CN111902674A - Gas cooking assembly and cooker comprising same - Google Patents

Abstract

A gas cooking assembly comprising: (a) a base portion (10) comprising: (a1) a burner body (14) for mounting on a cooktop surface (16); (a2) a gas outlet (20) in the burner body (14); and (a3) an ignition source (22) in the burner body (14); and (b) an upper portion (12) comprising: (b1) at least one foot pad (36) for supporting the upper portion (12) on the cooktop surface (16); (b2) a hob (26) for supporting a cooking vessel; (b3) a ring flame spreader (28); and (b4) a gas inlet (46) at the bottom side of the flame spreader (28); wherein the upper part (12) is an integral unit removable from the base part (10), wherein the gas inlet (46) of the upper part (12) is connected to the gas outlet (20) of the base part (10) when the upper part (12) is connected to the base part (10).

Description

Gas cooking assembly and cooker comprising same

The present invention relates to a gas cooking assembly and a hob comprising the gas cooking assembly.

Although many experienced chefs (whether home cooking or commercial cooking or gourmet cooking) prefer gas cooking appliances over electric cooking hobs or induction cooking hobs, gas cooking appliances are often difficult to compete with electric or induction heated glass-ceramic hobs in terms of ease of use and comfort, in particular in terms of flexibility and cleanliness.

Therefore, gas cooking hobs (gas cooking fields) usually require more cleaning work, since they usually consist of several individual parts, compared to electric or induction glass ceramic hobs, which have to be disassembled, washed separately and then reassembled again when cleaning the hob.

EP 2737250B 1 solves this problem by providing a burner assembly having a central gas supply feeding gas to a flame spreader fixedly connected to a grate for supporting a cooking vessel. Although the hob may be directly supported by the burner or may comprise support legs connected to a base ring resting on the cooktop surface, in all embodiments the burner has a centrally located gas feed conduit (feed) connected to a gas supply provided within the cooktop surface.

A similar approach is shown in EP 2589879 a1, which discloses a gas burner assembly in which a burner crown and burner cap are attached to a cookware support to integrate the burner and cookware support into a single piece for ease of handling. Similar to that in EP 2737250B 1, the burner proposed in EP 2589879 a1 also comprises a centrally located gas feed conduit connected to a gas supply provided in the surface of the cooking hob.

While it is very common to provide variable cooking zones (which may vary in size and/or shape) in the field of electrically or inductively heated glass ceramic cookers when flexibility is involved, several attempts have also been made to provide variable cooking zones in the field of gas cooking appliances.

Thus, in US 6017211 a gas cooking appliance with a cooktop surface and a plurality of gas burners is proposed, wherein for each burner a gas outlet is provided in the cooktop surface, and wherein each burner comprises a circular burner nozzle with a radial gas outlet, a gas inlet located off-center with respect to the circular shape of the burner nozzle, and two igniter openings for receiving an igniter fixedly provided in the cooktop surface, such that the position of the burner can be changed by rotating the burner nozzle 180 ° around the gas inlet.

EP 0677705 a2 discloses a gas hob with a removable burner head which can be inserted in different positions, i.e. rotated 90 ° or 180 °, to assume different operating positions.

In both EP 2592355 a1 and EP 2896886 a1 cooktops are disclosed, in which burner units are mounted on a mechanical movement unit, in particular a motor-driven turntable, so that the position of the heating element can be changed.

Furthermore, in US 20170067632 a1 a burner assembly for a hob is disclosed, which has an annular burner nozzle along which gas is supplied by an eccentric gas supply, wherein the ring can be rotated around the gas supply to assume various positions.

Although the above solutions relying on mechanical movement units are very complex and therefore expensive to manufacture and prone to wear and malfunction due to their mechanical components, other solutions are disadvantageous in terms of handling and ease of use, since they all require the removal of the hob supporting the cooking vessel, the displacement of the burner and the reinstallation of the hob when moving the burner.

In view of the above, it can be seen that there is room for improvement. The present invention aims to provide a gas cooking assembly that provides improvements in handling and ease of use, and in particular addresses both the flexibility and cleanliness issues.

