WO2002066900A1

WO2002066900A1 - Cooktop

Info

Publication number: WO2002066900A1
Application number: PCT/BR2002/000024
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mário Sérgio Alvarez FIORETTI
Original assignee: Multibrás S.A. Eletrodomésticos
Priority date: 2001-02-16
Filing date: 2002-02-08
Publication date: 2002-08-29
Also published as: BR0100722A; AR032674A1

Abstract

A cooktop comprising a cooking portion (10) defined by an alignment of burners (11), which are provided along at least part of at least one the rear and lateral marginal regions of the cooktop; at least one recipient supporting portion (30) defined by at least one plurality of elevated projections (31) projecting from the cooktop; at least one food processing portion (40) defined by an insert (41), which is seated in a housing (21) provided in the cooktop; a counter portion (20); and control means (50) for the burners (11).

Description

COOKTOP

Field of the invention

The present invention refers to a cooktop to be incorporated to a cooking appliance, such as a stove, or to a counter in environments in which food is prepared and cooked. Background of the invention The known cooktops , which are incorporated to the upper part of the stoves of domestic use, are usually formed by a plurality of burners associated with projecting grates, for supporting the pans or other utensils to be subjected to the heat produced by the burners. In the situations of everyday cooking operations, particularly in domestic environments, the processing and manipulation of food before cooking is usually performed on top of a working counter located close or adjacent to the stove and on which are placed the utensils, packages, food products and also the known boards used for cutting, chopping and beating said food products.

In the cooktops of these stoves of current use, there are not provided supporting surfaces located away from the cooking areas and onto which one may place the recipients at high temperatures to cool, or before they are taken elsewhere. In these situations, the resting of pans and other utensils is made onto an inoperative burner of the stove, occupying part of the cooking area, or on top of the auxiliary adjacent counter, which is usually associated with the sink and lacks an adequate portion onto which hot recipients may be directly placed, requiring the user to provide adequate insulating pads on said counter.

Besides lacking means for facilitating the operations usually related to the use of a cooktop, the known arrangements require the displacement of the operator to different working positions between the stove and the auxiliary counter, as well as the existence of a physical space for the provision of different devices and for the circulation of the user. Object of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cooktop, which allows the operator to perform in a simple, comfortable and safe way, and in a single place in the cooking environment, operations such as cooking and handling of recipients associated with the cooking of food products, as well as the operations related to the manual processing of said food products to be cooked. Summary of the invention

The object above is achieved by providing a cooktop to be adapted to a cooking appliance, such as a domestic stove, or to the top of a working counter, and presenting front, rear and lateral marginal regions. According to the invention, the cooktop comprises: a cooking portion defined by an alignment of burners, which are provided along at least part of at least one of the rear and lateral marginal regions of the cooktop; at least one recipient supporting portion defined by at least one plurality of projections projecting from the cooktop; at least one food processing portion defined by an insert, which is detachable and at least partially seated in a housing provided in the cooktop; a counter portion medianly located in relation to the cooking portion, to the recipient supporting portion and to the food processing portion, and which is at least partially defined by the front marginal region of the cooktop; and control means for the burners . Brief description of the drawings

The invention will be described below, with reference to the attached drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a top plan view of the cooktop; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cooktop, taken along line II-II of figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a similar view to that of figure 2, but with the section being taken along line III-III of figure 1. Description of the illustrated embodiment

As illustrated in the figures of the attached drawings, the present cooktop has a generally rectangular contour, to be adapted to the upper part of a cooking appliance, such as a stove (not illustrated) , or on top of an auxiliary counter of any adequate construction, such as the counters provided in kitchens and associated with a sink.

However, it should be understood that the cooktop may present any regular or irregular polygonal contour, comprising front, rear and lateral marginal regions.

In order to achieve the objective, the cooktop comprises: a cooking portion 10 defined by an alignment of burners 11, which are provided along at least part of at least one of the opposite lateral marginal regions of the cooktop. In the illustrated embodiment, the cooking portion 10 is defined by an alignment of burners 11, which are provided only along the rear marginal region of the cooktop. It should be understood that the burners 11 may also be provided in at least part of one or of both lateral marginal regions, independently of the existence of the alignment of burners 11 provided along the rear marginal region of the cooktop.

In the construction exemplified in the drawings, the electric or gas burners 11 are represented by dashed lines and provided under a flat plate 12 preferably made of glass. However, the burners 11 may be constructed in other forms, such as for example, upwardly projecting from respective recesses provided in a counter portion 20, generally in the form of a plate of stainless steel or any other adequate material and which defines the base plate of the cooktop. Independently of the way by which they are mounted, the burners 11 are preferably arranged in order to be coplanar with the counter portion 20, and still more preferably, not providing any interruption of the latter.

