Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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GAS FLOW CONTROL SYSTEM
FOR GAS BARBEQUE AND THE LIKE
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The invention relates to a remote control system
for igniting and controlling a plurality of operations of a
gas burning device such as a barbeque for example.
BACKGROUND OF THE ART
[0002] Gas burning devices such as barbeque devices are
usually convenient to use and are easy to maintain.
However, users of gas barbeque devices in particular have
been fearful in igniting and adjusting the operation of the
gas burner in the device in use because of the potential
danger of gas accumulation and explosion in such operation.
Particularly, since the user must stand immediately close
to the device to perform the igniting operation usually
with a match or lighter, and repeated failure to ignite the
device, such as in a windy condition, would result in
leakage of gas into the area around the device that could
result in a gas explosion, and a gas explosion until such
circumstances could cause fatal harm to the user. In areas
of cold climate it is also very uncomfortable to ignite a
barbeque device outdoors. Remote controlled syrods have
been developed for igniting a gas barbeque device without
the user situated immediate adjacent to the device.
However, they do not address all the requirements of the
users such as the capability of controlling the operation
of the device after it has been ignited.
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[0003] To reduce the difficulties associated with
manually ignited gas burning devices, it is advantageous to
produce a remote control system for igniting on a pilot on
demand basis and controlling a plurality of operations of a
barbeque device during use. A desirable remote control
system may be operative for monitoring the temperature and
condition of the food being cooked in the barbeque. To
reduce energy requirements and need for battery
replacements a thermoelectric generating system may be
desired for operating various components
[0004] Objects of the invention will be apparent from
review of the disclosure, drawings and description of the
invention below.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The invention provides a gas control system
having: a valve body having a preliminary chamber, an inlet
orifice in communication with said preliminary chamber, an
outlet orifice on said valve body in communication with a
gas burning device, a main chamber within said valve body,
said main chamber and said preliminary chamber
communicating through a valve opening, a stopper in said
preliminary chamber and normally urged by a compression
spring located in said preliminary chamber to engage with
said valve opening to close communication between said
preliminary chamber and said main chamber, an elongated
slidable rod slidably mounted in said valve body and having
an inner end portion juxtaposed with said stopper washer,
and a pressing arm juxtaposed with another end of said
slidable rod and operative for pressing said slidable arm
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inwards to disengage said stopper washer from said valve
opening for releasing the gas in said preliminary chamber
into said outlet orifice.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] In order that the invention may be readily
understood, embodiments of the invention are illustrated by
way of example in the accompanying drawings.
[0007] Figure 1 is a sectional view of the control
valve for controlling the flow of gas to the burner and the
pilot on demand arrangement in a first embodiment of the
system of the present invention.
[0008] Figure 2 is a perspective top elevation of
the gas barbeque device provided with the control valve of
the remote control system of the present invention.
[0009] Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram
showing the remote control system of the present invention.
[00010] Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram
showing the two way communication between the remote
control and the barbeque device in the remote control
system of the present invention.
[00011] Figures 5A is a perspective top rear
elevation view of the barbeque unit provided with a
plurality of thermoelectric generating modules for
providing operating electrical power to components of the
present system.
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[00012] Figure 5B is an enlarged view of the
thermoelectric generating module of Figure 5A.
[00013] Figure 6 is a top view of the barbeque
device with open lid showing the provision of video
components for monitoring the condition of the food being
cooked in the barbeque device.
[00014] Figure 7 is a sectional view of a gas valve
according to a second embodiment of the invention for
controlling the gas supplied to the barbeque device.
[00015] Figure 8 is a sectional view of a third
embodiments of a gas valve having a counterbalance lever
arrangement for controlling the gas supplied to the
barbeque device.
[00016] Figure 9 is a sectional view of an
electromagnetic drive for the gas valve of Figure 8.
[00017] Figure 10 is a sectional view of an
electromagnetic drive for the syrod of the present
invention.
