Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
  • F24C—DOMESTIC STOVES OR RANGES ; DETAILS OF DOMESTIC STOVES OR RANGES, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
  • F24C15/00—Details
  • F24C15/10—Tops, e.g. hot plates; Rings
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
  • F24C—DOMESTIC STOVES OR RANGES ; DETAILS OF DOMESTIC STOVES OR RANGES, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
  • F24C3/00—Stoves or ranges for gaseous fuels
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T29/00—Metal working
  • Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
  • Y10T29/49348—Burner, torch or metallurgical lance making

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a gas cooking appliance, such as a gas cooktop (or cooking hob) or a free standing cooker.
• a gas cooking appliance comprises one or more burners rigidly connected to a supporting and protective structure, and a gas feeding circuit to feed gas to the burner(s).
• a cooktop typically comprises a supporting plate or frame of rectangular shape and having a plurality of seats, a plurality of burners positioned in the seats and fixed to the supporting frame, and a gas feeding circuit, to feed combustion gas to the burners.
• These parts are typically assembled with each other so as to form a single rigid body.
• each burner typically comprises a burner body fixed to the supporting frame, a burner crown held by the burner body and having circumferential openings for the exit of the air-gas combustion mixture, a cap closing the burner top, a gas injector to eject a gas flow into the burner body, a tubular element (typically integrated in the burner crown) for air/gas mixing by means of the Venturi effect, a thermocouple and a spark plug support (also usually integrated in the burner crown).
• These burners may have different dimensions, as well as different size of the burner ports so as to achieve different velocity, pressure, inclination and distribution of the air-gas mixture. Moreover, it is possible to have more complex burner structures, with two or even three flame crowns.
• the gas feeding circuit typically comprises a gas rail extending along one side of the supporting frame and designed to be connected to an external gas feeding pipe, a plurality of valves distributed along the gas rail in a number corresponding to the number of burners, a corresponding number of gas pipes connecting the gas rail to the burner via the valves, and a plurality of joints (typically “elbow”, “push on” and “Boule and nut” connectors), to connect each other the external gas feeding pipe with the gas rail, the gas rail with the valves, the valves with the pipes, and the pipes with the burners.
• joints typically "elbow”, "push on” and "Boule and nut” connectors
• the cooktop also comprises a top plate, which is positioned onto the supporting frame to define therebetween a space where the gas feeding circuit is arranged.
• the burners are typically made of die cast aluminium, which is safe, easy to cast and long lasting.
• the other above-mentioned parts of the appliance like the connection pipes, the gas valves and the main rail, are usually made of aluminium, zinc plated, iron or brass.
• EP0615096A1 Another solution for making the production process of a cooking hob easier and cheaper is suggested by EP0615096A1 , which describes a cooking plateau for a gas device made of a heat-resistant material, such as glass, plastic, aluminium, or ultra-deep drawn steel.
• the cooking plateau integrates burner housings, pan supports, and hinge points, so as to have a single plate- shaped part suitable to achieve different functions.
• the Applicant has found that by making one or more parts of a gas cooking appliance of a thermosetting or thermoplastic material by an injection moulding process it is possible to reduce the production costs, since the cost per single piece is lower and it is possible to integrate some of these parts in a single piece by the same moulding process. Moreover, by integrating some parts together in a single piece the overall production process can be sensibly simplified and the final gas cooking appliance can be easier to assemble/disassemble.
• thermosetting material is a polymer material for which it is not possible to define a melting point, and a progressive increase a temperature would not result in its melting but instead in its burn.
• the material is a resin consisting of at least two monomers bound together to form a polymer through branching (cross-linking process) under the action of a catalyst activated by a temperature increase.
• thermoplastic material there is no cross-linking process, and the polymeric chains overlap one onto the other without a precise order (or with a predetermined orientation in the case of semi-crystalline structures) and without chemical constraints, so that in this case a melting point can be defined.
• thermosetting or thermoplastic material a thermosetting or thermoplastic material
• connection elements that connects the rail to an external feeding pipe for receiving gas
• two or more of these parts can be integrated in a single piece of thermosetting or thermoplastic material by a single injection moulding process. Possibly, all these parts may be realized as a single piece.
• the present invention thus relates to a gas cooking appliance, comprising a support frame, at least one burner rigidly connected to the support frame, and a gas feeding circuit to feed gas to the burner, wherein at least one of the following components is made of a thermosetting or thermoplastic material:
• At least one burner body being part of the at least one burner
• At least one gas connection pipe being part of the gas feeding circuit, to feed gas to the at least one burner
• connection member being part of the gas feeding circuit, for connecting the gas rail to an external feeding pipe
• At least two of said components are made as a single piece of thermosetting or thermoplastic material.
