AU652459B2 - A cross-lighter for a multi-burner cooking apparatus - Google Patents

Description

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P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 199 O COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

NOTICE

1. The specification should describe the invention in full and the best method of performing it known to the applicant.

2. The specification should be typed on as many sheets of good qualiy A4 International size paper as are necessary and inserted inside this form.

3. The claims defining the invention must start on a new page. If there is insufficient space on this form for the claims, use separate sheets of paper.

The words "The claims defining the invention are as follows" should appear before claim 1. After the claims the date and the name of the applicant should appear in block letters.

4. This form must be accompanied by a true and exact copy of the description, claims and drawings (if any) and an additional copy of the claims.

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O~r Q TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Name of Appcant: G.L.G. AUSTRALIA PTY. LIMITED (ACN 001 185 002) Na e of Actual Inventor(s): Gary Leon PARRANT A ctual Inventor(s): HA/ L IDA S Address for Service: 44 ASHLEY STREET,

HORNSBY

N.S.W. 2077, AUSTRALIA i.Yvention Title: A C' SS-LGHTER FOR A MULTI-PURPOSE COOKING APPARATUS Details of Associated Provisional Applications: Nos: The following statement Is a full description 'of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- A CROSS-LIGHTER FOR A MULTI-BURNER COOKING APPARATUS This invention relates to multi-burner cooking apparatus which has a separate gas control for each burner. The invention has particular relevance to apparatus of the above type which is used in barbeque type cooking. With cooking apparatus as designed for barbeque type cooking the lighting of more than one burner has hitherto been achieved by 000: either, turning on each burner in turn and applying an 10 igniting device to the gas flow therefrom, or by igniting one burner and then turning on adjacent burners so that there will be a "flash-over" of flame to ignite the gas eeo issuing from the adjacent burner(s). This process is called cross-lighting.

Liquified petroleum or natural gas as used in gas fuelled barbeques is heavier than air and tends to settle. Whilst this does not present a problem when adjacent burners are lit it can be dangerous where cross-lighting is attempted between burners which are separated by one or more other burners. In such cases ignition can occur with a large noise and there is a danger that the accumulation of gas in the barbeque can be of such magnitude that a damaging 2 explosion can occur. The purpose of this invention is to provide a simple and efficient device for igniting barbeque burners using the cross-lighting principle with the ignition being carried out in a controlled manner.

Broadly, the invention can be said to comprise a cross-lighter for a multiple burner cooking apparatus where the burners are of elongated form and have edge located gas ports, said cross-lighter comprises an elongated body with a hollow chamber extending in the length direction of the body .O 10 and made up of a first part and a second part, said first chamber part has a cross-sectional area considerably greater than that of said second chamber part and the cross-lighter in service will have the first chamber part disposed above oOl"o the second chamber part, the body has a top which will be uppermost when the cross-lighter is in service, lateral *008 notches across said top which extend into said first chamber part, said notches are equal in number to the number of *8 iburners to be used in the cooking apparatus and are shaped to respectively receive and closely embrace portions of the burners and allow said burners to extend into said first chamber part sufficiently to place some of the gas ports of the burners in communication with the first chamber part and air ways in said cross-lighter extending in the length direction of the cross-lighter to admit air into the first chamber part.

3 Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig.1 is a perspective schematic view of a typical multi-burner cooking apparatus, Fig.2 is a perspective view of a cross-lighter for the burners of the cooking apparatus illustrated in Fig.l, Fig.3 is an enlarged end view of the cross-lighter illustrated in Fig.2 and 0) b Fig.4 is a view similar to Fig.3 showing an alternate 10 cross-sectional shape for the cross-lighter.

The cooking apparatus as herein described is of the type 0" 0. used for barbeque cooking but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this type of cooking 0oo, apparatus. In Fig.l the barbeque plate or grille normally covering the burners of the cooking apparatus have been removed to facilitate the descripti w; e barbeque of Fig.l comprises a frame I with five suppor-ed burners 2 each provided with a gas flow control valve indicated 3. The burners are supported at their forward ends n known manner with the burners in communication with gas outlet ports of the valves 3. As this forms no part of the invention there is no detailed description of this arrangement.