[00018] Further details of the invention and its
advantages will be apparent from the detailed description
included below.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[00019] With reference to Figure 1, a first embodiment of
the invention includes a gas control valve 10 for the
remote control system of the present invention has a main
body 11 which has a gas inlet orifice 12 for admitting the
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incoming gas into a preliminary chamber 13. The inlet
orifice 12 is normally closed by a plunger 14 operated by
an electromagnetic control safety device 15 and a biasing
spring 16. The plunger 14 has a rubber washer 17 which is
normally maintained engaged with the admitting opening 18
by the biasing spring 16 to prevent the incoming gas from
passing through the admitting opening 18 to the pilot
orifice 19 and the main chamber 20. A top body 21 is
mounted to the main body 11 by bolts 22 and 23 and a
circular washer 24 together with O-ring 25 seal the joint
between the two bodies. An elongated rod 26 is slidably
mounted within the top body 21. A bushing 27 is mounted at
the inner portion of the rod 26 located within the main
chamber 20. The bushing 27 is retained in place by a
retaining ring 28 and a rubber washer 29 fixedly mounted on
the rod 26. An O-ring 30 is located between the rubber
washer 29 and the bushing 27. Another washer 31 is mounted
on the rod 26 and located adjacent to the circular washer
24. The washer 31 is retained in place by a retaining ring
32. A compression spring 33 is located between the rubber
washer 29 and the washer 31 to maintain the bushing 27
firmly pressing against the retaining ring 28. A rubber
washer 34 is mounted on the bushing 27 on the side facing
the main opening 35 leading into the main chamber 20. An O-
ring 36 is provided between the circular washer 24 and the
top body 21 to prevent any leakage of gas between the
slidable rod 26 and the top body 21. The middle portion of
the slidable rod 26 is located in an inner chamber 37. A
washer 38 is mounted on the slidable rod 26 adjacent to a
front opening 39 of the inner chamber 37, and retaining
ring 40 maintains the washer 38 fixedly mounted in place on
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the slidable rod 26. A compression spring 41 is located in
the inner chamber 37 and extends between the rear wall 42
of the inner chamber 37 and the washer 38. The spring force
of the compression spring 41 cooperating with the washer 38
to maintain the slidable rod 26 normally in the position
with its front end portion 43 extending outside the front
opening 39 as best shown in Figure 1. An angle support 44
is mounted to the front side of the top body 21 by bolts 45
and 46. The front end portion 43 of the slidably rod 26
extends outwards of an opening 47 of the angle support 44.
A drive motor 48 preferably having a high step down gear
ratio as shown in a dotted circular line in Figure 1 is
mounted on the perpendicular plate 49 of the angle support
44 by screws 50 and 51. The drive shaft 52 of the motor 48
extends outwards of the perpendicular plate 49, and a
pivotal arm 53 is mounted to the drive shaft 52 by a set
screw 54. The side of the pivotal arm 53 is juxtaposed to
the front end 55 of the slidable rod 26 so that the pivotal
arm 53 is pivotable to push the slidable rod 26 to move
inwards of the gas control valve 10.
[00020] As shown in Figure 2, the gas control valve 10 is
connected between the gas supply such as the natural gas
supply or a portable propane gas tank 56 and the barbeque
unit 57. For simplicity of illustration, a propane gas tank
is shown. In the well known manner, a gas regulator 58 is
provided between the gas supply and the barbeque unit when
a propane gas tank is used. The gas supply line 59 connects
between the gas regulator 58 and the inlet orifice 12 of
the gas control valve 10. An elongated pilot gas tube 60 is
connected to the pilot orifice 19 of the gas control valve
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10. The pilot gas tube 60 extends into the barbeque unit 57
and it is provided with pilot openings 61 and 62 located
closely adjacent to the gas burners 63 and 64. Only one
pilot opening may be provided if the barbeque unit has only
one gas burner. Two burners are shown as an example. The
end 65 of the pilot tube 60 may also extend to locate
adjacent to a side burner 66 if such side burner is
provided on the barbeque unit, and a pilot opening 67 is
provided at the end portion of the pilot tube 60. A main
gas line 68 is connected between the output orifice 69 of
the gas control valve 10 and the gas burners 63 and 64 and
the side burner 66. Pilot flame igniters 70, 71 and 72 are
located adjacent to the pilot openings 61, 62 and 67
respectively. The pilot flame igniters 70, 71 and 72 are
operated by a sparker module 73 mounted on the barbeque
unit 57. The barbeque unit 57 may be provided with manually
adjustable gas control valve 74, 75 and 76 for manual
adjustment of the burner flame in the well known manner.
The two burner and one side burner barbeque unit is shown
as an example for illustrating the present invention. The
system may be adapted for use with barbeque units have only
one burner or a plurality of burners and with or without a
side burner by the appropriate elimination or addition of
components.
