US3276441A

US3276441A - Burner assembly

Info

Publication number: US3276441A
Application number: US407374A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard M Scherer
Original assignee: WASTE KING CORP
Current assignee: WASTE KING CORP
Priority date: 1964-10-29
Filing date: 1964-10-29
Publication date: 1966-10-04
Anticipated expiration: 1983-10-04

Description

Oct. 4, 1966 M. SCHERER BURNER ASSEMBLY Filed Oct. 29, 1964 .wfl/cunep JV. 5CHEPEAD,

N WNNQ INVENTOR.

BY H/S ,Jr ramvEysf flimws, JK ECM, 150555.44 QQ/K's/QM United States Patent Office 3,276,441 Patented Oct. 4, 1966 3,276,441 BURNER ASSEMBLY Richard M. Scherer, La Habra, Calif., assignor to Waste King Corporation, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Oct. 29, 1964, Ser. No. 407,374 4 Claims. (Cl. 126--39) The invention relates to a burner assembly for use in domestic gas ranges.

Burner assemblies of the prior art typically include several burners supported within a deep burner box of a domestic gas range with the several burners being connected to a source of gas. The burner box also contains a pilot light and a suitable number of flame tubes for communicating the pilot light to each of the burners. Each flame tube is conventionally supported on separate supporting means within the burner box. In the typical gas range, an aeration pan and a grate depend from an upper surface of the burner box and to a position adjacent the burners. When burners of this type are employed in the cooking operation, grease and other foreign particles frequently collect on the aeration pan and when the aeration pan is filled this foreign material, or spillover, spills over and collects on the bottom of the deep burner box. This is undesirable because the bottom of the burner box is somewhat inaccessible and accordingly is ditficult to clean.

Another disadvantage of the conventional burner assembly is that it permits a considerable quantity of heat to be transferred to the bottom of the burner box. Safety codes generally require that the temperature of the outer surface of the bottom wall of the burner box be maintained below a given maximum temperature during operation of the burner. With conventional burners the bottom wall of the burner box must consist of a thick layer or several spaced layers of material in order that the outer surface may be maintained below the maximum allowable temperature. To provide such an insulated bottom wall for the burner box increases the cost of production and complicates construction.

Another problem with prior art burner assemblies is occasional failure to ignite. This is caused by misalignment, during assembly, of the flash tube relative to the lighter jet on the burner.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a burner assembly which will substantially prevent spillover from dripping into the burner box.

Another object of this invention is to provide a burner assembly which is easy to clean.

Another object of this invention is to provide a burner assembly which will eliminate the need for an insulated or double-walled bottom for the burner box.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a burner assemblywhich will insure proper alignment of the flash tube and lighter jet.

A further object of this invention is to provide a burner assembly which will reduce the number of instances in which the burner will fail to ignite.

Another object of this invention is to provide a unitary burner assembly which is easily installed and easily removed from a burner box.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an assembly which is adaptable .to various burner arrangements.

The objects of the invention may be realized by securing a burner and a flash tube to a spillover pan which also serves as a radiation baffle. The spillover pan functions to catch and retain spillover to thereby substantially prevent the spillover from running onto the floor of the burner box. It also acts as a radiation bafile by keeping the floor of the burner box cool by inhibiting the transfer of heat from the burner to the burner box floor. Finally, by mounting the flash tube and burner rigidly on the same structural member, proper alignment. of the flash tube and the lighter jet on the burner is assured.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken on the line 11 of FIG. 2 showing a preferred form of the burner assembly of this invention mounted in a burner box;

FIG. 2 is a view taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1 showing the burner assembly and burner box but excluding the aeration pan and grate;

FIG. 3 is a perspective View of the burner assembly; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3 showing a manner of securing the burner and gas conduit to the spillover plate.

The burner assembly includes a burner 1, a flash tube 3, and a gas conduit 5 all suitably rigidly secured to a spillover pan 7. The burner includes a burner base 9, a gas diffuser 11 supported by the burner base, and a nozzle 13 protruding laterally from the burner base. The burner base 9 is a hollow irregularly shaped element having a lower irregularly shaped portion 14 and a. circular top portion 14a which has a generally channel-shaped cross section and is rigidly secured to spillover pan 7 by any suitable means such as screws 15. The gas diffuser 11, which is an integral structure and is of generally circular cross section, rests slidably on, or secured to, an upper surface of the burner base 9. The difluser 11 also includes a circular wall 16 and a circular wall 17 which is inside and concentric with the wall 16. The wall 16 has a flange 16a and the wall 17 has a flange 17a which rest on the upper edges of the channel-shaped top portion 14a. The wall 17 also has an extension 1712 which overlaps the top portion 14a to provide an interlock. The walls 16 and 17 are secured together at their upper edges by a circular portion 18. The diffuser 11 has a plurality of alternately spaced small openings or ports 19 and large openings or ports 20 in the wall 16 which are in communication with an annular passage 21 of the top portion 14a. Gas is supplied to the burner through conduit 5 to which is secured a fitting 22 with an open end adapted to slidingly receive in quick disconnect fashion an end 23 of a gas supply fitting 24. The nozzle 13 has an ignition opening or orifice 25 in communication with the passage 21 in the burner base 9.