According to the invention, the above object is achieved by a gas cooking assembly comprising:

(a) a base portion, the base portion comprising:

(a1) a surface of a cooking bench;

(a2) a gas outlet on the surface of the cooktop; and

(a3) an ignition source on a surface of the cooktop; and

(b) an upper portion, the upper portion comprising:

(b1) at least one foot pad for supporting the upper portion on the cooktop surface;

(b2) a hob for supporting a cooking vessel;

(b3) a ring flame spreader; and

(b4) a gas inlet at the bottom side of the flame spreader;

wherein the upper portion is an integral unit that is removable from the base portion, wherein the gas inlet of the upper portion is connected to the gas outlet of the base portion when the upper portion is connected to the base portion.

The present invention therefore provides a burner assembly in which the upper portion with the hob and the flame spreader is an integral unit which in its entirety can be removed from and re-mounted to the base portion, which facilitates handling of the apparatus during removal, mounting and cleaning as only a single component has to be operated. Furthermore, whereas the individual burner parts provided in the base part are the gas outlet and the ignition source, these elements can be provided on the hob surface in the following manner: when the upper part has been removed, the base part can be easily cleaned.

The cleanliness of the assembly can be further improved by appropriate selection of materials for the various components. In this respect, it should be noted that although the upper part is designed as an integral unit, the flame spreader may be made of a different material than the hob or the burner cover formed together with the hob. Thus, although the flame spreader advantageously may be made of, for example, aluminium, which facilitates a high precision formation of the flame spreader, thereby providing a small gas outlet opening, the hob and any components formed therewith, such as the burner cover and/or the legs for supporting the upper part, may be formed as a moulded part provided with an easy-to-clean coating, such as an enamel coating.

Given that the separate elements to be connected when mounting the upper part on the base part are the gas inlet and the gas outlet, the base part can be used with different upper parts, i.e. different in size and shape from the hob and/or different in gas throughput (i.e. power of the burner) from the flame spreader, but all having the same size and shape of the gas inlet.

Furthermore, since the flame spreader is a ring-shaped element, the gas inlet is not centrally located along the ring shape of the flame spreader but is eccentrically located, which allows the upper portion to be positioned in different orientations relative to the base portion. Thus, the gas cooking assembly of the present invention allows for rotation of the upper portion, which allows for combining adjacent gas cooking zones to fit the size and shape of the cooking zones to different size and shape cooking vessels as the gas cooking assembly is used more with at least one other burner.

Preferred embodiments of the gas cooking assembly described above are defined in the dependent claims.

In particular, the hob may comprise an annular disc which allows the flame spreader to be inserted and which carries a plurality of rods for supporting the cooking vessel. In such an embodiment, the annular disc of the hob provides a stable basis for interconnecting the plurality of bars, which can thus be placed freely at any angular position of the annular disc, such as in a regular pattern with four bars arranged in a cross shape (i.e. when measured at 90 °, 180 ° and 270 ° from the first bar). Of course, any other number and/or orientation of the rods is possible.

In the latter such embodiment, a plurality of legs may be attached to the annular disc, wherein each leg has a foot pad for supporting the upper portion on the cooktop surface. Thus, the hob may be configured as a stable independent support, wherein the hob not only carries the cooking vessels, but also provides structural elements by which the upper portion of the burner assembly, any cooking vessels placed thereon, is supported by the hob surface.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the rods for carrying the cooking vessels extend outwardly beyond the annular plate and merge into the legs, in such a way that a large and stable support surface for carrying the cooking vessels can be provided and at the same time maximum stability is provided for the standing of the leg-like hob on the hob surface, since in this way the placement distance of the legs relative to each other can be maximized.

Advantageously, the legs may be dimensioned to provide a distance between the flame spreader and the cooktop surface such that the legs are elements of the upper portion that are in contact with the cooktop surface only, in such a way that a majority of the cooktop surface below the upper portion remains free and is therefore easy to clean after removal of the upper portion.

The flame spreader can have a generally U-shaped cross-sectional shape, with an annular inner wall and an annular outer wall, with a plurality of recesses along an upper edge of the inner and/or outer wall. The U-shaped inner volume together with a corresponding cover element closing the U-shape at the top side (such as the bottom side of the hob against which the flame spreader directly abuts) or a cover ring inserted between the flame spreader and the hob forms a gas distribution chamber through which gas is passed from the gas inlet to a plurality of burner openings formed as recesses along the upper edge of the inner and/or outer wall. Thus, although the flame spreader may alternatively be configured as a burner nozzle comprising an outwardly directed circular gas stream, as a burner nozzle comprising an inwardly directed circular gas stream, or as a burner nozzle emitting two concentric rings of flames, configuring the corresponding outlet openings as recesses along the upper edge of the inner and/or outer wall facilitates the manufacture of the flame spreader.