[00021] In operation, the gas control valve 10 is
operated by actuating the motor 48 is so that the pivotal
arm 53 is pivoted in a clockwise direction to push the
slidable rod 26 to move inwards of the valve 10 until the
rear end 56 of the slidable rod 26 pushes the rubber washer
17 of the plunger 14 to disengage from the admitting
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opening 18 while the rubber washer 34 of the bushing 27 is
pressed tightly against the opening 35 to seal the
communication between the preliminary chamber 12 and the
main chamber 20 so that in the incoming gas flows into the
pilot orifice 19 through the admitting opening 18 to the
pilot tube 60. The igniters 70, 71 and 72 are actuated by
the sparker module 73 to provide the spark for igniting the
gas emitting from the pilot openings 61, 62 and 67 to
provide the pilot flames 77, 78 and 79 adjacent to the gas
burners 63, 64 and 66 respectively. After the pilot flames
77, 78 and 79 have been ignited, the heat of the pilot
flame 77 is detected by a thermoelectric converter 80 to
provide an electric current which is conducted by lead
wires 81 connected to the electromagnetic control safety
device 15 to operate the latter so as to hold the plunger
14 down in order for the gas to continue flowing to the
pilot orifice 19. The motor 41 is then operated in the
reverse direction so as to pivot the pivotal arm 53 in the
counterclockwise direction to allow the slidable rod 26 to
move outwards by the spring force of the compression
springs 33 and 41. The washer 34 of the bushing 27 is then
engaged from the main opening 35 so that incoming gas flows
into the main chamber 20 to exit through the outlet orifice
69. The incoming gas continues to flow to the pilot tube 60
through the pilot orifice 19 since the plunger 14 is now
held down by the electromagnet control safety device 15.
The gas emitting from the gas burners 63, 64 and 66 are
then ignited by the pilot flames 77, 78 and 79
respectively. After the burners 63, 64 and 66 have been
ignited, the motor 48 may be operated to move the slidable
rod 26 in or out in selective degree so as to modulate the
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amount of gas flowing to the burners 63, 64 and 66 for
adjusting the size of the flame of the burners to select
the desirable cooking requirement. The motor 48 of the gas
control valve 10 operate through the above three time
period sequence including starting the barbeque unit until
controlling the required cooking conditions during cooking.
[00022] As shown in Figure 3, the electronic system for
operating the gas control valve 10 is, for example, a CMOS
logic circuit system. A low battery inhibitor device 82 is
provided in the system to ensure that the sequence to start
the motor 48 of the gas control valve 10 is not initiated
if there is insufficient power for the motor to proceed
with the entire sequence of operation as described above.
The operation is initiated by actuating an ON signal
generator 83 which provides a pulse signal through a gate
circuit 84 to the flip-flop circuit 85 to initiate a
blocking timer 86 to operate the motor 48 through the above
three-period sequence as represented by timing blocks 87,
88 and 89. In the time period T1 as indicated in timing
block 87, a forward signal is sent from a forward signal
generator as represented pictorial by the block 90 to
drive the motor 48 clockwise as pictorial represented by
the block 9lso that the pivotal arm 53 pushes the slidable
rod 26 of the gas control valve 10 inwards to permit the
incoming gas to flow to the pilot orifice 19. It would
also provide the sufficient time period to ensure that the
electromagnetic safety device 15 is actuated to hold the
plunger 14 in place for the gas to flow from the pilot
orifice 19 to the pilot tube 60. The second time period T2
as pictorial represented by block 88 commences when the gas
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flows to the pilot tube 60. In the time period T2, the
motor is not operated while the sparker module 73 is
operated by actuating a sparker relay 92 to ignite the
igniters 70, 71 and 72 so as to create the pilot flames 77,
78 and 79 from the gas emitting from the pilot openings 61,
62 and 67. After the pilot flame 77 is ignited, the flame
actuates the thermoelectric converter 80 to provide the
electric power to maintain the plunger 14 down so that gas
continues to flow to the pilot tube 60. The time period T3
as represented pictorial by block 89 commences at the
termination of time period T2. In the time period T3, the
motor 48 is first operated by a reverse signal generated by
a reverse signal generator as pictorial represented by
reverse block 93 sent to the motor drive 91 to pivot the
pivotal arm 53 counterclockwise so that the slidable rod 26
is returned to the position to allow gas to flow through
the gas line 68 to the burners 63, 64 and 66. The gas
emitting from the burners 63, 64 and 66 is ignited by the
pilot flames 77, 78 and 79 thus completing the sequence for
igniting the barbeque unit 57.
