EP0643268A1

EP0643268A1 - Device for the recovery of thermal energy for application to a gas cooker

Info

Publication number: EP0643268A1
Application number: EP94102874A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Angelo Amorino
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-09-08
Filing date: 1994-02-25
Publication date: 1995-03-15

Abstract

Device for the recovery of thermal energy applicable to a gas cooker, suitable for bounding the perimeter of the area where the heat source (flame or electric hot plate) is present so as to identify a combustion chamber consisting, in its upper part, of the container to be heated lying upon said device.

Description

The present invention proposes a device suitable for recovering a part of the thermal energy wasted in the daily use of gas or electric stoves, be they of the domestic or "industrial" type.
Presently there are no methods or devices capable of reducing or recovering thermal energy wasted in the use of common kitchen stoves; consumption optimization is however more and more the target of manufacturers' efforts and therefore cookers with a double flame line have been proposed or, in another field, saucepans with oversize bottom for storing absorbed heat.
Both mentioned solutions moderately improve the exploitation of the cooker's flame, but they are not able to avoid thermal waste in the surrounding environment, especially lateral thermal waste.
Direct consequences of such thermal waste are the cooker's modest efficiency and the sudden increase in temperature in the surrounding environment; if such effects can be detrimental in the domestic environment, in large kitchens of restaurants and canteens they imply the use of suction or environmental air conditioning systems.
To remedy the above-mentioned inconveniencies, the present invention proposes a device for the recovery of thermal energy wasted in the use of common kitchen stoves, be they gas or electric stoves, shaped in such a way as to allow a perfect perimetral delimitation of the area where the heat source (flame or electric hot plate) is provided in order to create a chamber which is closed in its upper part by the bottom of the container to be heated, placed on said device.
These and other features of the present invention will be more clearly with the help of the following detailed description with specific reference to the enclosed figures, where:

figure 1 represents a top view of a device according to the present invention;
figure 2 represents the cross-sectional front view of the device, taken along plane A-A of figure 1;
figure 3 represents a perspective view of the device according to the present invention placed on a cooker of a kitchen stove;
figure 4 represents a cross-section view of the device according to the present invention placed on a cooker of a kitchen stove, with a saucepan placed on it;
figure 5 represents another preferred embodiment of the invention.

As can be seen from figure 4, the device according to the present invention basically consists of a body 1 made of heat-conductive material, essentially ring-shaped, in the inner part of which there is a pipe 2 where a fluid flows which is suitable for absorbing the intercepted heat.
At the basis of the body 1 a plurality of supporting feet 5 are provided to keep said body 1 lifted from the cooker's surface, while the upper wall 1a of said body 1 is level, so that it serves as a supporting basis for the container.
The device according to the invention is placed onto the basis of the kitchen so that the cooker 3 is exactly at the centre of the body 1; upon placing the container 4 onto the surface 1a of the body 1, a chamber is obtained which bounds the area where there is the heat source.
The heat emitted by the cooker's flame or by the electric hot plate is thus absorbed either by the container 4 or by the oblique side walls of the body 1 of the device according to the present invention. It should be noted that the cooker's flame is able to burn perfectly thanks to the oxigen supply guaranteed by the presence of the feet 5. As schematically represented in figure 1, the pipe 2 circularly runs through the internal part of the body 1; at the ends 2a and 2b, projecting from said body 1, the pipe 2 is connected with unrepresented, per se known means, suitable for controlling the flow of the fluid contained in it, for measuring its temperature and pressure, for ensuring the perfect operation of the device and its highest safety; as a supplement to such means, it will be possible to provide storage and distribution tanks for such fluid, operated by electric valves and other devices which regulate their succession according to known parameters, such as temperature and so on.
Moreover it should be underlined that in the enclosed figures, for graphic easiness, the pipe 2 has been represented as a simple tube which extends circularly through the internal part of the body 1 only once; it is obvious that it will be possible to realize such pipe in a more complex way, such as in the form of a coil or of a series of pipes covering several times the same parts of the body 1, in order to optimize even more the recovery of thermal energy from the device according to the invention.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the body 1 can be composed by a single pipe 2 bended so as to form several turns, as shown in figure 5.
In this case the dimensions of the pipe will be suitable to allow it to support the weight of the pot.
As previously described in detail, the device according to the present invention permits to define and to limit a chamber where the heat source of a gas or electric cooker is provided, which is bounded in its perimeter by the inner walls of the device itself and, in its upper part, by the bottom of the container to be heated.
Such a layout permits to direct the maximum heat towards the container (which will heat up in a shorter time) and to recover almost completely the heat originally wasted sideways.
Practical tests carried out with the device according to the present invention, where water has been caused to flow, have demonstrated an improvement of up to 30% of the cooker's thermal output and the contemporary production of hot water in a large quantity and at no cost.
One of the advantages of the present device is the maintenance of the temperature of the air present in the environment where the cooker is used, thereby eliminating the need of suction or conditioning systems, above all in the large kitchens of restaurants or canteens.
Finally it should be underlined that the structural characteristics and the assumed materials make the device feasible with particularly low costs and consequently make the results of consumption cutback produced by such device even more interesting.
It will clearly be possible that specific production and application needs require materials and characteristics which have not been described or illustrated, without them being beyond the field of protection of the present invention.

Claims

A device for the recovery of thermal energy which can be applied to a gas cooker, characterized in that a body is provided which has to be placed around a cooker in correspondence with the heat source, upon which the container lies, said body being shaped in such a way as to define the perimeter of the area where there is the heat source (flame or electric hot plate), in order to create a chamber which is bounded, in its upper part, by the bottom of the container to be heated.
A device for the recovery of thermal energy according to claim 1, characterized in that it is essentially ring-shaped.
A device for the recovery of thermal energy according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that at least a part of the upper wall of said body is level and serves as a supporting surface for said container.
A device according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that under its basis a plurality of small supporting feet are provided, said feet being suitable for keeping it lifted from the kitchen surface on which it lies.
A device according to the preceding claims, characterized in that a pipe filled with a fluid is provided, which extends internally through the whole ring-like development.
A device according to claim 5, characterized in that the external ends of said pipe are connected with means suitable for causing said fluid to flow, storing it, controlling its temperature and pressure, making it available to an user, exploiting, absorbing and transmitting its temperature to another fluid present in another circuit.
A device according to claims 5 and 6, characterized in that said fluid consists of water.
A device according to claims 6 and 7, characterized in that means connected with said pipe, suitable for making the hot water produced directly usable, are provided.
A device according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that said chamber and said body are defined by means of a single pipe bended so as to form a series of turn around the heat source.
A device according to claims 1 to 9, characterized by what is described and illustrated.