Cooking hob with combined fixed burners

Abstract

 In a cooking hob including a plurality of fixed burners provided with flame dividers at least two of said fixed burners (1, 2) are arranged at a distance "d" (in mm) between their flame dividers which results from the relation:

where "r₁" and "r₂" are the radiuses (in mm) of the flame dividers of the two burners (1, 2), "p₁" and "p₂" are the powers (in kW) of the two burners (1, 2) and "K" is a uniformity constant of the heat distribution which can take values between 2 and 3. Preferable, the first burner (1) is an elongated burner of rectangular shape with semicircular end portions and the second burner (2) is a circular burner. This arrangement allows the use of the two burners in combination without any operation being necessary and without generation of CO. Furthermore, each burner can be used individually and also simultaneously with the others.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to cooking hobs, both built-in and for gas cookers, and in particular to a cooking hob with at least two combined fixed burners.

[0002] It is known that cooking hobs have different sizes according to the number and power of the burners they include. The burners in turn, in order to spread out heat better, may have flame dividers with one or more name rings and/or have a shape different from the conventional circular shape, e.g. elliptical or rectangular with semicircular ends. Anyway, known burners of the fixed type are provided to be used individually and never combined with another burner.

[0003] There are also examples of rotatable burners, usually elliptical, which are intended to be used in combination with an adjacent burner upon proper orientation thereof. However, these mobile burners are more complicated and expensive to manufacture, and their correct working could be jeopardized due to an incorrect handling by the user. Moreover, the user can burn himself by rotating them with his bare hands before they cool down or he is forced to carry out difficult maneuvers in order to prevent burns.

[0004] On the other hand, for combining fixed burners it is necessary that they are at a comparatively small distance so as to achieve a uniform distribution of heat, yet without provoking a flame interference which causes a poor combustion with generation of carbon monoxide (CO).

[0005] Therefore the object of the present invention is to provide a cooking hob suitable to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks.

[0006] This object is achieved by means of a cooking hob having the characteristics disclosed in claim 1.

[0007] The main advantage of the cooking hob according to the present invention is that of allowing the user to use at least two burners in combination without any operation being necessary and without generation of CO.

[0008] Furthermore, each burner can be used individually and also simultaneously with the others.

[0009] These and other advantages and characteristics of the cooking hob according to the present invention will be clear to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof, with reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

Figs. 1-4 are schematic top plan views of a cooking hob according to the invention with the different possible uses of the burners either individually or in combination; and

Fig.5 is an enlarged view similar to the preceding ones which illustrates the dimensional parameters for the combination of the burners.

[0010] With reference to figs.1-4, there is seen that a cooking hob according to the present invention divided into three sectors (A, B, C) is provided with six burners, among which there are five circular burners of various diameters and an elongated burner 1 having a rectangular shape with semicircular end portions. More specifically, the side sectors (A, C) include four circular burners at conventional distances for individual use, while in the central sector (B) there are aligned the elongated burner 1 and a small-size circular burner 2.

[0011] The distance between the elongated burner 1 and the circular burner 2, calculated as explained further on, is such that each of the two burners can be used individually even while the other one is in use, yet it is possible to use them in combination. For example, the elongated burner 1 can be used for a rectangular pan 1' (fig.1) and the circular burner 2 for a pot 2' (fig.2), even together if needed (fig.3). In case a larger elongated cooking container is required, such as typically a fish-kettle 3', it is possible to arrange it on the two combined burners (fig.4).

[0012] Fig. 5 illustrates the dimensional parameters used in the relation devised by the applicant in order to calculate the correct distance between burners 1 and 2 so as to achieve the objects of the present invention. In particular, "r₁" and "r₂" are defined as the radiuses (in mm) of the flame dividers of the two burners, and "d" is the distance (in mm) between said flame dividers. Furthermore, "p₁" and "p₂" being defined as the powers (in kW) of the two burners, the relation defining the distance "d" is the following:

where "K" is a uniformity constant of the heat distribution which can take values between 2 and 3. For values K<2, the distance "d" is too large to achieve a uniform distribution of heat, whereby the two burners act as separate heat sources. On the contrary, for values K>3 the distance "d" is too small and there is interference between the flames with generation of carbon monoxide (CO).

[0013] As a mere example, it may be considered that conventional burners with powers of 1,05/1,65/3 kW have flame dividers with radiuses of about 22/38/45 mm respectively, whereby the values of the distance turn out to be:





with distance ranges for 2<K<3 which are respectively about 90-136 mm, 127-191 mm and 54-81 mm.

[0014] Obviously, the above-mentioned values are a mere indication, since they may be changed according to the type of burners taken into consideration, e.g. oval burners or multiple-flame burners. In these cases, the values of the radiuses and/or the powers must be corrected to take into account the particular features of these burners.

[0015] It is clear that the above-described and illustrated embodiment of the cooking hob according to the invention is just an example susceptible of various modifications. In particular, the number, power, shape and arrangement of the burners may be freely changed according to specific requirements from case to case.

Claims

1. A cooking hob including a plurality of fixed burners provided with flame dividers, characterized in that at least two of said fixed burners (1, 2) are arranged at a distance "d" (in mm) between their flame dividers which results from the relation:

where "r₁" and "r₂" are the radiuses (in mm) of the flame dividers of the two burners (1, 2), "p₁" and "p₂" are the powers (in kW) of the two burners (1, 2) and "K" is a uniformity constant of the heat distribution which can take values between 2 and 3.

2. A cooking hob according to claim 1, characterized in that the first burner (1) is an elongated burner of rectangular shape with semicircular end portions and the second burner (2) is a circular burner.

Drawing