As already mentioned above, the flame spreader may rest directly against the bottom side of the hob, in which case the hob also acts as a cover element for enclosing the U-shaped flame spreader.

In the alternative, it is also possible to provide a special cover ring inserted between the flame spreader and the hob, wherein this cover ring rests on the upper edges of the inner and outer walls of the flame spreader.

Whether the flame spreader abuts against the bottom side of the hob or a dedicated cover ring is inserted between the flame spreader and the hob, the hob or the cover ring serves to close the upper open side of the U-shaped flame spreader so as to form a distribution chamber to which gas is supplied via a gas inlet and from which gas is ejected via a plurality of openings provided by recesses along the upper edge of the inner and/or outer wall. In terms of controlling the exit of the gas from the flame spreader, it may be advantageous to provide a dedicated cover ring. That is, for example, when the hob is made of enamelled metal, the bottom side of the hob may not be sufficiently flat to prevent an uncontrolled exit of the gas at the contact location between the flame spreader and the hob, in which case a dedicated cover ring may be provided to ensure a reliable closure of the distribution chamber of the flame spreader. The cover ring may be made of a different material than the material used for the flame spreader and/or the hob, which allows the use of alternative manufacturing techniques that may provide improved performance, such as better part coupling and/or higher precision part size control.

The flame spreader may be attached to the hob by a plurality of clamps or bolts, such that the upper part comprising the at least one foot pad, the hob and the ring-shaped flame spreader are reliably combined into an integral unit that can be handled as a single piece

In order not to impede the flow of gas through the ring spreader, the flame spreader may comprise a plurality of lugs extending outside the ring shape of the flame spreader and positioned below the rods of the hob, wherein the bolts extend through the lugs into the rods.

In order to provide a connection between the gas outlet and the gas inlet and at the same time provide means for facilitating the positioning of the upper part relative to the base part, the gas inlet may comprise a duct projecting downwardly from the upper part, and the gas outlet of the base part may comprise a socket for insertion of said duct. When the upper part is mounted on the base part, the upper part is placed over the base part in such a way that the protruding conduit is oriented to coincide with the receptacle of the base part, whereupon the upper part is lowered to insert the conduit into the receptacle.

In a preferred embodiment, the gas outlet of the base part protrudes upwards from the base part such that an upper edge of the gas outlet is positioned above the hob surface. When the upper part has been removed from the base part for cleaning of the device, the hob surface as well as the base part can be wetted safely with cleaning liquid without the risk of water flowing into the gas outlet. Providing a raised gas outlet configuration may further facilitate alignment of the upper portion relative to the base portion, as both the conduit of the upper portion and the corresponding receptacle of the base portion may then be easily positioned by tactile feel and thus serve as a locator element to facilitate alignment.

The conduit and the socket may be shaped to allow the conduit to be inserted into the socket only in a predetermined orientation of the upper portion relative to the base portion. Thus, the conduit and the socket not only act as locator elements, but also ensure a proper angular orientation of the upper part relative to the base part. It should be appreciated that in such embodiments, the predetermined orientation need not be a single orientation, but may also include multiple orientations, such as an orthogonal orientation pattern, in which way the upper portion may be selectively positioned by turning 90 °, 180 ° or 270 ° from the first orientation.

In such embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of the conduit and the socket may have a single axis of symmetry so as to allow the conduit to be inserted into the socket in only two predetermined orientations of the upper portion relative to the base portion, such that the upper portion may be selectively placed on the base portion in a first orientation and a second orientation in which the upper portion is rotated 180 ° relative to the first orientation.

Limiting the orientation of the upper section to a first orientation and a second orientation in which the upper section is rotated 180 ° relative to the first orientation has the following advantages: in such embodiments, the duct and the socket may be given an elongated shape, such as a rectangular or substantially rectangular shape, optionally with rounded corners, wherein the long axis extends tangentially to the annular shape of the flame spreader, allowing the cross section of the gas supply duct and thus the flow area to be significantly larger, as if both the duct and the socket had, for example, a circular shape. Further, the conduit may have a shape that itself affects the flow characteristics of the fuel gas-air mixture as it passes through the conduit to the distribution chamber of the flame spreader, such as selecting the shape of the inner wall of the conduit that creates a venturi effect on the gas-air mixture as it passes through the conduit. Thus, the tube may have a shape that provides a constricted or throat (throat) along the length of the tube so that the fuel gas-air mixture accelerates as it passes through the tube.