[00023] After the barbeque unit 57 has been ignited, the
condition of the flame of the burners 63,64 and 66 may be
controlled by actuated a flip-flop circuit 94. The flip-
flop circuit 94 is actuated by operating a down signal
generator 95 which provides a signal to the forward signal
generator 90 to rotate the motor 48 in the clockwise
direction over a short time period T4 as represented by
block 96. Thus, the valve 10 may be adjusted in small
incremental steps to reduce the size of the flame of the
burners each time the down signal generator 95 is actuated.
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Similarly, an up signal generator 97 to provide a signal to
the reverse signal generator 93 to rotate the motor 48 in
the counterclockwise direction over a short time period T5
as represented by block 98. Thus, the valve 10 is adjusted
in small incremental steps to increase the size of the
flame of the burner flames each time the up signal
generator 97 is actuated. The timing of the up and down
signal pulses are such that a larger time is allowed when
the motor 48, and in turn the slidable rod 26, is operated
against the spring force whereas a smaller time pulse is
allowed to drive the motor 48 when the latter is cooperated
with the spring force to move the slidable rod 26 outwards,
which may be a rod secured on a cap attached to cover the
front end 55 passing through arm 53 with a button on the
end for depressing.
[00024] An override bar 99 is mounted on the front end
portion 43, as best shown in Figure 1, such that the
slidable rod 26 may be operated manually by pushing or
pulling this override bar.
[00025] To turn the barbeque unit 57 off, an Off signal
generator 100 is operated to provide an off signal to the
flip-flop circuit 85 to enable a close relay 101 which is
in series with the thermoelectric converter 80 and the
electromagnetic safety device 15. The close relay 101 is
momentarily energized so that the thermocouple switch 102
of the thermoelectric converter 80 is open thus turning off
the operating power to the electromagnetic safety device 15
to release the plunger 14. The valve 10 will then return to
the normal condition with the admitting opening 18 closed
by the rubber washer 17 to shut off the gas flow to both
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the pilot orifice 19 and the outlet orifice 69. A manual
switch 103 in series with the thermocouple switch 102 may
be provided so that the barbeque unit 57 may be
conveniently and alternatively turned off by operating this
manual switch 103 to shut off the valve 10.
[00026] The gas control valve 10 may be operated with a
remote control system as shown in Figure 4. The remote
control system consists of a sensing and control unit 104
and a selection unit 105. The sensing and control unit 104
may be mounted at a strategic location in the barbeque unit
for sensing the temperature of the barbeque unit or the
food selectively. The temperature of the barbeque unit or
the food is detected by a temperature sensor 106 of the
sensing and control unit 104. The detected temperature
level is converted into a digital or analog signal by a
coder 107, which is transmitted via an RF transmitter 108
and channelled through a T/R switch 109. The selection unit
105 receives the temperature level signal via a T/R switch
110. The signal is amplified by an amplifier 111 and
decoded by a decoder 112 so that the detected temperature
level is shown by a display 113. When the user, after
observing the temperature level displayed, may select or
alter the temperature to a desirable level by actuating a
set temp unit 114 in the selection unit 105. The signal of
the set temp unit 114 is compared with the detected
temperature level signal from the decoder 112 by a
comparator 115 and the resulting temperature level
differential is converted to the digital or analog
temperature selection coded signal by a coder 116. The
temperature selection coded signal is transmitted by
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transmitter 117 via the T/R switch 110. When the
temperature selection coded signal is received by the T/R
switch 109 of the sensing and control unit 104 it is
amplified by an amplifier 118 and is decoded by a decoder
119. The decoded signal is compared with the temperature
level signal from the temperature sensor 106 by a
comparator 120 and the resulting differential signal is
applied to the motor 48 to operate the motor in a clockwise
or counterclockwise direction for adjusting the flame level
of the barbeque burners accordingly.
