Cooking device

Abstract

 The domestic cooking appliance comprises a gas atmospheric burner having a body of the burner (3) and a removable delivery head (4), as well as a cooking grill (2) with a plurality of radial support arms (5a, 5b, 5c, 5d) connected to one another by means of a lower flange (6). The lower flange (6) of the grill (2) has a central hole so as to fit about the delivery head (4) of the burner, and the entire grill (2) is supported by a cooking surface (1). The appliance comprises centering means (7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 11a, 11b) of said grill (2) in relation to the body of the burner (3), allowing said grill (2) to slide axially in relation to the body of the burner (3).

Description

[0001] The present invention refers to a domestic cooking appliance of the type comprising at least one gas atmospheric burner and at least one corresponding cooking grill having radial support arms connected to one another by a lower flange, which may be used in particular in cooking plates made of pyroceram or some other brittle material.

[0002] The increasing popularity of cooking plates made of pyroceram provided with gas atmospheric burners, due to the ease of maintenance of these plates as well as to aesthetic reasons, has posed the problem for the companies in this sector of how to make these items ever more functional and cheap.

[0003] A serious drawback which arises from the combination of burners and cooking grills, usually made from metal, with plates made from pyroceram, or some other brittle material, is due to the impossibility of fixing the metallic parts to the pyroceram plate without a gap.

[0004] The different coefficients of thermal expansion and the differing thermic inertia of the two materials mean that if the parts made of different materials were not free to move in relation to one another, there would be great internal stress and consequent breakage of the brittle material.

[0005] Moreover, it is difficult and not economically advantageous to make moulded pyroceram plates with projecting parts or hollows for holding the parts to be fixed to the plate.

[0006] In particular, unlike the usual metal cooking surfaces which are moulded in order to create points for housing the cooking grills, it is common practice, when using plates made from brittle material, to provide grills with a seal on the lower surface of the flange.

[0007] A static friction is generated between the seal, generally made of some plastic material, and the plate made of pyroceram or some other brittle material, which is sufficient to ensure that the grill is quite stable on the cooking surface.

[0008] But the gradual loss of elasticity of the seal over time and the corresponding reduction of the coefficient of friction, mean that above mentioned solution is not particularly effective, especially in the long term.

[0009] An alternative solution, illustrated in United States patent no. 5.046.477 under the name of Bennett, employs grills with radial arms which are designed in such a way that moulded crossbars partially overlap with collars located at the heads of the burners. The use of a single grill for two burners makes it possible moreover to avoid undesirable rotation of said grill with respect to the cooking surface.

[0010] However, a disadvantage of the above solution lies in the difficulty of moving the grill, a necessary operation, for example, when cleaning the cooking plate, because of the bulkiness and dimensions of the grill itself.

[0011] It is an object of the present invention to supply a cooking appliance of the type comprising at least one gas atmospheric burner and at least one corresponding cooking grill with radial support arms, particularly suitable for use with cooking plates made of pyroceram, or brittle material, which solves the above mentioned problems.

[0012] A further object of the present invention is to create a cooking appliance which allows for ease of maintenance of the cooking plate upon which it is housed.

[0013] These objects are achieved by the present invention as claimed in the main claim.

[0014] The domestic cooking appliance according to the present invention comprises a gas atmospheric burner having a body of the burner and a removable delivery head, as well as a cooking grill with radial support arms connected to one another by a lower flange. Moreover, this flange has a central hole which makes it possible to fit the grill about the delivery head of the burner. The radial arms grill and the burner are coupled by means of centering means which allow said grill to slide axially in relation to the body of the burner.

[0015] According to a particular aspect of the present invention, the centering means comprise at least one matching element integral with the body of the burner so that it may fit into a hole located in the flange of the grill. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cooking appliance provided with the centering means of the grill, with respect to the body of the burner has a delivery head of the burner comprising a protruding collar which partially overlaps with the flange of said grill.

[0016] A preferred embodiment of the invention will be shown in order to illustrate the invention but not limitative thereof, in the appended figures, where:

figure 1 is a plan view of the grill and the body of the burner of the cooking appliance according to the present invention;

figure 2 is a side section view of the appliance in figure 1, wherein the delivery head of the burner has been added.

