Abstract:
A collector box for a gas burner ignition system is disclosed, the collector box including a top half; a bottom half; an aperture disposed within the bottom half, the aperture being configured to receive an insulated electrode substantially within the center of the aperture and to allow gas from a gas burner to exit the aperture around the insulated electrode; and a grounding electrode protruding from an edge of the third aperture, where a spark may be produced between the insulated electrode and the grounding electrode. Also disclosed are gas burner ignition systems that include the above-described collector box, as well as a spark generator and an insulated electrode. The gas burner ignition system may be used in, for example, cooking devices such as barbecue grills.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention is generally related to gas burners and, more particularly, is related to apparatuses and methods for igniting gas burners. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Many cooking and other devices employ burners that use combustible gas as the source of heat energy for the cooking of food products. In these devices, efforts have been made to simplify the igniting of the gas burners. For example, ignition mechanisms have been designed which eliminate the need for manual ignition using matches or butane lighters. Typically, these prior art ignition mechanisms employ a spark generator, or a source of high voltage, that is connected to a single electrode is grounded through a metal frame or support in the device. The arc then ignites the gas emanating from the burner. 
     Although the prior art ignition mechanisms have generally worked well, the design of these mechanisms leaves them susceptible to failure in certain circumstances. For example, the electrode, or the wire connecting the electrode to the spark generator, can be inadvertently shorted to ground, thus preventing a spark from being generated between the electrode and the burner. Such a short can be caused by a variety of reasons, such as the excessive dripping and buildup of foodstuffs on the ignition mechanism. In such circumstances a potentially dangerous build-up of unignited gas could result. Additionally, corrosion may occur at assembly points in the appliance, thus shorting the ground and reducing the opportunity for an efficacious spark. 
     Alternative ignition mechanisms include an insulated electrode that is housed in a collector box. Gas from the burner flows into the collector box and out an opening in a side wall of the collector box. Typically the insulated electrode is the same size as the opening through which it protrudes, completely filling the opening. A dimple or protrusion stamped on a side wall of the collector box acts as a grounding electrode. Thus, the spark from the insulated electrode must be large enough to jump into the stream of gas from the burner toward the grounding electrode. If the spark generated is not large enough, is weak, or if it is not in contact with a proper concentration of gas, then the gas, and consequently the burner, do not ignite. 
     In addition, the collector box may be mounted to a grill casting instead of a burner, or may be screwed onto the burner via various fastening means. The attachment of the collector box to the grill parts may be problematic in that traditional fastening means tend to be cumbersome, and make the ignition system difficult to assemble. The attachments have generally not been universal in nature, with different fastening means required for attachment of the collector box to different grill parts, thus decreasing their usefulness. Because the traditional means of attaching the collector box to the grill or burner is cumbersome, there is an increased risk of erroneously assembling the collector box. 
     Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The disclosed ignition system can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the ignition system. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosed gas burner ignition system. 
     FIG. 2 is a partial exploded cross-sectional view of an embodiment the gas burner ignition system of FIG. 1 in a barbecue grill casting environment, showing the burner before mating with the collector box. 
     FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the gas burner ignition system of FIG. 2, showing the assembled burner and collector box. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bottom half of a collector box and an insulated electrode of the gas burner ignition system of FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The disclosed gas burner ignition system includes a spark generator, the spark generator including a first electrical terminal connected to an insulated electrode via an electrically conductive lead, and a second electrical terminal connected to a ground; an insulated electrode connected to the spark generator via a wire lead; and a collector box. The collector box includes, in an exemplary embodiment, an aperture disposed within the bottom half, the aperture being configured to receive the insulated electrode substantially within the center of the aperture and to allow gas from a gas burner to exit the aperture around the insulated electrode. 