The base portion may further include an adjustable venturi assembly for controlling air flow for use in a fuel gas and air mixture that is delivered to the plurality of gas outlet openings via the distribution chamber. To allow the burner assembly to be mounted on a kitchen countertop without any parts protruding beyond the thickness of the countertop, the adjustable venturi assembly is preferably configured for horizontal mounting. The adjustable venturi assembly may be designed to draw primary air from around the burner assembly below the cooktop surface. When this air is mixed with the fuel gas supplied from the gas supply, the fuel gas-air mixture flows upwards through the vertical inlet duct into the distribution chamber of the flame spreader.

To shut off gas flow to the gas cooking assembly in the event of burner flame extinction (such as due to an accidental interruption of the gas supply, a relatively strong air flow or liquid spilling out of the burner assembly), the base portion further may include a thermocouple for providing a flame signal indicating that the burner flame has ignited, and a safety valve for shutting off the gas supply when the thermocouple is no longer providing a flame signal. In such embodiments, the thermocouple senses the temperature near the combustor nozzle. If it is determined that the temperature has fallen below the preset minimum temperature, the burner flame is considered to be no longer burning and the gas supply is therefore shut off by means of the safety valve.

The gas cooking assembly of the present invention may be used in a cooktop in combination with at least one other gas burner, which may be a conventional stationary gas burner or another gas cooking assembly of the present invention, whereby by changing the orientation of the gas cooking assembly of the present invention, the distance between at least two gas burners may be changed to selectively provide two separate cooking zones or to provide a combined cooking zone for heating a larger elongated cooking vessel.

Thus, the hob may comprise two gas burners, at least one of which is a gas cooking assembly as proposed herein, which is positioned such that the gas inlet is positioned at a distance from the second burner, such that the hobs of the two gas burners may selectively be placed adjacent to each other to form a combined cooking zone, or the upper part of the gas cooking assembly of the invention may be turned 180 °, such that the hob of the gas cooking assembly is positioned at a larger distance from the second burner. When a line is drawn through the centre of the burner, the gas inlet of the rotatable burner assembly will thus be placed on this line facing away from the second gas burner.

Similarly, in a hob with three gas cooking zones, the burners may be arranged to be positioned along a line passing through the centre of the burners, wherein the intermediate burner may be positioned such that the gas inlet is positioned 90 ° above or below the connecting line, so that by rotating the intermediate burner, the burners may be placed to form a triangle. Further, one or both of the left and right burners may be oriented such that the gas inlet is positioned on the connecting line at a distance such that this burner may be selectively placed near the middle burner to form a combined cooking zone.

The invention is described in further detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gas cooking assembly according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating the gas cooking assembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an upper portion of the gas cooking assembly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an alternative embodiment of an upper portion of the gas cooking assembly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 shows a gas-fired connection between the upper part and the base part;

fig. 6A and 6B show the gas connection between the upper part and the base part, seen from above, in different positions of the upper part;

fig. 7 illustrates the rotation of the gas cooking assembly according to the present invention;

fig. 8A and 8B illustrate a cooktop or a portion of the cooktop with two gas cooking assemblies in different operating positions;

fig. 9A and 9B illustrate a cooktop or a portion of the cooktop with three gas cooking assemblies in different operating positions; and

fig. 10A and 10B illustrate another embodiment cooktop or portion of the cooktop with three gas cooking assemblies in different operating positions.

Fig. 1 shows a gas cooking assembly according to the invention in a perspective view. The gas cooking assembly comprises a base portion 10 and an upper portion 12. The base part 10, which may be part of a hob, comprises a burner body 14 mounted from the bottom side of a hob surface 16, which may be e.g. a glass-ceramic plate. The burner body includes means for controlling the flow of gas in its base portion below the cooktop surface 16, such as an adjustable venturi assembly 18 configured to control the flow of air to the burner in order to control the amount of air fed to control the mixture ratio of gas and air. As schematically illustrated in fig. 2, the adjustable venturi assembly 18 is preferably oriented horizontally in the burner body 14 to control the flow of gas being fed to the adjustable venturi assembly 18 via a gas line 52 to a vertical conduit 54 that feeds the gas outlet 20 disposed in an upper portion of the burner body 14. As can be seen from fig. 1 to 4, in addition to the gas outlet 20, the base part 10 comprises an ignition source 22 (such as a piezoelectric spark plug) and a thermocouple 24 for sensing the temperature, all of which are mounted so as to project upwards beyond the level of the cooktop surface 16.

