Patent Publication Number: US-7210475-B2

Title: Low profile gas burner for a cooking appliance

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention pertains to the art of cooking appliances and, more particularly, to a cooking appliance incorporating a low profile gas burner assembly. 
   2. Discussion of the Prior Art 
   In general, it is known to utilize gas as a heat source in a cooking appliance. Typically, the gas heat source is in the form of a gas burner assembly located at a bottom portion of an oven cavity, either out in the open or, below a false bottom panel. In some cases, another gas burner assembly is positioned in an upper portion of the oven cavity for broiling operations. In any event, oven designs require sufficient space to accommodate one or more gas burner assemblies. 
   Conventionally, oven cavities are designed with a considerable amount of space allocated for the gas burner assembly. In a manner known in the art, inlet and outlet portions of the gas burner assembly are maintained in a well defined spaced relationship. More specifically, a conventional gas burner assembly is designed such that a vertical distance of at least 3 inches (7.62 cm) separates the inlet portion from the outlet portion. This distance requirement has been seen as necessary to avoid the negative effects associated with a reverse density driven flow which occurs when the cooking appliance is hot and gas flow to the burner is off. In the event of a reverse density driven flow, combustion of the gas takes place at the inlet portion of the burner assembly and not at gas discharge ports arranged along the outlet portion. 
   Unfortunately, while effective at eliminating adverse effects of the reverse density driven flow, the space between the inlet and outlet means that more space is needed for the burner assembly which, in turn, disadvantageously results in a reduction in oven cavity size. This is especially true in dual oven ranges wherein the space required to accommodate multiple gas burner assemblies in two oven cavities reduces the overall space available within each oven cavity. In the highly competitive field of cooking appliances, manufacturers often desire to provide more space, in smaller packages, to attract the buying public. Therefore, based on the above, there exists a need in the art for a cooking appliance designed to enable an enhanced oven cavity size. More specifically, there exists a need in the art for a low profile gas burner assembly designed to establish an enlarged oven cavity. Particularly, there exists a need for a low profile gas burner assembly having an inlet portion and an outlet portion separated by a distance less than the conventional 3 inches (7.62 cm) that does not suffer from the effects of a reverse density driven flow. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to a cooking appliance including a low profile gas burner assembly. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cooking appliance includes a cabinet, first and second oven cavities arranged within the cabinet, and at least one gas burner assembly positioned within each of the first and second oven cavities. More specifically, the gas burner assembly includes a first end, defining an inlet portion, interconnected with a second end, defining an outlet portion having arranged thereon a plurality of gas discharge ports, through an intermediate portion. The gas burner assembly is formed from a tubular member having a defined diameter. In general, the intermediate portion maintains a distance up to several times the diameter of the tubular member between the inlet and outlet portion. More specifically, the intermediate portion maintains a vertically spaced relationship between the inlet portion and outlet portion of at least one tubing diameter and, more preferably, two tubing diameters. For example, with a 0.75 inch (1.91 cm) diameter tube, the inlet and outlet portions are spaced from 0.75 inches (1.91 cm) to about 2.5 inches (6.35 cm), preferably 1 inch (2.54 cm) to about 2.0 inches (5.08 cm) and, most preferably approximately 1.5 inches (3.81 cm). 
   In any event, additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cooking appliance incorporating a low profile gas burner assembly constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a partial, cross-sectional side view of the cooking appliance of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is an enlarged, elevational side view of the low profile gas burner assembly of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 4  is a partial, cross-sectional view of a portion of the low profile gas burner assembly of  FIG. 3 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   With initial reference to  FIG. 1 , a low profile gas burner arrangement  1  constructed in accordance with the present invention is shown incorporated into a cooking appliance generally indicated at  2 . As shown cooking appliance  2  takes the form of a free-standing gas range unit. Cooking appliance or range  2  includes a cabinet  4  having a front panel portion  5 , side panel portion  6 , bottom portion  7 , a range top  8  and main back panel  9 . In a manner known in the art, range top  8  can take on various forms. Specifically, in the embodiment shown, range top  8  is shown as a gas cooktop incorporating various gas burner elements  11 – 14 , and associated burner grates  15 – 18 . As shown, range  2  further includes a front control surface  20  which preferably supports a plurality of control knobs  21 – 24  for controlling the activation/de-activation of gas burners  11 – 14  respectively. Furthermore, range  2  includes a rear, upstanding control panel  30  arranged at an upper rear portion of cabinet  4 . In the embodiment shown, control panel  30  includes a central control and display unit, generally indicated at  35 , for use in controlling a first or upper oven  40  and a second or lower oven  41 . 
   Preferably, upper oven  40  includes a respective first or upper oven cavity  45  and, similarly, lower oven  41  includes a respective second or lower oven cavity  46 . In a manner known in the art, upper oven  40  has associated therewith a door  50  which can be pivoted by means of a handle  53 . Door  50  preferably includes a window  55  for viewing the contents of upper oven cavity  45 . In a similar manner, lower oven  41  has associated therewith a door  60 , a handle  63  and a window  65 . Furthermore, as best seen in  FIG. 2 , in order to maintain a heated atmosphere within upper and lower oven cavities  40  and  41 , each cavity  40 ,  41  is wrapped in a respective insulation blanket  80 ,  82 . 
