EP2095024B1

EP2095024B1 - Cooking top comprising special made support elements

Info

Publication number: EP2095024B1
Application number: EP07848973.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Dino Bucci; Anna Gagliardi
Original assignee: Indesit Co SpA
Current assignee: Whirlpool EMEA SpA
Priority date: 2006-12-05
Filing date: 2007-12-03
Publication date: 2016-03-09
Anticipated expiration: 2027-12-03
Also published as: WO2008068585A2; WO2008068585A3; ITTO20060174U1; EP2095024A2

Description

The present invention relates to a cooking top according to the preamble of claim 1.
The present invention typically applies to household cooking tops, in particular made of glass, of the type comprising a plurality of gas burners for cooking foodstuffs placed in suitable containers.
Cooking tops of the aforementioned type are known and widespread, in different versions, in every household kitchen.
In some cases, said cooking tops are stand-alone units, i.e. simple cookers; in other cases, said cooking tops are build-in components adapted to be built in in aperture of standard size obtained on the top of a modular kitchen; or, in other cases, said cooking tops are the upper portion of a household appliance comprising an oven suitable for cooking foodstuffs.
Household cooking tops are generally fitted with a hob housing a plurality of cooking points. Each cooking point is provided with at least one heating element, in particular a gas burner, which is generally associated with only one knob adapted to be operated by a user for the turning on and/or off of the burner and for adjusting the heat generated by the cooking point, said knob allowing the user to adjust the gas flow, and therefore the heat generated by combustion.
Usually, the cooking tops known in the art have a quadrilateral shape and are so conceived that the burners are arranged according to a standard layout.
In four-burner cooking tops, the burners are arranged at the four corners of the quadrilateral delimiting the cooking top, whereas in five-burner cooking tops, the fifth burner is typically arranged centrally relative to the other four burners.
Cooking tops are also known in the art which comprise at least one burner being adjacent to one side of the cooking top, in the middle thereof. In particular, in four-burner cooking tops, each burner is adjacent to the corresponding side of the cooking top, substantially in the middle thereof.
Known cooking tops typically comprise a plurality of burners of different size, as well as fitting disks for properly positioning and securing the burners to the cooking top and at least one corresponding stand element for laying a cooking container over the burner.
Said stand element, or pan-stand, may be provided in one piece, thus serving all of the burners of the cooking top, or else it may be provided in as many elements as the number of burners; sometimes, several stand elements for different cooking points are joined together to form a sort of "continuous grate".
In order to prevent the pan-stand from translating or moving relative to the cooking top when in use, i.e. when it is supporting a cooking container, the cooking tops known in the art have reference points for positioning the pan-stand on the cooking top and for centering it over the burner; said reference points are usually recesses obtained in the cooking top, into which small dowel pins of the pan-stand are inserted.
Alternatively, if the cover of the cooking top is made of glass or glass-ceramic, said reference points are typically obtained through a rear profile secured to the cooking top, which defines a seat which houses a portion of the pan-stand grate, holding it by interference. However, said rear profile has some drawbacks, since it is unaesthetic, hinders the cleaning of the cooking top, and causes a significant increase in the cost of the cooking top.
By using the above-described cooking top moulding technologies, the production of cooking tops having different burners arranged in a particular manner or having a plurality of cooking elements which can be assembled differently for providing increased functionality or innovative and pleasant aesthetic characteristics requires the creation of new moulds for cooking tops having a sheet-metal cover, or changes to the moulding and/or cutting operations for cooking tops having a glass or glass-ceramic cover. This implies the necessity of setting up a whole new production line, as well as of adapting full machining and production lines to obtain a single new arrangement of the cooking elements.
Therefore, the cooking tops known in the art suffer from the manifest drawback that they are not very flexible and economical to manufacture when different aesthetic and/or functional variants are to be obtained.
Moreover, the creation of pan-stand retaining recesses in glass cooking tops involves difficult problems, because it is hard to make cuts or holes near the edge of the cooking top without causing any cracks in the cooking top due to the internal strains of the material. In addition to requiring costly and delicate work, any recesses in a glass cooking top will weaken the structure thereof and make the whole cooking top become unaesthetic.
Even when the reference points for retaining the pan-stand feet consist of a plurality of dimples obtained on the cooking top and adapted to replace said recesses, making said dimples in a glass cooking top has several drawbacks, in particular since it is a very expensive operation.
In this frame, it is the main object of the present invention to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks and to provide a cooking top comprising special made stand elements, the use of which ensures higher production versatility of said cooking top.
It is a further object of the present invention to allow to manufacture new cooking top variants and typologies in a simple and easy manner, without having to adapt entire production lines for that purpose and, consequently, without involving the costs thereof. It is another object of the present invention to provide considerable cooking top production flexibility thanks to a new kind of production modularity, lower costs and wide stylistic customization possibilities.
In order to achieve these objects, the present invention provides a cooking top incorporating the features set out in the appended claims, which are intended as an integral part of the present description.
Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and from the annexed drawings, which are supplied by way of non-limiting example, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a schematic top view of a first embodiment of a cooking top according to the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a stand element of the cooking top of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a top view of a possible variant of the cooking top of Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a cooking top according to the present invention;
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a stand element of the cooking top of Fig. 4;
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a possible variant of the cooking top of Fig. 4.

