GB2460408A

GB2460408A - Insulated Hot-plate Arrangement with Insulated Hinged Covers

Info

Publication number: GB2460408A
Application number: GB0809579A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Glyn Hughes
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-05-28
Filing date: 2008-05-28
Publication date: 2009-12-02
Anticipated expiration: 2028-05-28
Also published as: GB0809579D0; GB2460408B

Abstract

A hot-plate 1 is arranged above an insulated chamber 7, and includes one or more insulated hinged covers 2 which can be raised for access to the hot-plate or lowered to reduce heat loss from the plate. The chamber includes a gas fuelled burner 3 and an associated valve 5 which is provided with fuel gas from a gas supply pipe 6. The hot-plate forms the upper wall of the chamber, and all sides of the chamber are insulated, except for the hot-plate surface. The hot-plate is substantially flat, and heated by combustion products which play directly on its underside, allowing the hot-plate to be used as a cooking surface. The temperature of the hot-plate is regulated by a temperature sensor 4, which in use operates in conjunction with the gas valve to control fuel gas to the burner. The plate is less than 15mm thick, and the combination of a relatively small thermal mass and the insulation improves both warm-up time of the plate and fuel usage. The plate may be formed in several pieces and assembled to form a single surface, and the chamber may include apertures entry of air and exit of burned gasses.

Description

TITLE: Cooking Equipment INVENTOR: Glyn Hughes, 43 Harrison Rd, Adlington, Lancashire PR7 4HIN, England, a citizen of the United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND:

Gas-heated cooking hotplates are commonly of one of two forms. In the first form there are separate gas burners which play a flame directly onto the base of a cooking utensil. In the second form the gas burner plays onto the underside of a substantially flat plate. This invention concerns the second form.

Flat cooking hotplates are able to accommodate many pans of different sizes simultaneously, cooking can be carried out directly on the plate, heat can be very rapidly adjusted by moving utensils about and they are effectively self-cleaning. This makes them preferred by professional cooks. However, they present problems for light or domestic use in that a single large hotplate is necessary in order to provide a useful variation of heat zones across its surface, but such a plate is excessively expensive in fuel when only part of it is used and is likely to overheat the kitchen. One known solution to this problem is to provide the cooking plate with a number of insulated lids which may be opened or closed to reveal or protect areas of the plate as needed. However, this insulted lid method causes a further difficulty in that the area underneath a closed lid is likely to become excessively hot so that damage may be caused. This further problem is universally overcome by making the hotplate from an extremely thick material of very high thermal mass, but this then presents a difficulty in that it takes a very long time, often several hours, to heat up.

The present invention demonstrates a method of constructing a flat-hotplate cooker suitable for light or domestic use which can heat up very rapidly, does not excessively heat the room and has a hotplate which, while heated by a single burner, allows all or only part of the plate to be used with a commensurate reduction in fuel requirement.

Page 1

PRIOR ART

GB710147 Improvements in the thermostatic control of cookers Smith & Welistood Ltd. U52067 173 Fuel combustion GustafDalen Page 2

DISCLOSURE:

The present invention consists of a chamber provided inside with a gas burner. Above the gas burner, and forming the upper surface of the chamber, is a substantially flat metal plate of less than 15mm thickness so disposed that hot gases from the burner play directly on the underside of the flat metal plate and heat it, forming a cooking surface. The materials and form of the cooking surface are such that it will very quickly heat up and cool down and will not retain heat for a substantial time.

The other sides of the chamber than the upper cooking plate are covered with insulating material so as to thermally isolate the chamber and the heat from its gas burner from objects and materials adjacent to the outside of the chamber and to ensure that heat from the gas burner is substantially applied only to the flat metal cooking plate.

Above the flat metal cooking plate are one or more insulated panels provided with hinges by means of which they can individually be laid to rest in contact with a part of the surface of the flat metal cooking plate, or in a second position away from it so as to either protect or reveal a part of the cooking surface.

Adjoining the flat metal cooking plate is a thermostat sensor so disposed as to be able to react to a representative temperature of a part of the flat metal cooking plate and to so instruct a gas valve to admit or deny gas to the burner to maintain a constant temperature in the thermally measured part of the flat metal cooking plate. The adjustment of the thermostat sensor and the gas valve are such that they can maintain in the cooking plate a temperature sufficiently high for cooking purposes but not so high as to cause damage to the materials of construction.