     The disclosed gas burner ignition system may be incorporated into a cooking device such as a barbecue grill. In such an exemplary embodiment of a barbecue grill, the grill includes a cooking surface, a source of liquid propane gas, a gas burner, and the gas burner ignition system. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     One way to improve the ignition ability of a gas burner ignition system is to position an insulated electrode in a collector box directly in the path through which gas must flow from a burner. Additionally, placing a grounding electrode also in the path of the gas also helps ensure that the spark from the insulated electrode to the grounding electrode will ignite the stream of gas in the disclosed gas burner ignition system. In this regard, reference is now made to the figures. More specifically, referring now to FIG. 1, a representative gas burner ignition system  100  will be described in greater detail that solves deficiencies in prior art ignition systems. 
     The ignition system  100  includes a spark generator  1 , an insulated electrode  3 , and a collector box  8 . The spark generator  1  has two electrical terminals  2 , one for an insulated wire lead  5  for the insulated electrode  3 , and one for a ground wire  7 . It should be noted that while reference is made throughout the specification to an “insulated electrode  3 ” and “insulated wire lead  5 ” that leads to the insulated electrode  3 , that the ground wire  7  may, in some embodiments, be insulated as well. For instance, it may be particularly desirable to insulate the ground wire  7  when using the ignition system  100  to ignite more than one burner, e.g., a side burner. 
     The insulated electrode  3  includes a ceramic insulator  4 , and a mounting bracket  6  attached thereto. The end of the ground wire  7  is, in one embodiment, a standard electrical terminal, such as that having a shape of an elongated “C.” The collector box  8  includes a top half  9 , a bottom half  10 , a first fastening device  11  and an optional second fastening device  12 , thereby forming an enclosure. The first fastening device  11  may be for example, a carriage bolt, or any other fastening device capable of attaching the mounting bracket  6  to the collector box  8 . The second fastening device  12  may be any device that helps secure the mounting bracket  6  to the collector box  8 , for example, a wing nut as shown. Both the top half  9  and the bottom half  10  of the collector box  8  include mounting flanges  15  and side walls  19 . In one embodiment, flanges  15  may be, for example, but are not limited to, approximately one-fourth (¼) to approximately three-eighths (⅜) inch wide. Bottom half  10  of the collector box  8  further includes a tab  13  disposed, for example as shown in FIG. 2, between two flanges  15  that is, in a preferred embodiment, but not limited to, approximately three-thirty-secondths ({fraction (3/32)}) to approximately one-eight (⅛) inch wide. 
     The ignition system  100  may be assembled in the following manner. The ground wire  7  is attached to the tab  13  on the bottom half  10  of the collector box  8 . In an exemplary embodiment, the tab  13  is thin enough to be bent back manually by a user. By way of example, the tab  13  may be made of twenty-gauge stainless steel, and formed out of the same piece of metal as the bottom half  10  of the collector box  8 . 
     The electrode  3  is then assembled to the bottom half  10  of the collector box  8  using the fastening device  11 . The tab  13  is bent over the end of the fastening device  11  to aid in retaining the fastening device  11 , and to aid in retaining the electrode  7  to the bottom half  10  of the collector box  8 . The tab  13  may be bent over an end of the fastening device  11  at, for example, a 30-degree angle. 
     Shown in FIG. 2 is an exemplary gas burner ignition system  100  in an exemplary environment of a barbecue grill casting  22 , before mating of the burner  16  with the collector box  8 . As depicted in FIG. 2, the top half  9  of the collector box  8  is placed on the bottom half  10  of the collector box  8  and secured. The top half  9  and the bottom half  10  are secured together either before or after mating the collector box  8  with the burner  16 . The top half  9  and the bottom half  10  can be arranged to move pivotally with respect to each other, for example, by hinges. Alternatively, the top half  9  and the bottom half  10  may be secured together by threadedly fastening the second fastening device  12  to the first fastening device  11 , such as, for example, with a screw and wing nut as shown. 
