove the sucker pad 18 from the attachment housing 4. The sucker pad 18 can be installed in the attachment housing by reversing the direction shown by the arrow in Figure 8.

Figures 9 to 1 1 show a third oven door shield 20 in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention. Again, only the differences between this third embodiment and the previous first and second embodiments of the invention are described and like reference numbers are used for like components. Figure 9 is an exploded perspective view of the third oven door shield 20. The third oven door shield 20 has a cover or body 21 which is used to cover substantially an oven door in use. The oven door shield 20 also has a handle or arm 4. The arm 4 is also shown in the first and second embodiments and is arranged in use to wrap over an oven door so that the oven door shield 20 can be releasably attached to an oven door in use. More particularly, in this example, the arm 4 wraps over the oven door so that the oven door shield 20 is releasably attached to the outside surface of the oven door in use.

For this purpose, an attachment housing 24 is provided which comprises an attachment body 25 having a threaded insert 26 into which a sucker pad or suction part 28 is screwed. The attachment housing 24 is assembled so that the attachment housing 24 is attached to the arm 4 of the oven door shield 20. An aperture 29 is provided on the arm 4 for this reason, and a threaded extension extending from the suction part 28 extends through the aperture 29 and into the threaded insert 26 of the attachment body 25. The suction part 28 is arranged to face the outside surface of an oven door in use when the oven door shield 20 is installed in the oven. In this third embodiment, no magnets are provided on the attachment housing 24.

The attachment housing 24 is removed from the arm 4 by unscrewing the suction part 28 from the threaded insert 26 of the attachment body 25. In this way, the oven door shield 20 can be discarded and replaced with another oven door shield 20, whilst the attachment housing 24 is reused. Figure 10 shows the third oven door shield 20 when assembled and ready for use on an oven door.

Figure 1 1 is a side view of the third oven door shield 20, showing clearly the arrangement of the attachment housing 24 on the arm 4 of the oven door shield 20.

Figure 12 shows a perspective view of a fourth oven door shield 30 in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the invention. This fourth embodiment of the invention is the same as the third embodiment of the invention described with reference to Figures 9 to 1 1. Only the differences are described and like reference numbers are used for like components.

In this fourth embodiment, the fourth oven door shield 30 has a body 31 for covering substantially the inside surface of an oven door in use. The body 31 comprises a series of thin cut-out strips 32 which are arranged to extend horizontally across the oven door shield 30. The purpose of the cut-outs 32 is to allow a user to see through the oven door shield 30 when the oven door shield 30 is used with a glass oven door. The cut-outs 32 are relatively thin. The thickness of the cut-outs 32 is determined to be at least enough to allow a user to see through the oven door, but not so thick as to allow food and fat from accessing and sticking to the inside surface of the oven door in use. In this example embodiment, three cut-outs 32 are positioned in the lower-half of the oven door shield 30. It is assumed here that the top of the oven door shield 20 is where the arm 4 meets with the body 31.

In an alternative embodiment not shown, the cut-outs 32 are arranged differently to that shown in Figure 12. For example, the cut-outs 32 are arranged with two horizontal slots side- by-side and a third slot underneath and centred across the oven door shield 30. The slots in this example are preferably in an upper-half of the oven door shield 30. The slots which are uppermost are 125mm long and 5mm wide and the bottom slot is 160mm long and 5mm wide.

Figure 13 shows a fifth oven door shield 40 in accordance with the fifth embodiment of the invention. Here, the oven door shield 40 is very similar to the oven door shield 30 described with reference to Figure 12. The difference is that the cut-outs 32 are replaced by a matrix of small perforations 42. Once again, the perforations 42 are large enough so that somebody may see through the oven door shield 40 when applied to a glass oven door. In this way, a user can see how food is cooking within the oven without having to open the oven door. Again, the perforations 42 are preferably not so large as to allow food or fat to stick to the inside surface of the oven door in use.

Preferably, the perforations 42 are circular and have a diameter of between 1 mm and 10mm.

In this example, there are five rows of perforations and fourteen columns, but there could be any number of other configurations as would now be apparent to the skilled person.

In another embodiment not shown, the oven door shield does not have an arm or attachment housing connected to the arm. Instead, magnets are placed in the body, preferably at each of the four corners. The magnets act to hold the oven door shield 20 to the inside surface of an oven door in use. Alternatively, suction means can be used directly on the body. Additionally, or alternatively, elasticised corners could be used to secure the door shield to an oven door in use. Additionally, or alternatively, an adhesive such as a silicone-backed PTFE substance could be used to secure the door shield to an oven door in use.

The oven door shield may be clear, coloured or opaque and a variety of thickness.

The oven door shield may include a timer, especially on the handle or attachment housing.

The oven door shield or the cover may be a mesh, preferably made of a silicone material. In one example embodiment not shown, the mesh is woven glass coated with a silicone material, the mesh defining 2mm square apertures, although other sizes could be used. Although a few preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications might be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.