The upper part 12 comprises a hob 26 for supporting the cooking vessel and a ring shaped flame spreader 28 mounted on the underside of a ring shaped cover element 30 integrally connected with the hob 26. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the hob 26 comprises four bars 32 arranged in a cross shape and extending outwardly beyond the cover element 30 in order to provide a stable support for the cooking vessel. The stem 32 merges at its outer end into downwardly extending legs 34, each of which terminates in a foot pad 36 having a flat horizontal bottom surface by which the foot pad rests on the cooktop surface 16.

The cover ring 30 and the hob 26 may be formed as an integral part and may thus for example be formed as a cast iron part provided with an enamel coating. The flame spreader 28 may be made of the same or different material as the hob. In the embodiment shown herein, the flame spreader 28 is a U-shaped aluminum ring having a plurality of recesses 38 along an inner wall 40 and an outer wall 42, as best seen in fig. 3 and 4. The space between the inner wall 40 and the outer wall 42 forms a gas distribution chamber 44 through which the gas-air mixture is transferred from the gas inlet 46 to the plurality of recesses 38.

Although in the embodiment shown in fig. 3 the flame spreader 28 abuts directly with the upper surfaces of the inner wall 40 and the outer wall 42 against the underside of the cover ring 30 of the hob 12, in the embodiment shown in fig. 4 a separate cover ring 48 is inserted between the flame spreader 28 and the hob 12. The cover ring 48 rests on the upper edges of the inner and outer walls 40, 42 of the flame spreader 28 and thus forms a top wall for the gas distribution chamber 44.

As can be further best seen in fig. 3 and 4, the flame spreader 28 and the hob 12 are fixedly connected to each other by means of a plurality of bolts 50 extending through the flame spreader 28 into threads formed on the rod 32 of the hob 12. Of course, the flame spreader 28, the furnace frame 12 and optionally the separate cover ring 48 may also be secured to one another by other releasable or permanent securing means (such as by clamps, by form fitting or by welding or brazing). Where bolts are used to provide the connection, the flame spreader may be provided with lugs that extend outside the annular shape of the flame spreader 28 and are positioned below the rods 32 of the stove rack 12 so that the bolts do not obstruct the flow of gas within the gas distribution chamber 44.

Fig. 5 shows in detail the gas connection between the base part 10 and the upper part 12. The flame spreader 28 of the upper section 12 has a gas inlet conduit 46 projecting downwardly from the flame spreader 28. In the case of a gas inlet duct 46 having an oval cross-sectional shape, the burner body 14 of the base portion 10 comprises a receptacle 56 for insertion of the gas inlet duct 46, having a corresponding oblong internal cross-sectional shape. As shown in fig. 6A and 6B, the gas inlet duct 46 and the insertion hole 56 including the gas outlet 20 of the base portion 10 have a rectangular shape, the long sides of which have a curvature corresponding to the shape of the inner wall 40. In order to allow the upper section 12 to be rotated 180 ° so that the upper section 12 can be rotated 180 ° from the position shown in fig. 6A to assume the orientation shown in fig. 6B, the gas inlet duct 46 and the receptacle 56 with the gas outlet 20 also have a curvature along the outer wall 42 corresponding to the shape of the inner wall 40 so that the shape of the duct is symmetrical both about an axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the duct and about an axis extending in the direction of the short sides of the duct. For use in a standard domestic cooking hob, the gas inlet duct will typically be about 20 to 28mm in length and 3 to 9mm in width, which provides an open cross-sectional area sufficient to implement the gas passage rate, as they are typical features of a gas burner of a cooking hob.

Although the ignition source 22 and thermocouple 24 may be integrated into the burner body 14, fig. 5 illustrates an embodiment in which the burner body 14 is provided with clamps 58 positioned on either side of the receptacle 56 in order to facilitate mounting of the ignition source 22 and thermocouple 24.

