The present invention relates to a gas burner consisting of a body with a grooved diffuser-ring and a grooved diffuser-cap.

Single diffuser-cap burners are already known in the field, for example from prior art patent documents GB 1370326, US 4518346, US 2006/051718, and US 1923393.

The diffuser-cap is placed on the upper part of the gas burner body, thus, creating a chamber where the gas enters after having been mixed with oxygen. This air-gas mixture exits evenly through the burner via the diffuser-cap, where it is ignited, providing an equally distributed temperature at the bottom of the cookware that comes in contact with it.

The maximum capacity of the burner is fixed and cannot be altered. Therefore, should the user need to modify the capacity of the appliance that is comprised of such burners, they are unable to do so. For example, if the maximum firing capacity of the burner has to be increased or reduced, the user is obliged to change the whole appliance, an option that proves to be uneconomical. Furthermore, a highly efficient gas burner has a large diameter burner body and a large diameter diffuser. Consequently, when used with cookware of smaller diameters and for a smaller quantity of food, it is insufficient to only reduce the flow of gas by adjusting the gas control system, as the disproportionate size of the cookware will result in energy losses and an uneven temperature distribution inside the pot.

The advantage of this invention is that even after the purchase and use of an appliance that is comprised of the proposed gas burners, the maximum capacity of each burner can be changed economically or without energy losses, according to the user' s needs.

The key feature of the gas burner in the present invention is that its grooved diffuser consists of two separate parts: the grooved diffuser-ring and the grooved diffuser-cap. Hence, it is possible - by removing or adding the grooved diffuser-ring, by changing the gas injector and by regulating the primary air- to adjust the maximum capacity of the burner. The grooves of the diffuser enable to control the angle that shapes the flame around the burner, thus determining the final diameter of the heating zone and consequently that of the cookware. At the same time, their making is easy and does not need special processes so as to achieve the accuracy required for perfect combustion. The diameter of the body and of the grooved diffuser may be relatively small, so that, when only the grooved diffuser-cap is used, a small heating zone is created around the burner for smaller cookware, while when the second grooved diffuser-ring is added, the rise of the flame will create a wider heating zone for bigger pots. Moreover, the cleaning and maintenance of such a burner is very easy, because its main parts, which affect its proper operation, can be controlled most effectively.

• Fig. 1 shows a general perspective view of the gas burner as well as an exploded view of its parts.
• Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the body, the grooved diffuser-ring and the grooved diffuser-cap.
• Fig. 3 shows a side view and a cross-section of the body, the grooved diffuser-ring and the grooved diffuser-cap.

One way of applying this invention is described in relation to the drawings.

The gas burner is comprised of a body (1), the grooved diffuser-ring (2) and the second grooved diffuser-cap (3). The air-gas mixture enters from point (4), while the chamber of the burner is seen in point (5). The angle in combination with the number of grooves (6) helps to control efficiency as well as the shape of the flame around the burner, thus determining the final diameter of the heating zone and, consequently, that of the respective cookware.

In the present drawings the gas burner is provided with only one grooved diffuser-ring, yet it is possible to produce a burner with more than one grooved diffuser-rings.