[00027] The electrical power required for operating the
sensing and control unit 104 and the gas control valve 10
may be provided by a plurality of thermoelectric generator
modules mounted on the barbeque unit. As best shown in
Figure 5A, for example, three thermoelectric generator
modules 121, 122 and 123. As best shown in the isolated
enlarged top elevation view of Figure 5B, each
thermoelectric generator module has a heat sink 124 having
a plurality of spaced parallel fins 125 and a plurality of
transducers 126 mounted on the surface opposite to the fins
125. Each thermoelectric generator module 121-123 is
mounted to the rear wall 127 of the barbeque unit by bolts
128 and 129 with the transducer therein contacting the
barbeque rear wall 127. The bolts 128 and 129 are insulated
by ceramic washers 130 and 131. The thermoelectric
generator modules 121, 122 and 123 are positioned such that
the fins 125 are extending vertically to facilitate the
heat emitting by convection from the barbeque unit rear
wall 127 or some other convenient location on the barbeque
to flow through the vertical spacing between the fins 125.
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The transducers 126 are connected in series to provide a
voltage level sufficient to operate various electrical
components of the system of the present invention. Also,
thermopiles may be used as transducers 126 to generate the
electrical power with a large voltage level.
[00028] A visual monitoring system as shown in Figure 6
may be incorporated for viewing and monitoring the
condition of the food inside the barbeque during operation.
An observation window 132 is formed at the rear wall 127 of
the barbeque unit. A light 133 is provided to illuminated
the interior of the barbeque unit. A tube 134 is mounted
over the observation window and extending outwards
rearwardly from the rear wall 127. The view within the
barbeque unit as illuminated by the light 133 is enlarged
by a lens 135 to provide an image detected by an image
sensor 136 such as a CCD device mounted at the rear end of
the tube 133. The image may be retrieved by a remote-
controlled video camera and transmitterl37 to a video
display.
[00029] A simplified gas control valve 138 may be used
with a pilot-on-demand barbeque unit. The valve 138 has a
gas inlet orifice 139 and a single outlet orifice 140 which
provides the gas to both the pilot tube and the burner tube
as described above. The valve 138 has a main chamber 141
and a preliminary chamber 142 separated by an opening 143.
The preliminary chamber 142 is enclosed by a panel 144
mounted to the valve by bolts 145 and 146. An O-ring 147 is
provided between the valve body and the panel 144 to
prevent any gas leakage from the valve 138 through the
preliminary chamber 142. The inlet orifice 139 communicates
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with the preliminary chamber 142 and the outlet orifice 140
communicates with the main chamber 141. A T-shaped plunger
147A is located in the preliminary chamber 142. A rubber
washer 148 is mounted on the plunger 147A, and the plunger
147A is normally biased by the spring force of a
compression spring 149 in the preliminary chamber 142 to
press the rubber washer 148 against the opening 143. Thus,
the compression spring 149 maintains the opening 143 closed
by the rubber washer 148 of the plunger 147A so that gas
incoming to the preliminary chamber 142 can not flow
through the opening 143 into the main chamber 141. A
slidable rod 150 is slidably mounted in the valve 138 and
it is largely located in the main chamber 141 with its rear
end 151 juxtaposed to the rubber washer 148 of the plunger
147A and its front end portion 152 extending outwards from
the top body 153 of the valve 138. Similar to the gas
control valve 10 described above, a motor 48 is mounted on
an angle support 44 which attached to the top body 153 by
bolts 154 and 155. The pivotal arm 53 is in contact with
the front end 156 of the pivotal arm 53 so that operation
of the motor 48 will cause the slidably rod 150 to move
inwards to disengage the rubber washer 148 from the opening
143 so as to allow incoming gas in the preliminary chamber
142 to flow to the outlet orifice 140 through the main
chamber 141. O-rings 157 and 158 are provided between the
slidable rod 150 and the top body 153 to prevent gas
leakage from the main chamber 141. The valve 138 operates
closely similar to the gas control valve 10 with the
operation of the motor 48 as described above.