From the above, it will be readily appreciated that the present invention provides an easy to use burner assembly in which the flame spreader and the hob are coupled together to form an integral unit that can be completely removed from the cooking top (cooking top), while the spark plug and thermocouple are still mounted in the cooktop as also illustrated in fig. 6A and 6B.

When the upper section 12 is placed on the base section 10, the gas inlet conduit 46 and the receptacle 56 act as locator elements that assist the user in locating the correct position for mounting the burner assembly upper section 12. That is, in the case where the gas inlet duct 46 and the insertion hole 56 of the upper part 12 at the mounting position of the base part 10 overlap by a certain distance, when the burner upper part 12 is mounted, it is held at the position above the base where the gas inlet duct 46 overlaps with the insertion hole 56, since these two parts project toward each other, so that this position can be easily found, and then the upper part 12 is lowered to insert the gas inlet duct 46 into the insertion hole 56.

Since the cross-sectional shapes of the gas inlet conduit 46 and the socket 56 are symmetrical, the upper portion 12 can be selectively placed at one of two locations on the base portion 10 as illustrated in fig. 7. When used in combination with at least one other gas burner, the burner assembly thus allows the size and shape of the cooking zone provided by these burners to be varied.

Fig. 8A and 8B illustrate an example of the use of a gas cooking assembly as set forth herein as a rotatable burner 60 in combination with another burner assembly 62, which may be a stationary burner or may also be a rotatable burner. In the situation shown in fig. 8A, the upper part 12 of the burner assembly 62 is positioned such that it is positioned on the base part of the burner assembly in the position shown in fig. 7 in a "burner right position" in which the gas inlet 64 is positioned on a line extending through the centre of the rotatable burner 60 and the further burner assembly 62, wherein the gas inlet 64 is positioned to the left of the centre of the rotatable burner 60. In this position, the rotatable burner 60 and the further burner assembly 62 are positioned at a distance from each other to constitute two separate cooking zones marked with circles 66 and 68 in fig. 8A.

By removing the upper portion 12 of the rotatable burner 60, turning it 180 ° and placing it again on the gas outlet such that the gas inlet 64 is positioned to the right of the center of the rotatable burner 60, the hobs of the rotatable burner 60 of the other burner assembly 62 are positioned adjacent to each other such that these burners form a combined cooking zone 70 for heating larger elongated cooking vessels.

Similarly, in cooktops having at least three gas burners, as illustrated in fig. 9A and 9B, the three gas burners can be selectively combined into one large elongated cooking zone (see fig. 9A), or the three burner assemblies can be separated from each other by rotating the middle burner assembly 72 180 ° about its gas inlet 74 to create three separate cooking zones or to create one large delta cooking for heating a larger cooking vessel placed on all three burners (see fig. 9B).

Furthermore, left and right burner assemblies 76, 78 are also configured as rotatable burner assemblies, wherein gas inlet 80 of left burner assembly 76 and gas inlet 82 of right burner assembly 78 are positioned at locations on a line extending through the centers of left and right burner assemblies 76, 78 as shown in FIG. 10A, wherein, in the case shown in FIG. 10A, gas inlet 80 of left burner assembly 76 is positioned to the right of the center of left burner assembly 76 and gas inlet 82 of right burner assembly 78 is positioned to the left of the center of right burner assembly 78, and wherein three burner assemblies 72, 76, 78 can be combined into a triangular cooking zone for heating larger circular containers by rotating left burner assembly 76 180 ° about gas inlet 80 and by rotating right burner assembly 78 180 ° about gas inlet 82, wherein the three burner assemblies 72, 76, 78 are combined into a triangular cooking zone for heating larger circular containers, wherein the three burner assemblies 72, 76 and 78 are positioned adjacent to each other as illustrated in fig. 10B.

As will be readily appreciated, by combining one or more rotatable burner assemblies, one or more other burner assemblies (which may also be rotatable burner assemblies, or whose position is fixed relative to the cooktop surface) as set forth herein, there are various other options for providing a flexible cooking zone.