Said description and said drawings are to be considered as non-limiting examples. Referring now to the drawings, reference number 10 in Fig.1 designates as a whole a household cooking top, in particular made of glass, of the type comprising:

a plurality of burners 20, in particular gas burners,
a plurality of fitting disks 30 for securing each burner 20 to cooking top 10, said fitting disks 30 being in relief from the surface of cooking top 10,
a plurality of stand elements 40, 41, 42 for laying at least one cooking container over said plurality of burners 20.

As shown in the embodiment of Fig. 1, said plurality of burners 20 comprises four burners 20 having different sizes and calorific power, which can be used as necessary with pots, pans and jugs having different dimensions and being suitable for cooking different types of foods. In particular, each burner 20 is arranged adjacent to the respective side of cooking top 10, substantially in the middle thereof.
Each of stand elements 40, 41, 42 has rest ridges lying on cooking top 10, in particular one on the front side and one on the rear side; in elements 40 and 42, the strips are both straight; in element 41, the rear strip is straight, whereas the front strip is U-shaped.
Said burners 20 may be without distinction of the type taking primary air above or below cooking top 10 whereon they are mounted. It is also clear that each burner 20 may be fitted with an ignition spark plug and/or a thermocouple for checking if burner 20 is on; neither said ignition spark plug nor said thermocouple are shown in the drawings. Cooking top 10 also comprises a plurality of knobs 60 adapted to be operated by a user for both turning on and/or off burners 20 and adjusting the heat generated by the cooking top, said knobs 50 allowing the user to adjust the gas flow, and therefore the heat generated by combustion by burners 20.
According to the present invention, said stand elements 40, 41, 42 comprise constraining means which are coupled to at least two fitting disks 30, thus preventing said stand elements 40, 41, 42 from translating relative to cooking top 10.
The cover of cooking top 10 may be made of glass, glass-ceramic, stoneware, or another non-metallic material: in this case, in addition to providing a secure fastening of burners 20, each fitting disk 30 may also have the function of protecting said cover from the heat generated by burners 20.
As shown in Fig. 2 as well, which is a perspective view of a central stand element 41 of cooking top 10 of Fig. 1, said constraining means comprise at least one projection 43 in the internal perimetric portion of said stand element 41. In particular, said projection 43 is substantially wedge-shaped and allows stand element 41 to be coupled to a portion of the outer profile of first fitting disk 30.
Furthermore, said constraining means comprise a rest perimeter 44 (which in the example of Fig. 1 corresponds to the front rest ridge) adapted to determine mechanical interference between central stand element 41 and the outer profile of a second fitting disk 30.
Said plurality of stand elements 40, 41, 42 also comprises connecting means adapted to join said stand elements 40, 41, 42 to one another, thus forming a continuous grate on cooking top 10.
Fig. 2 also shows that said connecting means comprise hooks 50 obtained on the side portions of central stand element 41, which hooks are adapted to be inserted into matching slots (not shown) obtained in side stand elements 40, 42.
In particular, by employing constraining means according to the present invention it is possible to avoid making slots and/or dimples on cooking top 10 and consequently to produce new variants and typologies of said cooking tops 10 in a simple and easy manner, without having to adapt entire production lines for that purpose and therefore without incurring in the costs thereof.
As a result, the provision of constraining means, in particular a projection 43 and a rest perimeter 44, on at least one of stand elements 40, 41, 42 allows to obtain a cooking top 10 which offers superior production versatility.
Moreover, the presence of connecting means on stand elements 40, 41, 42, in particular hooks 50 obtained on central stand element 41, allows to obtain a mutual connection of stand elements 40, 41, 42 in an effective and inexpensive manner.
Consequently, a continuous grate can be created which can be adapted to cooking top 10 without having to set up a whole new production line specifically dedicated to the production of a new mould, the production thereof being both flexible and economical, in particular whenever different aesthetic and/or functional variants of cooking top 10 are to be obtained.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a possible variant of cooking top 10 of Fig. 1; this variant shows a cooking top 10 having five burners 20, of the type wherein four burners 20 are arranged at the four corners of the quadrilateral delimiting said cooking top 10, while a fifth burner 20 is arranged at the center.