-I 0- ~i 4 Adjacent their rear ends the burners are supported on the cross-lighter 4. It is to be understood that this is a matter of design convenience and the burners can be supported at their rear ends in other ways.

From Figs.2 and 3 it will be seen that the cross-lighter 4 comprises two folded sheet metal members 5 and 6 which are joined at 7 to provide an elongated hollow tube-like member defining a chamber with first (upper) and second (lower) t 6 "l °chamber parts. The member 5 is of L shape with one leg o o 10 forming a back wall 8 which is common to both chamber parts and the other leg forms a top 9 for the cross-lighter and it has a downturned flange 11 along its edge. The free end the back 8 is turned over to form a U shaped slot 10 with a a width approximating the thickness of the member 6.

The member 6 is of stepped form. It has three laterally 0oo spaced panel parts parallel to each other and to the plane S of the back 8. The panels part 12 is the front of the first S 6* chamber part, the panel 14 is the front of the second chamber part, the panel 16 is mounted in the U shaped slot 10. The land 15 is the bottom of the second chamber part and the land 13 forms the bottom of the first chamber part.

The connection between the panel 16 and the U shaped slot

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L. 5 can be of any suitable form, for example a slid in fit or there can be securement as by spot welding. It is to be noted that the flange 11 oi the top 9 extends forwardly of the panel 12 and is spaced therefrom to provide an air way gap 17.

The ends of the cross-lighter 4 are respectively supported in the preferred arrangement in U shaped sockets 18 fixed to o00 the inner faces of the respective ends 24 and 2,5 of the 0o frame 1. The ends of the cross-lighter 4 lie closely 10 adjacent the inner surfaces of the frame ends 19 and 0 thereby substantially closing off the ends of the cross-lighter 4. It is to be understood that this is a design detail and the ends of the cross-lighter can be closed off by integral end parts.

0 0 o.0o The foregoing is a commercially expedient design for the cross-lighter and its support and will be readily understood there can be variations to the actual mode of manufacture outlined above whilst still providing the advantages of the invention as will now be detailed.

The cross-lighter 4 include notches 21 in the top 9 and in the panel 12. The contour of the notches 21 is such as to provide a cradle mounting for the profiled underface of the

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fc^ 6 burners 2. The depth of the notches 21 is such that when a burner 2 rests therein gas exit holes in the burner lie below the top 9 and the spacing between the gas exit holes is such that preferably more than one will discharge into the first chamber part 19 of the cross-lighter 4. As the specific gravity of gas is heavier than air the gas discharged into the first chamber part 19 will fall into the lower chamber part 20. As the cross-section of the chamber part 20 is quite small with a relatively narrow width oooooa S0 O0 10 dimension the gas will rapidly fill it and disperse along it 0. towards adjacent burners.

o 00000 If one of the burners of the barbeque is alight and another burner is turned on there will be cross-lighting to the 0 o o oo unlit gas discharging burner by means of the small quantity of gas in the chamber part 20. The slot 17 provides an air vent and a flame track for the cross-lighting. The length o of time required for the gas to travel from the unlit burner to the lit burner through the lower chamber part 20 is rapid 0 0 oooo and as the volume of gas involved is quite small cross-lighting back from the lit burner to the unlit burner is rapidly achieved without the dangers inherent in the known cross-lighting techniques which can involve a substantial accumulation of gas within the barbeque before cross-lighting will occur. From the foregoing it is apparent that the object of the invention has been achieved 7 in a simple and efficient manner.

Another feature of the invention is an aperture 22 in at least one enc, of the barbeque frame 1 which is aligned with the chamber of the cross-lighter so that manual ignition of gas in the chamber part 20 can be achieved in the first instance with a cross-lighting to a gas discharging unlit burner. This is preferably a burner which lies adjacent the ignition aperture 22.

