MXPA97006956A - Fuel supply assembly / air for burners - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a fuel / air supply assembly for several fuel gas burners, comprising: (a) a first bushing formed from a sheet of material and having its portions formed integrally to generally define a half of passages first and second fuel / air having an inlet and outlet, (b) a second bushing integrally formed of a sheet of material and having portions formed integrally to generally define another half of said first and second fuel / air passages having an inlet and an outlet, wherein said first and second bushes are joined together around the periphery to form said first and second fuel inlet and exit air supply passages for said burners, said first and second inlets adapted for connection to a fuel gas source and said first and second outputs adapted for connection to combustion burners. first and second air / air (c) seal means integrally formed in said first and second ferrules between said first and second passages and operative to substantially prevent passage of the fuel / air mixture between said first and second passages, such that said first and second passages are not in fluid communication within said assembly and between said inlet and outlet, and said seal means including a pair of generally parallel spaced slots, each formed in said first and second sockets in overlying arrangement

Description

FUEL / AIR SUPPLY ASSEMBLY FOR GAS BURNERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the supply of fuel and air mixture to a gaseous fuel burner and particularly relates to supplying a fuel / air mixture to gaseous fuel burners used for cooking. In particular, the invention relates to supplying a fuel / air mixture to gaseous fuel burners for stoves and grills used in domestic kitchen appliances that are manufactured in mass production in high volumes. Up to now, tubular supply arrangements for the fuel / air mixture, or the mixing tubes widely used in the manufacture of burners for domestic stoves and grills, have been formed with a venturi tube that sucks air, individually, connected to supply the top burners individually from a multiple gas supply. It is known to form the fuel / air venturi blender or supply tubes by stamped bushes or half tubes joined together at their margins to form a complete tube assembly. In a pending United States patent application, Serial No. 609,203, filed March 1, 1996, entitled Mixer Tube Assembly for Fuel Gas Burner, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, it was disclosed to form the tube of supply or fuel / air mixer for several upper burners from patterned bushing means formed from individual sheets of material joined together to form individual spaced apart tubes or spacer passages for connection at the inlet end of the tubes to a manifold and at the output end to individual burners. However, in manufacturing such mixing tubes for several burners from sheet material and joining the sheets, it has been found that leakage of the fuel / air mixture between the sheets from one tube to the other. If this leakage is not controlled, the fuel / air mixture can flow between the passages and to a burner that has not been ignited, thereby creating a dangerous condition. Accordingly, it has been desired to provide a relatively low cost means or means for forming a fuel / air supply pipe or mixer from individually formed bushes made of sheet material and attached in such a way as to prevent leakage between the individual passages of the burner tubes and in a way that minimizes manufacturing costs. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a fuel / air supply pipe or mixer assembly for various gas burners, in which bush means are formed from individual sheets of material and joined together peripherally to form several spaced supply pipes, each having an inlet adapted for connection to a supply manifold and an outlet adapted for connection to an individual burner. The region of the sheet material between the spaced supply passages is sealed integrally forming in the sheets ridges or grooves by metal deformation that impede the flow of the fuel / air mixture between the individual burner passages. The deformation of the metal sheet material can be carried out by stamping, engargolado, coined or rolled and can be done partially or totally before joining the individually formed shells means of sheet material. Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of the assembled fuel / air supply assembly of the present invention; Figure 2 is a top exploded view of the assembly of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the section lines 3-3 of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the indicator lines of section 4-4 of Figure 1.

