Patent Publication Number: US-2007119446-A1

Title: Securing device for gas hob tap

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a securing device for a gas hob or gas stove tap in accordance with the introduction to the main claim.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      A gas hob or gas stove is known to have a region or portion in the form of a control panel on which at least one knob is present for regulating the gas flow to a corresponding burner positioned on the hob. The knob co-operates with a gas tap controlled by a profiled shaft, which projects through a hole provided in the portion of the hob, and on which the knob is mounted. The tap body is fitted into a hole provided in a rigid pipe (known as the side pipe) positioned below the portion and connected in a manner to a usual hob gas feed pipe connected to the gas supply. A conduit extends from the tap body to terminate at the burner.  
      A tap formed in this manner must be correctly positioned and secured to the hole provided in the rigid pipe, and its profiled shaft must be correctly aligned with the through hole in the hob portion.  
      This positioning, securing and alignment are currently achieved by using a plurality of members provided for this purpose, making the hob assembly lengthy and relatively difficult. This affects the hob installation cost.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      One aspect of the present invention is to provide a device which enables the gas tap of a corresponding burner to be rapidly and easily mounted on a hob.  
      Another aspect of the invention is to provide a device of this type which is easy to manipulate during tap installation on the hob.  
      These and further aspects which will be apparent to the expert of the art are attained by a securing device for a gas hob tap in accordance with the accompanying claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The present invention will be more apparent from the accompanying drawing, which is provided by way of non-limiting example and in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a device according to the invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view from above showing a part of the gas hob using the device of the invention; and  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view from below showing the interior of the hob of  FIG. 2 .  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      With reference to the figures, a device according to the invention is indicated overall by  1  and comprises a profiled one-piece body  2  presenting a first and a second portion  3 ,  4  respectively. Between the first portion  3  and second portion  4  an intermediate part  5  is present, inclined to the portions and projecting from the body  2  outwards of a flat face  8  of the second portion  4 , which lies opposite a face  9 . An elongated hole or slot  6  is provided in the second portion  4 , in proximity to the intermediate part  5 . The face  8  is indicated as the outer face and the face  9  the inner face, in relation to the use of the device  1 .  
      The first portion  3  is inclined to the intermediate part but in the opposite direction to this latter, and has an end  10  presenting an elongated hole  12 . The hole  12  is positioned with its longitudinal axis K perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis W of the one-piece body  2 , while the elongated hole or slot  6  has its longitudinal axis F parallel to the axis W.  
      The second portion  4  of the device  1  provides a free end  15  bent at 90° and provided with through holes  16 . This end  15  and the end  10  of the first portion  3  are bent inwards from the body  2 , with reference to the use of this latter. In this embodiment, the body  2  is intended to be positioned about a rigid or side pipe  20  for distributing the gas to the burners of the gas hob  21 , which presents a portion in the form of a control panel  22  on which at least one knob is positioned for controlling and regulating the gas feed to a corresponding hob burner. The knob is located on a shaft  25  of a gas regulating tap  26  present at a through hole  24  provided in the portion  22 , the tap  26  co-operating in a manner with the rigid pipe  20 . The tap  26  is intended to be secured to the pipe and positioned with its shaft through the hole  24  by the device  1  of the invention.  
      For this purpose, the tap  26  comprises a body  30  having, an end projecting element  31  to be received in the elongated hole  12  provided in the end  10  of the portion  3  of the device body  2 . The tap  26  is also fixed to the body  2  by a screw  33  inserted through the elongated hole or slot  6 . It should be noted that the rigid pipe  20  is present between the screw  33  and the element  31 , in contact with the inner face of the body  2  at the first portion  3 , the shape of which substantially follows the shape of the pipe  20 .  
      The body  2  is fixed to the portion  22  by screws  37  inserted through holes  16  in the end  15  and into corresponding holes in that portion.  
      Accordingly, securing the tap  26  to the hob  21  and to the pipe  20  and correctly positioning the shaft  25  relative to the hole  24  represent operations, which are simple and quick to carry out. In this respect, to secure it to the pipe  20  the element  31  of the tap  26  is inserted through the hole  12  and the screw  33  screwed down through the hole or slot  6 , this latter provides the screw position to be adjusted along the axis W. It should be noted that the screw is screwed into a usual mouth  40  of the tap  26  carrying the element  31 , and is shaped with an arched surface  47  which follows the contour of the pipe  20  on which this surface rests. The engagement between the element  31  and the hole  12  and between the screw and the mouth  40  secures the tap  26  to the pipe  20 .  
      The screws  37  are then fixed through the holes in the portion  22  and into the holes  16 , to correctly position the shaft  25  of the tap  26  within the hole  24 . This secures the tap to the portion  22  of the hob  21  and correctly positions the tap shaft  25  relative to the hole  24 .  
      Consequently, the use of the device  1  allows rapid and simple fixing between various parts of the hob  21 , to allow its correct utilization.  
      Other variants of the device  1 , such as that in which the first portion  3  is arched to enable it to be better positioned about the pipe  20 , can also be provided in light of this description, and are to be considered as falling within the scope of the ensuing claims.  
      For example, although the device has been described in the example in association with a built-in hob, it can also be applied to free-standing appliances, such as stoves.