BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to gas cooking apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus for supporting pots on a burner and to burner systems incorporating such apparatus.
Cooktop grates have been designed to support small and large pots that span the entire area above a burner. However, with the advent of ceramic glass cooktops in which the burner grates for supporting utensils over the burners are formed as an integral part of the cooktop, design constraints on the grate structure may limit the size of the pots that can be satisfactorily supported on such grates. In particular, some small pots could not span the distance between diametrically opposed fingers of such grates.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Some aspects of the present invention therefore provide a supporting structure to cooperate with the integrally formed grate to provide a stable platform for supporting cooking utensils of varying sizes. This supporting structure, hereinafter referred to as the pot support, is formed of heat-conductive material able to withstand gas cooking temperatures without substantial alteration of its shape or composition. The pot support may be configured to rest in a stable position on or proximate to a gas burner head to support a small pot, pan, or other cooking utensil centered on a top of the pot support and to cooperate with fingers of the grate cooktop to support larger such utensils and utensils of various sizes when positioned off-center relative to the burner or grate.
In other aspects, the present invention provides a pot support for a cooktop with an integrally formed grate, in which the pot support includes a cap configured to fit on the gas burner head and a plurality of raised fingers on top of the cap extending radially outward from a center of the cap.
In still other aspects, the present invention provides a burner system having a burner head, a cooktop having an integrally formed grate around the burner head wherein the grate is configured to support a large utensil, and a pot support configured to rest on the burner head. The pot support is configured to support a small utensil when centered thereon or to cooperate with the grate to support a utensil that is positioned or located in an off-center manner over the burner.
It will thus be appreciated that configurations of the present invention provide stability and support for both large and small pots, pans and other cooking utensils, whether centered with respect to a gas burner or not. Also, in various configurations, the support is able to withstand temperatures introduced in the cooking process and avoid inhibiting combustion or cooking performance. These advantages accrue without requiring major modifications to the burner or cooktop surface that would compromise the performance of the unit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view representative of a first burner system configuration including a first pot support configuration of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view representative of a second burner system configuration including a second pot support configuration of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view representative of a third burner system configuration including a third pot support configuration of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the first pot support configuration of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is an inverted side cut-away view of the first pot support configuration of FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a fourth pot support configuration of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a side cut-away view of the pot support configuration of FIG. 6 along a cut indicated by line 7-7 in FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a top plan view of a fifth pot support configuration of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a side cut-away view of the pot support configuration of FIG. 8 along a cut indicated by line 9-9 in FIG. 8.
FIG. 10 is a top plan view of a sixth pot support configuration of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a side cut-away view of the pot support configuration of FIG. 10 along a cut indicated by line 11-11 in FIG. 10.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows a portion of a formed ceramic glass cooktop 14 for a gas surface cooking appliance. The portion of cooktop 14 proximate the opening 15 receiving the burner 16 has integrally formed therein a grate 17 for supporting cooking utensils over the burner 16. Hereinafter, the ceramic glass cooktop with the grate integrally formed therein will be referred to as a “ceramic grate cooktop.” A pot support 12 is provided that rests on a gas burner 116 of burner 16. Support 12 alone or in cooperation with the fingers 18 of grate 17 provides stability to a cooking utensil positioned above the burner 16 that might be too small to span the space between grate fingers on opposing sides of the burner as well as for pots of varying size that might be positioned off center relative to the burner and grate.
Pot support 12 may be formed of any suitable material or materials able to withstand the high temperatures found in gas cooking applications without substantial alteration of its shape or composition, including by way of example and not limitation, cast metal or ceramic glass, the latter being less desirable due to its poorer conductive properties and also configuration limitations. Pot support 12 can be of any shape that can rest on burner head 16 or cooktop surface 14 below in such a way to make pot support 12 sufficiently stable to support a small pot centered on top of it. For larger pots and for off-centered pots (not shown), the shape of pot support 12 is also such that fingers 18 of ceramic grate cooktop 14 cooperate with a surface of the pot support to support the pot. In addition, support 12 is preferably heat conductive to allow proper combustion and air flow such that burner 16 operation is not adversely affected. In general, sufficient airflow is provided around pot support 12 and/or between a cooking utensil and pot support 12 to avoid adversely affecting flame combustion or cause much impingement. In many configurations, a small distance is provided between burner ports (not visible in FIG. 1, but arranged around a periphery of gas burner head 116) and the bottom of support 12 to provide for proper operation. The distance provided depends upon the configuration of burner head 116 and burner ports (not shown) with which pot support 12 is to be used. In some configurations, pot support 12 is removable, while in others, it is affixed to burner head 116 or the cooking surface below (i.e., it is supported by a surface of cooktop 14 proximate burner 116).
In some configurations and referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, pot support 12 is configured as a cap to fit on gas burner head 116. For example, in some configurations, pot support 12 includes an extra rim 40 configured to snugly fit around the top rim of gas burner head 116, with surface 42 resting on the top of gas burner head 116. Some configurations of pot support 12 also include a stability chamber 44 and can include a hollow 46. Pot support 12 need not be unitary. In some configurations, for example, pot support 12 includes two or more separate pieces such as 52 and 54 that fit together to form pot support 12.
In another burner system configuration 20 and referring to FIG. 2, a pot support 22 is provided with petals 26 to provide enhanced support for a pot. Pot support 22 has a central portion 24 or cap configured to fit stably on a gas burner head 116. Pot support 22 also has a plurality of petals 26 extending upward and radially outward from a top of central portion 24. In some configurations, petals 26 are in register with fingers 18 to provide additional support under a pot, with only a small gap between each petal 26 and a corresponding finger 18. Pot support 22 may be formed of the same materials as pot support 12 and may also be removable from burner head 116. Pot support 22 can be configured as a cap that fits on gas burner head 116.
In still another burner configuration 30 and referring to FIG. 3, a pot support 32 is configured as a cap that fits on gas burner head 116. Pot support 32 is provided with raised fingers 36 on a top of central portion or cap 24 that extend radially outward from a center thereof. In some configurations, raised fingers 36 line up with fingers 18 to provide additional support under a pot, with only a small gap between each raised finger 36 and a corresponding finger 18 on cooktop surface 14. Pot support 32 may be formed of the same materials as pot support 12 and may also be removable from burner head 116. Pot support 32 can be configured as a cap that fits on gas burner head 116.
In yet another configuration of pot support 62 and referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, pot support 62 includes a plurality of raised fingers 66 that extend outwardly beyond a rim 64 of a central cap portion 24 of pot support 62. Fingers 66 in some configurations are radially tapered from their outermost extent 67 towards the center of central cap portion 24. Also in some configurations, fingers 66 are vertically tapered from a rim 64 of central cap portion 24 to an outermost extent 67 of fingers 66.
In yet another configuration of pot support 82 and referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, fingers 86 are raised and supported on struts 84 above a top surface of a central cap portion 24. Some of these configurations include raised fingers 86 that extend outwardly beyond a rim 64 of central cap portion 24. In some configurations of pot support 102 and referring to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, a center post 104 on central cap portion 24 is also provided to support fingers 86.
In some configurations and referring to FIGS. 7, 9, and 11, pot support 62, 82, and/or 102, can include a rim 112 configured to fit securely around a top rim of a gas burner.
While the invention has been described in terms of various specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims.
Patent Application
20060236997