Fig. 3 shows that the constraining means, in particular projection 43 and rest perimeter 44, are adapted to determine mechanical interference between side stand elements 40, 42 and the outer profile of fitting disks 30 for securing four burners 20 arranged at the four corners of the quadrilateral delimiting cooking top 10. In this variant, therefore, central stand element 41 is prevented from translating relative to cooking top 10 because it is connected to side stand elements 40, 42, in particular through the above-described connecting means 50.
The creation of stand elements 40, 41, 42 comprising projection 43 and/or rest perimeter 44 and/or hooks 50 is especially advantageous in all those cases wherein said stand elements 40, 41, 42 are made by casting and/or pressing ferrous materials, in particular cast iron. Figs. 4 and 5 respectively refer to a perspective view of a second embodiment of a cooking top 10 according to the present invention and to a perspective view of a stand element of the second embodiment of Fig. 4.
Each of stand elements 40, 41, 42 has a perimetric rest ridge resting on cooking top 10, to which the other components of stand element 40, 41, 42 are connected (in particular welded).
In this second embodiment as well, it can be noticed that there are constraining means 45 adapted to prevent said stand elements 40, 41, 42 from translating relative to cooking top 10; in the example of Figs. 4 and 5, the appendixes 45 are joined to the perimetric rest ridge of stand element 40, 41, 42.
Said constraining means comprise a plurality of appendixes 45 which are coupled to at least a portion of the outer profile of a fitting disk 30; in particular, said appendixes 45 also work as spacers and rest surfaces for stand elements 40, 41, 42 on cooking top 10.
Said appendixes 45 preferably extend downwards, in particular perpendicularly, from arms 46, in particular from the ends of arms 46, said arms 46 being so connected together as to form a cross, which substantially represents the structure of said stand elements 40, 41, 42.
In the second embodiment shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the connecting means adapted to connect said stand elements 40, 41, 42 together in such a way as to form a continuous grate on cooking top 10 are obtained through a mutual geometrical coupling of the side surfaces of said stand elements 40, 41, 42.
In particular, it can be seen in Fig. 5 that said connecting means comprise recesses 51, in particular having a trapezoidal shape, obtained in central stand element 42, said recesses 51 being adapted to be coupled to matching projections 52 (visible in Fig. 4) obtained on the structure of the side stand elements 40, 42. In the example of Figs. 4 and 5, recesses 51 and projections 52 are incorporated into the perimetric rest ridges of stand elements 40,41,42.
As mentioned in regard to Fig. 1, also in the embodiment of Fig. 4 the plurality of burners 20 comprises four burners 20 having different sizes and calorific power, each burner 20 being arranged adjacent to the respective side of cooking top 10, substantially in the middle thereof. However, in comparison with cooking top 10 of Fig. 1, the embodiment of Fig. 4 turns out to be especially advantageous in all those cases wherein said stand elements 40, 41, 42 are made of iron or steel through a pressing and/or blanking and/or cutting and/or bending process followed by a joining or welding process. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a possible variant of cooking top 10 of Fig. 4; this variant shows a cooking top 10 comprising five burners 20, of the type wherein four burners 20 are arranged at the four corners of the quadrilateral delimiting said cooking top 10, while a fifth burner 20 is arranged at the center.
As shown in Fig. 6, cooking top 10 comprises additional constraining means adapted to prevent said stand elements 40, 41, 42 from translating relative to cooking top 10; said additional constraining means comprise feet 47 which extend orthogonally downwards from said arms 46 and which are coupled to at least a portion of the outer profile of a fitting disk 30. Thus, each side stand element is fully constrained to two fitting disks 30, while central stand element 41 is constrained to the two side stand elements 40, 42 for preventing it from translating in a first direction and to fitting disk 30 through feet 47 for preventing it from translating in a second direction.
The features and advantages of the cooking top according to the present invention are apparent from the above description. In particular, the present invention allows to manufacture a cooking top characterized by being very easy to clean and comfortable to use because, thanks to the continuous pan rest surface, the user can move a pot from one burner to another very easily, since no lifting operation is required to do so.
It is however clear that many changes may be made to the cooking top according to the present invention, and that in its practical implementation the various components may have different shapes and arrangements or be replaced with other technically equivalent elements, without departing from the novelty spirit of the inventive idea.
Among the possible variants of the illustrated embodiment example, it is worth mentioning that:

