The present invention relates to a sealing element which is suitable for use in button-controlled cooking devices, especially cooktops, and provides liquid sealing at openings of control elements which are located on a plate of the cooktop.
Gas and/or electric heaters are used in cooking devices (especially in cooktops) that are used for cooking foods. Such heaters are controlled by at least one button and, preferably, by a control element which is connected with the button. While using the cooking device, a part or liquid part of the food may spill onto the button from a pan or kitchen utensils as spoons, ladles or plates. In this case, if exposed parts of the hole for accessing the control element that is connected with the button are sealed with a sealing element, parts or liquid parts of the food are prevented from leaking into the product.
However, since the cooking devices are generally mass-produced, some problems may occur as failure of inserting the sealing element fully into the hole provided on the plate of the cooking device or wear/tear of the sealing element while being inserted. Moreover, failure of inserting the sealing member fully into the hole causes an increase in insertion time and accordingly the production period of the cooking device. In addition, in case the sealing member wears off due to use of the cooking device, the sealing member should be replaced. In this case, since it is a difficult and corrosive process to insert existing sealing elements, service life of the new sealing element to be inserted into the cooking device is also decreased.
An example for solving said problem is disclosed in published patent document no.
A sealing element according to the invention is suitable to use, in a cooking device comprising at least one plate suitable for positioning a cooking vessel thereon for cooking process; at least one heater providing heat to the cooking vessel for the cooking process; at least one button for controlling the cooking process; and at least one hole provided on the plate for receiving the button; for prevention of leakage of a part and/or liquid part of foods through the hole upon being positioned at the hole, wherein the sealing element comprises at least one body which has at least one opening extending longitudinally therein and at least one wall extending around the opening; at least one upper flange located at a first side of the body so that at least a side of the upper flange is connected with the wall, having at least a first width which extends away from the wall in a horizontal plane, and suitable for being placed on an upper surface of the plate which is provided at a part thereof intersecting with the hole; and at least one lower flange which is suitable for being placed on a lower surface of the plate provided at a part thereof intersecting with the hole, which is located at the first side of the body below the upper flange so that at least one side of the lower flange is connected with the wall, and which comprises at least a first part in the form of an arc section having at least a first width in the horizontal plane, at least a second part in the form of an arc section located opposite to the first part and having at least a second width in the horizontal plane that is larger than the first width, and at least a third part which couples opposing ends of the first part and the second part.
With the sealing element according to the present invention, a part and/or liquid part of foods are prevented from leaking through the hole provided on the plate in the button-controlled cooking devices. Thanks to the structure of the sealing element, wear and/or tear risks are minimised during processes of insertion into and removal from the hole which is provided at the plate of the cooktop. Therefore, an easy-to-use, practical and reliable sealing element is achieved.
An object of the present invention is to provide a sealing element for button-controlled cooking devices, especially for cooktops.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a sealing element which is located at the plate of the cooking device and provides sealing at the holes in which the button is located.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a sealing element which is located at the plate of the cooking device and prevents problems as wear or tear during insertion and removal of the button into and from the holes where it is located.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an easy-to-assemble, practical and reliable sealing element.
Exemplary embodiments of the sealing element according to the present invention are illustrated in the attached drawings, in which:
All the parts illustrated in figures are individually assigned a reference numeral and the corresponding terms of these numbers are listed below:
Gas and/or electric heaters provided in cooking devices which are used for cooking foods are controlled by at least one button and preferably a control panel which is connected with the button. The button is located at the holes so that it is preferably connected with the control panel, wherein the holes are provided on the plate of the cooking device. Exposed parts of the hole in which the button is located are sealed by means of a sealing element to prevent parts or liquid parts of the food from reaching the control panel. However, since the cooking devices are generally produced in an assembly line, some problems may occur as failure of inserting the sealing element fully into the hole provided on the plate of the cooking device or wear/tear of the sealing element while being inserted. Moreover, in case the sealing element is required to be replaced, service life of the sealing element is decreased because the insertion and removal processes are difficult and corrosive. Within this context, the present invention provides a sealing element for button-controlled cooking devices.
