Stoves and furnaces – Stoves – Cooking
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-21
2004-03-09
Bennett, Henry (Department: 3743)
Stoves and furnaces
Stoves
Cooking
C126S349000, C114S193000, C108S001000, C108S006000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06701911
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an adjustment device, particularly for adjusting the levelness of a surface or of an electric appliance, such as for example a set of burners of a cooker for watercraft.
Currently, in the nautical sector it is known to provide fittings which use surfaces or electric appliances which must be arranged in a horizontal position in order to be used correctly.
This aspect clashes with the fact that during certain types of sailing, for example during close-hauling, the boat remains more or less constantly tilted to one side at a certain angle.
This is due to the fact that it is not possible to fully compensate for the presence of crosswind, which increases as one sails closer to the wind, i.e., as one sails upwind.
The fact that the vessel has this tilt, which in large vessels such as cruise ships remains constant for long periods, causes the problem that it is not possible to perform all those operations that require the availability of a substantially horizontal surface.
One of these cases occurs, for example, for cooking food on sets of burners of cookers for watercraft, which nowadays has been partly remedied by means of conventional devices for compensating for lateral tilting.
These devices, which also act as limiters and damping elements for the oscillations caused by the rolling of the vessel, substantially consist of a pair of pivots which are rigidly coupled to, and protrude outward from, for example the opposite lateral panels of the cooker unit that supports the set of burners.
The pair of pivots is usually arranged proximate to the upper side of the panels, advantageously proximate to the centerline of the lateral panels of the cooker unit.
The two pivots are accommodated in appropriate seats provided for example on two vertical wings which are rigidly coupled to a support which is fixed to the vessel.
Such pivots, by being able to rotate freely in the respective seats, allow for example the cooker unit to remain vertical, since the rotation of the watercraft does not affect its position because the contacts between the watercraft and the cooker unit are limited only to the pivots.
The main drawback of this device is the fact that the center of gravity of the cooker unit is not fixed in a single position but varies according to the weight and arrangement of the items placed on the surface or on the worktop of the electric appliance.
A frequent drawback occurs, for example, when one rests a pot or heavy container close to the front or rear edge of a set of burners of a cooker unit for nautical use.
Such additional weight, if it is not negligible with respect to the weight of the surface or of an electric appliance and if it lies outside of the axis traced by the line that joins the two pivots, shifts the overall center of gravity and therefore may cause the content of the pot to spill.
A similar problem arises when one has to open the oven door: due to its own weight, the door may cause the rotation of the cooker unit and may cause a small pot placed on the burners to move and fall.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The aim of the present invention is to solve the above-noted problems, eliminating the drawbacks of the cited prior art, by providing a device which allows to use, in a watercraft, a supporting or cooking surface which can remain level even when the weights arranged on it vary.
Within the scope of this aim, an important object of the present invention is to provide a device in which its levelness can be achieved rapidly and easily by the user as the weights arranged thereon vary.
Another important object is to provide a device which does not require particular tools for its activation.
Another object is to provide a device which is structurally simple and has low manufacturing costs.
This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by an adjustment device, particularly for adjusting the levelness of a surface or of an electric appliance having two side panels provided with two pivots for pivoting to a fixed support, characterized in that said pair of pivots is slidingly located in a longitudinal seat and interacts with position-varying means which can be activated by the user.
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Bennett Henry
Josif Albert
Modiano Guido
O'Byrne Daniel
Odland Kathryn
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