Spatter shielding and vapor venting device for frying pan

Abstract

A spatter shielding and vapor venting device for a frying pan comprising a transparent lid to enable visual observation of cooking, a peripheral venting gap to release generated fumes and vapors, a vertical hollow cylindrical wall to rapidly return condensed oil to frying pan, a handle to hold the device steady, a horizontal flange to facilitate placement on rims of frying pans of varying sizes, a vertical cylindrical flange to restrict lateral motion and to shield the contact area between the horizontal flange and frying pan rim, a vertical window opening for the introduction, removal, stirring and turning over of food, a hands-free opening and automatic closing window cover means to effectively shield the window opening even while performing said cooking operations.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A spatter shielding and vapor venting device for mounting on a frying pan and covering the entire open area of said frying pan, said device comprising; .Iadd.(a) .Iaddend.a vertical hollow cylindrical wall having an open top with a top rim, a open bottom with a vertical bottom flange and a peripheral horizontal flange . .attached to and extending.!. .Iadd.which extends .Iaddend.radially . .outwardly.!. .Iadd.in a direction .Iaddend.from said wall near the bottom flange, an opening in the wall spaced above the horizontal flange and forming a window through said wall, a window cover having an outer periphery the same shape as and substantially the same size as the opening to . .completely.!. cover the opening, and a transparent lid covering the open top of said wall,   .Iadd.(b) .Iaddend.said wall further having a handle attached to and extending radially outwardly from said wall, said handle being spaced from said opening, . .a horizontal plate attached to and extending radially inwardly from said wall and being located directly above said opening,.!.   .Iadd.(c) .Iaddend.said window cover further having a hinged top edge . .which is attached to said horizontal plate.!..Iadd., .Iaddend.allowing said cover to swing to open and close said opening, .Iadd.and furthermore having a means for attaching said top edge to the inside of said wall around the top of said opening,.Iaddend.   .Iadd.(d) .Iaddend.said lid further having an outer perimeter, a bottom side, a cylindrical flange . .depending.!. .Iadd.extending .Iaddend.from said bottom side and spaced inwardly from the perimeter, . .and at least three radial ridges extending from said flange to the outer perimeter, said ridges engaging the top rim of the cylindrical wall when said lid is placed on said wall to space the bottom side of said lid from said rim to form a peripheral venting gap,.!.   .Iadd.(e) .Iaddend.whereby the shielding and venting device is placed onto the frying pan with the bottom and peripheral flanges of the cylindrical wall engaging the uppermost portion of the inner wall and the top wall of the pan respectively, the window cover allowing the insertion of a cooking utensil into the device to allow access to the pan interior without removal of the device from the pan . .and the peripheral venting gap allowing the pan to be vented without removal of the lid.!..   
     
