Multi-Ring Gas Burner Assembly for Stable Flame Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas cooktop appliances face difficulties in cleaning beneath the gas burners due to accumulated food particles and heat transfer issues, and multi-ring burners struggle with balanced fuel and air mixtures leading to flame quenching and inefficient flame transfer between rings.
Innovation Solution
A gas burner assembly with separate fuel chambers for inner and outer flame ports, connected by supply ducts and a crossover duct, which allows for independent fuel supply and flame transfer between rings, reducing heat transfer to the cooktop surface and facilitating cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If gas burners are positioned coincident to top surfaces of cooktops, then heating efficiency is improved, but heat transfer to the cooktop surface increases causing food particles to burn and become difficult to clean
Solution Approach 1:
The burner assembly is divided into separate functional components: a burner head for combustion, a burner base for support, and a grate for food placement. This segmentation allows the burner to be positioned close to the cooktop surface for efficient heating while the grate and burner base create a gap that reduces direct heat transfer to the cooktop, preventing food particles from burning onto the surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The grate and burner base act as intermediary elements between the flame and the cooktop surface. These components allow heat to pass through for efficient cooking while maintaining a physical barrier that prevents direct contact between the flame and cooktop, thereby reducing harmful heat transfer that would cause food particles to burn and adhere to the surface.
2Stability of the object's composition
If gas burners are fastened to cooktops, then stability is improved, but cracks at assembly interfaces accumulate food particles making cleaning difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The burner assembly is segmented into removable components (burner head, base, and grate) that can be easily separated from the cooktop surface. This segmentation eliminates the need for fastening mechanisms that create cracks and crevices, allowing users to remove and clean each component individually without food particles accumulating in assembly interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The burner assembly transitions from a static, fastened configuration to a dynamic, removable configuration. The burner can be easily installed and removed from the cooktop surface, allowing users to access and clean the cooktop surface completely without leaving food particles trapped in fixed assembly interfaces.
3Adaptability or versatility
If carryover ducts are used to transfer flames between burner rings, then flame transfer capability is improved, but fuel and air mixture imbalance causes fuel to burn at the duct opening rather than within the duct
Solution Approach 1:
The carryover duct incorporates localized features such as ignition ports positioned at specific locations along the duct and fuel injection points optimized for each section. This local quality optimization ensures that fuel and air mixtures are properly balanced at each location, preventing premature combustion at the duct opening while enabling reliable flame transfer between burner rings.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces reliance on passive fuel collection and natural convection with an active fuel injection system that precisely controls fuel delivery to the carryover duct. This substitution ensures proper fuel-air mixing ratios are maintained regardless of flow rate variations, preventing fuel accumulation and premature ignition at the duct opening while maintaining reliable flame transfer.
4Reliability
If large volumes of fuel are used to overcome flame quenching at the carryover duct top, then flame transfer is improved, but air entrainment is limited producing an undesirably large flame
Solution Approach 1:
The system optimizes the fuel-air mixture parameters by controlling fuel injection rates and timing to achieve the minimum necessary fuel volume for reliable flame transfer. By adjusting these parameters, the system overcomes flame quenching at the carryover duct top without excessive fuel volume, thereby maintaining proper air entrainment and preventing the production of an undesirably large flame.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances cleaning accessibility by reducing heat transfer and improves flame stability and transfer between burner rings across a wide range of flow rates, ensuring efficient combustion and reduced flame size.
Implementation Method 1
Certain multi-ring gas burners ignite gaseous fuel, such as propane or natural gas
Implementation Method 2
utilize carryover ducts along the top surface of one of the burner rings to carry flames and ignite gaseous fuel at other burner rings
Data Source
AI summary
A gas burner assembly has a first fuel chamber within a burner body and this is contiguous with a plurality of inner flame ports. A second fuel chamber within the burner body is contiguous with a plurality of outer flame ports. A first supply duct extends between the first fuel chamber and a carryover duct. A second supply duct extends between the second fuel chamber and the carryover duct. A related cooktop appliance is also provided.