Patent Publication Number: US-9410705-B2

Title: Gas cooker

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 and 35 U.S.C. 365 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0033885 (filed on Apr. 17, 2009), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates to a cooker, and more particularly, to a gas cooker heating items to be cooked using gas. 
     A cooker refers to an electronic home appliance that heats items to be cooked (hereinafter, referred to as “foods”) using gas or electricity. Especially, some cookers such as a gas range and a gas oven are equipped with a plurality of top burners. The top burner heats foods directly by a flame generated by burning gas. A plurality of the top burners is arranged at intervals on an upper surface of a top plate which forms an upper surface of the gas range or the gas oven. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments provide a gas cooker that further safely usable. 
     In one embodiment, a gas cooker includes: a top plate; and at least two burners arranged spaced from each other in left and right directions in a row on a top surface of the top plate, each burner including a plurality of main flame holes for combustion of mixed gas, wherein a portion of a base part of the main flame holes of the burner adjacent to a front end of the top plate is inclined upward at a relatively large angle from the inside of the burner to the outside when compared to a remaining portion of the base part of the main flame holes of the burner. 
     In another embodiment, a gas cooker includes: a top plate; first and second front burners disposed in a row on left and right ends of the top plate; and at least one rear burner disposed at a rear end of a top surface of the tap plate, wherein the first and second front burners include: a first main flame hole in which a mixed gas for generating flame is exhausted, the first main flame hole being disposed in a portion of a section of the first and second front burners adjacent to the a front end of the top plate; and a second main flame hole in which the mixed gas for generating flame in a relatively radial direction on circumferences of the first and second front burners when compared to the first main flame hole is exhausted, the second main flame hole being disposed in a remaining section of the first and second front burners except the section in which the first main flame hole is defined. 
     In further another embodiment, a gas cooker includes: a top plate; at least one front burner disposed on a front end of a top surface of the top plate, the at least one front burner including a burner head in which a portion of a circumference thereof is cut to form a main flame hole and an auxiliary flame hole and a burner cap seated on a top surface of the burner head; and at least one rear burner disposed on a rear end of the top surface of the top plate corresponding to a rear side of the front burner, wherein a portion of a base part of the main flame hole of the front burner adjacent to the front end of the top plate is inclined upward at a relatively large angle from the inside of a circumference of the burner head to the outside when compared to a remaining portion of the base part of the main flame hole of the front burner. 
     The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a gas cooker according to a first embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a plan view illustrating a main part of the gas cooker according to the first embodiment. 
         FIGS. 3 and 4  are sectional views illustrating a main part of the gas cooker according to the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a view of a safety test process with respect to the gas cooker according to the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view illustrating a main part of a gas cooker according to a second embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional view illustrating a main part of a gas cooker according to a third embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
     Hereinafter, a gas cooker according to a first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a gas cooker according to a first embodiment.  FIG. 2  is a plan view illustrating a main part of the gas cooker according to the first embodiment.  FIGS. 3 and 4  are sectional views illustrating a main part of the gas cooker according to the first embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the gas cooker  10  includes a main body  100  forming an appearance thereof. The main body  100  includes a top burner unit  200 , an oven unit  300 , a warming drawer  400 , a back guard  500 , a control panel  600  and a top burner control unit  700 . 
     The top burner unit  200  and the oven unit  300  cook foods therein. The warming drawer  400  heats a container holding the foods. 
     The control panel  600  is input with an operation signal for operation of the gas cooker  10  and displays various information related to the operation of the gas cooker  10  to the outside. The top burner control unit  700  opens and closes a valve which supplies gas to the top burner unit  200 . The back guard  500  guides combustion gas generated during cooking of the foods in the oven unit  300 . 
     More specifically, the top burner unit  200  is disposed at an upper end of the main body  100 . The top burner unit  200  includes a plurality of top burners  220  burning gas and thereby heating a container holding the foods. The top burner  220  will be described in greater detail hereinafter. 
     Additionally, the top burner unit  200  is provided with a plurality of grates  270 . The container to be heated by the top burner  220  is seated on the grate  270 . 
     The oven unit  300  is disposed in the middle part of the main body  100 , that is, under the top burner unit  200 . A cooking chamber (not shown) is provided inside the oven unit  300 . The foods are cooked by a heater (not shown) in the cooking chamber. The cooking chamber is selectively opened and closed by a door  310 . The door  310  pivots up and down by its upper edge about its lower edge with respect to the main body  100 , thereby opening and closing the cooking chamber. A door handle  320  is disposed on an upper front part of the door  310  for a user to grip when opening and closing the door  310 . 
     The warming drawer  400  is disposed under the oven unit  300 , that is, at a lower part of the main body  100 . The warming drawer  400  is mounted to move in and out of the main body  100  in a drawer manner. The container holding the foods is received in the warming drawer  400  and heated by the heater of the cooking chamber or a separate heater for warming. The warming drawer  400  includes a drawer handle  410  disposed on an upper front part thereof for a user to grip to move the warming drawer  400  in and out. 
     The back guard  500  is disposed at an upper rear end of the main body  100 , that is, a rear part of the top burner unit  200 , extending upward from the upper surface of the main body  100 . The back guard  500  includes a path formed therein in communication with the cooking chamber. Accordingly, combustion gas generated in the oven unit  300  while the foods is cooked in the cooking chamber flows through the path and is discharged out of the cooking chamber. 
     The control panel  600  is disposed on a front surface of the back guard  500 . The control panel  600  includes an input part receiving various operation signals for actual operations of the oven unit  300  and the warming drawer  400  and a display part displaying various information related to the operations of the oven unit  300  and the warming drawer  400 . 
     The top burner control unit  700  includes a plurality of operation knobs  710  provided corresponding to the top burners  220  in number. The operation knobs  710  selectively open and close valves that supply gas to the respective top burners  220 . 
     The top plate  210  forms an upper appearance of the top burner unit  200 . The top plate  210  includes burner mounting parts  211  to which the top burners  220  are mounted. The burner mounting parts  211  protrudes upward so that parts of the top plate  210  have substantially circular cross-sections. Therefore, upper surfaces of the burner mounting parts  211  are disposed relatively higher than an upper surface of the top plate  210 . 
     The top burners  220  may include top burners  220 ,  230 ,  240 ,  250 , and  260  arranged on the upper surface of the top plate  210  in at least two rows, for example, front and rear rows. More specifically, the top burners  220 ,  230 ,  240 ,  250 , and  260  may be a first front burner  220 , a second front burner  230 , a first rear burner  240 , a second rear burner  250 , and a central burner  260 . The first and second front burners  220  and  230  are disposed on the left and the right of a front upper surface of the top plate  210 . The first and the second rear burners  250  and  250  are disposed on the left and the right of a rear upper surface of the top plate  210 . The central burner  260  is disposed in the center of the top plate  210 , i.e., between the first and second front burners  220  and  230  and the first and second rear burners  240  and  250 . In the present embodiment, the central burner  260  has a substantial oval form extending in a forward and backward direction of the gas cooker  10 . 
     The first and second front burners  220  and  230  include burner heads  221  and  231  and burner caps  227  and  237 , respectively. Referring to  FIG. 2 , a plurality of main flame holes  223 A,  223 B,  233 A, and  233 B are defined in circumferences of the burner heads  221  and  231  of the first and second front burners  220  and  230 . Mixed gas in which air and gas supplied into the first and second front burners  220  and  230  are mixed with each other is exhausted through and combusted at the main flame holes  223 A,  223 B,  233 A, and  233 B of the first and second front burners  220  and  230 . The main flame holes  223 A,  223 B,  233 A, and  233 B of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  are spaced from centers of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  by a preset central angle and defined in the circumferences of the burner heads  221  and  231  of the first and second front burners  220  and  230 , respectively. Auxiliary flame holes  224  and  234  are defined in the circumferences of the burner heads  221  and  231  of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  corresponding between the main flame holes  223 A,  223 B,  233 A, and  233 B of the first and second front burners  220  and  230 , respectively. The auxiliary flame holes  224  and  234  of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  transfer flame to allow the mixed gas exhausted from the main flame holes  223 A,  223 B,  233 A, and  233 B of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  to burn. Also, lower ignition parts  225  and  235  are disposed at the burner heads  221  and  231  of the first and second front burners  220  and  230 , respectively. Ignition plugs (not shown) for igniting the mixed gas exhausted from the main flame holes  223 A,  223 B,  233 A, and  233 B of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  are disposed on the lower ignition parts  225  and  235  of the first and second front burners  220  and  230 , respectively. The lower ignition parts  225  and  235  of the fist and second front burners  220  and  230  are disposed sides of the circumferences of the burner heads  221  and  231  of the first and second front burners  220  and  230 . Thus, the main flame holes  223 A,  223 B,  233 A, and  233 B of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  may not be defined at the sides of the circumferences of the burner heads  221  and  231  of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  corresponding to the lower ignition parts  225  and  235  of the fist and second front burners  220  and  230 . Also, the burner caps  227  and  237  of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  are seated on top surfaces of the burner heads  221  and  231  of the first and second front burners  220  and  230 , respectively. 
     Also, the first and second rear burners  240  and  250  and a central burner  260  include burner heads  241 ,  251 , and  261  and burner caps  247 ,  257 , and  267 . The first and second rear burners  240  and  250  and the central burner  260  have the same structures as those of the first and second front burners  220  and  230 . Thus, their detailed descriptions will be omitted. 
     A safety test with respect to the gas cooker may include a test that confirms whether a textile T burns at front sides of the first and second front burners  220  and  230 , i.e., a position spaced a predetermined distance, e.g., about 4 inches, from a front end of the top burner unit  200  when the foods are heated using the first and second front burners  220  and  230 . In this embodiment, to prevent the textile T from being burning in the above-described safety test, the outward inclinations of the main flame holes  223 A,  223 B,  233 A, and  233 B of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  were variably determined according to positions of the main flame holes  223 A,  223 B,  233 A, and  233 B of the first and second front burners  220  and  230 . 
     In detail, referring to  FIGS. 2 to 4 , the main flame holes  223 A,  223 B,  233 A, and  233 B of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  include first and second main flame holes  223 A,  223 B,  233 A, and  233 B, respectively. 
     The first main flame holes  223 A and  233 A of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  are defined at the front sides of the first and second front burners  220  and  230 , i.e., portions of the circumferences of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  adjacent to the front end of the top burner unit  200 . For example, the first main flame holes  223 A and  233 A are defined in a region between virtual straight lines L 1  and L 2  passing through centers of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  in a direction perpendicular to that of the front end of the top burner unit  200  on the circumferences of the first and second front burners  220  and  230 , respectively. In more detail, the first main flame holes  223 A and  233 A are defined within a section corresponding to a circular arc shape having a predetermined central angle α, e.g., about 45°, in a counterclockwise or clockwise direction with respect to the straight lines L 1  and L 2 . The second main flame holes  223 B and  233 B of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  are defined within a remaining section of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  except the portions of the circumferences of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  in which the first main flame holes  223 A and  233 A are defined. 
     The circumferences of the first and second front burners  220  and  230 , particularly, portions of the circumferences of the burner heads  221  and  231  of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  are cut to define the first and second main flame holes  223 A,  233 A,  223 B, and  233 B, respectively. Base parts of the first and second main flame holes  223 A,  233 A,  223 B, and  233 B are inclined upward from the inside of the circumferences of the burner heads  221  and  231  of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  toward the outside, i.e., in a direction in which the mixed gas is exhausted through the first and second main flame holes  223 A,  233 A,  223 B, and  233 B. Here, in inclined angles of the base parts of the first and second main flame holes  223 A,  233 A,  223 B, and  233 B, the first main flame holes  223 A and  233 A have an inclined angle greater than that of the second main flame holes  223 B and  233 B. Thus, since flame generated by combustion of the mixed gas exhausted through the first main flame holes  223 A and  233 A is relatively adjacent to outer circumferences of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  when compared to flame generated by combustion of the mixed gas exhausted through the second main flame holes  223 B and  233 B, it may prevent the textile T from burning by the flame generated by combustion of the mixed gas exhausted through the first main flame holes  223 A and  233 A. In this embodiment, the base parts of the first and second main flame holes  223 A,  233 A,  223 B, and  233 B are inclined at predetermined angles θ 1  and θ 2 , e.g., about 45° to about 25°, from the inside of the circumferences of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  to the outside. However, the inclined angles of the base parts of the first and second main flame holes  223 A,  233 A,  223 B, and  233 B are not limited thereto. That is, the base parts of the first main flame holes  223 A and  233 A may have an inclined angle relatively less than that of the base parts of the second main flame holes  223 B and  233 B. However, the inclined angles of the base parts of the second main flame holes  223 B and  233 B may have generally reasonable angle. 