The cooktop further comprises at least one recipient supporting portion 30 defined by at least one elevated projection 31, raising above the plane of the counter portion 20, in order to define a resting surface for several recipients, mainly for those still hot recipients that cannot or should not be directly placed on certain surfaces, so as to avoid causing damage to the latter or to the recipients.

In the illustrated embodiment, there is provided a plurality of elevated projections 31, which are mutually coplanar and formed in a single piece with the counter portion 20, for example by deformation of the latter. Although the elevated projections 31 defined by ribs have been illustrated, it should be understood that different shapes for these ribs may be provided, such as for example a unique and continuous rib, with an extension developed to define a resting surface for recipients.

In the figures of the attached drawings, there is illustrated an arrangement, in which a single recipient supporting portion 30 is provided in a lateral marginal region of the cooktop. However, it should be understood that more than one recipient supporting portion 30 may be provided positioned in at least one of the two lateral marginal regions of the cooktop.

Another component of the cooktop is defined by a food processing portion 40 defined by an insert 41, generally in the form of a flat plate, which is made of a material that is adequate to the operations of cutting and beating food products, such as wood, engineering plastic, granite, etc., and which is detachable and at least partially fitted in a housing 21 provided in the cooktop. In the illustrated constructive example, the housing 21 is defined by a recess formed in the counter portion 20 and which is dimensioned to maintain the food processing portion 40 slightly raised in relation to the counter portion 20. Such as described in relation to the recipient supporting portion 30, the food processing portion 40 may be provided in one or in both lateral marginal regions of the cooktop. With the above described constructive arrangement, the counter portion 20 defines the base plate of the cooktop, in a median position in relation to the cooking portion 10, to the recipient supporting portion 30, and to the food processing portion 40, said counter portion 20 being at least partially defined by the front marginal region of the cooktop, which further comprises control means 50 for the burners 11 positioned in the counter portion 20 and which may have different forms, such as that illustrated in the drawings and defined by respective control buttons .

The counter portion 20 may further carry one or more auxiliary cooking instruments, such as a clock or a timer (60) .

Claims

1. A cooktop, presenting front, rear, and lateral marginal regions, characterized in that it comprises: a cooking portion (10) defined by an alignment of burners (11) , which are provided along at least part of at least one of the front, rear, and lateral marginal regions of the cooktop; at least one recipient supporting portion (30) defined by at least one plurality of elevated projections (31) projecting from the cooktop; at least one food processing portion

(40) defined by an insert (41), which is detachable and at least partially seated in a housing (21) provided in the cooktop; a counter portion (20) medianly positioned in relation to the cooking portion (10) , to the recipient supporting portion (30), and to the food processing portion (40) and which is at least partially defined by the front marginal region of the cooktop; and control means (50) for the burners (11) .

2. Cooktop, according to claim 1, characterized in that the cooking portion (10) is substantially coplanar to the counter portion (20) .

3. Cooktop, according to claim 1, characterized in that there is provided a plurality of elevated projections (31), which are mutually coplanar and elevated in relation to the counter portion (20) .

4. Cooktop, according to any one of the claims 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the elevated projections (31) are formed in a single piece with the counter portion (20) .

5. Cooktop, according to claim 4, characterized in that the elevated projections (31) are defined by ribs incorporated to the counter portion (20) .

6. Cooktop, according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that the recipient supporting portion (30) and the food processing portion (40) are each provided in at least one lateral marginal region of the cooktop.

7. Cooktop, according to claim 1, characterized in that the insert (41) is defined by a plate made of an adequate material for cutting and beating food products, and which is fitted in the housing (21) of the cooktop.

8. Cooktop, according to claim 7, characterized in that the housing (21) has the form of a recess in the counter portion (20) .

9. Cooktop, according to claim 8, characterized in that the housing (21) is dimensioned so as to maintain the food processing portion (40) slightly raised in relation to the counter portion (20) .

10. Cooktop, according to claim 1, characterized in that the counter portion (20) defines a base plate for the cooking portion and comprises a flat plate generally made of stainless steel.

11. Cooktop, according to claim 1, characterized in that the counter portion (20) carries control means (50) for the burners (11) .

12. Cooktop, according to claim 1, characterized in that the counter portion (20) carries at least one auxiliary cooking instrument, such as a clock, or a timer ( 60) .