     
       2. The shielding and venting device according to claim 1, wherein said window cover further has a curled bottom edge. 
     
     
       3. A spatter shielding and vapor venting device for mounting on a frying pan and covering the entire open area of said frying pan, said device comprising; .Iadd.(a) .Iaddend.a vertical hollow cylindrical wall having an open top with a top rim, a open bottom with a vertical bottom flange and a peripheral horizontal flange . .attached to and extending.!. .Iadd.which extends .Iaddend.radially . .outwardly.!. .Iadd.in a direction .Iaddend.from said wall near the bottom flange, an opening in the wall spaced above the horizontal flange and forming a window through said wall, a window cover having an outer periphery the same shape as and . .slightly bigger than.!. .Iadd.substantially the same size as .Iaddend.the opening to . .completely.!. cover the opening, and a transparent lid covering the open top of said wall,   .Iadd.(b) .Iaddend.said wall further having a handle attached to and extending radially outwardly from said wall, said handle being spaced from said opening, . .a slotted flange attached to said wall and extending about an outer periphery of said opening, said slotted flange having two breaks located at a top and bottom of said opening, said outer periphery of said window cover being inserted into said slotted flange so that said outer periphery is engaged by said flange,.!.   .Iadd.(c) .Iaddend.said window cover being . .formed from a single piece.!. .Iadd.a curtain comprising a plurality of strips .Iaddend.of resilient material . .and having a plurality of vertically extending slits extending a length approximately equal to the distance between the top and bottom of the window opening and no wider than the width of said opening and having a single horizontal slit intersecting the vertical slits to form a plurality of resilient vertically extending strips.!. .Iadd.and having a means for attaching to an outer periphery of said opening.Iaddend.,   .Iadd.(d) .Iaddend.said lid further having an outer perimeter, a bottom side, a cylindrical flange . .depending.!. .Iadd.extending .Iaddend.from said bottom side and spaced inwardly from the perimeter, . .and at least three radial ridges extending from said flange to the outer perimeter, said ridges engaging the top rim of the cylindrical wall when said lid is placed on said wall to space the bottom of said lid from said rim to form a peripheral venting gap,.!.   .Iadd.(e) .Iaddend.whereby the shielding and venting device is placed onto the frying pan with the bottom and peripheral flanges of the cylindrical wall engaging the uppermost portion of the inner wall and the top wall of the pan, respectively, the window cover allowing the insertion of a cooking utensil into the device to allow access to the pan interior without removal of the device from the pan . .and the peripheral venting gap allowing the pan to be vented without removal of the lid.!..   
     
     
       4. The shielding and venting device according to claim . .3.!. .Iadd.16.Iaddend., wherein said horizontal slit intersects said vertically extending slits at a midpoint of their length. 
     
     
       5. A spatter shielding and vapor venting device for mounting on a frying pan and covering the entire open area of said frying pan, said device comprising; .Iadd.(a) .Iaddend.a vertical hollow cylindrical wall having an open top with a top rim, a open bottom with a vertical bottom flange and a peripheral horizontal flange . .attached to and extending.!. .Iadd.which extends .Iaddend.radially . .outwardly.!. .Iadd.in a direction .Iaddend.from said wall near the bottom flange, an opening in the wall spaced above the horizontal flange and forming a window through said wall, a window cover having an outer periphery the same shape as and . .slightly bigger than.!. .Iadd.substantially the same size .Iaddend.the opening to . .completely.!. cover the opening, and a transparent lid covering the open top of said wall,   .Iadd.(b) .Iaddend.said wall further having a handle attached to and extending radially outwardly from said wall, said handle being spaced from said opening, . .a hollow shroud attached to and extending outwardly from an outer perimeter of said opening, said window cover surrounding said shroud and covering said opening,.!.   .Iadd.(c) .Iaddend.said window cover comprising an open ended fabric sleeve . .having, a means for attaching one end of said sleeve to said shroud, and a means for closing the other end of said sleeve.!. .Iadd.and having a means for attaching said fabric sleeve to an outer perimeter of said opening.Iaddend.,   .Iadd.(d) .Iaddend.said lid further having an outer perimeter, a bottom side, a cylindrical flange . .depending.!. .Iadd.extending .Iaddend.from said bottom side and spaced inwardly from the perimeter, . .and at least three radial ridges extending from said flange to the outer perimeter, said ridges engaging the top rim of the cylindrical wall when said lid is placed on said wall to space the bottom side of said lid from said rim to form a peripheral venting gap,.!.   .Iadd.(e) .Iaddend.whereby the shielding and venting device is placed onto the frying pan with the bottom and peripheral flanges of the cylindrical wall engaging the uppermost portion of the inner wall and the top wall of the pan, respectively, the closed end of said window cover being operable, allowing the insertion of a cooking utensil into the device to allow access to the pan interior without removal of the device from the pan . .and the peripheral venting gap allowing the pan to be vented without removal of the lid.!..   
     
     
       6. The shielding and venting device according to claim 5, wherein said means for attaching . .and said means for closing comprises a pair of draw strings.!. .Iadd.comprises a hollow shroud attached to and extending outwardly from an outer perimeter of said opening, said fabric sleeve surrounding said outwardly extending end of said shroud and covering said opening, said fabric sleeve having, a means for attaching to said shroud, and a means for closing the other end of said sleeve.Iaddend.. 
     