The spillover pan 7 is a substantially circular, metallic, porcelain surfaced sheet having its edge turned up to form a peripheral lip 27 which surrounds an inner surface 29 for catching and retaining spillover to thereby prevent the spillover from running onto the floor of the burner box. On one side of the spillover pan the upturned edge 27 has been flattened as shown at 31 to provide a broad flat surface. The spillover pan is also provided with a gas supply aperture 33 to allow gas to pass from the conduit 5 through the hollow lower portion 14 to the annular passage 21 in the top portion 14a.

The flash tube 3 in the specific embodiment illustrated is a hollow substantially cylindrical member having its edges at one end turned in at 37 to form an orifice 39. Flash tube 3 is suitably rigidly secured to the flat portion 31 of spillover pan 7. The flash tube is mounted on the spillover pan so that the passageway therethrough is aligned with and confronts the orifice 25 of the nozzle 13.

Means are also provided for inducing air flow into the conduit 5 and for regulating the quantity of air so induced. The conduit 5 preferably has two longitudinally extending slots 71 at one end thereof and the fitting 22, which is secured to the conduit 5, has a corresponding number of longitudinally extending slots 72. The fitting 22 also has a circumferential slot 73 through which a screw 74 extends to secure the fitting to the conduit 5. When the screw 74 loosely secures the fitting 22 to the conduit 5, the fitting may be rotated with respect to the conduit to adjust the degree to which the slots 72 overlap the slots 71. This overlap forms two openings 75 through which air is drawn into the conduit 5 by the jet of combustible gas exiting from the end 23 of the gas supply fitting 24. After a proper size for the openings 75 is selected, the screw 74 is tightened to rigidly fasten the fitting 22 to the conduit 5. The air drawn in at the openings 75 is thoroughly mixed with the combustible gas in the conduit 5 enroute to the burner 1. Although two slots 71 and two slots 72 are described in the specific embodiment, it should be understood that any suitable number of slots may be provided.

It is apparent, therefore, that the unitary burner assembly of this invention comprises conduit 5, flash tube 3, and burner 1, all rigidly connected to spillover pan 7. The spillover pa n performs several important functions. First, it catches and retains spillover from the cooking process and thereby prevents spillover from running onto the floor of the burner box. The spillover pan 7 also serves as a radiation baifle by reducing radiant heat transfer from the burner 1 to the floor of the burner box. The spillover plate is also valuable in that it serves to rigidly mount the flash tube 3 in proper alignment with the nozzle 13 to thereby reduce the number of ignition failures.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 the unitary burner assembly is shown mounted in a burner box. The bottom 41 of the burner box, which comprises only a single layer of material, supports a bracket 43. Secured to the bracket 43 is a pilot light assembly 45 and one end of the spillover pan 7. The spillover pan 7 is releasably secured to the bracket 43 by any suitable means such as threaded fasteners 47. The spillover pan 7 is supported at another location by the conduit 5 which is shown as releasably secured to the end 23 of gas supply fitting 24. For most residential applications the threaded fasteners 47 are not required and the burner is securely and firmly supported by resting on the bracket 43 and the end 23 of the gas supply fitting 24. An aeration pan 49 and a grate 51 are also provided and are shown in FIG. 1 as supported by the upper wall 53 of the burner box.

To operate this device a gas valve (not shown) is turned on. Gas is then supplied through a gas line (not shown) to the gas supply fitting 24, and then through the conduit 5, the aperture 33 in the spillover pan 7, and annular passage 21 to the openings 19 and 20 and the orifice 25. Gas also flows from the orifice 25 through the flash tube 3 to a position adjacent the pilot light assembly 45 where it is ignited. The flame from the ignited gases quickly spreads to give an even flame around the burner. During the cooking process, grease and foreign particles called spillover are accumulated on the aeration pan 49 and on the spillover pan 7. When the aeration pan 49 is filled with spillover, the spillover subsequently accumulated on the aeration pan will overflow to the spillover pan. No spillover is allowed to accumulate on the bottom 41 of the burner box. To clean the burner assembly the threaded fasteners 47, if they have been used, are unscrewed. Then, as the fitting 22 slidably engages the end 23, the entire burner assembly including 4 the conduit 5, the burner 1, the flash tube 3, and the spillover pan 7 may be removed from the burner box and cleaned. After the burner assembly has been cleaned, it may be re-inserted into the burner box and secured in the proper position.

