Pan tilting apparatus

A structure is adapted to rest on a top surface of an oven, surrounding a burner of the oven. The structure is adapted to support a pan such that the pan is tilted and positioned above the burner. The structure further comprises a barrier depending outwardly from the structure for keeping the pan from sliding off of the structure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to cooking accessories used on stove tops, 
particularly to pan holders. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
Pan fried foods are enjoyed by many people throughout the United States and 
internationally. A problem with pan fried foods, is that the food item 
lies in its own fat in the bottom of the pan while cooking. Because people 
have become more concerned about their health, and more aware of how what 
they eat affects their health, they now enjoy eating pan fried foods less 
often. When pan fried foods are eaten, it is often accompanied by a sense 
of guilt. 
An apparatus of the prior art for solving this problem is a specially made 
pan with ridges and channels in the bottom cooking surface of the pan. The 
food item sits on the tops of the ridges, and the fat flows into the 
channels, away from the food. The drawback with this invention is that the 
pans themselves are expensive compared to conventional pans. A cook who 
wants to take advantage of this invention would not be able to use his or 
her own existing cookware. 
What is needed is an apparatus which keeps fat away from the food while pan 
frying, while still allowing conventional pans to be used in the process. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The pan tilting apparatus of the present invention includes a structure 
adapted to rest on a top surface of an oven, surrounding a burner of the 
oven. The structure is adapted to support a pan such that the pan is 
tilted and positioned above the burner. The structure further comprises a 
barrier depending outwardly from the structure for keeping the pan from 
sliding off of the structure. 
Because the pan is tilted, grease in the bottom of the pan flows to one end 
of the pan, away from the food item within the pan. 
Still further features and advantages will become apparent from the ensuing 
description and drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pan tilting apparatus 10 of the present 
invention. The apparatus 10 comprises two support rails 12, each support 
rail 12 having a first end 12A and a second end 12B. Each support rail 12 
includes a leg 12C at each of the first and second ends 12A, 12B. 
Each of the support rails 12 has a first edge 12D disposed opposite the 
legs 12C. When the legs 12C are resting on a horizontal top surface 14 of 
an oven, and supporting the support rails 12 above the legs 12C, the first 
edge 12D of each support rail 12 forms an acute angle with respect to the 
top surface 14, and the first edge 12D is closer to the top surface 14 at 
the second end 12B of the support rail 12 than at the first end of 12A of 
the support rail 12. 
A connecting rail 16 spans between the first ends 12A of the support rails 
12. The first edges 12D of the support rails 12 at the first ends 12A 
extend beyond the connecting rail 16. 
A barrier rail 18 spans between the second ends 12B of the support rails 
12. The barrier rail 18 extends beyond the first edges 12D of the support 
rails 12 at the second ends 12B. 
The support rails 12, the connecting rail 16 and the barrier rail 18 are 
spaced from one another sufficiently to surround a burner 20 of an oven. 
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pan tilting apparatus 10, with a pan 22 
resting thereon. FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the pan tilting 
apparatus 10. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4--4 of 
FIG. 2. Referring to FIGS. 2-4, when the pan 22 is resting on the support 
rails 12, it is tilted so that liquids 26 which cook out of the food 24 
drain away from the food 24. The pan 22 rests against the barrier rail 18, 
which keeps the pan 22 from sliding off of the support rails 12. 
Apertures 28 are formed between the legs 12C which allow air to flow 
beneath the support rails 12 to the burner 20, and permit viewing of the 
burner 20 through the apertures 28. Because the first edges 12D of the 
support rails extend beyond the connecting rail 16, a gap 30 is ensured 
between the connecting rail 16 and the pan 22, which also allows air to 
flow to the burner 20, and permits viewing of the burner 20 through the 
gap 30. 
Because the legs 12C extend below the connecting rail 16, a lower gap 32 is 
formed between the connecting rail 16 and the top surface 14 of the oven, 
which also allows air to flow to the burner 20, and permits viewing of the 
burner 20 through the lower gap 32. 
The foregoing description is included to describe embodiments of the 
present invention which include the preferred embodiment, and is not meant 
to limit the scope of the invention. From the foregoing description, many 
variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art that would be 
encompassed by the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the 
scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims and 
their legal equivalents.