• the single piece may include at least part of the support frame.
• the single piece may include the at least one burner body.
• the at least one burner body includes supports for a thermocouple and a spark plug.
• the single piece may include the gas rail.
• the single piece may include the at least one gas connection pipe.
• the single piece may include the connection member.
• the gas cooking appliance comprises a plurality of burner bodies and a plurality of gas connection pipes, each connection pipe being designed to feed gas from the gas rail to a corresponding burner body, and the single piece includes all the burner bodies and all the connection pipes.
• the single piece may also include also a plurality of joints connecting with each other different parts of the single piece.
• the support frame comprises a horizontal plate having at least one seat for hosting said at least one burner and this plate is made of thermosetting or thermoplastic material.
• the support frame may comprise at least one crossbar holding said at least one burner and this crossbar is made of thermosetting or thermoplastic material.
• the support frame may also comprise, on each side of the appliance, two vertical bars (one on the front side and one on the back side of the appliance) and two horizontal bars (one on the top side and one on the bottom side of the appliance) and, in one possible embodiment, these vertical bars and/or these horizontal bars are made of thermosetting or thermoplastic material.
• the gas cooking appliance may advantageously comprise a plurality of burners, each burner including a burner body, and all the burner bodies may be made of thermosetting or thermoplastic material.
• the gas feeding circuit may comprise a plurality of gas connection pipes to feed gas to said burners, and all the gas connection pipes may be made of thermosetting or thermoplastic material.
• the present invention relates to a process for producing a gas cooking appliance comprising at least the following components:
• connection member suitable to connect the rail to an external feeding pipe to receive a gas
• ⁇ at least a connection pipe suitable to feed the gas from the rail to the burner body
• thermosetting or thermoplastic material at least one of said components and then assembling together said components.
• the step of moulding preferably comprises moulding together with a thermosetting or thermoplastic material at least two of said components so as to form a single piece.
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of part of a cooking hob (or cooktop) according to the present invention
• FIG. 2 is a top view of the same part of the cooking hob of Figure 1 ;
• FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a burner that is part of the cooking hob of Figure 1 ;
• FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cooking hob of Figure 1 , in which also a top plate (or plateau) is shown;
• FIG. 5 shows an elbow connection to connect part of the cooking hob of the present invention with an external feeding pipe
• FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a free standing cooker a cooking system according to the present invention.
• Figures 1 and 2 show part of a gas cooking hob 1 according to a first embodiment the present invention.
• the hob 1 comprises a lower supporting frame (or plate) 2, a plurality of burners 3 and a gas feeding circuit 4.
• the supporting plate 2 is a cup-shaped planar rectangular body, laying horizontally, designed to support a plurality of other components described below.
• the burners 3 are positioned in predetermined points of the frame 2. In the present embodiment there are four burners 3 positioned according to the vertices of a square or a rectangle.
• each burner 3 comprises: - a burner body 5, which is held by the supporting frame 2, in particular fixed to the frame 2;
• Venturi-type central vertical tubular element for air/gas mixing, which in the present embodiment is integral with the burner crown 6, but in a different embodiment could be also a separate piece;
• a gas injector 14 to eject a gas flow into the Venturi-type element, and which can be integrated in the burner body;
• thermocouple 16 integral with the burner body 5 in the present embodiment
• the gas feeding circuit 4 comprises:
• a gas rail 8 extending along one side of the frame 2 and suitable to be connected to an external gas feeding pipe (not shown) to receive the combustion gas;
• connection member 19 (see Figure 5), preferably of a "elbow” type, to connect the gas rail 8 with the external gas feeding pipe;
• valves 9 arranged along the gas rail 8, in a number corresponding to the number of burners 3 (four in the present embodiment), to regulate the gas flow;
• the hob 1 also comprises a top plate (or work plate) 12, which is arranged onto the lower supporting plate 2 to define there between a space where the gas feeding circuit is arranged.
• the top plate 1 2 has a plurality of holes where the burners 3 can extend through.
• the hob 1 further comprises a plurality of knobs 13 (only one of which is represented in Figure 4) connected to the valves 9.
• thermosetting or thermoplastic material are realized in a thermosetting or thermoplastic material and are preferably made integral with each other in one piece by means of a moulding process.
• thermosetting or thermoplastic material can be selectively made of a thermosetting or thermoplastic material by an injection moulding process:
• the burner bodies 5 possibly including the supports 17 and 18 for the thermocouple 16 and the spark plug 15, respectively;
• thermocouple 16 this part cannot be made of thermosetting and thermoplastic material because of the presence of electrical components.
• the present invention it is also particularly advantageous to integrate in a single piece two or more of the above parts, by means of a single moulding process.
• the following parts could be made integral with each other: the supporting frame 2 and the burner bodies 5, the supporting frame 2 and the gas rail 8, the supporting frame 2 and the connection pipes 10 or part thereof, the gas rail 8 and the elbow connection 19, each burner body with at least a part of the connection pipe 10.
• the parts that are not made in one piece can be assembled with the other parts according to traditional fixing techniques.
• the parts that are not made in one piece can be made of thermosetting or thermoplastic material as well, by means of a separate moulding process, and then assembled with the others by means of traditional fixing techniques.
• thermosetting and thermoplastic materials defined by the following ranges of parameters are particularly suitable for the scope of the present invention.
• the injection time can be defined as the polimerization time Thermoplastic Materials
• HDT heat deflection temperature 220 - 280 ⁇ C
• the injection time can be defined as the polymerization time
• FIG. 6 shows another type of appliance, in particular a free standing cooker 101 , realized according to the present invention.
• the free standing cooker 101 comprises a support frame 102, a plurality of burners 103 rigidly connected, directly or indirectly, to the support frame 102, and a gas feeding circuit 104.
• the burners 1 03 can be made as previously described with reference to Figure 3.
• the support frame 102 comprises an assembly of elongated structural elements placed vertically or horizontally along the perimeter of the appliance so as to form the skeleton thereof, to which the externals panels, such as the side panels 151 of Figure 6, and the various internal parts, are connected.
• the supporting frame 102 could comprise, on each side of the appliance, two vertical bars 141 (one on the front and one on the back of the appliance) and two horizontal bars 142 (one on the top and one on the bottom of the appliance), forming respective rectangular bodies.
• the support frame 102 also comprises two crossbars 144 extending parallel to each other between the two horizontal bars 142 so as to define supporting elements for the burners 103.
• the burners 103 are rigidly connected to the crossbars 144.
• the bars 141 , 142 and 144 may be made of thermosetting and thermoplastic material.
• all the mentioned bars can be made of thermosetting and thermoplastic material, and in another possible embodiment only the crossbars 144 is made of thermosetting and thermoplastic material while the bars 141 and 142 are made of another material, preferably metal.
• the cooker 1 01 also comprises a top plate, not represented in Figure 6, having substantially the same shape and function of the top plate 12 of the hob 1 previously described.
• the two crossbars 144 may be missing, and the burners 103 may be directly held by the top plate.
• the burners 103 are rigidly connected to the support frame 102, formed by the bars 141 and 142, through (i.e. by means of) the top plate.
• the gas feeding circuit 104 comprises connection pipes 1 10, one for each burner, a rail 108 similar to the one of the hob 1 , and a connection member (not shown) to connect the gas rail with the external gas feeding pipe.
• thermosetting or thermoplastic material At least one, but preferably more than one, of these components is realized in a thermosetting or thermoplastic material. If two or more components are made of thermosetting or thermoplastic material, these components can be possibly made integral with each other in one piece by means of a moulding process. In particular, it is possible to make of a thermosetting or thermoplastic material one or more of the following components:
• the burner bodies 5 possibly including the supports for the thermocouple and the spark plug, respectively;
• connection pipes 1 10 • the connection pipes 1 10 or part thereof.
• the burners could be made according to different designs known in the art, such as with more than one flame crowns and a more complex structure.
• the injectors could be also considered as part of the gas feeding circuit and be integrated with the connecting pipes.
• the connector 19 can be of a different type than an elbow connector.
• the present invention offers several advantages over the prior art.
• thermoplastic component(s) made by the moulding process can be easily and quickly assembled with the other parts, and this advantage provides benefit in both the production process and possible maintenance/repair process, where the apparatus must be disassembled and then assembled again.

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Citations (5)

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• 2010
  • 2010-03-18 EP EP10156864.0A patent/EP2366953B1/en active Active
• 2011
  • 2011-03-03 US US13/581,501 patent/US20130000630A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2011-03-03 CN CN201180014406.XA patent/CN102834672B/zh active Active
  • 2011-03-03 WO PCT/EP2011/053216 patent/WO2011113705A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2011-03-03 RU RU2012144284/03A patent/RU2556742C2/ru active
  • 2011-03-03 BR BR112012023436A patent/BR112012023436A2/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2011-03-03 AU AU2011229358A patent/AU2011229358B2/en active Active

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