DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a household cooking hob according to the preamble of claim 1.

The present invention typically applies to household cooking hobs of the type comprising a plurality of burners, in particular gas burners, for cooking foods placed in suitable containers.

Cooking hobs of this type are known and widespread, in different forms, in every household kitchen.

In some cases, said cooking hobs are separate units, i.e. simple cookers; in other cases, said cooking hobs are add-on components adapted to be flush-mounted in standard-size apertures obtained in the hob of a sectional kitchen; or, in other cases, said cooking hobs are the upper portion of a household appliance comprising an oven suitable for cooking foods.

Household cooking hobs are generally fitted with a cover that houses a plurality of cooking points.

Each cooking point is provided with at least one burner, in particular a gas burner, which is generally associated with one knob adapted to be operated by a user for turning on and/or off the burner and for adjusting the heat generated by said burner, said knob allowing the user to adjust the gas flow, and therefore the heat generated by combustion.

Usually the cooking hobs known in the art have a quadrilateral shape and are so conceived that the burners are arranged according to a standard layout.

In four-burner cooking hobs the burners are arranged at the four corners of the quadrilateral delimiting the cooking hob, whereas in five-burner cooking hobs the fifth burner is typically arranged centrally relative to the other four burners.

Cooking hobs are also known in the art which comprise at least one burner adjacent to one side of the cooking hob, in the middle thereof. In particular, in four-burner cooking hobs each burner is adjacent to the corresponding side of the cooking hob, substantially in the middle thereof.

In addition to the cover that houses at least one burner, in particular a plurality of differently sized burners, the cooking hobs known in the art also include at least one corresponding support element for laying a cooking container over the burner.

Said support element, or pan support, may be provided as one piece, thus serving all of the burners of the cooking hob, or else it may be made up of as many elements as the number of burners; sometimes, several support elements for different cooking points are joined together to form a sort of "continuous grate".

In order to prevent the pan support from translating or moving relative to the cooking hob when in operation, i.e. when it is supporting a container as food is being cooked, the cooking hobs known in the art are fitted with coupling means for positioning the pan support on the cover of the cooking hob and for centering the pan support on the burner.

Said coupling means are typically recesses provided on the pan support cover, into which teeth provided on the pan support engage. Alternatively, if the cover of the cooking hob is made of glass or glass-ceramic, said coupling means are typically obtained through a rear profile secured to the cooking hob, which defines a seat which houses a portion of the pan support grate, holding it by interference. However, said rear profile has some drawbacks, since it is unsightly, hinders the cleaning of the cooking hob, and causes a significant increase in the cost of the cooking hob.

By using the above-described cooking hob moulding technologies, the production of cooking hobs having different burners arranged in a particular manner or having a plurality of assemblable cooking elements suitable for providing increased functionality or innovative and pleasant aesthetic characteristics requires the creation of new moulds, in particular for cooking hobs having a sheet-metal cover, or changes to the moulding and/or cutting operations for cooking hobs having a glass or glass-ceramic cover. This implies the necessity of setting up a whole new production line, as well as of adapting full machining and production lines to obtain a single new arrangement of the cooking elements.

Therefore, the cooking hobs known in the art suffer from the manifest drawback that they are not very flexible and economical to manufacture when different aesthetic and/or functional variants are to be obtained.

Even when the coupling means for locking in place the pan support feet consist of a plurality of dimples obtained on the cover of the cooking hob, the making of said dimples in a cooking hob is problematical in that it is particularly costly, especially when the cooking hob is made of glass.

Document GB989,700 discloses a household cooking hob comprising a cover that houses four gas burners, two pan supports for laying cooking containers over the burners and coupling means for positioning the pan supports on the cover of the cooking hob, comprising projections provided on a lower portion of the pan supports adapted to be coupled to holes provided in the cover.

This prior art cooking hob however suffers from an accumulation of impurities in the holes of the cover.

In this frame, it is the main object of the present invention to overcome the above- mentioned drawbacks by providing a cooking hob comprising specially designed coupling means for positioning the pan support on the cover of the cooking hob, said coupling means being adapted to ensure a higher degree of versatility in designing said cooking hob.

