1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas control knob, and more particularly to a gas control knob for a gas stove or range.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional gas control knob for a gas stove comprises a main body, an end cap mounted on the main body, a throttling cock rotatably mounted in the main body to regulate the gas flow rate, a rotation lever rotatably mounted on the end cap and connected to the throttling cock to control movement of the throttling cock so as to regulate the gas flow rate, and a handle secured on the rotation lever to rotate the rotation lever. However, the conventional gas control knob is operated manually and cannot be operated in a remote control manner, thereby wasting the manual work, and easily causing inconvenience to the user
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a gas control knob that is selectively operated manually or automatically, thereby facilitating a user operating the gas control knob.
Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to the drawings and initially to
The main body 10 has an end face formed with a threaded portion 15. The threaded portion 15 of the main body 10 has a root portion formed with an annular shoulder 17 and a periphery formed with two axially extended splines 16 extended to the shoulder 17.
The second end of the rotation lever 14 has a side formed with an axially extended flattened face 140.
The fixing bracket 20 is mounted on the shoulder 17 of the main body 10 and has an inside formed with a passage 21 to allow passage of the threaded portion 15 of the main body 10. The passage 21 of the fixing bracket 20 has a periphery formed with two radially and inwardly extended keys 22 each mounted in a respective one of the splines 16 of the main body 10 so that the fixing bracket 20 is secured on the main body 10 without rotation. The fixing bracket 20 has a side formed with a mounting bore 24 and a locking hole 25 and has a periphery formed with two spaced pivot ears 26 each formed with a pivot hole 27.
A retaining nut 23 is screwed onto the threaded portion 15 of the main body 10 and rested on the fixing bracket 20 to fix the fixing bracket 20 on the main body 10.
The motor 30 is mounted on the bottom of the fixing bracket 20 and has a drive worm 32 protruding from the fixing bracket 20. The motor 30 has an end face provided with a bushing 31 mounted in the mounting bore 24 of the fixing bracket 20 and formed with a screw bore 33 secured to the locking hole 25 of the fixing bracket 20 by a bolt (not shown) to secure the motor 30 to the bottom of the fixing bracket 20.
The transmission mechanism 40 includes a shaft 41 mounted on the fixing bracket 20, and a transmission worm 42 rotatably mounted on the shaft 41 and having an end provided with a transmission wormwheel 43 meshing with and rotated by the drive worm 32 of the motor 30. The shaft 41 of the transmission mechanism 40 is mounted between the two pivot ears 26 of the fixing bracket 20 and has two ends each mounted in the respective pivot hole 27 of the fixing bracket 20. Thus, the motor 30 is operated in a wire control manner or a remote control manner to drive and rotate the transmission worm 42.
The clutch mechanism 50 includes a fixing disk 51 secured on the second end of the rotation lever 14 to rotate the rotation lever 14, a driven wormwheel 52 meshing with and rotated by the transmission worm 42 and urged on the fixing disk 51 to rotate the fixing disk 51, a snap ring 54 mounted on the second end of the rotation lever 14, and a spring 53 mounted on the second end of the rotation lever 14 and biased between the driven wormwheel 52 and the snap ring 54 to push the driven wormwheel 52 toward the fixing disk 51 so that the driven wormwheel 52 is urged on the fixing disk 51 closely.
The fixing disk 51 has a surface provided with a plurality of protruding balls 512 and has a central portion formed with a co-axial hub 510 having a fixing hole 511 mounted on the second end of the rotation lever 14. The fixing hole 511 of the fixing disk 51 has a side formed with an axially extended flattened face 5110 rested on the flattened face 140 of the rotation lever 14 so that the fixing disk 51 secured on the second end of the rotation lever 14.
The driven wormwheel 52 has a surface formed with a plurality of ball holes 521 (see
Referring to
Alternatively, the rotation lever 14 is directly rotated manually so as to regulate the gas flow rate of the gas stove manually. At this time, the fixing disk 51 is rotated by the rotation lever 14, and the driven wormwheel 52 is disposed at a stationary state when the motor 30 is not operated. In such a manner, the fixing disk 51 is rotated relative to the driven wormwheel 52, and the protruding balls 512 of the fixing disk 51 are detached from the ball holes 521 of the driven wormwheel 52 to push the driven wormwheel 52 upward to overcome the elastic force of the spring 53, so that the fixing disk 51 slips from the driven wormwheel 52, thereby interrupting the power transmission between the fixing disk 51 and the driven wormwheel 52. Thus, the clutch mechanism 50 is separated from the transmission mechanism 40 and the motor 30 when the rotation lever 14 is rotated manually.
Accordingly, the gas control knob is selectively operated manually or automatically, thereby facilitating a user operating the gas control knob.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the invention.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2203613 | Cyr | Jun 1940 | A |
4686863 | Inoue et al. | Aug 1987 | A |
5345834 | Hayashi | Sep 1994 | A |
5570606 | Irie | Nov 1996 | A |
6257271 | Babin et al. | Jul 2001 | B1 |
6471580 | Ro | Oct 2002 | B1 |