[0017] With reference to the figures, the appliance according to the invention comprises a cooking grill 2 and a gas atmospheric burner comprising a body of the burner 3 and a removable delivery head 4. The body of the burner 3 is fixed in a known manner to the cooking surface 1 made of pyroceram or some other brittle material.

[0018] The grill 2 comprises four radial arms 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d, suited to supporting domestic cooking utensils, connected to one another by a lower flange 6. Moreover there is a hole in the centre of the flange 6 for coupling with the head of the burner 3.

[0019] The head of the burner 3 comprises, in turn, two screws 7a and 7b, which extend in the same direction as the axis of the burner and are perfectly symmetrical to it, fitted into corresponding internal threads in the brackets 8a and 8b which are integral with the body of the burner 4. The heads of the screws 7a and 7b, designed so as to protrude from the upper surface of the plate 1, are housed in the housings 11a and 11b along the inner perimeter of the flange 6 itself.

[0020] The flange 6 comprises other housings for the use of the grill 2 with appliances fitted with a thermocouple 13 and a spark plug 12. The arms 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d are also provided with supports 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d made of rubber or another plastic material in order to prevent direct contact between the surface 1 and the aforementioned arms 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d of the grill 2.

[0021] Finally, the delivery head 4 of the burner, which is inserted into the body of the burner 3, is provided with a collar 10 which partially overlaps with the flange 6.

[0022] The cooking appliance according to this preferred embodiment of the invention can be assembled easily and has the advantage of being extremely practical to use. In fact, once the body of the burner 3 has been connected in a known manner to the surface 1, due to the centering means 7a, 7b and 11a, 11b, it is particularly easy to fit the cooking grill 2 in the correct position and therefore insert the delivery head 4 into the burner 3.

[0023] When, in order to clean the plate 1 from any cooking residual, it is necessary to remove the grill 2 and the delivery head 4, it is sufficient to lift the grill 2 in order to move both parts, due to the partial overlapping of the collar 10 on the flange 6.

[0024] Moreover, when using cooking plates made of brittle material, such as ceramics, glass or pyroceram, the means for centering the grill in relation to the body of the burner, according to the present invention, allow for precise and stable positioning of said grill which does not depend on the friction of the seals on the cooking plate.

Claims

1. A domestic cooking appliance of the type comprising a gas atmospheric burner having a body of the burner (3) and a removable delivery head (4), as well as a cooking grill (2) with a plurality of radial support arms (5a, 5b, 5c, 5d) connected to one another by means of a lower flange (6) which has a central hole so as to fit about said delivery head (4), said grill (2) being supported by a cooking surface (1), characterized in that it comprises centering means (7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 11a, 11b) of said grill (2) in relation to said body of the burner (3), said centering means (7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 11a, 11b) allowing said grill (2) to slide axially in relation to said body of the burner (3).

2. An appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that said centering means comprise at least one housing (11a, 11b) in said lower flange (6) and at least one matching element (7a, 7b) integral with the body of the burner (3) for coupling with said housing (11a, 11b).

3. An appliance according to claim 2, characterized in that said at least one matching element is a screw (7a, 7b) which fits at one end into a bracket (8a, 8b) integral with said body of the burner (3).

4. An appliance according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said radial arms (5a, 5b, 5c, 5d) have support means (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d) for positioning on a cooking surface (1).

5. An appliance according to claim 4, characterized in that said support means (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d) are shims made of synthetic material.

6. An appliance according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said delivery head (4) of the burner comprises a protruding collar (10) which is fastened to it, said collar (10) overlapping at least partially with said flange (6) of said grill (2).

7. A method for the achievement and assembly of a domestic cooking appliance comprising a gas atmospheric burner having a body of the burner and a removable delivery head provided with a protruding collar, and a cooking grill with a plurality of radial support arms connected to one another by a lower flange with a central hole to surround said delivery head, said grill being supported by a cooking surface and said collar at least partially overlapping said flange, characterized in that it comprises the following phases:

- supply centering means of said grill in relation to said body of the burner, said centering means allowing said grill to slide axially in relation to said burner;

- fix said body of the burner to said cooking surface

- fit said grill to said body of the burner by means of said centering means;

- fit said delivery head of the burner by insertion to said body of the burner, said protruding collar of said delivery head at least partially overlapping with said flange of said grill.

8. The use of a domestic cooking appliance according to any of the claims from 1 to 6, for use with cooking surfaces made of pyroceram or other brittle material.

Drawing