It is a further object of the present invention to allow to manufacture new cooking hob variants and typologies in a simple and easy manner, without having to adapt entire production lines for that purpose and, consequently, without involving the costs thereof.

It is another object of the present invention to provide considerable cooking hob production flexibility with enhanced production modularity, lower costs and wider possibilities of stylistic customisation.

Finally, with particular respect to the cooking hob described in GB989,700, current invention aims to simplify the cleaning of the cooking hob.

Said objects are achieved by the present invention through a cooking hob comprising specially designed coupling means for positioning the pan support on the cover of the cooking hob incorporating the features set out in the appended claims, which are intended as an integral part of the present description.

Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and from the annexed drawings, which are supplied by way of non-limiting example, wherein:

Fig. 1 schematically shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a cooking hob according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the cooking hob of Fig. 1, in particular a perspective view of the lower portion of the pan support and a perspective view of the upper portion of the cover of the cooking hob of Fig. 1.

Said description and said drawings are to be considered as non-limiting examples. Referring now to the drawings, reference numeral 10 designates as a whole a household cooking hob of the type comprising:

a cover 20 that houses at least one burner 30, in particular a gas burner, at least one corresponding support element or pan support 40 for laying at least one cooking container (not shown in the drawings) over said at least one burner 30.

As shown in the embodiment of Fig. 1, said at least one burner 30 comprises a plurality of burners 30, more precisely four or five burners 30, preferably having different size and calorific power, which can be used as necessary with pots, pans and jugs having different dimensions and suitable for cooking different types of foods. Said burners 30 may be manufactured by using any technology, e.g. the "Flat Thin Gas Hob" technology as described in patent application WO2007/036772 by the present Applicant.

In particular, in the embodiment of Fig. 1 four burners 30 are arranged at the four corners of the quadrilateral that delimits the cooking hob 10, whereas a fifth burner 30 is arranged centrally relative to the other four; it is however clear that the layout of the burners 30 on the cooking hob 10 may be different from that shown in Fig. 1.

Said burners 30 may be without distinction of the type taking primary air above or below the cooking hob 10 whereon they are mounted. It is also clear that each burner 30 may be fitted with an ignition spark plug and/or a thermocouple for checking if the burner 30 is on; neither said ignition spark plug nor said thermocouple are shown in the drawings.

In Fig. 1 it can be seen that the pan support 40 is made up of a plurality of support elements joined together to form some sort of "continuous grate". It is apparent that the pan support 40 may be made as one piece, thus serving all the burners 30 of the cooking hob 10.

The cooking hob 10 also comprises a plurality of knobs 50 adapted to be operated by a user for both turning on and/or off each of said burners 30 and adjusting the heat generated by each of said burners 30, said knobs 50 allowing the user to adjust the gas flow, and therefore the heat generated by combustion by the burners 30. The cooking hob 10 further comprises coupling means for positioning the pan support 40 on the cover 20 of the cooking hob 10.

As shown in Fig. 2, according to the present invention said coupling means comprise:

- at least one indentation 21 provided on an edge 22 of the cover 20 of the cooking hob 10;

at least one projection 41 provided on a lower portion 401 of the pan support 40, said projection 41 being adapted to be coupled to said indentation 21.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term "indentation" refers to shaping at least one edge 22 of the cover 20 of the cooking hob 10 in a manner such as to obtain a recess, said recess being suitable for receiving a matching projection 41.

The coupling between the indentation 21 and the projection 41 prevents the pan support 40 from accidentally translating or moving relative to the cooking hob 10 when in operation, i.e. when it is supporting a food container as food is being cooked, especially when moving a food container from one burner 30 to another. Also, such a coupling ensures an optimal and stable positioning of the pan support 40 with respect to the burners 30.

In a preferred embodiment, the cover 20 of the cooking hob 10 has the shape of a quadrilateral and comprises a plurality of indentations 21 on two opposite sides of said quadrilateral.

