ELECTRONIC GAS COOKTOP CONTROL WITH SIMMER SYSTEM AND METHOD THEREOF
First Claim
1. A cooktop, comprising one or more gas bumers, one or more gas valves, each of said valves being connected to control gas flow to one of said gas burners, a user interface for user entry of burner heating level for each of said one or more gas burners, a controller operative to control each of said one or more gas valves in accordance with said user entry entered for the corresponding one of said one or more gas valves, one or more igniters, each of said one or more igniters being connected to ensure ignition of the gas delivered to said gas burners, and one or more temperature sensors, each of said sensors connected and placed to monitor the presence of flames at each of the said burners, the cooktop being characterized in being adapted to operate alternatively in either of first and second modes, said first mode having continuous flame modulation varying continuously between predetermined lower first and higher second heating levels, and said second mode having intermittent flame for producing heating levels less than said lower first heating level for simmering operation, said intermittent flame being controlled between on and off states by said one or more gas valves, said gas valves being controlled by a pulse-width modulated electrical signal provided by said controller in accordance with said user entry.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electronically activated gas cooktop control system, responsive to a touch-sensitive user interface, and capable of providing a predetermined range of cooking and simmer levels of BTU output, has two complementary heating modes of operation A first heating mode of operation is provided to produce a wide selection of simmer levels of BTU output, by electronically sequencing a solenoid-operated modulating gas valve “on” and “off”, at a predetermined level of flame. A second cooking mode of operation is provided by electronically modulating the level of flame, through use of a pulse-width-modulation (PWM) output signal to produce a wide selection of cooking levels of BTU output. An igniter system capable of insuring proper ignition of gas without generating harmful electromagnetic interference is also provided.
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Citations
60 Claims
- 1. A cooktop, comprising one or more gas bumers, one or more gas valves, each of said valves being connected to control gas flow to one of said gas burners, a user interface for user entry of burner heating level for each of said one or more gas burners, a controller operative to control each of said one or more gas valves in accordance with said user entry entered for the corresponding one of said one or more gas valves, one or more igniters, each of said one or more igniters being connected to ensure ignition of the gas delivered to said gas burners, and one or more temperature sensors, each of said sensors connected and placed to monitor the presence of flames at each of the said burners, the cooktop being characterized in being adapted to operate alternatively in either of first and second modes, said first mode having continuous flame modulation varying continuously between predetermined lower first and higher second heating levels, and said second mode having intermittent flame for producing heating levels less than said lower first heating level for simmering operation, said intermittent flame being controlled between on and off states by said one or more gas valves, said gas valves being controlled by a pulse-width modulated electrical signal provided by said controller in accordance with said user entry.
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13. A cooktop, comprising:
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a) one or more gas burners, b) one or more gas valves, each of said valves being connected to control gas flow to one of said gas burners, c) a user interface for user entry of burner heating level for each of said one or more gas burners, d) a controller operative to control each of said one or more gas valves in accordance with said user entry entered for the corresponding one of said one or more gas valves, e) one or more igniters, each of said igniters being connected to ensure ignition of the gas delivered to the said gas burners, and f) one or more temperature sensors, each of said sensors being connected and placed to monitor the presence of flames at each of the said burners. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A heating device, comprising:
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a burner;
an electronic controller for electronically controlling a first mechanism and a second mechanism;
said first electronically controlled mechanism for controlling flow of gas to said burner capable of providing at least two different on-levels of continuous gas flow to said burner; and
said second electronically controlled mechanism for controlling flow of gas to said burner capable of stopping and starting flow of gas to said burner, wherein combination of said first mechanism and said second mechanism provides capability to achieve a lower temperature than is achievable with just continuous flow of gas from said first mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. A gas valve comprising a first electronically controlled flow control mechanism and a second electronically controlled flow control mechanism different from said first flow electronically controlled flow control mechanism,wherein both said first electronically controlled flow control mechanism and said second electronically controlled flow control mechanism can be used together to provide control over burner temperature.
- 59. A method of heating comprising the steps of electronically energizing an igniter, electronically setting a level to a modulating valve, and electronically setting a sequencer to provide a selected BTU output level.
Specification