To facilitate the manual ignition of the gas in the cross-lighter 4 a supply of combustion air is available to the cross-lighter through a cutout indicated 23 at least at one end of the cross-lighter 4. The cutout 23 also allows the escape of any pressure build up at the time of :0 oo. ignition.

0ao« o coo. The foregoing is a presently preferred embodiment of the 0.000 invention and it will be understood that details of the oooo construction described and illustrated can be varied without departing from the inventive concept on which the invention ,-1 is based. By way of example only, one change could be in the cross-sectional shape of the cross-lighter. As illustrated and described, there is an upper and a lower chamber part which are of generally rectilinear shape, other 8cross-sectional shapes are possible, for example as illustrated in Fig.4- 01 0 00 P 000 0 000 0 00 a 0000 .0.0

Claims (3)

1. 2. A cross-lighter as claimed in claim 1 wherein said body is rectilinear in cross-sectional shape and includes a back L- 10 wall shared by the first and second chambers oarts, the second chamber part is of channel form with a front wall of lesser height than the back wall and a bottom connecting its front wall to said back wall, the first chamber part is of channel form with a front wall spaced further from the back wall then the front wall of the second chamber part and a bottom connecting the front wall of the first chamber part to a top edge of the front wall of the second chamber part, said air ways are provided by a gap between an upper edge of the front of said first chamber part and said top which 1 00 extends laterally from said back wall and overlies a top 0 edge of the front wall of said first chamber part.
2. 3. A cross-lighter as claimed in claim 2 comprised of two 0 00 'oc n members made of sheet metal where on member is of generally :°ooo L shape with one leg of the L forming said back and the 000 *oo. other leg of said L forming the said top, the free end of
3. 60.0 said one leg is turned over to form a U shaped slot with a .0.0 width approximating the thickness of the material from which said other member is made and the free end of said other leg is inturned to form a flanga, said other member is of stepped form with three laterally spaced panels in planes parallel to that occupied by said back and connected through two joining panels, the panels parallel to said back respectively comprise the front wall of the first chamber 11 part, the front wall of the second chamber part and a leg which is engaged in said U shaped slot, the joining panels respectively comprise the bottoms for said channels. 4. A cross-lighter as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3 including air access apertures in the front wall of said first chamber adjacent at least one end of said cross-lighter. 0 5. A cross-lighter as claimed in any one of the claims 1 to o 3 in combination with a support means for said cross-lighter o000 0 and burners to form a cooking apparatus, where said support means includes a frame with a front and ends, cross-lighter supports on said frame ends for end engagement by said cross-lighter, valve means on said frame front equal in number to the number of burners, end mounts on said frame Sfront for said burners to position inlet ends said burners 000 0 respectively in gas flow communication with gas discharge Soutlets from said valve means and with said burners 0" supported adjacent their other ends in the notches in the top of said cross-lighter. 6. A cross-lighter as claimed in the combination of claim including an igniting aperture through at least one of the frame ends and aligned with the chamber of the cross-lighter. L, .z I ii 12 7. A cross-lighter as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs.2 and 3 of the drawings. 8. A cross-lighter as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig.4 of the drawings. 9. A cross-lighter as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings in combination with a frame and burners to provide a cooking apparatus. 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 a0 o 0 G.L.G.AUSTRALIA PTY. LIMITED By its Patent Attorneys, HALLIDAYS. a 0 0 00 00 0 "'O00 0 0 00 0 0000 0 0 0 t OOO i i 13- ABSTRACT A cross-lighter for a multiple burner cooking apparatus where the cross-lighter comprises a holi.ow elongated body o: °o defining a chamber with a first part (19) of greater cross-sectional area than a second part the second chamber part (20) is located below said first chamber part (19) when the cross-lighter is in the use condition and is in communication with said first part notches (18) in 0 0 oO"O a top part of the cross-lighter are shaped to laterally receive burners to the extent that gas discharging ports in the burners will discharge into the chamber first part and air way means (17) in said 0 0° cross-lighter extending in the length direction of the cross-lighter to admit air into the first chamber part (19).