   In a manner known in the art, range  2  is adapted to rest upon a supporting surface, such as a kitchen floor or the like. More specifically, a plurality of leg members, two of which are indicated in  FIGS. 1 and 2  at  125  and  126 , extend from bottom portion  7  at front and rear portions of cabinet  4  along side panel  6 . Of course, corresponding leg members are also provided on the opposing side of range  2 . In any event, the various leg members  125  and  126  are preferably vertically adjustable to also act as levelers for range  2 . Such type of leg leveler arrangements are widely known in the art of appliances, including ranges and refrigerators, such that the leveling function of leg members  125  and  126  does not form part of the present invention. 
   In general, the structure described above with respect to range  2 , with the exception of the particular construction of burner arrangement  1 , is already known in the art and does not constitute part of the present invention. Therefore, this structure has only been described for the sake of completeness. Instead, the present invention is particularly directed to gas burner arrangement  1  which is adapted to establish a heated cooking environment within a respective one of oven cavities  45  and  46 . More specifically, gas burner arrangement  1  is of a low profile type which does not require a significant amount of space that would otherwise detract from the space available for conducting various cooking operations as will be detailed fully below. 
   Referring to  FIG. 2 , arranged within upper oven cavity  45  is a first or upper gas burner assembly  146 . Similarly, a second or lower gas burner assembly  147  is positioned within lower oven cavity  46 . As shown, upper gas burner assembly  146  extends from a rear portion  155  of upper oven cavity  45 , while lower burner assembly  147  extends from a rear portion  156  of lower oven cavity  46 . At this point, it should be understood that, while upper and lower gas burner assemblies  146  and  147  are shown extending from respective rear portions  155  and  156  of oven cavities  45  and  46 , gas burner assemblies  146  and  147  could alternatively extend through respective lower portions  160  and  161  of oven cavities  45  and  46 , and/or arranged below false bottoms (not shown). Moreover, in addition to upper and lower gas burner assemblies  146  and  147 , other gas burner assemblies (not shown) could be arranged in upper portions of oven cavities  45  and  46  for use in connection with performing broiling operations. 
   Reference will now be made to  FIG. 3  in describing the preferred embodiment of upper and lower gas burner assemblies  146  and  147 . Since the structure of each gas burner assembly is identical, a detailed description of upper gas burner assembly  146  will be made and it is to be understood that lower gas burner assembly  147  has commensurate structure. As shown, upper gas burner assembly  146  includes a first or inlet portion  170  interconnected with an elongated second or outlet portion  171  through an intermediate portion  172 . As further shown in  FIG. 3 , extending along outlet portion  171  are a plurality of gas discharge ports, one of which is indicated at  180 . 
   In accordance with the present invention, intermediate portion  172  maintains a vertically spaced relationship between inlet portion  170  and outlet portion  171  as represented by Δh in  FIG. 3 . As will be discussed more fully below, in accordance with the invention, the spaced relationship is from at least one tubing diameter to several times the tubing diameter and, more preferably, twice the tubing diameter. 
   In further accordance with the present invention, as shown best in  FIG. 4 , upper gas burner assembly  146  is defined by a tubular member having a defined diameter as indicated at “d” along outlet portion  171 . In accordance with the most preferred embodiment of the invention, intermediate portion  172  maintains a spaced relationship between inlet portion  170  and outlet portion  172  measured at a distance being about twice the diameter d of outlet portion  171 . That is, with an exemplary tubing diameter of 0.75 inches (1.91 cm), the inlet and outlet portions  170  and  171  are vertically spaced from 0.75 inches (1.91 cm) to about 2.5 inches (6.35 cm). In a more preferred form of the invention, the spaced relationship is maintained from about 1 inch (2.54 cm) to about 2 inches (5.08 cm). In the most preferred form of the invention, the spaced relationship is maintained at a distance of approximately 1.5 inches (3.81 cm). In other words, the spaced relationship ranges from about 1.0 to 3.33 times the tubing diameter, preferably from about 1.33 to 2.66 times the tubing diameter and, most preferably, 2.0 times the diameter. Constructing gas burner assemblies  146  and  147  in this fashion has been found to minimize the height thereof in order to enhance the sizes of oven cavities  45  and  46  without increasing the overall size of cabinet  4 . Surprisingly though, low profile gas burner arrangement  1  has been found to avoid any reverse density driven flow. 
   Although described with reference to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it should be readily apparent of one of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof. For instance, while the low profile gas burner arrangement of the present invention is shown incorporated into a dual oven range, it should be understood that the present invention could be incorporated into various other gas cooking appliances, including ranges with a single oven cavities, wall ovens and the like. Also while the gas cooktop is shown with exposed gas burners and grates, the burners could be positioned below a glass/ceramic surface and the grate eliminated. In general, the invention is only intended to be limited by the scope of the following claims.