Surface Gas Burner Air Inlet Structure for Stable Primary Air Supply
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional gas burners face challenges in ensuring consistent primary air supply to multiple burner units, leading to pressure drops and inefficient combustion, especially during sudden changes in pressure or when multiple burners are used simultaneously.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a venturi mixing chamber with upwardly directed primary air inlets that are fluidly connected to the gas outlets, allowing ambient air to be drawn in and mixed with fuel gas, creating a fuel-rich mixture for efficient ignition, while also preventing spillage and maintaining aesthetic integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional gas burners use a single primary air inlet configuration, then the structure is simple, but the primary air supply becomes inconsistent leading to pressure drops and inefficient combustion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the primary air inlet system into multiple separate inlets positioned at different locations around the burner assembly. Each inlet independently supplies primary air to the venturi, ensuring that if one inlet is partially blocked or experiences pressure variation, other inlets continue to provide consistent air supply. This segmentation of the air supply system resolves the contradiction by improving reliability through redundancy while maintaining relatively simple individual inlet structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements primary air inlets with different characteristics at different locations - some inlets are positioned to draw air from specific zones, and each inlet may have different sizing or positioning optimized for its local position. This local quality approach ensures that each inlet contributes optimally to the overall air supply, maintaining consistent total air flow even when individual inlets experience variations, thereby improving reliability without requiring a completely complex unified structure.
2Productivity
If multiple burners are used simultaneously or pressure changes suddenly, then the demand for primary air increases, but conventional single air inlet systems experience pressure drops
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the primary air supply into multiple independent inlets, the system can draw air from multiple locations simultaneously, increasing the total air flow capacity. This allows the system to meet higher demand from multiple burners or sudden pressure changes without creating pressure drops, as each inlet can contribute to the total air supply needed for high-productivity operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The multiple primary air inlets are pre-positioned and configured to be ready to supply air immediately when needed. The inlets are designed with appropriate sizing and positioning to provide the required air flow capacity in advance, so when multiple burners are activated or pressure changes occur, the system can respond without pressure drops, maintaining both productivity and pressure stability.
3Reliability
If primary air inlets are exposed on the cooktop surface, then air access is maximized, but the aesthetic integrity and spillage prevention are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions the primary air inlets within or beneath the burner assembly structure itself, nesting the air access function within the existing burner components. This allows air to be drawn from above the cooktop surface through the burner structure without creating exposed openings on the cooktop surface, thereby maintaining aesthetic integrity and preventing spillage while still providing reliable air supply through the nested inlet configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The burner assembly structure acts as an intermediary between the cooktop surface and the primary air inlet openings. The inlets are positioned within the burner assembly rather than directly on the cooktop surface, using the burner structure as a mediator that allows air access while protecting the cooktop surface from spills and maintaining aesthetic appearance. This intermediary structure resolves the contradiction by decoupling the air inlet function from the cooktop surface.
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
This configuration ensures stable primary air supply to each burner unit, preventing pressure drops and enabling efficient combustion across multiple burners, even during sudden changes in pressure, and maintains the cooktop's appearance by shielding the air inlets.
Implementation Method 1
a venturi in fluid communication with the gas outlets
Data Source
AI summary
A gas burner unit for a cooktop includes a spreader positioned above a top surface of the cooktop to define a gap therebetween and having a plurality of gas outlets. The gas burner unit further includes a venturi in fluid communication with the gas outlets and an orifice holder having a plurality of protrusions defining a plurality of upwardly directed primary air inlets therethrough. The plurality of upwardly directed primary air inlets are in fluid communication with the gap on respective first ends thereof and with the venturi on respective second ends thereof opposite the first ends.