Premium oven mitt/hot pad

An oven mitt incorporating high temperature materials (14), composed of polyester fleece (10), having a flap that protects the wrist (16), stitched channels to hold the hand in place (12) which may also be used as a hot pad.

BACKGROUND
 1. Field of Invention
 This invention relates to oven mitts and hot pads.
 2. Prior Art
 Consumers have a variety of oven mitts and hot pads to choose from. Many
 are made of thin, inexpensive material that barely protect the hand and
 wrist.
 Heat resistant material is mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,464 for
 Simonoff. This refers to fabrics padded with cotton or polyester batting.
 Large, very hot dishes or roasting pans can become uncomfortable to the
 user as it may take a few minutes to raise them out of the oven and
 position them so that said hot dish or pan will not damage persons or
 objects. High temperature materials protect people as well as kitchen
 counters and table tops. Existing patents do not mention high temperature
 materials nor use of polyester fleece.
 The fit of oven mitts can be problematic. USD0388553 for Sapin, USD0425261
 for Basile, USD0336549 for Stabile, and USD0355051 for Ives can shift on
 the hand as they are designed to be big and open. USD0368330 for Robinson
 suffers the opposite problem, being snug fitting and uncomfortable for a
 larger hand. U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,464 for Simonoff is very awkward as it
 requires use of both hands with an attached band of fabric that could be
 cumbersome.
 Protection of the wrist is not part of the design of USD0425261 for Basile,
 USD0284520 for Handler, USD0355051 for Ives, USD0336549 for Stabile or
 USD0388553 for Sapin.
 Oven mitts are often pressed into service as a hot pad for dinner table or
 kitchen counter while food preparation is completed or while the food is
 served. USD0309360 for Torrence, USD0258625 for Sheridan, U.S. Pat. No.
 4,534,066 for Hansson, USD0381130 for Anderson, would not be attractive
 for this purpose.
 BACKGROUND
 Objects and Advantages
 Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
 (a) to provide an oven mitt incorporating high temperature materials;
 (b) to provide an oven mitt composed of polyester fleece;
 (c) to provide an oven mitt with protection for the wrist area;
 (d) to provide an oven mitt whose fit doesn't shift;
 (e) to provide and oven mitt that can be used as an attractive hot pad for
 dinner table or kitchen counter use.
 Further objects and advantages are to provide an oven mitt that can be
 stored flat and stacked for storage. Still further objects and advantages
 will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and
 drawings.
 SUMMARY
 In accordance with the present invention an oven mitt incorporating high
 temperature materials.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
 FIGS. 1 to 5
 A typical embodiment of the oven mitt has a palm area of high temperature
 fabric or fabric with a high temperature coating (FIG. 3). High
 temperature fabric is different than heat or flame resistant fabric. Heat
 resistant fabric and flame resistant fabric degrade at fairly low
 temperatures. High temperature materials do not degrade easily. There are
 various fabrics in this group such as the aramids and coatings such as
 silicon rubber.
 A typical embodiment of the oven mitt is approximately eight inches square
 with rounded comers. Two pieces of material of similar shape are each
 attached on two adjoining sides of the mitt. These two pieces of fabric
 form the flaps that protect the wrist (FIGS. 1, 2, 5). Polyester fleece is
 the preferred material because of its softness, wrinkle resistance, and
 variety of color and pattern.
 Channel stitching on each side of the body is perpendicular to the flap,
 forming a hand pocket. This allows the hand to slip into the oven mitt in
 a consistent manner and prevent the hand position from shifting. Said
 stitching also anchors the flap.
 These fabrics allow the oven mitt to be stored with the flaps back (FIG.
 1). Because of the wrinkle resistance, attractive appearance and low
 profile of the mitt (FIG. 4) it can be used as a hot pad to protect
 furniture or counters as needed.
 Operation
 FIGS. 1, 5
 The manner of using said oven mitt is similar to existing mitts. Place a
 hand, palm down, midway into the opening between the folded back flaps.
 Pushing thumb and fingers into the fabric pocket between the stitched
 channels, one slips fingers into one side, thumb into the opposite side.
 As the hand is raised the flaps come down to protect the wrist (FIG. 5).
 Conclusions, Ramifications and Scope
 Accordingly, the reader can see that consumers could easily use this oven
 mitt to remove hot dishes and pans into and out of an oven while
 protecting their hands and wrists.
 This mitt would also allow consumers to use the mitt as a hot pad to
 protect counters and tables from being marred from the heat of items just
 removed from an oven.
 Although the description above contains many specifics, these should not be
 construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing
 illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this
 invention. For example, the overall shape of the oven mitt could be round
 with round flaps or the mitt could be made without flaps while
 incorporating a high temperature coating.
 Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims
 and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.