     Hereinafter, an effect of the gas cooker according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing. 
       FIG. 5  is a view of a safety test process with respect to the gas cooker according to the first embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , the textile T is disposed adjacent to the front end of the top burner unit  200  corresponding to the front sides of the first and second front burners  220  and  230 . In the safety test, it is necessary that the textile T is disposed at a position at which hot air generated by the first and second front burners  220  and  230  is relatively strong, i.e., a position spaced by about 4 inches, from a space corresponding between the first and second front burners  220  and  230  in a front direction. Also, according to the requirement of the safety test, the first and second front burners  220  and  230  are operated in an unloading state. 
     In this state, an operation knob  710  is operated to allow the mixed gas to burn by the first and second front burners  220  and  230 . In more detail, the operation knob  710  may be operated to supply the mixed gas into the first and second front burners  220  and  230  and operate an ignition plug for the combustion of the mixed gas. It observes whether the textile T burns by the flame generated by the combustion of the mixed gas exhausted through the first and second main flame holes  223 A,  233 A,  223 B, and  233 B of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  for a period of time required for the safety test. 
     As described above, the first main flame holes  223 A and  233 A generating the flame relatively adjacent to the outer circumference of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  are defined in a region in which an intensity of the flame is relatively strong, i.e., circumferences of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  corresponding to the space between the first and second front burners  220  and  230 . Thus, the combustion of the textile T due to the flame generated by the mixed gas exhausted through the first and second main flame holes  223 A and  233 A may be minimized. Also, since the flame generated by the combustion of the mixed gas exhausted through the remaining flame holes of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  except the first main flame holes  223 A and  233 A, i.e., the second main flame holes  223 B and  233 B is in the radial direction of the first and second front burners  220  and  230 , the foods may be effectively heated by the first and second front burners  220  and  230  during the actual cooking process. 
     Hereinafter, a gas cooker according to a second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing. 
       FIG. 6  is a sectional view illustrating a main part of a gas cooker according to a second embodiment. The same parts as those of the first embodiment in parts of this embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numbers as those of  FIGS. 1 to 5 , and their detailed descriptions will be omitted. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , base parts of first and second main flame holes  223 A,  233 A,  223 B, and  233 B of first and second front burners  220  and  230  are inclined upward at the same angle θ 2  from the inside of circumferences of the first and second front burners  220  and  230  to the outside. 
     In this embodiment, interference ribs  223 C and  233 C are disposed at outer ends of the base parts of the first main flame holes  223 A and  233 A, respectively. The interference ribs  223 C and  233 C extend upward from the outer ends of the base parts of the first main flame holes  223 A and  233 A. Thus, it may prevent a flame generated by combustion of mixed gas exhausted through the first main flame holes  223 A and  233 A from being spread in a radial direction of the first and second front burners  220  and  230 . Thus, like the first embodiment, it may prevent a textile T from being ignited in a safety test process of the gas cooker. 
     Hereinafter, a gas cooker according to a third embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing. 
       FIG. 7  is a sectional view illustrating a main part of a gas cooker according to a third embodiment. The same parts as those of the first embodiment in parts of this embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numbers as those of  FIGS. 1 to 5 , and their detailed descriptions will be omitted. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , base parts of first and second main flame holes  223 A,  233 A,  223 B, and  233 B of first and second front burners  220  and  230  are inclined at an angles θ 1  and θ 2  different from each other. That is, the base parts of the first main flame holes  223 A and  233 A have the angle θ 1  relatively less than that θ 2  of the base parts of the second main flame holes  223 B and  233 B. This is equal to that of the first embodiment. In addition, like the second embodiment, interference ribs  223 C and  233 C are disposed at outer ends of the base parts of the first main flame holes  223 A and  233 A, respectively. Thus, according to this embodiment, the same effects as the first and second embodiments may be expected. 
     According to the embodiments, it is advantageous that the foods can be further safely cooked. 
     As described above, according to the embodiments, user&#39;s safety may be secured at the front side of the gas cooker by the top burner disposed at the front end of the top plate. Thus, it may expect that the user can further safely cook the foods using the gas cooker. 
     Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.