US20070119446A1

US20070119446A1 - Securing device for gas hob tap

Info

Publication number: US20070119446A1
Application number: US11/538,075
Authority: US
Inventors: Augusto Rizzolo
Original assignee: Whirlpool Corp
Current assignee: Whirlpool Corp
Priority date: 2005-10-04
Filing date: 2006-10-03
Publication date: 2007-05-31
Also published as: EP1772674A3; EP1772674A2; BRPI0604011A; ITMI20050347U1

Abstract

A securing device, comprising a tap of a gas hob, intended to fix the tap both to a pipe feeding gas to the hob and to a usual portion of the hob in which a through hole is provided for receiving a shaft of the tap which co-operates with a corresponding knob, the device comprising a profiled one-piece body having a first portion presenting at a free end a seat for receiving a projecting element of the tap such as to define the position for its securing to the pipe, the tap being then fixed to this latter by a mechanical fixing member co-operating with a corresponding seat provided in a second portion of the profiled body, the seat of the second portion and the end of the first portion of the profiled body being disposed on opposite sides of the gas feed pipe, the body presenting at the free end of the second portion at least one seat for a corresponding mechanical fixing member for fixing the body to that portion of the hob provided with the through hole.

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.

Claims

1. A securing device for a tap of a gas hob, for fixing the tap both to a pipe feeding gas to the hob and to a portion of the hob in which a through hole is provided for a control shaft of the tap, the device comprising a profiled one-piece body having a first portion presenting at a free end, a seat for receiving a corresponding element of the tap which defines the position for being secured to the pipe, the tap being fixed to the pipe by a mechanical fixing member co-operating with a corresponding seat provided in a second portion of the profiled body, the body presenting at the free end of the second portion at least one seat for a corresponding mechanical fixing member for fixing the body to that portion of the hob provided with the through hole.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the seat for receiving the corresponding element of the tap is a through hole.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the through hole is an elongated hole.

4. The device according to claim 3, wherein the elongated through hole has its longitudinal axis perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis of the one-piece body of the device.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the seat for the mechanical fixing member is a hole provided in the second portion of the one-piece body.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the hole in the second portion is a slot.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the slotted hole has its longitudinal axis parallel to the central axis of the one-piece body of the device.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein the second portion of the one-piece body is flat except at its end, which is bent through 90°, the first portion of the body being inclined to the second portion.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein that between the first and second portion an intermediate part is present, also inclined to the second portion, but in the opposite direction to the first portion.

10. The device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the first portion is inclined towards the interior of the device body, i.e. towards the tap, and is positioned about the gas fed pipe.