Abstract:
A removable large and high capacity griddle for a stovetop for use in conjunction with one or more high BTU output burners. The griddle includes a number of features that allow for the large capacity griddle to be used on a gas range with high capacity burners including a flange extending from a bottom surface of the griddle for locating the griddle on an associated range, and for deflecting and/or otherwise channeling heat from one or more associated burners to regions of the griddle and deflecting heat from adjacent range structures, such as a rear control panel.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0001]    This disclosure is related to removable griddles for use in connection with a gas cooking product. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a large capacity griddle for use on high output burners. 
         [0002]    Removable griddles for stove cooktops have been available for use with conventional gas ranges. Traditional removable griddle designs have been relatively small in capacity (100 to 125 sq-in) and are generally used over burners with relatively low ratings (5K to 10K BTUs). Typical prior art griddles are generally used over one or two burners to promote even heating distributions but are generally smaller than desired. Larger style griddles have typically been constrained to permanent griddle designs where u-tube or other geometrically shaped burners can be used effectively to provide more even heating and control. 
         [0003]    Past attempts to increase the size and capacity of removable griddles have heretofore been unsuccessful in achieving uniform heating and/or a griddle that can pass various performance and safety tests typically required of today&#39;s cooking appliances. Therefore, a consumer is presented with a choice: a smaller/lower capacity removable griddle; or a larger/higher capacity permanent griddle that permanently consumes stovetop space. 
       SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0004]    The present disclosure provides a removable larger/higher capacity griddle for a stovetop that overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art griddles noted above. The large capacity removable griddle can be used in conjunction with one or more high BTU output burners, and includes a number of features that allow for the large capacity griddle to be used on a gas range. These features include, among other things, a flange extending from a bottom surface of the griddle for locating the griddle on an associated range, and for deflecting and/or otherwise channeling heat from an associated burner to regions of the griddle and deflecting heat from adjacent range structures such as a rear control panel. 
         [0005]    According to one aspect, a large capacity removable griddle for use in conjunction with one or more burners of an associated stove comprises a griddle body having an upper cooking surface and a lower surface adapted to face one or more burners of the associated stove, upwardly extending side walls surrounding at least a portion of the cooking surface, at least one flange extending downwardly from the lower surface of the griddle body, said flange surrounding at least a portion of at least two sides of the lower surface. The flange includes a plurality of recesses for receiving respective fingers of a burner support of the associated stove, the plurality of recesses being spaced apart along at least two sides of the flange such that when respective fingers are received at said recesses, the griddle is restricted from lateral and transverse movement in the plane of the cooking surface. The flange is adapted to channel heat towards a central portion of the griddle. 
         [0006]    The at least one flange can further comprise both a front flange and a rear flange, each flange at least partially surrounding at least a portion of two sides of the burner when the griddle is installed thereon. The front and rear flanges can have a vertical dimension of between approximately 0.5″ and 2.5″ for spacing the lower surface of the griddle body from the one or more burners of the associated stove a desired amount. When the griddle is supported on the burner support, the flange is configured so as to not extend below the bottom of the fingers of the burner support. The griddle can include at least one gap between the front and rear flanges for venting heat from below the griddle body to an exterior of region. The at least one flange and the griddle body can be a unitary structure, such as may be formed via a casting process. In this regard, the griddle can be a monolithic structure made of cast iron. 
         [0007]    At least one of the plurality of recesses and the at least one flange can have a shape corresponding to a profile of a burner finger of the associated stove. For example, the shape can include a semi-circular shape, or an oblong shape. The at least one flange can include a rear flange extending along a back edge and at least a portion to adjacent side edges of the lower surface of the griddle body. The rear flange can extend along one side edge and extends along the other side edge. A front flange can extend along a front edge of said lower surface. The griddle can include front and rear handles extending outwardly from the upwardly extending side walls located at front and rear edges of the griddle body. The front and rear handles can be formed integrally with the griddle body and the at least one flange. The side walls can extend relative to the upper cooking surface at an angle between about 45 and 90 degrees from vertical. 
         [0008]    In accordance with another aspect, a stove comprising at least one burner, a burner support including a plurality of support fingers surrounding said burner, and a large capacity removable griddle as set forth above, at least partially supported on said burner support is provided. The at least one burner or burners can have a combined rating of at least 19,000 BTU&#39;s. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is perspective view of a stove including a large capacity griddle in accordance with one exemplary embodiment. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of the large capacity griddle of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a top side of an exemplary large capacity griddle. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a bottom side of an exemplary large capacity griddle. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a plan view of the griddle shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the griddle taken along the line  6 - 6  in  FIG. 5 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the griddle shown in  FIG. 5  taken along the line  7 - 7 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of the griddle shown in  FIG. 5  taken along the line  8 - 8 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a stovetop and an exemplary griddle illustrating the support and locating points for securing the griddle to the stove. 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view illustrating the support and locating points of a bottom surface of the griddle. 
           [0019]      FIGS. 11 and 12  are perspective views of the griddle in position on the stovetop. 
           [0020]      FIG. 13  is a perspective rear view of the griddle in position on the stovetop, with a portion of the stove removed for clarity. 
           [0021]      FIG. 14  is another perspective view of the griddle in position on the stovetop. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0022]    Turning now to the drawings and initially to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an exemplary griddle in accordance with the disclosure is illustrated on top a stovetop. In the exemplary embodiment, the griddle  10  is supported over two burners (not shown) by burner supports that surround each burner. Each burner support has a plurality of fingers that are designed to support pots and pans as is conventional, as well as the exemplary griddle set forth in this disclosure. 
