EP0341220B1

EP0341220B1 - Appliance for cooking food with an easier indication of the correspondence between burners and control knobs

Info

Publication number: EP0341220B1
Application number: EP89830184A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Roberto Bertazzoni
Original assignee: Smeg SpA
Current assignee: Smeg SpA
Priority date: 1988-05-02
Filing date: 1989-05-02
Publication date: 1991-09-11
Also published as: ES2026739T3; PT8058Y; IT8821168V0; AU609975B2; DE68900255D1; AU3385789A; IT213785Z2; GR3002948T3; EP0341220A1; IL90077A0; CA1316781C; PT8058U

Description

The present invention relates to an appliance for cooking food, both of the household and industrial type, with an easier indication of the correspondence between burners and control knobs, wherein the term "burners" means both gas-rings and possibly electric hot plates.
It is known that particular difficulties are met when one attempts to locate in a cooking hob or electric or gas-stove, which burner or cooking plate corresponds to each control knob, namely one of the gas taps or a switch in case of electrically fed apparatus. As a consequence when one has to make an intervention on a burner for its ignition or switching on, as well as controlling the same up to the possible turning (or switching) off, it occurs frequently that a wrong knob is operated, not corresponding to the burner where an intervention is required, with consequent overflowing of liquids from the cooking pot, as the boiling degree cannot be decreased, while at the same time heat is stopped under another pot which on the contrary requires that a high temperature is maintained. Sometimes it is possible to have an even more serious consequence such as either gas flowing out from a gas-ring which is not ignited, through operation of the relevant knob starting from a turned-off position, or heating an electric plate which instead had to remain cold, this being not immediately noticeable, with the dangerous consequences which can be expected to the users and the persons thereabout.
It is true that in the past various attempts have been made to try pointing out in some way the association between cooking area and relevant control knob, but these attempts have often proved to be inadequate to the purpose. As a matter of fact the diagrams which have been printed on the front panel of a cooking hob or stove in the vicinity of each knob are not very clear and immediately understandable by a busy housewife, who on the contrary frequently overlooks them. Also the solution proposed in the BE-A-398612 of adopting the same colours for the ring surrounding each burner and the associate control knob has some inconveniences, not last of which is the fact that these rings (or hot plates) in time loose their colour and therefore there is missing again the element of correspondence, without mentioning the fact that, when the cooking area is covered by a pot, it is difficult to check its colour without removing the pot itself.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a means of simple structure, the same duration as the appliance and immediate reading, which can be understood even by a child, capable of giving in each operating condition, a clear indication of the association between knob and cooking area or vice-versa.
This is obtained according to the present invention by forming on the cooking hob itself or upper plate of the stove ribs or beads which extend themselves between each burner and associate control knob.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the correspondence between burners and knobs will be such as to determine on the same plane of the burners ribs which are symmetrically positioned with respect to a median plane perpendicular to the front panel on which the knobs are mounted, so as to bestow an aesthetically agreable aspect upon the whole appliance.
These and additional features of the means indicating a correspondence according to the present invention as well as of the cooking appliance incorporating the same will appear more clearly from the following detailed description of one preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of a non limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 shows a plant of view of an example of cooking hob with the indicating means according to the invention; and
Figure 2 shows a partial cross-section view along line II-II of Fig. 1.

With reference to the drawing, a cooking hob 1 has been shown, which however could also be the top plate of a gas-stove, bearing however in mind that the burners, instead of being formed of gas-rings 3 could be hot plates being heated by means of electric resistors. A grid 10 for supporting cooking pots is shown partially broken away in order to better illustrate the indicating means 4, 4a according to the invention.
Such a means is provided by a rib or bead, preferably formed integrally with a top plate 2 of the burners, such as by drawing, as it is better seen in the cross-section view of Fig. 2 relating to the rib 4 joining the burner 3 with the corresponding knob 3′. As shown in the drawing, the knobs 3′, 3a′, 3b′, 3c′ are all mounted on a front plate 5 and correspond to the burners 3, 3a, 3b, 3c, respectively.
As illustrated in the drawing, the two burners 3, 3c positioned towards the rear side of the appliance 1 correspond to the outermost knobs 3′, 3c′, while the two front burners 3a, 3b, correspond to the two innermost knobs 3a′, 3b′, so that associate ribs 4, 4a, 4b, 4c are directed according to a pattern that is symmetric to the median plane X-X of appliance 1 or cooking plate 2, thus giving to the assembly an agreable aspect also from an aesthetical point of view, not only advantageous and useful as to the operation. To this purpose knobs 3a′-3c′ will be mounted on the front plate 5 in a symmetric configuration with respect to the plane X-X.
In any case it will be to avoid that ribs 4-4c cross each other thus giving rise to uncertainty in indicating the correspondence between knob and cooking area.
Finally it should be appreciated that the ribs 4, 4c can have whichever shape of the cross-section, even different from that of Fig. 2, shown only as an example.

Claims

1. Food cooking appliance comprising means for indicating the correspondence between burners (3-3c) and associate control knobs (3′-3c′), characterized by the fact that said means is provided by ribs (4-4c) formed on the plate (2) of the burners and directed between each of them (3-3c) and corresponding knob (3′-3′c).

2. Appliance according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that said ribs (4-4c) are integrally formed with said plate (2) by drawing.

3. Appliance according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that said ribs (4-4c) have a symmetric pattern with respect to a median plane (X-X) of the plate (2) being perpendicular to a front plate (5) on which said knobs (3′-3′c) are mounted.