The sealing element (S), exemplary embodiments of which are illustrated in
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, in the cooktops which can be controlled by a button, the button is preferably located at the end parts of the control element which are exposed by the holes provided on the plate (T) of the cooking device such that a distance is provided between the plate (T) of the cooktop and the button, and at least a part of the button extends through the hole into the cooking device. The sealing element (S) which is inserted into the holes and preferably produced as a monolithic structure covers the distance between the button and the plate (T) of the cooktop so that the parts or liquid parts of the food are prevented from leaking through the hole and reaching the lower part of the plate (T) (e.g. a control panel provided at this lower part). For that reason, the sealing element (S) is passed through the hole by bending the lower flange (3) preferably from an area where the second part (3b) and the third part (3c) forming the outer wall thereof engages such that the upper flange (2) preferably having a circular cross sectional area (in other words, e.g. in the form of a ring) is at the upper surface of the plate (T) which is provided at a part thereof intersecting with the hole. By this way, upper surface of the lower flange (3) is placed at the lower surface of the plate (T) provided at a part intersecting with the hole. In other words, the lower flange (3) and the upper flange (2) form a channel structure and the parts of the plate (T) intersecting with the hole is fixed in that channel. In this placement, the wall (4) forming the body of the sealing element (S) covers the gap which is to be formed due to the distance between the button and the plate (T) of the cooktop. Therefore, when the parts and/or liquid parts of the food are spilled onto the part where the hole is provided, the parts and/or the liquid parts which have been spilled are effectively prevented from leaking through hole and reaching the lower part of the plate (T). In addition, thanks to such a channel structure, the parts and/or liquid parts of the food are able to be prevented from reaching the lower flange (3) even if the parts and/or liquid parts of the food leak through the upper flange (2).
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sealing element (S) according to the invention is preferably made of silicon material. Thus, the lower flange (3) easily stretches when it is bent for inserting the sealing element (S) into the hole provided on the plate (T), and passes through the hole without wearing or tearing.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sealing element (S) according to the invention comprises at least one protrusion (5) which is provided at a side of the outer edge of the upper flange (2) corresponding to the first part (3a) (preferably provided at the middle of the side of the outer edge of the upper flange (2) corresponding to the first side (3a)), which, preferably, has a narrowing structure away from the center of the opening (1a), and which indicates the direction that the lower flange (3) is removed out of the plate (T) (in other words, the direction that indicates the first part (3a) of the lower flange (3)). When the sealing element (S) is required to be removed out of the hole, the sealing element (S) is removed after being pulled from the side where the protrusion (5) is provided. Therefore, the sealing element (S) is removed out of the hole without being deformed.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, arc section form of the first part (3a) of the sealing element (S) according to the invention has an elliptical section or a circle section form.
In another embodiment of the invention, arc section form of the second part (3b) of the sealing element (S) according to the invention has an elliptical section or a circle section form.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the third part (3c) of the sealing element (S) according to the invention is a part which has a flat form, which passes along at least one side of the first part (3a) (preferably passing along at least one end of the first side (3a)), and which corresponds to a part remaining in between a point of at least one tangent line where the tangent line contacts the first part (3a) and a point thereof intersecting with an end of the second part (3b) (the end of the second part (3b) is the end which is close to the tangent line or the opposite end thereof where the tangent line passes). By this way, it is provided that the lower flange (3) is easily bent by the person who inserts the sealing element (S), thereby achieving a sealing element (S) which can be easily inserted and removed.
While the body (1) may have a cylindrical form in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the body (1), in another preferred embodiment of the invention, has preferably a truncated cone form whose surface area of the base connected with the upper flange (2) is smaller than the surface are of the other base.
With the sealing element (S) according to the present invention, a part and/or liquid part of foods are prevented from leaking through the hole provided on the plate (T) in the button-controlled cooking devices. Thanks to the structure of the sealing element (S), wear and/or tear risks are minimised during processes of insertion into and removal from the hole which is provided at the plate of the cooktop. Therefore, an easy-to-use, practical and reliable sealing element (S) is achieved.
This list of references cited by the applicant is for the reader's convenience only. It does not form part of the European patent document. Even though great care has been taken in compiling the references, errors or omissions cannot be excluded and the EPO disclaims all liability in this regard.