     
       7. The shielding and venting device according to claim . .5.!. .Iadd.6.Iaddend., wherein said means for attaching . .comprises an elastic band.!. .Iadd.and said means for closing are selected from the group consisting of a pair of draw strings, and an elastic band.Iaddend.. .Iadd.8. The shielding and venting device according to claim 1, wherein said direction of radial extension of said peripheral horizontal flange is outwardly from said wall..Iaddend..Iadd.9. The shielding and venting device according to claim 1, wherein said direction of radial extension of said peripheral horizontal flange is inwardly from said wall..Iaddend..Iadd.10. The shielding and venting device according to claim 1, wherein said means for attaching comprises a horizontal plate attached to said wall and being located directly above said opening and extending radially inwardly from said wall to an edge which is attached to said hinged top edge of said window cover..Iaddend..Iadd.11. The shielding and venting device according to claim 1, wherein said lid has a means to space its bottom side from the top rim of the cylindrical wall to form a 
     
     
        peripheral venting gap..Iaddend..Iadd.12.  The shielding and venting device according to claim 11, wherein said means for spacing comprises at least three radial ridges extending from said cylindrical flange to the outer perimeter, said ridges engaging the top rim of the cylindrical wall when said lid is placed on said wall..Iaddend..Iadd.13. The shielding and venting device according to claim 11, wherein said means for spacing comprises at least three bumps on the top rim of the cylindrical wall, said bumps engaging the bottom side of said lid..Iaddend..Iadd.14. The shielding and venting device according to claim 3, wherein said direction of radial extension of said peripheral horizontal flange is outwardly from said wall..Iaddend..Iadd.15. The shielding and venting device according to claim 3, wherein said direction of radial extension of said peripheral horizontal flange is inwardly from said wall..Iaddend..Iadd.16. The shielding and venting device according to claim 3, wherein said means for attaching comprises a slotted flange attached to said wall and extending about an outer periphery of said opening, said slotted flange having two breaks located at a top and bottom of said opening, said outer periphery of said window cover being inserted into said slotted flange so that said outer periphery is engaged by said flange..Iaddend..Iadd.17. The shielding and venting device according to claim 3, wherein said window cover includes a single piece of resilient material and having a plurality of vertically extending slits extending a length approximately equal to the distance between the top and bottom of the window opening and substantially the width of said opening and having a single horizontal slit intersecting the vertical slits to form a plurality of resilient vertically extending strips..Iaddend..Iadd.18. The shielding and venting device according to claim 3, wherein said lid has a means to space its bottom side from the top rim of the cylindrical wall to form a peripheral venting gap..Iaddend..Iadd.19. The shielding and venting device according to claim 18, wherein said means for spacing comprises at least three radial ridges extending from said cylindrical flange to the outer perimeter, said ridges engaging the top rim of the cylindrical wall when said lid is placed on said wall..Iaddend..Iadd.20. The shielding and venting device according to claim 18, wherein said means for spacing comprises at least three bumps on the top rim of the cylindrical wall, said bumps engaging the bottom side of said lid..Iaddend..Iadd.21. The shielding and venting device according to claim 5, wherein said direction of radial extension of said peripheral horizontal flange is outwardly from said wall..Iaddend..Iadd.22. The shielding and venting device according to claim 5, wherein said direction of radial extension of said peripheral horizontal flange is inwardly from said wall..Iaddend..Iadd.23. The shielding and venting device according to claim 5, wherein said lid has a means to space its bottom side from the top rim of the cylindrical wall to form a peripheral venting gap..Iaddend..Iadd.24. The shielding and venting device according to claim 23, wherein said means for spacing comprises at least three radial ridges extending from said cylindrical flange to the outer perimeter, said ridges engaging the top rim of the cylindrical wall when said lid is placed on said wall..Iaddend..Iadd.25. The shielding and venting device according to claim 23, wherein said means for spacing comprises at least three bumps on the top rim of the cylindrical wall, said bumps engaging the bottom side of said lid..Iaddend.