List of reference numerals

10 base part

12 upper part

14 burner body

16 hearth surface

18 adjustable venturi assembly

20 gas outlet

22 ignition source

24 thermocouple

26 furnace rack

28 flame spreader

30 cover element

32 rod

34 support leg

36 foot pad

38 recess

40 inner wall

42 outer wall

44 gas distribution chamber

46 gas inlet

48 cover ring

50 bolt

52 gas line

54 vertical pipe

56 jack

58 support

60 rotatable burner

62 additional burner

6460 gas inlet

66 left cooking area

68 Right cooking zone

70 Combined cooking zone

72 intermediate burner assembly

7472 gas inlet

76 left burner assembly

78 right burner assembly

8076 gas inlet

8278 gas inlet

Claims (17)

1. A gas cooking assembly comprising:

(a) a base portion (10) comprising:

(a1) a burner body (14) for mounting on a cooktop surface (16);

(a2) a gas outlet (20) in the burner body (14); and

(a3) an ignition source (22) in the burner body (14); and

(b) an upper portion (12) comprising:

(b1) at least one foot pad (36) for supporting the upper portion (12) on the cooktop surface (16);

(b2) a hob (26) for supporting a cooking vessel;

(b3) a ring flame spreader (28); and

(b4) a gas inlet (46) at the bottom side of the flame spreader (28);

wherein the upper part (12) is an integral unit removable from the base part (10), wherein the gas inlet (46) of the upper part (12) is connected to the gas outlet (20) of the base part (10) when the upper part (12) is connected to the base part (10).

2. The gas cooking assembly of claim 1, wherein the hob (26) includes an annular disc (30) which inserts the flame spreader (28) and carries rods (32) for supporting a cooking vessel.

3. The gas cooking assembly of claim 2, wherein a plurality of legs (34) are attached to the annular plate (30), each leg (34) having a foot pad (36) for supporting the upper portion (12) on the cooktop surface (16).

4. The gas cooking assembly of claim 3, wherein the rods (32) extend outwardly beyond the annular disc (30) and merge into the legs (34).

5. The gas cooking assembly of claim 3 or 4, wherein the legs (34) are sized to provide a distance between the flame spreader (28) and the cooktop surface (16).

6. Gas cooking assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the flame spreader (28) has a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional shape, with annular inner and outer walls (40, 42), wherein there are recesses (38) along the upper edge of the inner and/or outer walls (40, 42).

7. The gas cooking assembly of claim 6, wherein the flame spreader (28) is directly against a bottom side of the hob (26).

8. The gas cooking assembly of claim 6, further comprising a cover ring (48) interposed between the flame spreader (28) and the hob (26), wherein the cover ring (48) rests on upper edges of inner and outer walls (40, 42) of the flame spreader (28).

9. The gas cooking assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the flame spreader (28) is attached to the hob (26) by clamps or bolts (50).

10. The gas cooking assembly of claim 9, wherein the flame spreader (28) includes a plurality of lugs extending outside the ring shape of the flame spreader and positioned below rods (32) of the hob (26), wherein bolts extend through the lugs into the rods.

11. Gas cooking assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the gas inlet comprises a duct (46) projecting downwards from the upper portion (12), and the gas outlet (20) of the base portion (10) comprises a receptacle (56) for inserting said duct (46).

12. The gas cooking assembly of claim 11, wherein the gas outlet (20) of the base portion (10) protrudes upwardly therefrom such that an upper edge of the gas outlet is positioned above the cooktop surface (16).

13. The gas cooking assembly of claim 11 or 12, wherein the duct (46) and the receptacle (56) are shaped to allow insertion of the duct (46) into the receptacle (56) only in a predetermined orientation of the upper portion (12) relative to the base portion (10).

14. The gas cooking assembly of claim 13, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the duct (46) and the receptacle (56) has a single axis of symmetry so as to allow insertion of the duct (46) into the receptacle (56) only in two predetermined orientations of the upper portion (12) relative to the base portion (10).

15. Gas cooking assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the base part (10) further comprises an adjustable venturi assembly (18) for controlling the gas-air mixture delivered to the gas outlet (20).

16. The gas cooking assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the base portion (10) further comprises a thermocouple (24) for providing a flame signal indicating that a burner flame has ignited, and a safety valve for closing the gas supply when the thermocouple no longer provides the flame signal.

17. Hob comprising at least two gas burners (60, 62; 72, 76, 78), wherein at least one gas burner (60; 72) is a gas cooking assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, the base portion of which is positioned at a distance from at least one other gas burner (62; 76, 78) such that the upper portion can be selectively positioned in close proximity to or at a larger distance from the at least one other gas burner.

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