April 14, 1970 _
-
D. R. SAUDER
3,505,805
ELECTRIC RANGE SURFACEELEMENT‘ASSEMBLY
Filed. June a, 1968
INVENTOR
DONALD E. SAUDER
ATTORNEYS
United States Patent O?ice
3,506,805
Patented Apr. 14, 1970
1
2
3,506,805
numeral 10 designates a portion of the top plate of an
Referring now to the drawing in detail, reference
ELECTRIC RANGE SURFACE ELEMENT
SEMBLY
electric range or cook top in which there is a circular
Donald R. Sander, Bellville, Ohio, assignor to The
Tappan Company, Mans?eld,.Ohio, a corporation
will of course be understood that the top plate will nor
of Ohio
Filed June 6, 1968, Ser. No. 735,112
Int. Cl. H05]: 3/76
US. Cl. 219—451
opening bounded by an integral downturned ?ange 11. It
mally be provided with a plurality of such openings and
each will receive a surface heating element assembly simi
lar to the one to be described below.
3 'Claims
A drip bowl 12 having an integral trim ring 13 is re~
movably suspended in the opening by virtue of the ring
overlying and resting on the top about the opening, with
the bowl also having a horizontal element-supporting
ledge 14 near the top and a bottom center opening 15
for circulation.
plate opening by a drip bowl having an integral trim ring,
The bowl supports a conventional electric surface ele
with the element ends extending through the bowl and 15
ment comprising the tubular sheathed resistance element
plugged into a socket mounted at the underside of the
16 arranged in a ?at spiral on and attached to a spider 17
top plate by a one-piece metal bracket of inverted chan
which rests on the bowl ledge 14. This element has rigid
nel form. The socket has side bosses seized in cut-outs
terminal sections 18 and 19 which extend downwardly
in the sides of the bracket and the bracket top is cut and
bent to form upward tabs, one of which is attached by a 20 from the plane of the element respectively at the inner
and outer ends of the same and then laterally in parallel
fastener to the top plate.
in the same plane through an opening 20 provided in the
wall of the bowl. The terminal sections of the element
extend in spaced relation under and beyond the ?ange 11.
This invention relates to electric range structure and,
more particularly, to an assembly for plug-in top or 25 Each terminal section includes a relatively heavy con
nector wire 21 extending from an internal connection with
surface elements of the same.
the resistance element, through a silicone rubber plug 22,
While plug-in range elements have been known and
in the end of the sheath at such section and terminates
widely used for a substantial time, it is a principal object
in an exposed vertically oriented eye.
of my invention to provide such an assembly which is
considerably simpler and less expensive than those with 30 The ends of the element are detachably plugged into a
socket comprising an elongated body 23 made of a rigid
which I am familiar. The socket which provides the de
plastic or other insulation in which a pair of elongated
tachable energy connection of the element, and the co
passages 24 are provided. Spring contacts 25 are mounted
operable terminal con?guration of the latter, have in par
in these passages into which the end connector Wires 21
ticular become more complex and costly than believed
required to serve the purpose, and the present improve 35 of the heating element extend at one socket end into en
gagement with the contacts, and wires 26 extend from
ments in contrast employ a two-piece socket sub-assembly
connections respectively with the contacts through the
which can readily and cheaply be produced and installed
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
An electric spiral sheathed resistance held in a top
in a range.
other socket end for connection to the energy source for
the element. The end of the body 23 which receives the
The socket connector is conventionally mounted within
the range by attachment to the top adjacent an opening 40 terminals of the element is of rectangular shape and in
tegral square bosses 27 are formed at the respective sides
where the surface element is disposed and held, usually
immediately at such end.
'
by separate structure including a drip bowl section
The socket is mounted in position for such plugging in
through which the ends of the element extend for plugging
of the element by a bracket 28 formed from a single
into the socket, so that the positions of the element ends
and of the socket are not directly related but only through 45 piece of metal to inverted channel shape. The top of this
bracket overlies the top of the socket body, and the paral
their independent supports by the range top. Some mis
lel side walls of the bracket have square cut-outs 29 sized
alignment in installation of the element may be experi
to seize on the end bosses 27 of the socket body when
enced on this account, and pivotal mounting of the socket
forced on the same. The bracket side Walls are deeper
has been proposed and used for adjustment to such varia
separate support of the element and the socket, but in its
than the socket to engage about the bosses at the bottom
as well, and small reliefs 30 may be provided as shown
preferred form with more assurance of the desired coin
at the bottom corners of the cut-outs to provide an added
tion as might occur. The new assembly likewise involves
degree of yielding in the force ?t of the bracket to the
cidence of the two for non-pivoting mounting of the
socket.
socket.