         [0023]    The stove  10  generally includes a base portion  12  which can include an oven as is conventional, and the stovetop  14  that includes the plurality of burners  16 . The burners  16  are each covered by burner supports  18  designed to support pots, pans, and as will be described in more detail below, the griddle  20 . Each burner support includes a plurality of cantilevered fingers  22  that extend from a perimeter towards a central portion of a respective burner  16 . The top surface of each finger  22  is generally aligned in a common plane to present a flat surface upon which to place pots, pans, etc. The fingers  22  cooperate with corresponding features on a bottom surface of the griddle  20  to interlock the griddle and restrict lateral movement relative to the stove  10 . 
         [0024]    Turning to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the griddle  20  generally comprises a griddle body  21  having an upper cooking surface  30  and a lower surface  32  adapted to face one or more burners  16  of the associated stove  10 . The top side of the griddle  20  includes upwardly extending side walls  36  that surround the perimeter of the upper cooking surface  30 . The side walls  36  extend from the upper cooking surface  30  at an angle between, for example, 45-90 degrees from vertical. The griddle  20  includes front and rear handles  40  that extend outwardly from the upwardly extending side walls  36  located at the front and rear edges of the griddle body  21 . 
         [0025]    With reference to  FIG. 4 , and additional reference to  FIGS. 5-8 , the lower surface  32  of the griddle body includes a front flange  44  and a rear flange  48  extending downwardly therefrom. Front flange  44  extends generally across the front edge of the lower surface  32 . Rear flange  48  extends across the rear edge of the lower surface  32  and along the left and right edges for at least a portion thereof. With reference to  FIG. 4 , it can be seen that the lower flange  48  extends further on the left side of lower surface  32  than on the right side of lower surface  32  as viewed in  FIG. 4 . Each of the front flange  44  and rear flange  48  include a plurality of recesses  54  adapted to receive respective fingers of a burner support, such as burner support  18 . The recesses  54  are spaced apart along at least two sides of rear flange  48  such that when respective fingers  22  of the burner supports  18  are received in the recesses  54 , the griddle  20  is restricted from lateral movement in the plane of the cooking surface. The recesses  54  can be generally semi-circular or may have any other shape desired for receiving a corresponding finger  22  of a burner support  18 . Recesses  54  having a greater width are generally for receiving a finger  22  at an angle other than perpendicular to the respective flange in which the recess is formed. 
         [0026]    Turning now to  FIG. 9 , the griddle  20  is illustrated above stove  10  prior to being lowered onto the burner supports  18 . Triangle indicators point to individual fingers  22  that will support the griddle  20  when it is placed on the burner supports  18 . The triangle indicators also indicate positions whereat the recesses  54  engage the fingers  22  and thereby locate the griddle  20  relative to the burner support  18 . With further reference to  FIG. 10 , the corresponding support locations of the griddle  20  are highlighted by triangular symbols. As will be appreciated, the support locations generally correspond to the recesses  54  in the front flange  44  and the rear flange  48 . 
         [0027]    In  FIGS. 11 and 12 , the griddle  20  is shown installed on stove  10  with the recesses  54  in the respective front and rear flanges  44  and  48  receiving respective fingers  22  of the burner support  18 . As will be appreciated, the recesses  54  in the front flange receive respective burner fingers  22  thereby locating the front portion of the griddle  20  relative to burner support  18  and restrict lateral movement of the front portion of the griddle  20 . 
         [0028]    With continuing reference to  FIG. 13 , the rear flange  48  having recesses  54  in both the rear wall of the flange as well as a side wall of the flange is engaged with respective fingers  22  that restrict both back and forth and side to side movement of the griddle  20  relative to burner support  18 . 
         [0029]    Both the front flange  44  and rear flange  48  have a vertical dimension that is chosen to locate the lower surface  32  of the griddle  20  a desired distance from the burners  16 . The desired spacing between the lower surface  32  and the burners  16  may vary due to the size of the griddle and/or the heating capacity of the burner  16 . In general, however, the flanges  44  and  48  will have a vertical dimension such that the lower surface  32  will be spaced apart from the burners  16  a distance between 0.5″ to 2.0″ and preferably approximately 1.25″. As seen in  FIGS. 11-14 , when supported on the burner support  18  the flanges of the griddle generally extend no further than the bottom surface of the fingers  22  thus avoiding or limiting effects on the flame characteristics of the burner. 
         [0030]    As will be appreciated, the front flange  44  is generally continuous across the front edge of the grill  20 . This serves to reflect and/or redirect heat generated by the burners  16  so as to reduce temperature adjacent the front side of the griddle  20  that could otherwise be projected towards a user. Similarly, the rear flange  48 , being continuous across the backside of the griddle  20 , reflects and/or redirects heat generated by the burner  16  towards the central portion of the griddle and away from the adjacent structure of the stove. The side portions of rear flange  48  also operate to reflect and/or redirect heat generated by the burners  16  toward central portions of the griddle  20 . 
         [0031]    As noted previously, one of the side portions of the rear flange  48  extends further along its respective side of the lower surface  32 . By configuring the sides of the rear flange in such manner, heat generated by the burners  16  is redirected to a peripheral edge of the stove and away from an operator and/or adjacent stove components. As will be appreciated, other configurations of the flanges are possible for deflecting and or redirecting heat generated by associated burners, depending on the specific application. 
         [0032]    As will now be appreciated, the present disclosure provides a large capacity griddle having a surface area greater than 150″ that can be used over one or more burners having a combined BTU per hour rating of 19,000. The griddle  20  includes front and rear flanges  44  and  48  that both locate the griddle relative to the burners and act to reflect and/or redirect heat generated by the burners so as to maintain a more uniformly heated griddle cooking surface as well as to avoid unacceptably high temperatures adjacent the griddle that may impact the stove structure and/or present a hazard to an operator. 
         [0033]    The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations.