Gas Cooktop With Integral Burners

Abstract

A gas cooktop that is provided with a plurality of integral burners such that the cooktop may be hinged adjacent its rear edge to an underlying support housing so that the cooktop may be raised in the front for cleaning and servicing therebeneath. Each integral burner has a burner opening in the cooktop and an annular pan sealed about its inner and outer peripheries to the underside of the cooktop to form a burner manifold. Downwardly inclined radial gas ports are formed in the manifold to create a flame pattern within the burner opening. A separate source of secondary air is furnished beneath each burner and the air comes from all sides to flow through the burner opening by using a partitioned cover plate beneath the cooktop. A utensil-supporting grid is centered over each burner and it has a central annular flame spreader and an outer flame diverter to keep the cooktop from being overheated in the area surrounding each burner.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The average homemaker is interested in kitchen appliances which are reasonable in cost, efficient and reliable in operation and easy to keep clean. During everyday cooking operations, there is always a certain amount of spillage, spattering and boilovers, and accumulations of such food soil are found beneath the cooktop of a range or built-in appliance. Accordingly, it is of advantage to the user to be able to lift the cooktop and clean therebeneath. The appliance serviceman also appreciates the convenience of a movable cooktop.

The principle object of the present invention is to provide a gas cooktop with an integral surface burner of improved design and a gas feed line carried thereby such that the cooktop may be raised as a unit for cleaning and servicing therebeneath.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a gas cooktop with a plurality of surface burners and a partitioned cover plate therebeneath to provide a separate and generally uniform secondary air supply system for each burner where each air supply is independent of the air supplies for the other burners.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a gas cooktop with integral surface burner means and a utensil-supporting grid with a flame spreader for enlarging the overall size of the flame pattern while rendering the flame pattern more uniformly distributed beneath a utensil, as well as an outer flame diverter to keep the cooktop from being overheated in the area surrounding each burner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in accordance with one form thereof, relates to a gas cooktop having at least one integral surface burner. The cooktop has a burner opening formed therein for admitting secondary air. A pan having an opening coinciding with the burner opening is attached to the underside of the cooktop about both its inner and outer peripheral edges to form a burner manifold. A plurality of radial gas ports are formed in the manifold opening into the burner opening to create a concentrated flame pattern within the opening. An air distribution system underlies the cooktop and furnishes secondary air to each burner independent of the air supply of any other burner. A utensil-supporting grid overlies each burner and it includes a central flame spreader and an outer flame diverter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Our invention will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gas range embodying the cooktop design of the present invention, where the cooktop is shown in a temporary raised position to expose the integral surface burners formed therebeneath, as well as showing a partitioned cover plate to form an individual air distribution system for each burner as well as means for containing food spillage and preventing the spillage from running down into the oven insulation.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional elevational view through one of the integral surface burners of FIG. 1, but on an enlarged scale, to show the particular nature of the burner design, as well as the incorporation of a utensil-supporting grid centered over the burner and made in conjunction with a flame spreader to enlarge the area of the flame pattern beneath a utensil, as well as a flame diverter to keep the cooktop from being overheated.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the integral surface burner of FIG. 2 showing the utensil-supporting grid centered over the burner and having a flame spreader formed in the center of the grid as well as an outer flame diverter to overlie the burner opening.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale of one corner of the partitioned cover plate beneath the hinged cooktop to show the square shallow pan configuration with air inlet openings formed in the four sides to deliver secondary air from all sides of the burner.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Turning now to a consideration of the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1, there is shown for illustrative purposes a free-standing gas range 10 formed with an outer body or cabinet structure 11 that incorporates a generally rectangular gas cooktop 13 (shown in FIG. 1 in a temporary raised position) that is formed over a lower oven 14 having a front-opening access door 15. A range backsplash 17 is formed along the back edge of the cooktop 13 and it rises above the cooktop to contain and display the various control components for both the burners of the cooktop 13 and the oven 14 therebeneath. A utensil drawer 20 is shown beneath the oven. An alternative to this utensil drawer 20 would be to provide a separate gas broiler oven in this space as is quite common in the gas range art.

The oven 14 is isolated from the cooktop 13 by a partitioned cover plate 22 of shallow drawn configuration so that any spillage of liquids or food onto the cooktop 13 will not drain down and contaminate the thermal insulation of the oven 14. This cover plate 22 has four generally square depressions 6, 7, 8 and 9, one depression beneath each burner of the cooktop 13. Hinge means 24 are formed adjacent the rear edge of the cooktop for hinging the cooktop to the back portion of the range body 11 such that the cooktop may be raised at the front for servicing and cleaning therebeneath.

Looking at the underside of the cooktop 13 it is clear that there are four integral surface burners 25-28 carried therebeneath. For a better understanding of the construction of the surface burners, attention is directed to the cross-sectional elevational view of FIG. 2 which is of the burner 25. The cooktop 13 is provided with a circular burner opening 30. The immediate area of the cooktop encircling the burner opening 30 is depressed or drawn downward so that the burner opening is actually disposed beneath the plane of the cooktop 13. There is a first beveled collar 32 surrounding the burner opening 30, and a slight circular depression 34 surrounds the beveled collar 32. Notice that there is a slight rise in elevation of the cooktop in the area separating the depression 34 from the beveled collar 32, such as the ring at 35. This is done so that the depression 34 serves to collect most of the minor spillage or boilovers that might occur. The elevation of the ring 35 is slightly beneath the plane of the cooktop 13 such that when the depression 34 becomes filled with liquids or spillage, the overflow will be directed toward the central burner opening 30 rather than spreading out over the surface of the cooktop 13.

An annular pan 37 is adapted to be attached by welding or mechanical fastening means to the underside of the cooktop 13 for forming a burner manifold 39. This annular pan 37 has a circular opening 41 that substantially coincides with the burner opening 30 in the cooktop 13. This pan opening 41 is surrounded by a beveled surface 42 that is formed at substantially the same angle as the beveled collar 32 of the cooktop 13. This beveled surface 32 of the pan 37 is formed with a plurality of spaced, radial corrugations 44 which surround the burner opening 30. These depressions are adapted to be closed on the top side by the beveled collar 32 of the cooktop thereby forming a series of radial gas ports 44 which are open at the peripheral edge of the burner opening 30 and communicate back into the interior of the burner manifold 39.

The pan 37 has a rather large annular depression 46 generally underlying the relatively shallow depression 34 in the cooktop. The outer peripheral edge of the pan 37 formed with an outwardly directed horizontal flange 48 so that the pan may be seam welded or mechanically fastened or sealed to the underside of the cooktop 13. The inner peripheral edge of the pan is also sealed to the edge of the burner opening 30, of course leaving open the gas ports 44. These gas ports serve to establish a starlike flame pattern within the burner opening 30 which tends to flame upwardly in the center.

A ringlike flame spreader 52 is centered over the burner opening 30, but it is vertically spaced above the opening for enlarging the flame pattern beneath a utensil. This flame spreader 52 is shown supported as a ring member or a hollow inverted truncated cone that is an integral part of a utensil-supporting grid 54, which is generally of cross-shape, as is best seen in the plan view of FIG. 3. Of course, it will be recognized that this flame spreader 52 may be fashioned as a separate element from the grid member 54. An outer flame diverter 55 of inclined ring shape is fashioned adjacent the edge of the cooktop 13 surrounding the burner to keep this area of the cooktop from being overheated by turning up the flame pattern if the flame reaches the diverter. Also air would be drawn in from the outside to flow under the diverter and provide more of a cooling action.

Looking at FIG. 1, and particularly at the underside of the cooktop 13, a main gas line 58 extends from behind the oven 14 toward the front of the cooktop, along the central portion thereof, and it is joined to an inlet gas manifold 60 that is assembled on the underside of the cooktop. Extending out of this inlet gas manifold 60 is a separate gas feed line for each surface burner; such as feed line 65 for burner 25, feed line 66 for burner 26, feed line 67 for burner 27 and feed line 68 for burner 28. Notice that each feed line is provided with a venturi tube and air mixture nozzle 70 where the feed line connects into the burner manifold 39, preferably at a tangential angle with the manifold so as to create a swirling action of the air and gas mixture entering the manifold 39 to provide generally uniform gas pressures at the gas ports 44 directed toward the center of the burner opening 30. Interposed in each gas feed line 65-68 is a manual gas valve 72 for controlling the passage of gas through the feed line. This valve is provided with a handle (not shown) that is located on the top side of the cooktop and is generally indexed or positioned adjacent or closer to the individual burner which it controls. The main gas line 58 is provided with a flexible elbow, bend or loop (not shown) at the rear edge of the cooktop such that when the cooktop 13 is raised or lowered on its hinges 24, it does not cause a rupture in the main gas line. A central trough 73 is formed in the cover plate 22 to accommodate the main gas line 58 and the manifold 60 and the gas valves 72.

The combined venturi tube and air mixture nozzle 70 for each burner provides primary air to the gas supply for supporting combustion. In addition, secondary air is necessary to support combustion within the burner opening 30. For this purpose vertical air ducts (not shown) are formed up the two sides and rear of the oven 14 and they are generally open adjacent the bottom portion of the range body 11 to create a chimney effect and draw air from the floor of the kitchen up the air ducts to be discharged beneath the cover plate 22. An electric fan (not shown) could be furnished to provide a forced air system. Each surface depression 6, 7, 8 and 9 is provided with an air opening 75 in each side of the depression to provide equal and independent distribution of air to each burner. The air also serves to cool the cover plate 22 and prevents the food soil from being burned in place into a varnishlike substance. This prevents the operation or nonoperation of the other burners from influencing the rate of flow of the secondary air for a particular burner.

Modifications of this invention will occur to those skilled in this art, therefore, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that it is intended to cover all modifications which are within the true spirit and scope of this invention as claimed.

Claims

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A gas cooktop supporting a plurality of integral surface burners, said cooktop comprising a top cooking surface with a burner opening for each of the surface burners, where the peripheral edge of each burner opening is countersunk, a dished annular plate positioned under each burner opening and having an opening coinciding with the adjacent burner opening, said plate being sealed adjacent its inner and outer periphery to the underside of the cooktop to form a burner manifold, a combined gas and primary air feed line connected to the burner manifold, the peripheral edge of the opening in the annular plate being formed with a plurality of spaced radial grooves which parallel the countersunk peripheral edge of the burner opening to form downwardly inclined radial gas ports that communicate with the burner manifold and create a starlike flame pattern in the burner opening.

2. A gas cooktop as recited in claim 1 with a utensil-supporting grid centered over each burner, the center portion of the grid including an annular flame spreader member located above the burner opening for enlarging the overall size of the flame pattern beneath a utensil while rendering the flame more uniformly distributed.

3. A gas cooktop as recited in claim 1 with a partitioned cover plate positioned beneath the cooktop, said partitions forming a shallow pan configuration under each burner, the sides of each pan having air openings for delivering secondary air to the related burner in a generally uniform pattern, such that the secondary air supply to each burner is independent of the air supply of any other burner, and hinge means along the rear edge of the cooktop connecting the cooktop to the said cover plate whereby the cooktop may be raised at the front for servicing and cleaning therebeneath, an inlet gas manifold supported by the cooktop, a main gas line connected to the inlet gas manifold, the said gas and air feed line of each burner manifold being connected into the inlet gas manifold, each gas and air feed line including a manual gas control valve.

4. A gas cooktop as recited in claim 3 with a utensil-supporting grid centered over each burner opening, the grid including an annular flame spreader positioned over but above the burner opening to enlarge the flame pattern beneath a utensil while rendering the flame pattern more uniformly distributed, said grid also including an outer flame diverter to direct the outer periphery of the flame upwardly so as to keep the cooktop from being overheated in the area surrounding each burner.