Stoves and furnaces – Stoves – Cooking
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-07
2001-07-31
Yeung, James C. (Department: 3743)
Stoves and furnaces
Stoves
Cooking
C126S038000, C126S045000, C126S050000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06267109
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a warming device, in particular a warming plate having a base plate onto which a heat source can be placed and on which carrier struts are attached, wherein the carrier struts support a standing surface.
2. Description of Related Art
Warming devices, often also called warming plates, have been known for many years. Apart from their functional purpose, particularly keeping food warm in a dish placed on the device, the warming devices also have a decorative value. The earliest models were pot-like formations of ceramic or porcelain in which a candle may be accommodated. Later models departed from this basic principle and construed metal versions which practically only have a base plate onto which a heat source may be placed and wherein carrier struts are arranged on the base plate which carry a standing surface at a distance from the base plate. Known heat sources include warming plate candles, gas burners, fuel-paste burners or spirit burners. Such warming devices are often also used for warming cheese fondues, meat fondues or other foods prepared at the table. Warming devices for such purpose are usually combined with gas or spirit burners rather than with candles.
The dishes in which food is warmed as well as pan-like receptacles for fondues have completely different large standing surfaces. While standing surfaces of the receptacles to be placed on the warming device vary, the known warming devices have a fixed standing surface which may not be changed in size or shape.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one object of this invention to provide a warming device, in particular a warming plate, having a base plate onto which a heat source may be placed and onto which carrier struts are attached to maintain a standing surface, formed so that it can be adapted to differing base surfaces of the receptacles which may be placed thereon.
This object is achieved by a warming device with the features described in this specification and in the claims.
One simple and inexpensive form of a pivotally movable mounting of carrier struts has a base plate bearing bores arranged in a circle for mounting rotatably movable carrier struts. The circular arrangement has various advantages. Such an arrangement provides a particularly good force introduction of the receptacle to be placed thereon and the heat source can be centrally arranged. This arrangement also provides a common actuation of all carrier struts with one another, as will be subsequently explained.
To change the standing surface, it is not necessary to directly engage the part surfaces because lugs are arranged on the carrier struts, which allow a pivoting movement of the carrier struts.
It is advantageous to provide an actuation element for pivoting carrier struts about their own axis.
It is advantageous to provide lugs with one lug pin distanced from the pivotal carrier strut on which the lugs are fastened. Such a lug pin provides a positive-fit connection to an actuation element for executing pivoting movement of the carrier struts. This positive-fit connection between the carrier pin and the actuation element may be accomplished by forming the actuation element as an annular disk with radial guide slots into which the lug pins engage. With the eccentric arrangement of the plug pins with respect to the carrier struts, rotation of the annular disk provides a common pivoting movement of all pivotal carrier struts. This requires the carrier struts to be circumferentially arranged about a circle. The actuation element may also be a circular disk which lies within the circularly arranged carrier struts. Also the circular disk would thus have suitable guide slots. The heat source then no longer stands directly on the base plate, but indirectly stands on the circular disk which lies on the base plate.
In one preferred embodiment, for a simple and favorable actuation it is possible to configure the actuation element, as already mentioned, as an annular disk with radial guide slots. With this arrangement, all carrier struts are arranged within a central opening of the annular disk.
The lugs which are rigidly arranged on the pivotally movable carrier struts may advantageously be configured such that on the carrier struts are arranged platelets which are parallel to the base plate and on which the annular disk acting as an actuation element lies, while the mentioned lug pins which are attached on the platelet engage into the guide slots.
For cost and space reasons, it is advantageous to form the part surfaces of the standing surface of wire. Usually, also the carrier struts are formed of wire.
Correspondingly, the carrier struts and the part surfaces may be manufactured of the same wire and connected to one another by soldering or welding technology. A particularly economical embodiment of this invention, the part surface and the carrier struts are manufactured as one piece of a wire. It is possible to configure the part surfaces of the standing surface as decorative platelets punched from a metal sheet. The use of decorative platelets of metal sheet allows the decorative platelets to partly overlap one another in the position in which the smallest standing surface is formed, while in a position in which the largest standing surface is formed such an overlapping is lesser or even is no longer present.
REFERENCES:
patent: 922503 (1909-05-01), Perelzveich
patent: 2853126 (1958-09-01), Corlet
patent: 2928386 (1960-03-01), Keyt et al.
patent: 5307798 (1994-05-01), Overmars
patent: 5613485 (1997-03-01), Covault
Pauley Petersen Kinne & Fejer
Yeung James C.
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