GB1582432A - Burner assemblies - Google Patents

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO BURNER ASSEMBLIES (71) We, TAYMAR LIMITED, a British Company of Wear Mill, King Street West, Stockport SK3 OAJ, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to a burner assembly, and in particular to a burner assembly for use with gas, filler container for example butane.

According to one aspect of the invention a burner assembly for use with a gas comprises a valve body, and a pan support comprising a plurality of members, each having a pan support portion, each member being connected to the body for movement between a first position and a second position, the pan support portions in the first position being angularly spaced around an axis passing through the valve body and forming a pan support and in the second position lying generally parallel to one another and transverse to the axis for storage or transport.

In one construction there are four members which in the first position form two opposed pairs.

Each member may comprise a stem received in the body and an arm disposed above the burner.

The body may comprise a valve for controlling flow of gas to the burner assembly and a manually operable knob for operating the valve, the members in the second position being substantially coplanar with the knob as viewed along the axis.

The burner assembly may comprise a burner head connected to the body by a tube and the stems may be received in holes in the body, separation of the stems from the body being prevented by engagement of the members with the burner head.

'Each member may comprise a U-shaped portion; one arm'of which extends laterally from the stem and the other arm being dis pse'd above the burner head foriengagement by' a pan or the like.

The connection'between the pan support members and the body may be such that the members may be brought to a third position, also for supporting a pan, but with the members in closer proximity than in the first position.

Conveniently the burner assembly comprises a body, and a plurality of members connected to the body for movement between first pan support position and second pan support position in which they are angularly spaced around an axis passing through the body, the members in the second pan support position being in closer proximity than in the first pan support position so as to be capable of supporting smaller pans or the like in the second pan support position.

The members may be located in the first and second positions by projections engaging in recesses in the body.

The body may comprise a valve for controlling flow of gas to the burner and the recesses may be in a ring held to the body by a tube extending. from the body to a burner head.

In any of the above arrangements the tube may be detachably connected to the body, for example by screw threads, to enable the parts to be disassembled.

The invention may be performed in various ways and one specific embodiment will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1. is a perspective view of a burner assembly in one erected condition; Figure 2 is a plan view of the burner assembly in a collapsed condition; Figure 3 is an exploded view of part of the burner assembly -on an enlarged scale; and Figure 4 is a plan view of the burner assembly in another erected condition.

The burner assembly indicated generally at 10 is intended for use as a portable stove but the invention is not restricted to such use.

The burner. assembly 10 comprises a valve body 11 having a through passage for flow of gas from a self-sealing gas container (not shown) to a burner 12 having apertures 13 for egress of gas, usually butane. A valve member (not shown) in the valve body 11 controls flow of gas under the control of a manually operable knob 14.

The valve body has an inlet to the through passage provided with an axial plunger member. The inlet 15 is externally threaded for engagement in a threaded boss on the gas container. When the parts are brought into threaded engagement the plunger member operates a non-return valve in the outlet of the gas container. Further details of the valve are disclosed in Patent No. 1,551,243 to which reference may be made. A knurled ring 16 is secured on the inlet to relieve strain' on the threads when the valve is threaded to the gas container and further details of the operation of the ring are disclosed in Patent No. 1,551,245 to which reference may be made.If the burner is to be usèd with a puncturable gas container rather than a self-sealing container then an adapter as described in Patent No. 1,529,684 may be used and reference may be made to those Applications which disclose further details of such an adaptor.

The valve body is provided with an externally threaded outlet boss 17 which receives an annular ring 18 having four apertures 19 which can be respectively aligned with closed holes 20 in the valve body. The burner 12 includes a hollow stem 21 which has the burner head 12a at one end and which is internally threaded at its other end for cooperation with the boss 17, serving to hold the ring 18 against the valve body. The stem 21 includes opposed aperatures 22 for ingress of air.

Four pan support legs 23 are provided.

Each leg 23 includes a U-shaped portion having an arm 24, a base 25, an arm 26 longer than the arm 24, and a stem 27 extending from the end of the arm 26 parallel to the base 25 and away from the arm 24.

Near its free end the stem 27 is deformed to provide a nib 28. Movement of the stem 27 into aligned apertures 19, 20 is limited by engagement of the nib 28 with the upper surface 30 of the valve body.

Each aperture 19 is provided with two cut-outs 31a, 31b into which the nib 28 may alternatively be received. The stem 27 may be moved axially away from ring 18 to withdraw the nib from one cut-out, rotated, and then moved axially towards the ring 18 to insert the nib 28 into the other cut-out. The cut-outs are in two groups. When the stems 27 are respectively in the cut-outs of one group, the arms 26 are radial to the stem 21 as shown in Figure 1 and the arms 24 form a support for a pan, kettle or other larger receptacle. When the stems 27 are respectively in the cut-outs of the other group, the arms 26 are generally tangential to a circle coaxial with the stem 21, as shown in full lines in Figure 4 and the arms 24 are closer together at their inner end portions 24a than they are in Figure 1 and form a support for a can of food, for example.The position of the arms in Figure 1 is shown in chaindotted lines in Figure 4, movement between the positions being indicated by the arrow.

Movement of the stems 27 out of the holes 20 is prevented by engagement of the arms 26 with the undersurface of the burner head 12 but the parts may be disassembled for cleaning or repair when the stem 21 is unthreaded from the outlet boss 17.