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[00030] Another alternative embodiment of the gas control
valve is shown in Figure 8, which is a combination of valve
and valve 138 described above. This combination valve
159 has two slidable rods 160 and 161. The slidable rod 160
5 is provided in the right portion 162 having a construction
similar to valve 10 and a left portion 163 similar in
construction to valve 138. The right portion 162 controls
the gas flowing to the pilot orifice 164 and the left
portion 163 controls the gas flowing to the main gas outlet
10 orifice 165. The slidable rods 160 and 161 are operated by
a single motor 166 with a seesaw bar 167 mounted to the
motor shaft. One end portion of the seesaw bar 167 is
juxtaposed to the outer end of the slidable rod 160 while
the other end portion of the seesaw bar 167 is juxtaposed
to the outer end of the slidable rod 161. Gas is admitted
into the preliminary chamber 168 through the inlet orifice
169. The motor 166 is first operated to rotate in a
clockwise manner for pushing the slidable rod 160 inwards
so that the rubber washer 170 mounted at the rear end of
the slidable rod 160 is disengaged from the opening 171 to
facilitate the gas to flow to the pilot orifice 164 through
the main chamber 172. At this stage, the opening 173
between the main chamber 172 and the outlet chamber 174 is
closed by the rubber washer 175 mounted on the slidable rod
161 so that no gas is flowing from the main chamber 172 to
the outlet chamber 174. The pilot flame is ignited when the
gas is flowing out of the pilot orifice 164 as described
previously. The pilot flame then generates an electrical
voltage to energize the electromagnetic safety device 176
to maintain the slidable rod 160 in the inward position and
the opening 171 remaining open for gas to continue flowing
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out of the pilot orifice 164. The motor 166 is then
operated to rotate in a counterclockwise direction so that
the other end portion of the seesaw bar 167 presses the
slidable rod 161 inwards to disengage the rubber washer 175
from the opening 173 so that gas will flow from the main
chamber 172 to the outlet chamber 174 and will exit from
the outlet orifice 165 to the burners to be ignited by the
pilot flame. At this stage, the slidable rod 160 is still
maintained in the inward position by the electromagnetic
safety device 176 so that gas continues to flow out of both
the pilot orifice 164 and the outlet orifice 165. The valve
159 is turned off by de-energizing the electromagnetic
safety device 176 so that the compression spring 177
returns the rubber washer 170 to the position pressing
against the opening 171 and the compression spring 178
returns the rubber washer 175 to the position pressing
against the opening 173, therefore, gas is prevented from
flowing into the main chamber 172 and the outlet chamber
174. The advantages of this embodiment are that the force
exerted on the seesaw bar 167 is counterbalanced and the
distance for moving the slidable rods 160 and 161 is much
smaller.
[00031] As best shown in Figure 9 the seesaw bar 167 of
the valve 159 may be operated by an electromagnet assembly
179 with seesaw bar 167 mounted in a pivotable manner to a
supporting post 180. The electromagnet assembly 179 has an
electromagnetic winding 181 wound on a mild steel core 182.
A solenoid plunger 183 is slidably mounted within the core
182. The solenoid plunger 183 has a mild steel portion 184
surrounded by the electromagnetic winding 181 and a non-
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magnetic plunger arm 185 extending outwards to contact the
seesaw bar 167. The electromagnet assembly 179 may be
operated to pivot the seesaw bar 167 in a manner similar to
that operated by the motor 166.
[00032] An electromagnetic device 186 as shown in
Figure 10 may be incorporated in the gas control valve 10
for operating the slidable rod 26 in an overriding manner.
The electromagnetic device 186 has a electromagnetic
winding 187 wound on a bobbin 188 located within a mild
steel enclosure 189. A mild steel plunger 190 is slidably
mounted within the electromagnetic device 186 and it is
operative to move in a back and forth sliding movement by
energizing the electromagnetic winding 187. The plunger 190
has an arm 191 extending outward of the enclosure 189. The
electromagnetic device 186 is mounted on the angle support
44 with the outer end portion of the slidable rod 26
slidably extending within the electromagnetic device 186 to
engage with the plunger 190. Thus, the operation of the
plunger 190 in the back and forth sliding movement will
cause the slidable rod 26 to move in the similar manner to
provide the functions of the valve 10 as described above.
The arm 191 may also be operated manually to move the
slidable rod 26 to provide the various functions.
[00033] The valve 10 can be disabled easily using a
permanent magnet applied externally adjacent the
electromagnetic control device 15 to hold the plunger 14 in
an open position. Further modification of the system can
include use of multiple pilot lights 77 with multiple
thermocouples 80 to light multiple burners 63, 64 (as shown
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in Figure 2) where the pilot lights 77 are supplied from a
common gas manifold.
[00034] Although the above description relates to a
specific preferred embodiment as presently contemplated by
the inventor, it will be understood that the invention in
its broad aspect includes mechanical and functional
equivalents of the elements described herein.