Thus, it will be noted that the present invention provides a simple, yet effective, means for preventing spillover from accumulating on the floor of the burner box and also for keeping the bottom of the burner box relatively cool. Ignition failures caused by misalignment of the flash tube and nozzle are also eliminated by the present invention. Also, the unitary burner assembly disclosed herein is easy to remove from the burner box and easy to clean. The invention also simplifies burner box construction by eliminating the need for a double-walled or insulated floor in the burner box.

Several modifications of the specific embodiment disclosed herein will readily become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art. For example, the spillover plate 7 may be of any shape suitable for catching and retaining spillover. The burner need not be of the specific design illustrated but may assume various configurations. Likewise, the flash tube 3 may be rotated so that the orifice 33 is adjacent the orifice 25 and the nozzle 13.

Although exemplary embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, it will be understood that other applications of the invention are possible and that the embodiments disclosed may be subjected to various changes, modifications, and substitutions without necessarily dcparting from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a unitary burner unit for installation above the floor of a burner box, the combination of:

a spillover pan having an upper surface;

a gas burner rigidly secured to said spillover pan and overlying a portion of said upper surface thereof, said gas burner having passage means therein connectible to a source of gas, said passage means providing an ignition opening in said gas burner, said spillover pan extending laterally beyond the periphery of said gas burner to catch spillover from said gas burner and to substantially reduce the amount of heat transferred from said gas burner to the floor of the burner box; and

a flash tube rigidly secured to said spillover pan, said flash tube having a passageway extending therethrough and terminating in an aperture which con fronts said ignition opening.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said ignition opening has a laterally extending axis and said flash tube is substantially straight and extends generally in the same direction as said axis.

3. A combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said spillover pan has a gas supply aperture beneath said gas burner and communicating with said passage means in said gas burner, and a conduit is rigidly secured to the lower side of said spillover pan in communication with said gas supply aperture, said conduits being connectible to the source of gas.

4. In a unitary burner unit for installation above the floor of a burner box, the combination of:

a spillover pan having an upper surface and an upturned peripheral lip, said spillover pan having a centrally positioned gas supply aperture;

a gas burner including a burner base rigidly secured to said upper surface of said spillover pan above said gas supply aperture and a gas diffuser supported by said burner base, said gas burner having passage means extending from said gas supply aperture through said burner base and said gas diffuser and terminating in a plurality of gas ports in said gas diffuser, said passage means also providing a laterally extending ignition opening in said burner base;

ture and communicating therewith, said conduit be- 1 ing connectible to a source of gas.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Nieberding et al. 126-214 X Mueller 158l15 Hornung 158l15 Mueller 158115 FREDERICK L. MATTESON, JR., Primary Examiner.

0 E. G. FAVORS, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. IN A UNITARY BURNER UNIT FOR INSTALLATION ABOVE THE FLOOR OF A BURNER BOX, THE COMBINATION OF: A SPILLOVER PAN HAVING AN UPPER SURFACE; A GAS BURNER RIGIDLY SECURED TO SAID SPILLOVER PAN AND OVERLYING A PORTION OF SAID UPPER SURFACE THEREOF, SAID GAS BURNER HAVING PASSAGE MEANS THEREIN CONNECTIBLE TO A SOURCE OF GAS, SAID PASSAGE MEANS PROVIDING AN IGNITION OPENING IN SAID GAS BURNER, SAID SPILLOVER PAN EXTENDING LATERALLY BEYOND THE PERIPHERY OF SAID GAS BURNER TO CATCH SPILLOVER FROM SAID GAS BURNER AND TO SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF HEAT TRANSFERRED FROM SAID GAS BURNER TO THE FLOOR OF THE BURNER BOX; AND A FLASH TUBE RIGIDLY SECURED TO SAID SPILLOVER PAN, SAID FLASH TUBE HAVING A PASSAGEWAY EXTENDING THERETHROUGH AND TERMINATING IN AN APERTURE WHICH CONFRONTS SAID IGNITION OPENING.