If the stems 27 are moved away from the ring 18 until the nibs 28 are out of the apertures 19, the arms 26 can be rotated to a third, collapsed, condition shown in Figure 2. The arrows in Figure 2 indicate the direction in which the arms are rotated to reach the collapsed condition. When the arms are in the collapsed condition the knob 14 is preferably located, as viewed axially, in alignment with the U-shaped portions of the arms. In this condition the burner assembly can be housed, when removed from the self sealing gas container in a cylindrically shaped base 40 having a cylindrical lid 41 for convenience of transport, e.g. for carriage in a haversack or other so-called back-packs.

The base 40 and lid 41 are shown in Figure 1 partially in broken line in positions in which they can be used when the burner assembly is in position on a gas container.

Thus as shown in use in Figure 1 the base 40 has a bottom wall 42 and an upstanding peripheral wall 43 and can be rested on the arms 24 to serve as a cooking utensil. The lid 41 has a top wall 44 and a peripheral wall 45. The wall 44 is provided with a central aperture through which, when the lid 41 is inverted as shown in Figure 1, the stem 21 may extend; in this position the wall 44 rests on arms 26 and the lid acts as a windshield.

When the burner assembly is removed from the gas container and is collapsed as shown in Figure 2 it is placed in the base 40 and the lid 41 is then placed on the base 40 with its peripheral wall 45 overlying the wall 43 of the base.

The burner assembly lid and base may be sold as a unit together with a pair of manually operable grippers for gripping the base 40 during cooking. In addition there may be provided a plastics base for the self-sealing gas container provided with an adaptor for a puncturable container as described in Patent No. 1,551,243 to which reference may be made for further details. The plastics material base is adapted to receive the gas container and act as a stabilizer therefor when the gas cotnainer is to be stood on uneven ground. It is to be understood that the provision of the manually operable grippers for the base 40 and the plastics base for the gas container do not form part of this invention.

In a modified arrangement the ring 18 is omitted and the valve body 11 is die cast to include apertures 20 provided in this case with cut-outs 31a, 31b.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A burner assembly for use with a gas filled container comprising a valve body, and a pan support comprising a plurality of members each having a pan support portion, each member being connected to the body for movement between a first position and a second position, the pan support portions in the first position being angularly spaced around an axis passing through the body and forming a pan support and in the second position lying generally parallel to one another and transverse to the axis for storage or transport.

2. A burner assembly as claimed in Claim 1, in which there are four members which in the first position form two opposed pairs.

3. A burner assembly as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which each member comprises a stem received in the body and a leg disposed above the burner, and forming the pan support portion.

4. A burner assembly as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 or claim 3, in which the body comprises a valve for controlling flow of gas to the burner, and a manually operable knob for operating the valve, the members in the second position being preferably coplanar with the knob, as viewed along the axis.

5. A burner assembly as claimed in Claim 3, in which the burner comprises a burner head connected to the body by a tube, and the stems are received in holes in the body, separation of the stems from the body being prevented by engagement of the members with the burner head.

6. A burner assembly as claimed in claim 3, in which each member comprises a U-shaped portion; one leg of which extends laterally from the stem and the other leg being disposed above the burner head for engagement by a pan or the like.

7. A burner assembly as claimed in any one of the -preceding claims, in which the connections between the pan support members and the body is such that the members may be brought to a third position, also for supporting a pan, but with the members in closer proximity than in the first position.

8. A burner assembly as claimed in Claim 5, in which the tube is detachably connected to the body to enable these parts to be disassembled.

9. A burner assembly as claimed in Claim 1, in which the members are located in the first and second positions by projections engaging in recesses in the body.

10. A burner assembly as claimed in Claim 9, in which the recesses are in a ring held to the body by a tube extending from the body to a burner head.

11. A burner assembly as claimed in Claim 10, in which the tube is detachably connected to the body to enable these parts to be disassembled.

12. A burner assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (12)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. for the base 40 and the plastics base for the gas container do not form part of this invention. In a modified arrangement the ring 18 is omitted and the valve body 11 is die cast to include apertures 20 provided in this case with cut-outs 31a, 31b. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. A burner assembly for use with a gas filled container comprising a valve body, and a pan support comprising a plurality of members each having a pan support portion, each member being connected to the body for movement between a first position and a second position, the pan support portions in the first position being angularly spaced around an axis passing through the body and forming a pan support and in the second position lying generally parallel to one another and transverse to the axis for storage or transport.

2. A burner assembly as claimed in Claim 1, in which there are four members which in the first position form two opposed pairs.

3. A burner assembly as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which each member comprises a stem received in the body and a leg disposed above the burner, and forming the pan support portion.

4. A burner assembly as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 or claim 3, in which the body comprises a valve for controlling flow of gas to the burner, and a manually operable knob for operating the valve, the members in the second position being preferably coplanar with the knob, as viewed along the axis.

5. A burner assembly as claimed in Claim 3, in which the burner comprises a burner head connected to the body by a tube, and the stems are received in holes in the body, separation of the stems from the body being prevented by engagement of the members with the burner head.

6. A burner assembly as claimed in claim 3, in which each member comprises a U-shaped portion; one leg of which extends laterally from the stem and the other leg being disposed above the burner head for engagement by a pan or the like.

7. A burner assembly as claimed in any one of the -preceding claims, in which the connections between the pan support members and the body is such that the members may be brought to a third position, also for supporting a pan, but with the members in closer proximity than in the first position.

8. A burner assembly as claimed in Claim 5, in which the tube is detachably connected to the body to enable these parts to be disassembled.

9. A burner assembly as claimed in Claim 1, in which the members are located in the first and second positions by projections engaging in recesses in the body.

10. A burner assembly as claimed in Claim 9, in which the recesses are in a ring held to the body by a tube extending from the body to a burner head.

11. A burner assembly as claimed in Claim 10, in which the tube is detachably connected to the body to enable these parts to be disassembled.

12. A burner assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.