There may be openings into the chamber to provide, for instance, air for combustion or to release waste gas.

The operation of the invention is as follows: When not in use the gas burner is unlit and the hinged insulated panels rest on the surface of the flat metal cooking plate.

When cooking service is required, the gas burner is ignited and it begins to heat the flat metal cooking plate, under the control of the thermostat sensor and gas valve. With the insulated panels resting on the surface of the plate, the plate will quickly reach the suitable temperature and will be maintained at that temperature by the operation of the thermostat sensor and the gas valve. If a panel is opened so as to reveal a portion of the hotplate, then the hotplate will cool somewhat, in turn cooling the thermostatic sensor and causing more gas to be admitted to the burner to restore the required temperature. The same effect will occur to a greater degree if a cooking utensil is placed on the open hotplate. If an insulated panel is closed down onto the hotplate the hotplate will quickly begin to overheat so that the thermostat will reduce gas supply and allow the hotplate to cool to the preferred temperature.

ORIGINALITY

Originality is claimed in the combination of a gas burner within an insulated chamber which is designed so as to heat nothing other than a hotplate, a hotplate with insulated lids and Page 3 thermostatic control of the burner in response to hotplate temperature.

Page 4

EXAMPLE:

One possible way of implementing the invention will be shown through the accompanying drawings where drawing number 1 is a schematic representation and drawing number 2 represent an actual possible embodiment, shown partly cut away.

Tn all these drawings (1) is the flat metal cooking hotp late (2) is an insulated cover, in this case two covers. There may be any number.

(3) is a gas burner (4) is a thermostat sensor (5) is a gas valve (6) is a gas supply pipe (7) is a chamber insulated on all but its upper surface Page 5

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A Cooking Hotplate consisting of a chamber provided inside with a gas burner and above the gas burner, forming the upper surface of the chamber, a substantially flat metal plate of less than 15mm thickness so disposed that hot gases from the burner play directly on the underside of the flat metal plate and heat it, forming a cooking surface, the other sides of the chamber than the cooking plate being covered with insulating material so as to thermally isolate the chamber and the heat from its gas burner from objects and materials adjacent to the outside of the chamber and to ensure that heat from the gas burner is substantially applied only to the flat metal cooking plate, and above the flat metal cooking plate one or more insulated panels provided with hinges by means of which they can individually be laid to rest in contact with a part of the surface of the flat metal cooking plate, or in a second position away from it so as to either protect or reveal a part of the cooking surface, and adjoining the flat metal cooking plate a thermostat sensor so disposed as to be able to react to a representative temperature of a part of the flat metal cooking plate and to so instruct a gas valve to admit or deny gas to the burner to maintain a constant temperature in the thermally measured part of the flat metal cooking plate.
2. A Cooking Hotplate as described in claim (1) where the flat metal cooking plate is formed in several pieces and assembled so as to form a single surface.
3. A Cooking Hotplate as described in claim (1) which is incorporated within another structure, such a cupboard or a cooking cabinet or range.
4. A Cooking Hotplate as described in claim (1) where the central chamber has openings for such purposes as the entry of air for combustion or the exit of burned gasses.
5. A Cooking Hotplate substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.Page 6 Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows CLAIMS: 1. A cooking hot-plate comprising a chamber within which is arranged a gas burner, a substantially flat metal plate of less than 15mm thickness forming an upper surface of the chamber and whose underside is heated by combustion of a fuel gas, the remaining surfaces of the chamber are thermally insulated and the hot-plate includes one or more thermally insulated panels arranged above the plate and provided with hinges, and wherein the insulated panels can be moved via the hinges from a first position which contacts and covers the plate surface to a second position which reveals the plate surface for cooking, and characterised by a thermostatically controlled valve which allows or prevents the fuel gas flow in response to plate temperature sensed by an adjoining temperature sensor.2. A cooking hot-plate as claimed in claim (1) where the flat metal plate is formed of several pieces and assembled so as to form a single surface.3. A cooking hot-plate as claimed in claim (1) which is incorporated within a cupboard or a cooking cabinet or range.4. A cooking hot-plate as claimed in claim (1) where the chamber has openings for the entry of air for combustion or the exit of burned gasses.: 5. A cooking hot-plate substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings. * * **** ** *. * * * * S