Detailed Description With reference to Figures 1 and 2, the delivery assembly of the present invention is generally indicated at 10 and includes a first sheet or lower sheet of material 12 having therein formed a first hollow portion or socket 16 such as print. The first sheet 12 has a second bushing 18 formed there, spaced from the bushing 16 formed in the bottom sheet 12, and which bushes have, respectively, inlet ends 20, 22 and outlet ends 24, 26, with nozzle portions convergent to- divergent or venturi 28, 30 respectively, formed adjacent to inlets 20,22. The upper bushes are similarly stamped from a sheet material 14 to form another half of the first and second fuel / air passages, which upper bushes are denoted by reference numerals 32, 34 having respectively inlet sections 36, 38 and sections 40, 42 respectively, adapted for connection to the inlet of individual gaseous fuel burners (not shown). In the presently preferred practice of the invention, the sheets 12, 14 are formed of metallic material and preferably material selected from the group consisting essentially of galvanized or zinc-coated steel, corrosion-resistant steel and stainless steel; however, it will be understood that other suitable metals can be employed, if desired. The upper and lower sheets 14, 12 are secured together in their margins by folding the edges of one sheet over another, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, which illustrate the folded portion of the lower sheet 12 on the edge of the sheet. the topsheet 14, as denoted by the reference numeral 44. The assembly of the upper and lower sockets 16, 18 and 32, 34 in this manner forms first and second fuel / air mixing passages adapted to communicate between a supply of gas connected to the inlet and individual fuel burners connected to the exits. The upper half-cap portions 32, 34 also have converging-diverging or venturi nozzle sections 46, 48 formed adjacent the inlet sections 36, 38. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, seal means generally indicated in FIG. are formed in the region intermediate the fuel / air passages by deforming the metal of the sheets 14, 12 in a pair of spaced grooves or valleys denoted by the reference numerals 52, 54 and 55. In the presently preferred practice of the invention , the slits 52, 54 and 55 are formed in a die such as to lock together the portions of the two sheets 12, 14 by deformation of metal to form the seal means 50. In actual practice it has been satisfactory to form the slits by one of the methods selected from the group consisting of stamping, coining, engargolado and rolling. Referring to Figures 1 and 3, at selected intervals along the slits 52, 54, the openings denoted by the reference number 56 are formed from the material of the sheets 12, 14 in the region of the seal means 50. by punching and piercing with a tool (not shown) through the sheets to form a flange 56 that is flared or riveted outwardly on the sheet 14 to provide a gripping function in the region of the seal means 50. It will be understood that the said operations of bending edges 44, forming seal means 50, including slits 52, 54 and 55, and forming openings 56 and flanges 58, can be carried out progressively in suitable dies. The present invention thus provides a unique structure and method for making a plurality of mixer or fuel / air delivery passages in an assembly having inlets for passages adapted for connection to a fuel gas manifold and outputs at opposite ends of the passages adapted for connection to individual fuel gas burners and that is formed of two simple sheets of material in a form easy to manufacture and relatively inexpensive. Although the present invention has been described above with respect to the illustrated embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is capable of modification and variation and is only limited by the following claims.

Claims (14)

1. A fuel / air supply assembly for several fuel gas burners, comprising: (a) a first bushing formed of a sheet of material and having its portions formed integrally to generally define a half of first and second fuel / air passages having an entrance and an exit; (b) a second bushing integrally formed of a sheet of material and having portions formed integrally to generally define another half of said first and second fuel / air passages having an inlet and an outlet; wherein said first and second bushes are joined together around the periphery to form said first and second fuel inlet and outlet delivery passages for said burners, said first and second inlets adapted for connection to a source of combustible gas and said first and second outputs adapted for connection to first and second fuel / air burners; and (c) seal means integrally formed in said first and second ferrules between said first and second passages and operative to substantially prevent passage of the fuel / air mixture between said first and second passages.

The assembly defined in claim 1, wherein said seal means includes means grasping said first and second shells together.

The assembly defined in claim 1, wherein said seal means includes at least one slit formed in each of said first and second shells in a common station in overlapping arrangement.

The assembly defined in claim 1, wherein said seal means includes a pair of generally parallel, spaced slits, each commonly formed in said first and second sockets in overlapping arrangement.

5. The set defined in claim 1, wherein said first and second passages include a convergent-divergent section.

The assembly defined in claim 1, wherein said seal means includes gripping means having a plurality of openings spaced apart with portions of their edges of one of said first and second sheets bent over the other of said first and second sheets.

The assembly defined in claim 1, wherein said first and second sheets are formed of sheet metal material.

The assembly defined in claim 1, wherein said seal means has a generally W-shaped configuration in cross section.

The assembly defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second fuel / air passages has a venturi formed adjacent to the inlet.

The assembly defined in claim 1, wherein said first and second ferrules are formed of a material selected from the group consisting of galvanized steel, corrosion resistant steel, and stainless steel.

11. A method of making a fuel / air assembly for several fuel gas burners, comprising: (a) forming said first and second spaced bushes in a first sheet of material; (b) forming said first and second spaced ferrules in a second sheet of material; (c) placing said first and second ferrules to form first and second tubular passages and joining said first and second blades about their peripheries; and (d) deforming said first and second sheets at a common location between said first and second passages and forming seal means between them and substantially preventing fuel / air flow between said first and second tubular passages.

The method defined in claim 11, wherein said step of deforming is selected from the group consisting of stamping, engargolado, coined and rolled.

The method defined in claim 11, wherein said step of forming said first and second spaced sleeves includes swaging.

14. The method defined in claim 11, wherein said step of deforming includes forming a plurality of openings in said first and second sheets and folding a portion of one of said first and second sheets over the other in said openings.