Preferably, said plurality of indentations 21 are provided on a first 23 A and a second 23B side portions of said quadrilateral when the knobs 50 are arranged near a front portion 24 A of the cooking hob 10. Furthermore, the indentations 21 provided on the first side portion 23 A may be offset relative to the indentations 21 provided on the second side portion 23B with reference to a first median line X of the cooking hob 10, said first median line X being substantially parallel to said first side portion 23A and/or to said second side portion 23B.

As an alternative, the indentations 21 may be asymmetrical relative to said first median line X and symmetrical relative to a second median line Y, said second median line Y being substantially parallel to a front portion 24A and/or to a rear portion 24B of said quadrilateral; in this way, if the pan support 40 is made up of a plurality of support elements, the indentations 21 can be used as a reference for mounting each of said support elements correctly, thus preventing any mistake when installing the support elements.

According to a further alternative, the indentations 21 may be symmetrical relative to both the first median line X and the second median line Y.

In Fig. 2, said first X and second Y median lines are represented by means of a dashed-dotted line.

It is clear that said plurality of indentations 21 may be obtained on said front portion 24 A and on said rear portion 24B of said quadrilateral. Such a configuration is to be preferred when the knobs 50 are arranged laterally on the cooking hobs 1 0.

Alternatively, said plurality of indentations 21 may be provided on all four sides of the cooking hob 10, e.g.: two on the first side portion 23 A, two on the second side portion 23B, one on the front portion 24A, and one on the rear portion 24B.

Moreover, said indentations 21 may either be totally covered by the projections 41 of the pan support 40 or remain at least partly visible.

As can be seen in the perspective view from below of the pan support shown in Fig. 2, said projections 41 are provided on a first 42A and a second 42B side ledges, in a manner such that they can be coupled to the indentations 21 provided on said side portions 23 A, 23B. However, it is clear that said projections 41 may also be provided on at least one front ledge 43A and on at least one rear ledge 43B, in a manner such that they can be coupled to any indentations 21 provided on said front portion 24 A and on said rear portion 24B.

In accordance with the present invention, said plurality of indentations 21 have a rounded shape; this allows to attain a proper coupling between each indentation 21 and the respective projection 41 while at the same time keeping down the costs for making said indentations 21. In particular, it can be seen in Fig. 2 that each indentation 21 substantially has the shape of an arc of circumference.

Preferably, each projection 41 is covered with an element made of elastic material, in particular silicone rubber, for the purpose of limiting as much as possible any friction between each projection 41 and the respective indentation 21, i.e. between the cover 20 and the pan support 40. Preferably, when the cover 20 of the cooking hob 10 is made of glassy material, said indentations 21 may be obtained by grinding; otherwise, when the cover 20 of the cooking hob 10 is made of sheet-metal or a similar material, said indentations 21 may be obtained by drawing.

The features and advantages of the cooking hob according to the present invention are apparent from the above description.

In particular, the present invention allows to provide a cooking hob comprising coupling means for positioning the pan support on the cover of the cooking hob which are adapted to ensure a higher degree of versatility in designing said cooking hob.

In addition, the particular design of said coupling means allows to manufacture new cooking hob variants and typologies in a simple and easy manner, without having to adapt entire production lines for that purpose and, consequently, without involving the costs thereof.

A further advantage of the present invention is that the coupling means provide considerable cooking hob production flexibility with enhanced production modularity, lower costs and wider possibilities of stylistic customisation.

It is however clear that many changes may be made to the cooking hob according to the present invention, and that in its practical implementation the various components may have different shapes and arrangements or be replaced with other technically equivalent elements without departing from the novelty spirit of the inventive idea.

One of the many possible variants (not shown in the annexed drawings) envisages the following:

at least one seat on the lower portion 401 of the pan support 40;

at least one projection on an edge 22 of the cover 20 of the cooking hob 10, said projection being adapted to be coupled to said seat.

The seats on the lower portion 401 of the pan support 40 and the projections on the edge 22 of the cover 20 may be provided as an alternative or in addition to the elements shown in Figs. 1 and 2, i.e. the indentations 21 on the edge 22 and the projections 41 on the lower portion 401.

It can therefore be easily understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-described cooking hob, but may be subject to many modifications, improvements or replacements of equivalent parts and elements without departing from the inventive idea, as clearly specified in the following claims.