     The side walls  19  of the top half  9  may be disposed within the side walls  19  of the bottom half  10  when the top half  9  and the bottom half  10  are connected. The top half  9  of the collector box  8  may include an optional pivoting connection  18  that aids in alignment of the top half  9  and the bottom half  10 . Thus, in one embodiment, the top half  9  and the bottom half  10  form a clamshell-type design such that the fastening device  11  helps secure the top half  9  and the bottom half  10  in place. In this manner, when the second fastening device  12  is tightened, a gap  14  is decreased between mounting flanges  15  of the top half  9  and the bottom half  10 . Conversely, when the second fastening device  12  is loosened over the first fastening device  11 , the gap  14  increases. In this manner, the gap  14  is adjusted such that a hem, or lip,  20  of a burner  16  may slide in between flanges  15 , mating the collector box  8  and the burner  16 . 
     As shown in FIG. 3, when the hem  20  of the burner  16  is disposed between flanges  15  of the top half  9  and the bottom half  10 , the flanges  15  are tightened until the flanges  15  clamp down and secure burner  16 , for example, by tightening the second fastening device  12 . 
     If the gas burner  16  is disposed in a cooking device, the insulated wire lead  5  and the ground wire  7  may also be placed in the cooking device. For instance, in a cooking device such as a barbecue grill (not shown), the wire lead  5  and the ground wire  7  are passed through the grill bottom casting  22  and through a spark generator mounting hole in a control panel of the cooking device. The insulated wire lead  5  of the electrode  3  is attached to the electrical terminal  2  of the spark generator  1 . The ground wire  7  is attached to a second electrical terminal  2  of a spark generator  1 . The spark generator  1  is then attached to the control panel of the cooking device. It should be noted that although the insulated wire lead  5  typically is attached to the very end of the spark generator  1 , as shown in FIG. 1, it does not matter which wire  5  or  7  is attached to either of the terminals  2  of the spark generator  1 . Additionally, the spark generator  1  is not limited to the exact configuration depicted in FIG. 1, but may be, for example, an electronic spark generator. 
     The disclosed ignition system works in the following manner. Gas from the burner  16  flows into the collector box  8  and out an aperture  21  (depicted in FIGS. 1 and 4) in the bottom half  10  of the collector box  8 . The aperture  21  may be circular in shape, for example. Optionally, at least one grounding electrode  17  protrudes from an edge of the aperture  21 . The insulated electrode  3  is positioned substantially in the center of the aperture  21 . The aperture  21  is configured to be larger in size than the insulated electrode  3  disposed therein, thus allowing gas to exit the aperture  21  around the electrode  3 . Upon triggering the spark generator  1 , a spark is produced between the insulated electrode  3  and either the edge of the aperture  21 , or optionally, one of the grounding electrodes  17 . The grounding electrode  17  is positioned so that gas exiting the collector box  8  through the aperture  21  will pass between the insulated electrode  3  and the grounding electrode  17 . 
     The grounding electrode  17  may be bent up relative to the bottom half  10 , bent down relative to the bottom half  10 , and substantially planar with a bottom surface of the bottom half  10 . Optionally, as shown more clearly in FIG. 4, the grounding electrode  17  may be bent in a twisted fashion like a fan blade in order to swirl the gas as it exits the collector box  8  through the aperture  21 , creating a vortex-type formation with the gas. The vortex created by the swirling motion will tend to concentrate the gas around the center of the aperture  21 . Additionally, the vortex-type formation serves to swirl the gas with air in the environment, causing a more efficient burning of the spark. Because the insulated electrode  3  is located in the aperture  21 , more reliable gas ignitions result. 
     As noted with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3, the gas burner ignition system may be used in a barbecue grill. A cross-section of the grill casting  22  is depicted in FIG.  2 . The grill may also include, in addition to the gas burner ignition system, a cooking surface, a source of liquid propane gas, and a gas burner. The disclosed grill is user-friendly in that the gas burner lights more efficiently and consistently than has been heretofore accomplished in the art. 
     It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the disclosed gas burner ignition systems are merely possible examples of implementations, and are merely set forth for a clear understanding of the described principles. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of this disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the following claims.