It will also be noted that the bracket cut-outs occur
Other objects and advantages of the present invention 55
about half-way along the length of the bracket, with ap
will become apparent as the following description pro
preciable extent accordingly at each side. The bracket
ceeds.
top at the end nearest the element is cut and bent up
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related
wardly to form a right angle tab 31 which is attached by
ends the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter
a screw 32 to the top plate ?ange 11. At the other end,
fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims,
the bracket top is also cut and here bent upwardly as
the following description and the annexed drawing setting
an angle 33 which engages the underside of the top plate
forth in detail a certain illustrative embodiment of the
10 to space and hold the bracket stabilized substantially
invention, this being indicative, however, of but one of
horizontal. The bracket sidewalls at the ?rst end portions
the various ways in which the principle of the invention
may be employed.
>
65 34 preferably are bent outwardly to provide a slight di
vergence of the same to facilitate the plugging in of the
In said annexed drawing:
element.
FIG. 1 is a fragmented top plan view of an electric
The sheath of the element‘is electrically grounded in
range surface heating assembly in accordance with the
this assembly by a metal plate 35 which is ?xed to and
present invention, with a portion of the included struc
ture broken away to enhance the illustration; and
70 bridges the sheath end portions and conductively en
FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-section of the assembly as
gages the bracket side walls 34 when the element 'is
viewed from the plane of the line 2--2 in FIG. 1.
inserted. The bracket in turn is in conductive contact
3
8,506,805
with the top plate through the noted atachment of the
4
It will thus be seen that the mounting bracket in this
ment at said opening with its terminal sections projecting
through the support means beneath said ?ange and _the
range top, an elongated socket of insulating material hav
assembly is readily producible by simple metal Working
ing a pair of openings at one end into which the terminal
and its support of the socket accomplished by an equally
simple force ?tting. The socket is rigidly held for the
desired easy extraction and reinsertion by the housewife,
sections of the element extend, spring contactors in said
openings conductively engaging the element terminal sec
former to the latter.
for example, to remove the bowl for cleaning.
The socket and bracket sub-assembly might desirably
be made adjustable to vary the vertical spacing of the
socket beneath the top plate, for example, when it is to
tions and being connected to energy supply Wires, and a
separately formed bracket supporting the socket, said
bracket being made of metal in inverted channel foirn
and embracing the socket with appreciable projection
be used in differently dimensioned range tops, and one
beyond said one end of the same, the bracket at its side
walls and the socket at said one end being formed with
way to provide such adjustment would be to have plural
vertically spaced holes in the attaching tab 31 selectively
inter?tting portions which unite the two, that part of
the bracket projecting beyond said one end of the socket
to be used for the screw fastening of the same to the
being cut and bent upwardly ‘to form an attaching tab
?ange 11.
overlying the range top ?ange, a fastener securing said
Moreover, the use of the trim ring integral with the
tab to said ?ange, and the other’end portion of the bracket
bowl provides more assurance that the element ends and
top being cut and bent upwardly into engagement with
the socket will be in working alignment, since the element
the underside of the range top to space and stabilize the
supporting ledge of the bowl is directly positioned ver 20 socket ‘and bracket assembly at such location.
tically by this ring resting on the top plate. This is in
2. The combination set forth in claim 1, wherein the
contrast to an assembly in which the trim ring is separate
socket has side protuberances at said one end, and the
from the drip bowl, with two overlying ?anges of the
bracket has side wall openings in which such protuber
same replacing the single integral ledge disclosed herein
ances are engaged to mount the socket in the bracket.
and the former inherently adding another tolerance factor 25
3. The combination set forth in claim 2, wherein the
in the positioning of the ends of the element. The vertical
element support means is a bowl having an integral ledge
eye formation of these ends and the contacts used does
on which the element rests and an integral top ring which
afford some relative pivoting in the contact connection
overlies the range top to hold the bowl suspended in the
opening.
with the socket rigidly held by the bracket as disclosed.
Other modes of applying the principle of the invention
References Cited
may be employed, change being made as regards the
UNITED
STATES PATENTS
details described, provided the features stated in any of
3,246,123
4/1966
Ammerman
et a1. _.___ 219-451
the following claims or the equivalent of such be em
ployed.
I, therefore, particularly point out and distinctly claim
as my invention:
1. In electric range structure including a top having
an opening therein and a downturned ?ange about said
opening, a surface heating element of sheathed resistance
3,328,562
6/1967
Jasionowski _______ __ 219——451
3,443,064
5/1969
Meng et al ________ __ 2l9——541
BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner
FRED E. BELL, Assistant Examiner
form with downwardly off-set lateraly extending terminal 40
sections, support means for removably holding the ele
219-541
US. Cl. X.R.