Cookware handle holder

Abstract

A holder or handgrip for elongated metal cookware handles that become hot during stove top or oven use is provided. The inventive cookware handle holder is easily slipped over and removed from cookware handles, is suitable for use with a wide range of handle shapes and sizes, offers heat and flame resistance, as well as, improved compressibility and, in a preferred embodiment, further offers an improved gripping surface and improved slip and skid resistance.

1 . A cookware handle holder that fits over metal cookware handles and that comprises: an elongated hollow tubular structure having an open end and an opposing closed end, a substantially oval or elliptical cross-sectional shape, and indented side wall portions.  
   
   
       2 . The cookware handle holder of  claim 1 , which is prepared using a curable silicone composition that, upon cure, demonstrates heat and flame resistance.  
   
   
       3 . A cookware handle holder that fits over metal cookware handles and that comprises: an elongated hollow tubular structure having an open end and an opposing closed end, a substantially oval or elliptical cross-sectional shape, an upper wall portion having outer and inner surfaces, a lower wall portion having outer and inner surfaces, and indented side wall portions.  
   
   
       4 . The cookware handle holder of  claim 3 , which further comprises a plurality of axial ridges or ribs provided on the inner surfaces of the upper and lower wall portions of the elongated hollow tubular structure.  
   
   
       5 . The cookware handle holder of  claim 3 , which further comprises a plurality of raised areas provided on the outer surfaces of the upper and lower wall portions of the elongated hollow tubular structure.  
   
   
       6 . The cookware handle holder of  claim 5 , wherein the raised areas are in the form of raised dots.  
   
   
       7 . The cookware handle holder of  claim 3 , wherein the open and closed ends of the elongated hollow tubular structure are angled acutely relative to a vertical plane.  
   
   
       8 . The cookware handle holder of  claim 3 , which is prepared using a curable silicone composition that, upon cure, demonstrates heat and flame resistance.  
   
   
       9 . A cookware handle holder that fits over metal cookware handles and that comprises: an elongated hollow tubular structure having an open end and an opposing closed end, a substantially oval or elliptical cross-sectional shape, an upper wall portion having outer and inner surfaces, a lower wall portion having outer and inner surfaces, indented side wall portions, a plurality of axial ridges or ribs provided on the inner surfaces of the upper and lower wall portions, and a plurality of raised areas provided on the outer surfaces of the upper and lower wall portions.  
   
   
       10 . The cookware handle holder of  claim 9 , wherein the raised areas provided on the outer surfaces of the upper and lower wall portions of the elongated hollow tubular structure are in the form of raised dots.  
   
   
       11 . The cookware handle holder of  claim 9 , wherein the open and closed ends of the elongated hollow tubular structure are angled acutely relative to a vertical plane.  
   
   
       12 . The cookware handle holder of  claim 9 , which is prepared using a curable silicone composition that, upon cure, demonstrates heat and flame resistance.