gas burners 20 may be replaced with other types of heating elements suitable for food cooking,
knobs 60 may be replaced with other types of controls for burners 20, e.g. push-buttons or touch controls,
burners 20 may comprise or consist of a pair of close burners, e.g. a double-crown burner, and the corresponding control may comprise or consist of a single knob controlling both burners or a pair of close knobs respectively controlling the pair of burners.

It is likewise apparent that the materials used for manufacturing the cooking top according to the present invention may be replaced with any other materials compatible with the functionalities and shape of the invention as well as with the current state of the art.

Claims

Household cooking top (10), in particular made of glass, of the type comprising:
- a plurality of burners (20), in particular gas burners,

- a plurality of disks (30), said disks (30) being in relief from the surface of the cooking top (10),

- one or more stand elements (40, 41, 42) for laying at least one cooking container over said plurality of burners (20),
said one or more stand elements (40, 41, 42) comprising constraining means (43, 44, 45, 47) which are coupled to at least two of said disks (30), thus preventing said one or more stand elements (40, 41, 42) from translating relative to the cooking top (10), characterized in that
the disks (30) are fitting disks for securing each burner (20) to the cooking top (10), and said constraining means comprise at least one projection (43) realized on the internal perimetric portion of at least one of said stand elements (40, 41, 42), said at least one projection (43) being wedge-shaped for allowing at least one of said stand elements (40, 41, 42) to be coupled to a portion of the outer profile of a first fitting disk (30).
Cooking top (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that said constraining means comprise a rest perimeter (44) adapted to determine mechanical interference between at least one of said stand elements (40, 41, 42) and the outer profile of a second fitting disk (30).
Cooking top (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that said stand elements (40, 41, 42) comprise connecting means adapted to join together at least two of said stand elements (40, 41, 42) so as to form a continuous grate on the cooking top (10).
Cooking top (10) according to claim 3, characterized in that said connecting means comprise hooks (50) obtained on the side portions of a first stand element (41), said hooks (50) being adapted to be inserted into matching slots obtained in one or more second stand elements (40, 42).
Cooking top (10) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said one or more stand elements (40, 41, 42) are made of cast iron.
Cooking top (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that said constraining means comprise a plurality of appendixes (45) which are coupled to at least a portion of the outer profile of a fitting disk (30).
Cooking top (10) according to claim 6, characterized in that said appendixes (45) extend downwards from arms (46), said arms (46) being so connected together as to form a cross, which represents the structure of said one or more stand elements (40, 41, 42).
Cooking top (10) according to claim 6, characterized in that said appendixes (45) work as spacers and rest surfaces for said one or more stand elements (40, 41, 42) on the cooking top (10).
Cooking top (10) according to claim 7, characterized in that said constraining means comprise additional feet (47) which extend downwards from said arms (46) and which are coupled to at least a portion of the outer profile of a fitting disk (30).
Cooking top (10) according to claims 1 and 3, characterized in that said connecting means are obtained through a mutual geometrical coupling of the side surfaces of said stand elements (40, 41, 42).
Cooking top (10) according to claim 10, characterized in that said connecting means comprise recesses (51) of a first stand element (42), said recesses (51) being adapted to be coupled to matching projections (52) obtained on the structure of at least one second stand element (40, 42).
Cooking top (10) according to claim 11, characterized in that said recesses (51) and said projections (52) have a trapezoidal shape.
Cooking top (10) according to any of the preceding claims from 6 to 12, characterized in that said one or more stand elements (40, 41, 42) are made of iron or steel through a pressing and/or blanking and/or cutting and/or bending process followed by a joining or welding process.